David Standen, of Norwich Road, has been offered a place in one of 20 yachts taking part in the Parkinson's Disease Society's Sail the Island challenge, from June 6 to 9.

And he is hoping it will be third time lucky, as his two previous attempts to sail round the island failed after he encountered gale-force and then foggy conditions.

Mr Standen is meeting the cost of the venture himself – but has set himself an extra challenge of raising at least £600 for the society's research work on the disease, which affects movements such as walking, talking and writing.

To achieve this, he and his wife, Celia, are holding a sellout evening of music and entertainment at Swaffham Conservative Club tomorrow night, with help from friends who are amateur singers and comedians.

Guests from Swaffham and Castle Acre are being asked to donate £10 for the evening, which will include a ploughman's supper, and there will be various competitions, with prizes donated by local businesses.

Mr Standen was diagnosed with Parkinson's eight years ago.

"Mine is relatively mild compared with some people with this disease," he said.

"My day is similar to a car with brakes that are gradually seizing up – but before they stop they judder. Three to four times a day I get the effect that starts with my arms and legs shaking and at worst I have difficulty putting one foot in front of the other."

There is no cure for Parkinson's, but researchers and scientists are steadily making advances in understanding the condition, its causes, and how best to treat it.

Parkinson's occurs from a loss of nerve cells in part of the brain.

Mr Standen has been sailing since he was 12, when his uncle had a small racing dinghy at Chatham in Kent.

He has subsequently sailed in large pilot cutters across the English Channel, on a Thames barge in the North Sea and in a fast racing dinghy in the Atlantic, off the Scilly Isles. Ten years ago, he and Celia sailed in a dhow in the Indian Ocean, off the Kenyan coast, and last year he went on a 42ft racing yacht in the Pacific Ocean, off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Looking to the future, he said: "I haven't sailed in the Mediterranean yet, nor in the Arctic or southern oceans."