Chinese sailor Guo completes record-setting solo circumnavigation of globe (2)

"I had to stay focused always to adjust the sail and make the yacht move," Guo recalled.

On the New Year's Day, Guo climbed up the six-story-high mast to repair the sail. "I think I should do more test sails before setting off. This is a lesson," Guo said. "Another lesson I should learn is to bring more delicious food, because I don't want to be in semi-starvation any more during next sailing."

Guo, whose childhood dream was becoming a scientist, was also philosophical in thanking the wind.

"I want to thank the wind for being my enemy as well as my friend. It is the wind that keeps me company all the time. It challenges me, but also brings me home," he said.

After departing from Qingdao, Guo piloted his yacht eastwards across the Pacific Ocean to Cape Horn in Chile, sailed into the Atlantic Ocean, then went into the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa before crossing the Sunda Strait in Indonesia to return to Qingdao.

Guo is the first and only professional offshore sailor in China. He is also the first Chinese to take part in the Clipper Round the World in 2006 and the Volvo Ocean Race as the media crew member on "Green Dragon" from 2008 to 2009.

In 2011 he became the first Chinese who participated in the Mini Transat sailing event and successfully sailed across the Atlantic Ocean single-handed in a mini yacht of 6.5 meters.