"My whole body aches, and I feel drained. My mind feels like it's been frozen. "

Not the moan of a festive reveller on the morning after, but the words of Britain's latest sporting heroine, Ellen MacArthur.

The 24-year-old yachtswoman was describing her state after scaling her boat's main mast to mend her sail in huge seas.

She is taking part in the Vendee Globe race, one of four concurrent round-the-world yacht races taking place in the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere.

Daring to dream

Last week, MacArthur, lying fourth in the race, was hailed a heroine after she altered her course to assist stricken fellow competitor Yves Parlier, who had lost his mast.

That incident came in the wake of Pete Goss and his six-man crew's dramatic abandonment of their state-of-the-art Team Philips catamaran in treacherous seas in the mid-Atlantic.

Speaking on Friday, after the search to find the �4m vessel was called off, Goss said:

"Accepting the risks, we chose to drive in the fast lane. Defeat, however, sometimes has to be accepted. As a team we can look it in the eye knowing that we gave it our all. We dared to dream and we are proud of what we achieved."

Goss's team was preparing for The Race: a sort of "Wacky Races" on water. The new no-holds barred round-the-world race featuring the best boats and the best crews begins in Barcelona on 31 December.

"It was a decision based on life," Goss remarked after his rescue earlier this month.

Many wonder what motivates these men, and increasingly women, in their fabulous floating machines to risk their lives in the name of sport.

MacArthur, who is sailing single-handedly round the world non-stop and has to sleep in 10-minute snatches, explains the appeal of the sport.

"I was attracted to the sense of unlimited freedom and adventure," she said. "It is a fantastic way of travelling. I like the challenge of working with the conditions around you and being adaptable."

Controlling destiny

Mark Turner, who competed against MacArthur in the Mini-Transatlantic race four years, is the project leader of her Kingfisher-sponsored Vendee challenge.

He said: "It's the pinnacle, an event to single-handedly sail non-stop around the world. It allows you to achieve your aims and your personal goals.

"There is danger, but you can get run over crossing the road. And the people are very qualified and very experienced, even if they can't control everything.

"In many ways, when you are out there doing something you are more in control of your life and destiny that sitting at home doing nothing."

MacArthur is not in complete solitude. She takes a conference call every morning and has received thousands of e-mails.

Turner said: "There's a strange balance. On the one hand, she is out on her own proving herself alone against the elements. It is totally pure.

"But she is also very keen to share it. The messages she receives motivate her and keeps her going."

BBC sailing commentator Richard Simmonds is in Barcelona to report on the start of The Race.