If anyone understands the sheer magnitude of the ocean it is Sir Robin Knox-Johnston - the first man to sail solo non-stop around the world.
The year was 1968 and his yacht was less than 10 metres in length.
Four decades on, the knighted sailor is giving others the chance to follow in his history-making wake in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
The 74,000 km circumnavigation allows every day amateurs to battle furious storms and tropical cyclones over 11 months.
"They have taken on nature in the raw. The Southern Ocean in a storm isn't funny. You cant prepare for that, you have to go out and do it," says Knox-Johnston.
Nearly 700 hundred crew members from more than 40 countries have taken up the challenge. The diverse international fleet includes South African sailor Masibulele Liyaba, who had to wrestle with his own inner demons.
“I was scared to be honest, being on the seas isn’t simple for us,’’ he said. “I thought ‘what might happen if I fall off the boat, will I get eaten by a shark’?”
The 22-year-old is relishing his new found talent.
"I was so blessed to be with this guys. We are like friends and family," reflects Liyaba.
Knox-Johnston's brainchild sees 12 crews, competing in identical 70 foot yachts racing in 16 skirmishes in the Southern, Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans. Former professional rugby player turned sailor Ollie Phillips has wrestled with waves packing more force than the entire All Blacks scrum.
"It's been amazing from a visual perspective seeing dolphins and whales...but there are tough mental moments. There was a point when we were having gusts of 85 to 90 knots."
Amongst howling winds and bouts of dreaded sea sickness, the offshore racing can become as much of a mental battle as a physical one, "I miss my home and family. But for me, the more I am thinking is: I want to do this race," Qingdao's Vicky Song says.
The Clipper race will include a December leg to contest the famous Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
This year's blue water classic has seen a record influx of foreign challengers for this year's race with the dozen Clippers to be joined on Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day by another 10 internationals for a special sprint south to Hobart.
Watch this video report on YouTube below:
