TWO people from north Hampshire will unite with others across the county to tackle raging seas as part of a round-the-world challenge.

People from all walks of life, including teachers, financial whizzes and charity workers, will come together as part of the 40,000 nautical mile 2015-16 Clipper Round the World Race, which is just days away.

Amateurs with little or no experience have been whipped into shape by professional skippers to crew 70-foot racing yachts in eight stages over the next 11 months.

And some have amazing back stories, such as the 34-year-old business software developer Colin Blears, from Eversley, who was once kidnapped and used as a human shield for Saddam Hussein while living in the Middle East.

Twelve teams are taking part and will set out on the first leg from London to Rio de Janeiro on August 30, with crews of 20 or more packed into small living spaces below deck for weeks at a time with a limited food supply.

One of the brave participants is 50-year-old Will Green, of Cavalier Road, Old Basing.

He is hoping to use his time aboard the Unicef boat to help others as well as testing himself in difficult conditions.

The sales director is being sponsored to take on legs one and eight to raise money for Old Basing Scouts to help them rebuild their headquarters.

He said: “I have a passion for scouting and I am trying to help my local scout organisation with their headquarters, which was condemned in 2009.

“This will be a fantastic adventure but it will be amazing to help them at the same time.

“I did some dinghy sailing as a child but I have always wanted to cross an ocean and now here I am.

“We have all done four levels of training and we are all ready for this.

“But I’m not sure if I’m ready for the 100kg of porridge we’ll be having for breakfast.”

Rosalind Guy, a 46-year-old IT training consultant from Hook, is taking part in the full circumnavigation on board the Visit Seattle boat.

She said: “My brother was diagnosed with a brain tumour and it was a very worrying time.

“Thankfully it is benign but at the time it makes you think there is more to life beyond this.

“So I sat at the kitchen table and asked myself thought what I have always wanted to do.

“This was number one as travel without getting on an aircraft and another was to be back near the sea.

“I had watched the Whitbread races and watching it I had wished I could do it, yet it was out of reach.

“I was lucky though to go on a Whitbread 60 at the time in Southampton, grinning from ear to ear.

“This is my bucket list.”

This year’s clipper race marks the 10th anniversary of the bi-annual event and the fleet of 70-foot yachts are making their race debuts following the retirement of the previous fleet of 68-footers at the conclusion of the 2013-14 race.

After docking in Rio, the race continues via Cape Town in South Africa, Australia, Vietnam, China, Seattle, Panama, New York, Derry-Londonderry in Northern Ireland, Dan Helder in the Netherlands and finally finishing in London next July.

This year’s teams are Unicef, Derry-Londonderry-Doire, Da Nang, Clippertelemed, Garmin, Great Britain, Ichorcoal, Lmax Exchange, Mission Performance, PSP Logistics, Qingdao and Visit Seattle.