STUDENT Sarah Aynesworth and her shipmates are on their way to shattering a world record for sailing round the globe.

She and other members of the crew on the 115-feet monohull, Cable and Wireless, have set sail for San Diego after spending nine days crossing the Pacific Ocean from Hong Kong.

The 22-year-old from Hartlington, near Burnsall, has already visited ports from Monte Carlo to Singapore since the boat left Gibraltar on April 19 at the start of its 26,000-mile journey.

The crew have been given a VIP welcome in various place, and have sampled a range of different cultures - and there is more to come.

They arrived in Honolulu on Sunday after their Pacific crossing and had a brief rest before setting out on Monday on the six-day leg to San Diego.

After that their stops will include Kingston, Miami and New York.

So far, they are only 21 hours behind schedule despite storms and a damaged propellor shaft bearing.

The crew aims to arrive back in Gibraltar on July 4 to break the existing circumnavigation record by a powered craft by seven days.

That was set in 1960 by the nuclear-powered submarine USS Triton, which made the trip in 83 days, nine hours and 54 minutes.

Project leader Jack Wishart said: "We all know we have many challenges ahead, not least of which will be the Panama Canal - that's where the last circumnavigation atttempt failed."

Sarah took part in a gruelling selection process to beat 300 other applicants for a place among 11 novices in the team.

Her duties on board include maintaining an internet web site for the whole journey, giving information about the different stages of the trip and life on the ocean waves.

Before her selection, she had already spent two weeks working in a leper colony in Pakistan, and a month in China with the Yorkshire Schools' Exploring Society.

But her sailing experience was limited to a boating holiday on Loch Ness.

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