Two young Bermudians have come through one of the toughest weeks of their lives as they prepare for the adventure of a lifetime in a 40,000-mile race aboard a clipper.Chanara Smith-Rookes, 20, and Matthew Stephens, 18, will both board Bermuda’s entry into the 2019-20 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race next summer as the competition approaches its climax.The pair were sent to Britain to train for the tough voyage after they were selected earlier this year.Ms Smith-Rookes, a Royal Bermuda Regiment soldier from St George’s, said: “The training wasn’t physically hard, but it was a mental challenge. “You have to figure yourself out, how you are going to deal with the sailing, the lack of food, the weather conditions.“My family think I’m crazy. I was telling my mother about the man overboard drills that we did and she said she was very glad I didn’t tell her about it when I was doing it.”Mr Stephens, from Sandys, added: “It was tough, cold, wet. We had four-metre swells one day and 60 knot winds, which is a lot to sail a very powerful boat in.“It was fun — definitely one of the toughest weeks of my life, but also one of the most fun.”Ms Smith-Rookes and Mr Stephens were picked as members of the “ambassador crew” on the seventh and eighth legs of the race.Mr Stephens will join the crew of Bermuda’s boat, the GoToBermuda, in Seattle in April and he will sail through the Panama Canal and to New York.Ms Smith-Rookes will replace him on board the vessel before the ship sails for Bermuda in June and remain with the ship to the London finish line.Ms Smith-Rookes said: “It’s always a privilege to serve and represent Bermuda, whether it be in sports or military. “It allows everyone else in the world to see what Bermuda has to offer.Mr Stephens said: “I have never been to Seattle, I’ve never been to Panama, I’ve never been to New York, so I’m definitely excited to visit three places I have never visited and sail the longest I have ever sailed.“Representing your home country is awesome. The amount of support we have received — not just from the Bermuda Tourism Authority — but the general Bermuda community — has been fantastic. The number of people who have come up to me has been amazing.”The opportunity was created through a link-up between the Bermuda Tourism Authority and the clipper race organisers.Mr Stephens, a lifelong sailor who works with the sail training Endeavour programme, said he was convinced to apply by a friend at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.Ms Smith-Rookes, who works part-time for the Bermuda Pie Factory, admitted she had less experience with boats.She said: “I did the Spirit of Bermuda in middle school and I did a little bit of dinghy sailing at summer camps, but that was about it.“I was in England doing riot training with the Royal Bermuda Regiment and they sent out an e-mail offering soldiers this opportunity to apply, so I threw my name out there.“I put in an application and it just went from there.”The Clipper Round the World Race started in London on September 1 and the competitors have already reached made landfall in Uruguay, South Africa and Australia.