A FAIRFORD woman has helped save the lives of eight Australians while sailing round the world with the British Army Royal Signals Corps.

Captain Rachel Thompson, who went to school in Cirencester and Lechlade and learned to sail in the Cotswolds, is training officers onboard the Challenge 67 yacht, Adventure, in the Mercury Challenge, a ten-step around the world expedition.

During the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Captain Thompson and her crew saved the lives of eight Australian sailors when their yacht, the Koomooloo, sunk in stormy weather.

"It was what anyone would have done and it was an honour to come to the rescue of fellow sailors," 27-year-old Captain Thompson told the Standard.

"I enjoy sailing and have been doing it since my parents started teaching me when I was six."

Other parts of the expedition have included sailing from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town before sailing around the northern Australian coast from Perth to Sydney to complete the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

She then sailed from Wellington to Cape Horn and around to Buenos Aires.

The Antigua race followed by the sail back across the Atlantic are the last two legs of the expedition and Rachel will arrive back on Sunday, June 3.

She joined the army full time after spending her gap year in Germany on an army commission.

"I love it. I love adventure, I love people and I love travelling."

For information on the Mercury Challenge log onto www.mercurychallenge.mod.uk