Caroline Watson is back home from the voyage of a lifetime - after a white-knuckle ride in a seaboat, seeing Santa winched down from a helicopter and spending five days at sea aboard a warship with a crew of 180 men and one woman.

Caroline, 37, of South Bank, in York, was the lucky winner of an Evening Press competition for the exclusive cruise aboard HMS York.

She won a flight to Gibraltar, courtesy of Monarch Crown Services, Luton, and a voyage aboard the warship on its return home to Portsmouth after a four-month exercise in the Mediterranean. Her competition entry was the first to be picked out of a bumper mailbag of hundreds of entries.

When she arrived in sunny Gibraltar, Caroline was greeted by HMS York's Commanding Officer, Commander Paul Porter, before she sat down to a traditional lunch in the wardroom.

Also attending the lunch were guests from other warships in the harbour, including the USS Arleigh Burke and HMS Tireless, which Caroline visited later.

The evening ended with a run ashore to Gibraltar to sample some of the nightlife.

During her trip, Caroline also saw the arduous Gibraltar Rock Race, took a white-knuckle ride in the Searider seaboat, watched fire and flood exercises and viewed Santa being winched from a helicopter on to the forecastle of the ship.

She also took part in a Royal Navy tradition of penguin racing in the hangar, where bets are taken on different penguins and a race is run, using dice. A lot of money was raised for two of the ship's charities, Galtres School and York District Hospital children's ward.

Before leaving HMS York, Caroline was presented with a signed photograph of the ship and given other mementoes to remind her of her time on board.

On her return, Caroline was ecstatic about her trip: "I didn't realise what the prize would really entail when I entered the competition.

"But once I was on board HMS York it was more than I could have imagined," said Caroline. "I had a wonderful time."

So what did she enjoy most about the whole adventure?

"I loved the trip in the Searider across Gibraltar Harbour and the helicopter display. I also saw a pilot whale, which was fantastic.

"It was an amazing experience - the atmosphere on board was fantastic, really professional.

"I didn't feel out of place in the company of all those men, they had a lot of respect for me.

"I would love to thank everyone at the Evening Press for arranging a trip of a lifetime," she said.

A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: "It has been a great pleasure for the ship to have Caroline on board and we look forward to seeing her when the crew visits York in July."

HMS York has just completed a four-month stint in the Mediterranean as part of NATO's Immediate Reaction Force and will be working in UK waters next year.