Two Isle of Wight men are among skippers named for the upcoming round-the-world Clipper Yacht Race.

Josh Stickland, 35, and Max Rivers, 29, are both from the Island and are currently based in Gosport, ahead of the gruelling circumnavigation.

They will join other skippers from UK, South Africa, Uruguay and the Netherlands, each leading teams of amateur sailors on a race around the globe.

Each will command a 70ft yacht and many of their crew will have no prior sailing experience.

Isle of Wight County Press: Josh Stickland, from the Isle of Wight, who is skippering for the second time.Josh Stickland, from the Isle of Wight, who is skippering for the second time. (Image: Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.)

For crew members, there is an intensive and compulsory four-week training programme, before going to to tackle some of the most challenging conditions on the planet.

As leaders, race skippers, Josh and Max, not only need the expertise to race across an ocean safely, but must possess the right combination of mentorship, coaching and people management skills to create a team, from a group of diverse novice sailors.

Josh has previously been a skipper on the race, while Max was a supporting skipper and is stepping up for the first time. 

Josh Stickland first took to the water aged 10 and with the Prince’s Trust and UKSA’s support, he qualified as a watersports instructor, then a professional sailor.

He has logged over 150,000 nautical miles in his career.

Returning to the Clipper event, Josh said: "I have missed the racing element, and the thrill of forming a competitive race team. 

"The vast conditions keep you on your toes - in the South Atlantic we had 86 knot (98mph) wind speed creep up on us in a matter of hours.

"As the skipper, you need to be as positive as possible - you don’t have to have that in any other sailing role. Your morale makes a real difference every single day."

Isle of Wight County Press: Islander Max Rivers will skipper for the first time.Islander Max Rivers will skipper for the first time. (Image: Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.)

Max, has a wealth of sailing experience and a degree in adventure education and he has been sailing since the age of 13.

He said: "I think setting that culture early on is so important: that we race hard and race well.

"But also, that we work for each other, and we look after one another."