It was on a platform of the Paris Metro that Michel Desjoyeaux realized he finally had to snap out of it. He was just back from nearly 100 days sailing around the globe with no sighting of another human being, his only contact to the outside world a satellite phone. His body was, in essence, still on red alert for any obstacle in his midst. "Waiting for the train, a guy was in the way of the doors and I just yanked him out of the way," recalls the 48-year-old, who just days earlier had returned to France victorious from the grueling Vendee Globe race.
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Thomas Coville is the latest to attempt to break the record for solo circumnavigating the globe
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Robin Knox-Johnston was the first man to do so nonstop, calling it "where I'm happiest"
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"The Professor" Michel Desjoyeaux insists there is no danger as safety comes first
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Britain's Steve White faced a gargantuan uphill struggle in his solo sailing bid
For @placeholder, the appeal of such journeys is hard to explain.