Round-Britain sailing psychiatrist completes solo challenge

Dr Andrew Hill-Smith was sprayed with champagne upon his return to Stokes Bay

A psychiatrist who has been sailing around the coast of Britain in a Laser dinghy has arrived back on the beach where he set off 19 weeks ago.

Dr Andrew Hill-Smith, who calls himself "the shrink in the drink", left Gosport, Hampshire, on his solo adventure in "HMS Betty" on 16 April.

During the 2,100-mile journey he capsized, endured storms and had to repair his 4.2m-long (14ft) boat.

He is believed to be only the third person to have completed the challenge.

He arrived back at Stokes Bay on Sunday afternoon where he was greeted by supporters.

He said: "There were lot of challenging days. I've enjoyed every minute of it, especially the bad bits because the bad bits make the good bits even better."

In July, Dr Hill-Smith, who is from Surrey, was helped by the RNLI after getting into difficulty off Blackpool.

Dr Hill-Smith sailed 2,100 miles in his Laser dinghy

Soon afterwards, his mast broke in force 7 winds, leaving him little option but to take the 2.8m-long (9ft) pole home for repair on an overnight journey involving two trains, two night buses and a taxi.

During his longest sail - 47 miles from Ilfracombe in Devon to Boscastle in Cornwall - he chipped his centre board, his radio stopped working and he lost his day bag overboard.

He encountered dolphins, jellyfish and sea birds and was greeted and helped by countless strangers, both on and off the water.

On the final week of his journey, he met Amanda Simpson, sister of Olympic sailor Andrew Simpson who died in a training accident in 2013, and stopped at the Andrew Simpson Centre at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

Dr Hill-Smith, who has worked in mental health for 35 years, has so far raised £16,000 for children's mental health charity Place2B, the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the Andrew Simpson Foundation, which offers sailing opportunities to young people.