Sam Goodchild: How to sail round the world, solo, non-stop

With winds of about 50mph (80km/h) and 16ft (5m) waves, keeping the boat in one piece has sometimes been a challenge in itself.

But, waking up on 22 December in the South Pacific, Goodchild found a sail was dragging in the water – a potentially disastrous situation in rough messy seas.

“I heard something go wrong and ran up on deck, and then you see the sail half wrapped around the foil, which is under the boat,” he said.

The curved foils on either side of the boat help it go faster being lifting the hull out the water.

He said: “I thought, how am I going to figure this out.

“I obviously don’t want to leave the sail where it is – it’s 180 square-metres, so trying to get out the water, it’s like a fishing net with tonnes and tonnes of water in it.

“Fortunately, I found a way to get it on board.

“It took over an hour, and I was knackered at the end of it, but it was a very special moment when you manage to achieve something like that.

“And, actually, the sail’s back up there, and I’m still using it, so I’m happy to have made the effort.”