Flashbacks to a mis-spent youth watching Roy Castle and Kriss Akabusi getting too excited about contestants with bizarre past-times rushed through my head.

Mark's all at sea for first lesson

But this was no one-man mission, I am hopefully going to be among 500 Hartlepudlian volunteers trying to set the record for the most people dancing to the hornpipe at one time.

To prepare I was joined by eight keen youngsters from the Bad Taste Crew dance workshop who helped guide me through the simple steps on the deck of HM Trincomalee.

Amanda and the group confidently turned, arched, stepped and twisted in what was a blur to me. My brain had turned off after quickly deciding it did not do dancing.

But after several calls of "you got that Mark?" I was starting to find my sea legs as we danced away in Hartlepool's Maritime Experience.

Now I can embarrass myself on the dancefloor as well as anyone else but on the historic ship I did manage to keep up, just.

"I think we have designed a simple dance that anyone can do," said Amanda, who runs a dance company called Falling Cat.

"This dance is for the chorus and we will have groups from across the area doing their own routines for the verses, which will be more complex and contemporary.

"I am very confident we will have enough people to become record breakers and I can't wait to get going."