“Wet!” laughed Ian Walker, the Green Dragon skipper.

“Awesome!” was the response from PUMA’s Rob Salthouse.

“Fun, great fun!” was the way Delta Lloyd watch captain Stu Wilson put it.

Those were the answers provided by the three Volvo Ocean Race sailors who had been asked to describe the race in one word.

With the sun beating down from a crystal clear sky, four Volvo Ocean Race crew members submitted to a probing public inquisition from the assembled scouts.

“It’s fantastic to see all of the scouts here today, wearing their colourful uniforms so smartly,” said Ian Walker to a big round of applause. “I was once a cub scout for two or three years and then I was a scout…so maybe the scout movement isn’t bad training to sail around the world!”