New Zealander Graham Dalton, brother of America's Cup star Grant Dalton, was participating in the VELUX 5 OCEANS for very personal reasons. As Dalton made plans for a second circumnavigation and the conclusion of "unfinished business" from the Around Alone 2002 (where he was forced o retire after dismasting), his 22 year-old son, Tony, was fighting a highly aggressive germ cell cancer that proved resistant to all forms of treatment. Dalton put any offshore plans on hold and devoted his time entirely to a worldwide search for an effective cure but, despite exhaustive investigation, Tony died just before Christmas 2005. He named his vessel A Southern Man - AGD, Tony's initials, with Tony's photo by the side so he can go round the world with Graham.

Graham entered the race with a new boat but no title sponsor. He only just made Bilbao in time before race start as he had an atrocious qualification sail across the Atlantic, during which he contracted septicaemia and destroyed a rudder.

Dalton missed the start of leg one because of a storm that swept through Bilbao three days before race start, damaging the spreaders on his mast, which was off the boat in the dockyard. The delay ultimately meant that Dalton missed the infamous Bay of Biscay storm that ripped through the fleet, forcing over half the fleet back to shore. He finally set off a week after the start and made good progress with the fleet, before a bearing issue with his rudder system forced his first pit stop at Porto Santos, near Madeira.

Racing hard through the Southern Ocean, Dalton's smaller yacht kept pace with many of the 60 footers, but he was again forced to land, stopping at the remote French colony of the Kerguelen Islands in the Indian Ocean to repair a torn headsail and re-fuel. As Dalton approached Western Australia at the end of leg one, Christmas Eve alone at sea the worst storm seen in the race, as two areas of low pressure collided and produced winds of 90 miles per hour and huge seas. A seasick and badly hurt Dalton rang home to say goodbye to his family believing he would not survive. However, he made it through and despite two stops, a smaller boat and a mainsail ripped to tiny shreds, the brave skipper arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia, in fourth place and one day ahead of Basque skipper Unai Basurko.

However, on arrival Dalton discovered that his partner Robbie had been diagnosed with breast cancer during leg one and had undergone a mastectomy. Luckily, the cancer was successfully removed and Robbie informed Graham on the docks in Fremantle as he arrived, knowing that if she had told him at sea he may have sought land and she did not want to put his dream in jeopardy. Dalton only had a short number of days to prepare his yacht for the gigantic second leg to Norfolk, Virginia, but managed to make the start line in condition.

After another strong start and impressive speeds, a fuel leak onboard ruined his food supplies and Dalton was again forced to land, this time pulling into Bluff in his native New Zealand, at the tip of the Southern Island. He re-joined the race track alongside Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Unai Basurko and entered a drag race all the way across the freezing Southern Ocean to Cape Horn. Performing well, Dalton was forced to visit the Falkland Islands to fix a problem with his headboard car.

Shortly after leaving, disaster struck when his port rudder cassette disintegrated and he limped into Fortaleza in Brazil. Whilst in port, Dalton was struck down by a severe case of food poisoning, during which time his communication computer containing all his navigation and email facilities onboard A SOUTHERN MAN AGD was stolen. Despite all this, Dalton prepared to head back out on the water but discovered on leaving that the bulb had fallen off his keel. Unable to search the marina seabed, the tenacious Dalton sets about building a new keel in a local shipyard.

Amazingly, Dalton re-joined the race on April 4 with a new keel and basic navigation equipment and looked set to make Norfolk in time for leg three, especially as the re-start was delayed by severe weather on the east coast of the United States. However, the shredded genoa and autopilot failure was the nail in the coffin for such a hero of adventurism and the wonderful dream.

Following a journey that has captured the imagination of sailing fans and people from all over the world, the determined skipper sailed back to Bilbao to complete his own personal challenge and a monumental solo circumnavigation which is a testament to his character and conviction.