Three sailors from the Bristol area will be part of the first all-female crew to take part in the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009.

Kerrie Jones, 23, Amy Sharp, 18, and Heather Bell, 17, are preparing to sail 2,600 nautical miles from Tenerife to Bermuda starting on Sunday (May 17).

The trio, who will join 17 other women from across the country to make up the crew, went through a tough selection process before being picked for the race and each of them are raising £1,400 to compete.

Novices as well as experienced sailors take part, working with professionals to get to grips with navigating, safety, manoeuvring, taking the helm and hauling ropes.

Kerrie, of Hanham, a Bath University sports therapy graduate and former member of the Bristol University Royal Naval Unit, will be a watch leader on the Class D Rona II, an 85ft-high vessel built in 1991.

When the Rona II and other ships reach Bermuda in June, the vessels and crews will be the centrepiece of the island's celebrations of its 400th anniversary.

Kerrie, who will fly out to the Canary Islands on Friday with her crew mates before returning on June 15, said: "It's quite a feat to be part of the first all-girl crew to take part in an Atlantic tall ships race.

"We're really looking forward to it – it's going to be a big adventure. It's the first time I've ever done anything like this."

The course of the tall ships race circles the North Atlantic Ocean, following the traditional trading route of sailing ships over the centuries taking advantage of prevailing winds.

It is made up of five race legs – Vigo in Spain to Tenerife, Tenerife to Bermuda, Bermuda to Charleston in America, Charleston to Boston, then Halifax in Canada to Belfast in Northern Island.

The race began on May 2 and is expected to finish on August 15.

Of the 26 ships taking part, three are from the UK and rivals are from South America, Europe and America.

The Rona II, which will be sailed in the other race legs by different crews, is run by the Rona Sailing Project, a London-based sailing training organisation which takes young people to sea to give them a new life experience and greater self-confidence.