The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the most demanding ocean races in existence. The teams will compete on a nine-leg race around the world, covering more than 39,000 nautical miles in nine months, often at high speed in atrocious conditions.

The route takes the fleet across each of the major oceans, Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Southern as well as the Arabian, South China and Irish Seas. The fleet will cross the equator four times and round the world’s two most best-known capes – Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope.

More than half of the legs last more than 20 days, and the crew will have to work 24 hours a day in shifts of four hours on and four hours off as they battle to win one of the greatest prizes in ocean racing.

During the race the crews will experience life at the extreme: no fresh food is on board so they live on freeze dried food, experience temperature variations from -5 to +40 degrees Celsius and will only take one change of clothes. They will trust their lives to the boat, their fellow crew members and the skipper, and experience fatigue and sleep deprivation.