ALMOST three weeks ago, in wet and squally conditions, the yacht race dubbed the world's toughest began. Leaving from the south coast, 12 identical Global Challenge race yachts set off on their epic voyage, sailing around the world against prevailing winds and currents.

And some 70 per cent of the crews had never set foot on a boat before their training began.

The gruelling trip will take about 10 months.

Features writer Melanie Warman spent just the one day aboard...

"THERE's nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." So said Ratty to Mole in the first chapter of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 classic The Wind in the Willows.

It's not something I do often enough considering where I live.

And once over the momentary embarrassment of a far from ladylike boarding of the Barclays Adventurer, which I figure is a prerequisite for any amateur, I wonder why.

Just a few minutes offshore and life on land seems a million miles away.

My fellow crewmates - thrown together just an hour earlier over coffee and bacon rolls - are busy; yet time passes peacefully.

With the sun in our faces and wind in our hair, we hoist sails and man the winches, embarking on our own mini adventure across the Solent to the Isle of Wight.

This 72ft yacht, and the 11 others that left from Portsmouth on a race set to finish in July next year, sailed around the world in the 2000 Global Challenge.

The yachts cost just under £500,000 each to build and a further £3.8million was spent refitting them over the winter.

They look fantastic above deck and below; the bunks feel a lot more comfortable than they look.

Since October 3, each craft has been home to 17 crew made up of men and women from all walks of life.

Spending Christmas and New Year on board, they will follow the east to west route Sir Chay Blyth CBE, executive chairman of race organiser Challenge Business, took when he became the first man to sail around the world single-handed against prevailing winds and currents.

It was a feat people said could never be done.

Crew volunteers taking part this year include a student, a funeral director, a cabinet-maker, a vet, a former pilot and a fire-fighter.

They have paid some £26,750 for a berth on board and the experience of a lifetime.

Teams will be tested to their limits as they take on variable, at times extreme, weather conditions from the unpredictable calms of the doldrums to the immense seas of the southern oceans.

They sail from Portsmouth to Buenos Aires, on to Wellington, then Sydney, across to Cape Town, over to Boston and back to a northern Europe city before returning to Portsmouth in July next year.

The skipper is the only professional sailor on board and Stuart Jackson, at the helm of Barclays Adventurer, is the youngest in the contest.

The 28-year-old, who has been sailing all his life, said: "It's a proper race. It's very competitive between the skippers."

The teams eat a combination of freeze-dried and boil-in-the-bag food as there are no refrigerators onboard to store fresh food and carrying tins would slow the boats down.

The sailors are making their own bread and cakes.

A water maker turns seawater into fresh water.

"Weight is a big thing. The lighter the boat is, the faster it will go," he added.

So you can forget your five pairs of trainers and cosmetic bag containing half of Boots.

Each person's possessions have had to fit into a small box and weigh less than two kilos.

Smiling, he said: "You take two pairs of pants for a 40-odd day leg. You wear one and wash one."

Skippers had no say in their crew.

Stuart worked with his from January.

"Some of that has been sailing training, a lot of it has been team-building," he said, looking up at the sails flapping in the breeze.

He said the doldrums would prove testing.

"When you have got no wind, people will be frustrated. The boat is made of steel and it will be so hot down below. They will be testing times, trying to keep the crew motivated and happy."

And the rough seas of the southern ocean will throw up challenges.

"I have full confidence in the boat. I have sailed these for a few years and the rougher weather you go out in, the more they seem to enjoy it. It's what they are built for."

Much of the route will be new to Stuart, who lives in Southampton.

This is his first time around the world too.

Born in Dubai, he started sailing out in the Middle East.

His father was a keen sailor.

"It's always been my ambition to sail around the world," he added.

Sir Francis Drake once said: "It isn't that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better."

Clambering back onto dry land, I agreed and quite fancied 10 months of it regardless of the gale force winds and freezing waters on route.

Funny what a day in the sun can do to you.

Race route

Leg 1 which started October 3 2004 - Portsmouth to Buenos Aires (31 to 35 days at sea predicted, covering 6,200 nautical miles)

Leg 2 starts November 28 2003 - Buenos Aires to Wellington (36 to 41 days at sea predicted, covering 6,100 nautical miles)

Leg 3 starts February 6 2005 - Wellington to Sydney (7 days at sea predicted, covering 1,250 nautical miles)

Leg 4 starts February 27 2005 - Sydney to Cape Town (35 to 41 days at sea predicted, covering 6,200 nautical miles)

Leg 5 starts May 1 2005 - Cape Town to Boston (34 to 38 days at sea predicted, covering 6,775 nautical miles)

Leg 6 starts June 19 2005 - Boston to northern Europe city (13 to 17 days at sea predicted, covering 3,000 nautical miles)

Leg 7 starts July 12 2005 - northern European city to Portsmouth (4 days at sea predicted, covering 300 nautical miles)