An Australian sailor is attempting to sail "the wrong way" around the world in what he hopes will be a record-breaking journey aboard his 34-foot boat.

Andy Lamont left the Gold Coast today and is planning to sail solo, non-stop, and unassisted around the world in a westerly direction.

He said his world record attempt began with a childhood idea.

"I have got to 57 years old and I thought if I don't do it now it'll probably be too late," Lamont said.

The father of three was due to leave on Monday but an electrical problem with the boat's battery recharging system caused a delay.

Lamont is hoping to be the first to achieve a record set by the World Sailing Speed Records Council.

He must sail in a boat, measuring less than 40 feet in length, a minimum distance of 21,600 nautical miles.

The sailor said he would probably travel about 30,000 miles.

"We've got to tack a bit more and you always have to sail a bit further," he said.

He will sail down the east coast of Australia and then west towards the southern tip of Africa.

Then he will head north, crossing over the equator, around the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, and then round Cape Horn on the southern tip of South America.

"It's a narrow stretch of water there in the Southern Ocean where all of the winds and all of the currents condense into a little 600 mile gap between Cape Horn and Antarctica," he said.

"So we've got to get through there against the prevailing winds and against the prevailing currents, so the seas can be mountainous and it's generally always stormy."

He has left behind a wife and three grown daughters, including his eldest, Rose Lamont.

"I'm proud of him and happy that he's got the courage to go follow his dreams, and go do something so great," she said.

"I am worried, but I have confidence in him. I think he has the ability to do it and if not now, then when? So I'm excited for him."

Lamont admitted he was nervous.

"That's just life isn't it? You're always nervous before you do something great," he said.

If all goes to plan, the solo sailor will arrive back on the Gold Coast next September.

'It will take a lot of determination'

Marine expert Phil George helped the sailor prepare for the epic westward journey into prevailing winds and currents.

Phil George (pictured) has been helping Lamont prepare for the trip. ( ABC News: Tom Forbes )

"It's like trying to sail in the wrong direction all of the way around," he said.

"So you do a lot of tacking, a lot of steep waves coming into the boat, a lot of splash, and [it will be] wet, so it will take a lot of determination."

Mr George, a Victorian-based marine manufacturer, assisted Jessica Watson to prepare for her successful southern hemisphere circumnavigation in 2009 and 2010 as a 16-year-old.

Lamont said his journey was different to Jessica's.

"She did an around-the-world trip, not one that was to set a record though, her record was a personal one, which was a great one," he said.