The 47-year-old father-of-two from Ludgershall, near Bicester, originally embarked from southern England in October 2005 – planning to become the first person to sail non-stop, single-handed around the globe, travelling east to west.

But his plans were hit when a delay in permission from the Russian authorities and an early winter forced him to postpone his attempt at the Northern Sea Route, and he returned to the UK leaving his 40ft-boat Barrabas in Alaska over the winter.

When he resumed the voyage, thicker than expected Arctic ice forced him and Barrabas to accept a piggy-back ride from a Russian ice breaker. That delay meant he missed a chance to sail the last stretch from Norway to Southampton.

However, he is now continuing with his feat, and set off from Norway last week. Mr Flanagan is due to arrive at The Royal Southern Yacht Club in the next few weeks, depending on wind conditions.

Mr Flanagan has become the 14th solo yachtsman to sail around Cape Horn, has recorded the first non-stop journey from the UK to Hawaii, and is the only single-handed yachtsman to have sailed along Russia's Arctic coast.

Along the way, he has suffered two dislocated wrists and at one point was swept overboard.