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The race was established in 1995 by the yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnson, who in 1969 became the first person to sail solo, non-stop around the world.

It is held every two years and It is open to non-professional crews who battle it out in identical 21-metre-long yachts, each sponsored by cities and regions from around the globe.

There are 10 ships, each captained by a professional skipper, but crewed by 18 amateurs; usually drawn from the boat’s home area.

The 35,000 mile, 10-month race is broken down into a series of 15 legs, racing between different ports; from Liverpool to New York.

Each of the seven legs is divided into smaller individual races between the different ports on the leg. Major stopovers are used for sail and boat maintenance, sightseeing and relaxation and changes where crew members leave and join their team

The Hull and Humber crew

The route is planned to provide a wide variety of exciting and challenging sailing conditions and the stop over ports for their cultural diversity where all the teams come together and share the experience

Crew members change over on different sections, giving more people the chance to take part. It is the chance for ordinary people to experience the thrill of round-the-world yacht racing that underpins the event, as Zoe Williamson, Communications Coordinator for the race explains: β€œThat sort of experience and being able to take on that sort of challenge should be available to everyone and not just the privileged and professional.”

The flotilla of boats will be making a visit to Hull in July as they take place in a special one-off race from Rotterdam. The event is for the Wilberforce Challenge Cup in commemoration of the 200th abolition of the slave trade.

The main race departs from Liverpool in September, returning to the same city in summer 2008.

The race legs are;
Race 1- Liverpool to Cascais
Race 2-Cascais to Salvador
Race 3-Salvador to Durban
Race 4-Durban to Fremantle
Race 5- Fremantle to Singapore
Race 6 Singapore to Qingdao
Race 7 Quindao to Yokohama
Race 8 Yorohama to Victoria
Race 9 Victoria to Panama
Race 10 Colon to Curacao
Race 11 Curacoa to New York
Race 12 New York to Jersey
Race 13 Jersey to Liverpool