It took 12 months of meticulous planning and, after setting off in July 2005, Bernard covered 27,000 miles, visited 105 islands and 38 countries, and crossed three oceans. But, most importantly to him, were the amazing memories that he will treasure forever.

A former management consultant and psychologist, the trip has been a life-changing experience and has opened his eyes to other cultures.

The most enduring memories are from the time he spent in countries which were hit by the Boxing Day tsunami, and, as a result, he is now hoping to co-ordinate some kind of relief project to help people in Sri Lanka, which was one of the worst-hit areas.

"Sailing around the world was a project and a tough challenge but it is definitely the countries you go to and the people you meet that is fascinating," he said.

"Personally, I was very moved by what I saw in Sri Lanka. Compared to Thailand, where life is almost back to normal and tourism is in full swing again, there are many parts of Sri Lanka where aid and money raised by the charities has simply not reached those affected, and it is a real tragedy.

"It is a beautiful, beautiful country but it is still at war with the Tamil Tigers and it is very poor. Out of all the countries I went to, this is the one I really fell for."

During the trip Bernard (64) and his wife Jean, who spent eight months with him, saw many desperate situations and communities struggling to survive, and these are scenes which will stay with them forever.

"It's definitely changed me and made me recognise what we enjoy in Great Britain and what we sometimes take for granted.

"We should appreciate communities and ethnic groups. They are part of our diversity.

"The experience has made me a lot more mellow about other people and what they stand for. It's also made me realise what a bunch of whingers British people are. There, people who have no money, no running water, no proper house and yet they still smile and are happy. It's a familiar phrase but those with the most aren't happy and those with the least are always smiling."

The circumnavigation ran as smoothly as possible. Bernard organised the trip with the Blue Water Rally, a company which provides back-up and security in case of emergency and ensures safe passage through the Panama and Suez canals.

Of course, it wouldn't have been an adventure without a couple of scrapes and the hairiest moment was nearly being attacked by a pirate boat in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia.

"We saw a boat with four men wearing balaclavas and we suspect they were armed," said Bernard.

"We sent out a mayday call and an American ship was sent to help. The attackers scarpered, and an American boat with heavily-armed marines came to check we were okay.

"To be honest, the marines were more aggressive-looking than the pirates. The incident went by very quickly. Personally I wasn't worried about the actual pirates but it could have been dodgy."

Another incident in Djoubti near Ethiopia saw Bernard get arrested after taking photographs, which is against the law there.

The incident was one of the those heart-stopping moments, but it didn't last long. Bernard secured his release in the next street after demonstrating to people how digital photographs could be deleted.

Bad weather plagued the journey and included about ten gales and two full-blown storms. In one storm the boat was in a knock down, where the yacht is on its side with the sails against the water, and he sailed on the fringes of hurricane Delta while crossing the Atlantic.

"I don't know whether it's because of climate change but wherever we went, local people were saying they'd never had weather conditions this bad – we were experiencing exceptionally-strong winds and some quite big seas," he said.

"At one point we spent nine days sheltering in desert marsas in Sudan, coastal desert lagoons in the Red Sea."

Now safely back at home in Chidham, Bernard and Jean intend to spend more time around Chichester after their big adventure.