A WEST Wight man has single-handedly circumnavigated the world following a three-year voyage of discovery.

Thom D'Arcy, 35, who grew up in Chillerton and whose family moved to Brighstone in 2005, set sail from Yarmouth in Fathom, his Vancouver 28, on May 9, 2016.

Originally, his aim was an Atlantic circuit but the lure of the South Pacific proved too strong.

Thom attended Carisbrooke High School and worked for eight years as a shipbroker in London before escaping the 'rat race'.

He said: "On my passage to Saint Helena from Cape Town, with 28,700 nautical miles having passed under the keel, I crossed the same meridian of longitude again and so completed a solo circumnavigation of the world.

"I never planned to sail so far but once I headed to the South Pacific there was no turning back."

Thom learned to sail at Yarmouth Sailing Club, aged eight and raced Oppies and Scows before moving up to Yarmouth One Design and X One Design at the Royal Solent Yacht Club.

He said: "After leaving the UK in 2016, the first year of the voyage included stops in Spain, Portugal, Madeira, the Canaries and the Cape Verde Islands before an Atlantic crossing to Barbados.

"Then 2017 began with visits to St Lucia, the Grenadines and Grenada before heading west to Colombia, the San Blas Islands and through the Panama Canal.

"The rest of the year was spent cruising across the Pacific Ocean via French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji and New Caledonia.

"Cyclone season was spent in Australia before a crossing of the Indian Ocean to Madagascar in 2018 via Cocos Keeling.

"By Christmas, I had reached South Africa after a trip down the Mozambique Channel via Bazaruto in Mozambique.

"Two highlights that come to mind are the powerful and unique feeling of solitude I experienced during 38 days alone at sea from Panama to the Marquesas and the thrill of close encounters with sea life.

"I swam alongside humpback whales in Tonga, manta rays in Fiji and whale sharks in Madagascar.

"More than anything though, it's the people I've met and friends I've made along the way that have made it all the more special.

"Now is the time to think about returning home."

Follow Thom's ongoing voyage at www.yachtfathom.co.uk.