THEY’VE endured months of training and preparation – and the hard work hasn’t even started yet.

Teams of amateur sailors move ever closer to the challenge of a lifetime as they face 11 months at sea with only one professional skipper to lead them through rough waters and cramped conditions.

Now the Clipper Round the World Race fleet has left its temporary home in Gosport for the start line in London.

There are 12 teams competing in the bi-annual event and Hampshire is well represented with 25 people, some pictured here, participating from across the county.

The buzz in the air was electric as the 70-foot yachts left Gosport Marina via Portsmouth Harbour for St Katharine Docks in London.

For many the anticipation has been building over several years, with some signing up more than three years ago.

Great Britain crew member Mike Tatham, 54, an off-shore rig crane driver, said: “It’s been a long few years and a steep learning curve but I now feel ready to go. Everybody’s hyper, and we just want to get racing now.

“I’m hoping for a well-rounded experience – winning races, learning, and making lifelong friends.

“Now that I am homeless, jobless and car-less it’s certainly feeling real now. I’ve given up everything and it’s now all about the race.

“We’ve done all the training, we’re ready and I’m looking forward to everything that is to come. It’s very exciting.”

Teams will sail 40,000 miles split up into eight legs, visiting exotic locations in Brazil, China, Australia and Vietnam among others.

The first female Australian skipper in the history of the Clipper race, Wendy Tuck, leading Da Nang-Viet Nam, says: “It feels great to be leaving Gosport at the start of the journey after all our preparation getting our boat and team ready. I’m a little nervous. We are quite tight-knit already, but will continually evolve as we come together as a team.”

“I have some friends coming over from Australia for Race Start in London, and everyone is already planning to come out in a flotilla to meet me when we arrive into Sydney, so that’s something to look forward to.”

The Clipper Race fleet is due to arrive in London’s St Katharine Docks from about 4.45pm tomorrow.

The Race Village is open to the public from 10am on Saturday, August 22 until the long-awaited fleet departure on Sunday 30 August.