A FORMER top cop who was in charge of policing the 2011 Royal wedding and London Olympics will be hoping to bring the oceans to book when he skippers a yacht in the longest round the world race.

Former Chepstow School pupil David Hartshorn will be launching out on his epic 11-month voyage in August – just nine months after marrying wife Lorraine.

“We only get wed last November and I’m leaving her behind! But she knows it’s been my dream to do the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, and she’s encouraging me and being very supportive,” smiled the 52-year-old. “And now I’m ready to go, my 22-year-old son has even given me ‘cool dad’ status.”

After policing the Miners’ Strike with Gwent Police as a young PC, he rose to the rank of superintendent in the Met Police and had to deal with the 2011 urban riots as the force’s chief of staff for public order.

And David says his policing career has been great preparation for the challenge of facing the world’s biggest seas with an amateur crew, in one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges.

“Being in charge of a boat is about taking a group of people who are going to face some headaches along the way,” he said. “People are going to be taken outside their comfort zone, and my job is to give them confidence. All of us will be challenged, all at different levels.

“But I’m really looking forward to it... it’s tremendous to have the chance to have a go at this. The people on board, with all their different stories, are amazing. It’s very humbling to know I’m going to be their skipper on such an adventure.”

David took up sailing on a kibbutz in Israel

after leaving Chepstow School, and then obtained his offshore licence 10 years ago.

After leaving the Met in 2014, he became a professional sailor and qualified instructor, delivering yachts across the seas and crewing on race boats, including a race across the Atlantic.

And last year, having worked as a trainer for the Clipper race, he sailed the China to Seattle leg as a crewman to see if skippering the 2017-18 race was for him, which it most certainly was.

“I love being outdoors in the elements,” he added. “I was a mountaineer before, and climbed in Snowdonia quite a bit, including Cenotaph Corner. And with sailing, I love working in a team.

“When something unexpected crops up, you’ve got to problem solve together, because no one’s coming to help you in the middle of the ocean.

“There will be tough conditions along the way. We might get 20m-high waves. I was on top of one wave in the Pacific which was so high I thought I was looking down the cliff from the top of the Brecon Beacons.”

The 10 yachts in the race will be covering more than 40,000 nautical miles (46,000 miles), with the amateur crew signing on for legs or the whole trip.

“The route, which is still being finalised, will see us start in the UK before sailing to South America, across to Cape Town and on to Western Australia,” said David.

“Then it’s Sydney, where we will take part in the Sydney-Hobart race which can have some really challenging seas, before sailing up the east coast of Australia, on to Qingdao in China, Western America, through the Panama Canal, up to New York, then home to the UK via Europe.

“With sailing, you simply don’t know what’s coming next. You have to expect the unexpected at sea, and that appeals to me.

“But there’s definitely that overlap with policing. I was responsible for covering Royal weddings and major demonstrations in the Met, and had to deal with the urban riots, which can be pretty stressful, although you don’t really know how stressful until it’s over.

“I was also deputy police commander for the Olympics, which was fascinating but demanding with all the preparation, but all the work I did there was great preparation for this challenge.”

For more information on the Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race see www.clipperroundtheworld.com