After spending Christmas at sea, Knox-Johnston was met by hundreds of supporters and well wishers on the dockside, as well as his shore team and many friends from the Western Australia region. The Ultimate Pioneer, who made history as the first person to ever circumnavigate the globe alone in 1969, received a rapturous hero’s welcome to celebrate the wonderful and inspiring achievement for the 67 year old. He has sailed a total of 12,411 miles since leaving Bilbao, averaging a speed of 11 knots, and is looking forward to steak and chips, washed down with a few beers.

Speaking as he disembarked SAGA INSURANCE, the icon of world solo sailing commented, “The boat seems OK ; the main issue is the mainsail as I have no power due to the broken battens. It will be fine once I have decent battens. There are jobs to do, but I am happy with SAGA INSURANCE. This was a shakedown leg for me to learn about the boat. I’ve done that now, so everyone had better watch out on the next leg.”

“The worst weather was without doubt the storm in the Bay of Biscay, other than that I really just had gales. I had no choice about jumping into the Southern Ocean to remove the fishing net from my keel, I didn’t want to, it happened in a force seven. My Henri Lloyd seal suit ensured only my hands and feet really got cold, but I lost nearly a day and it was a huge strain on the keel. After what happened to Alex, I was worried for the state of my keel.”

“It was much easier 38 years ago, no messing around with technology. They said I was missing for four and a half months and prepared my obituary, but I always knew where I was. These boats are formula 1 racing machines, like a thoroughbred horse. You need to remain alert and be on top of the boat the whole time in order to sail fast and safe. It was different on Suhaili, I remember we once hit 7 knots ! With these Open 60 yachts you hit 28 knots ; I am very impressed. They are remarkable boats, very exciting to sail, although you have to work hard to get on top of them.”

“I had to helm the last four hours because the autopilot broke. My main concern as I finished was to look after the boat and getting the sail down safely. Mike’s mast breaking was a tragedy and such a shame as he was doing so well. Mike and Alex are old friends and I will miss them as competitors, but the good news is that they are safe and sound.”

Also dockside was the two retired British skippers, on hand to show their support and offer their congratulations to the knight of the high seas. It was a particularly special moment for Alex Thomson, the young skipper who was forced to abandon his yacht HUGO BOSS on leg one. For Thomson, Sir Robin has been a mentor in sailing and in life for many years, and he welcomed his close friend with a big hug. Commenting on the amazing achievement of Knox-Johnston, Alex stated, “Robin has done a fabulous job to finish in third place and I wouldn’t bet against him winning. This race is open for anybody.”

Mike Golding, who undertook the dramatic ocean rescue of Thomson, only to be immediately forced out of the race with a broken mast was also on hand to celebrate the historical moment, alongside local America’s Cup America's Cup #AmericasCup legend John Longley. Longley concluded, “This is an achievement similar to Sir Edmund Hilary climbing up Everest thirty seven years after he first made history.” Mike Golding added, “This race defeated me last time and it has defeated me this time. Alex and I were discussing that we had always thought there would be a huge attrition, but never thought it would be us !”

Sir Robin has had a rollercoaster ride during leg one of the VELUX 5 OCEANS Velux 5 Oceans #Velux5Oceans and the result is a testament to his skill and tenacity as an experienced ocean seaman. Knox-Johnston only took charge of the his Open 60 boat SAGA INSURANCE (ex-Fila) in May and had to work around the clock to make the start line in a competitive state. After a fantastic send off from the people of Bilbao on October 22, the fleet was struck by hurricane-strength winds in the Bay of Biscay, and although Sir Robin lasted longer than most, he was eventually forced into La Coruna (Galicia, near Cape Finisterre) to make repairs to his mast track after he was capsized by a wave.

After rejoining the race, he was stranded behind the leaders in lighter winds and left in a drag race with Graham Dalton (NZL) and Unai Basurko (ESP). His yacht has been plagued by continuous problems to the sails and the onboard technology, and has even been struck by the unexpected. SAGA INSURANCE has suffered from broken battens in the mainsail, lost wind instruments on his mast, a broken mainsail track, a faulty autopilot system and many other issues. The veteran skipper even had to take a dip in the icy Southern Ocean to free his keel of a fishing net that became ensnared. It has been a challenge on many levels but the iconic skipper has come through every hurdle with a sense of humour and vigour.

Sleep has been a rare commodity and taken in small bursts. He ran out of his only treat on board, whisky, three weeks ago. For the sailing legend and grandfather of five children, this is the first time he has sailed alone around the world since 1969. He wrote his place in the history books just three months before man first landed on the moon. In 1969, Sir Robin was out of contact with land for so long that the The Times prepared his obituary. Today his cabin is stacked with computer technology enabling him to video conference from the ocean and receive weather information, as well as send and receive emails and phone calls

The SAGA INSURANCE shore team are now ready to prepare the yacht for the next leg, one of the most treacherous in any ocean race, taking the fleet into the coldest expanses of the Southern Ocean, sound Cape Horn and back into the Northern Hemisphere. The 60 foot yacht will come straight out of the water and the team are fully equipped to take on the job list.

The fleet will set off from Fremantle on leg two at 15:00 (local time) on January 14, following a media sailing day on January 7. The boats will be on display at the race zone at Fremantle Sailing Club between January 6 – 14.