 Twenty-four sailors from every walk of life, of every age and temperament, living literally cheek-by-jowl for week after week, away from family and friends sometimes for months at a time. All crammed in an elderly 40 metre metal hulled boat - in seas of all conditions with temperatures often in the 30 s. It s a pressure cooker that can bring out the best, and sometimes the worst, in all of them - man and woman alike. It calls upon reserves of devotion to duty, tolerance, obedience and of course humour, way beyond that which most people possess.