Sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is expected back in Gosport tomorrow as he completes the necessary solo qualifying trip for the upcoming Velux 5 Oceans race.

Sailing alone onboard his new boat Grey Power, the Finot-design Open 60 racing yacht formerly known as Fila, is currently 120 miles of the Lizard. The boat will undergo a full re-fit during August to prepare her for the start of the race, which begins on 22 October 2006 in Bilbao, Basque Country.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who previously announced that he is to make a dramatic return to the planet’s fiercest oceans, set off from Halifax on 6 July and has crossed the Atlantic single-handed in 14 days in order to meet the qualification requirements for the race. In 1969 Sir Robin became the first person to sail non-stop around the planet when he won the legendary Sunday Times Golden Globe on board his yacht Suhaili. Back then, his record-breaking circumnavigation took a monumental 313 days. This time Sir Robin, 67, hopes to complete the 30,000 mile, three-leg event, in around 112 days.