TWO yachts carrying Hampshire sailors have arrived in Brazil as part of the world's longest race.

The Great Britain and Old Pulteney have both crossed the finish line and docked in Rio de Janeiro after finishing the first leg of the Clipper Race.

The yachts came in seventh and eighth in the race, with four more teams set to arrive within the next few days.

They set off from London on September 1 as part of a 40,000 mile journey which will see them take in Australia, Singapore and the USA over the next ten months.

Of the 12 vessels, 11 have crew members from Hampshire.

Twenty-year-old Jacob Carter, from Fareham, and 70-year-old Patrick Coates, from Stockbridge, are on board Great Britain, which arrived in Rio earlier this afternoon.

And the Old Pulteney, which has Southampton sailors Charles Slaters, 41, and Kate Hepworth, 30, on board, has followed her over the line within the last hour.

Tomorrow Team Garmin and Switzerland, with 59-year-old former Southampton City College principal Lindsey Noble, 58-year-old Charlie Pickering from Southampton, and 50-year-old Heather Reid from Totton among its crew, are due to arrive in Brazil.

The crews that have already arrived will now have a few days to recuperate and enjoy the sights of Rio, Brazil's largest city, before the start of the next leg to Cape Town in South Africa on Saturday.