Hans J Marter

8 May, 2007

THE YACHT which Shetland sailor Andrew Halcrow had to abandon half way through his round the world voyage is due back in the isles next week.

The 48 year old father of three was forced to abandon the Elsi Arrub 300 miles south west of Australia last December when acute appendicitis cut short his "dream of a lifetime" trip and he had to be airlifted to Albany hospital for an urgent operation, just before Christmas.

Six weeks later the 32 foot yacht was spotted during a reconnaissance flight searching for another vessel and she was towed into port by an Australian fishing boat.

The Elsi Arrub was due to arrive in Grangemouth yesterday (Monday) after making the long passage from Australia to Felixstowe on board a cargo ship.

Last night Mr Halcrow said he had almost fully recovered from his illness and was looking forward to seeing his home made boat back in Shetland

"I was always hopeful of getting her back," he said yesterday from his home in Hamnavoe. "It will take a peerie bit of time to fix her up and get her sailable again."

Elsi Arrub is expected to be taken on the back of a lorry to Aberdeen this week before making the journey back to Lerwick on the Shetland Line cargo boat.

Mr Halcrow said he would like to sail the final leg to his home on the island of Burra, but needed to carry out some urgent work before that was possible.

"I might be able to leave her at the pier at Garthspool (in Lerwick) for a while, just to paint the bottom and do a bit a work. They can then lift her straight into the water, and then I can take her around to Hamnavoe," he said.

Mr Halcrow set off on his long journey at the end of June last year, hoping to be back in Shetland in May the following year. When disaster struck, he was already several weeks behind his schedule due to barnacle growth on the hull slowing him down.

Between 1988 and 1993, Mr Halcrow and his brother Terry sailed around the world in the Elsi Arrub, a journey that took them five years.