On October 11, eight yachts representing teams from around the world set out for Cape Town on the first leg of a global competition that is the greatest competitive sailing challenge on Earth.

Some of the best sailors in the world will spend almost nine months at sea, with brief stopovers in 11 ports across Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America before the finish next June in St Petersburg, Russia.

During the 39,000-mile race they will have to cope with freezing cold, scorching heat, sleep deprivation, mountainous seas and hurricane force winds.The worst weather conditions are usually encountered in the Southern Ocean where waves can top 30 metres and winds can reach 110 km/h. Longest leg is the 12,300-mile marathon from Qingdao, China, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The eight teams battling it out in this ultimate sailing test are Delta Lloyd (Holland), Ericsson 1 and 2 (Sweden), Green Dragon (Ireland and China), Puma (USA), Team Russia, Telefonica Blue and Telefonica Black (Spain). Although there is not a team from the UK competing, Britain is represented by skipper Ian Walker and navigator Ian Moore on board the Green Dragon yacht. Walker is a two-times Olympic silver medal-winner and twice skipper of America‘s Cup campaigns.

In addition, the Team Russia boat was designed and built in England by Rob Humphreys Yacht Design and Green Marine, of Lymington, Hampshire.

With a joint Ireland/China yacht taking part, the race will have a further unique Irish connection, with the eighth leg, from Boston to Galway, marking the first Irish stopover in the history of the race.

The race, which is held every three years, began in 1973, with 17 yachts and 167 crew, when it set out from Portsmouth on a 27,500-mile course. As the competing teams sailed along the Solent, about 3,000 spectator boats, filled with sailing fans wishing to be part of this historic moment, escorted them out to sea.

The last event, beginning in 2005, was the first to start outside of Britain - at Galicia in Spain - and was won by the ABN AMRO One yacht from the Netherlands.

This year’s race is expected to attract a worldwide TV audience of about two billion.