HAMPSHIRE yachtswoman Emma Richards sailed into a Southampton school to talk about her adventures at sea.

Emma, who recently became the first British woman to complete the Around Alone round-the-world yacht race, visited Chamberlayne Park School in Weston yesterday to meet schoolchildren who have been following her circumnavigation through the HSBC Global Education Challenge.

After talking about her experiences at sea, Emma answered questions from the pupils, who were able to learn from her adventures during the Around Alone race by logging onto the HSBC Global Education Challenge website.

During the race, the website received more than 50,000 hits daily, and children at the school sent her messages of support.

Emma, from Hamble, said: "The solitude of sailing alone can be soul destroying, so it was great to read all the messages urging me on. The jokes, in particular, kept me going when things got difficult.

"All the other skippers were sailing alone, but I had thousands of children helping me!"