Will Sayer, 29, has won the OSTAR 2009, overall on handicap. With a corrected time of 19 days 22 hours. He refitted his Sigma 33 Elmarleen, which he bought with his student loan back in 2001.

He was inspired to do the race by Sir Robin Knox Johnston and Pete Goss. ‘RKJ was one of the first to do any of this solo sailing and he did it the hard way. No toys or gadgets, just a very mentally and physically tough guy. Anyone who swims under his boat to fix a leak with sharks about is a hero of mine,’ he said.

He was also struck by a quote from Pete Goss’ book Close to the Wind book: ‘I remember once, when I was very young, walking along a pontoon to look at a top racing yacht. I was made to feel uncomfortable and very unwelcome as the crew strutted about like rock stars in designer sunglasses,’ I know exactly what he means!”, said Will.