At 0930 UK time today Ellen MacArthur, Yachting World Technical Editor Matt Sheahan (left) and two delivery crew left Les Sables D’Olonne in Western France aboard Kingfisher bound for a big welcome home in Southampton some time after midday on Thursday 15 February.

Ellen’s hectic schedule means she will be taken off Kingfisher before the passage proper and then be returned to her yacht by RIB when she arrives in the Western Solent in time for her arrival in Ocean Village. Matt Sheahan will be reporting for Yachting-World.com on Kingfisher’s progress and write about what it’s like to sail Ellen’s awesomely powerful sloop.

Log on to Yachting-World.com to watch Kingfisher’s progress and watch out for the next issue of Yachting World which will carry the full, in depth story of Ellen’s extraordinary feat