AFTER four weeks and one day at sea Lois Bickerton reached Brazil on her Clipper round-the-world adventure.

It marked the completion of the first stage of the Clipper Race circumnavigation of the globe and the former Thomas Hardye pupil's yacht Qingdao came sixth out of the 10 boats.

It was also the first time - apart from a few days in La Rochelle, France - that Lois has stepped off the yacht Qingdao since leaving Hull, Yorkshire on September 13.

Lois said: "676 hours of non stop competition since leaving La Rochelle. we skirted along the coastline of Brazil.

"Beautiful white sand beaches with green mountainous backdrop, the scenery we had been craving for since leaving the sights of the Cape Verde Islands and the Canary Islands.

"We made our way to the entrance of Rio De Janeiro Harbour. As we turned the corner the city opened up to us.

advertisement "Rio De Janeiro is a huge metropolis set under the mountains in a huge natural harbour.

"We began to hear the sounds of the city, aeroplanes flying overhead, ships motoring past, helicopters buzzing over us, police sirens.

"It was a bizarre entry back into the civilised land based world. We arrived at the marina in Rio to a crowd of crew from the front group of boats and a case of beer thrown on deck."

She added: "It had been a long journey. There were times I found scary, times I found stressful, times I laughed, times I cried and times that I wanted to treasure.

"Highlights for me from this trip were climbing the mast with the spinnaker up, being on the helm and surfing waves, seeing the stars and crossing the equator.

"After a few days of relaxation in Rio, the boat is ready to go on the next leg of this adventure."

Now Lois is completing the much shorter journey from Rio to Cape Town under the role of watch leader.

Former Weymouth landlord Jan Ridd who is skippering the Canadian entry Cape Breton Island finished fourth in the first leg of the race so far.

The yachts left Rio on Tuesday this week and are due to arrive in Cape Town on November 14. They leave Cape Town on November 22 and are due to arrive in Freemantle, Australia on December 14 - 18.