1 Sir Robin Knox-Johnston Robin Knox-Johnston was not the first Briton to sail solo round-the-world but he was the first person of any nationality to go round non-stop, a remarkable feat of seamanship and courage that leaves him unchallenged at the top of the league. A former merchant navy officer, he was the only man to complete the 1968-69 Golden Globe Race, in his tiny ketch Suhaili. The self-steering gear on Suhaili had failed south of Australia, requiring her skipper to hand-steer or improvise steering for the rest of the voyage. Knox-Johnston was alone at sea for an incredible 313 days, averaging just 3.39 knots round the globe. He achieved his circumnavigation without any electronic navigation aids or the assistance of modern satellite communication technology. In those days, sailing solo meant a form of isolation that few humans could endure. On arrival at Falmouth, from where he had departed 10 months earlier, Knox-Johnston was famously asked by customs officers: “Where from?” “Falmouth,” replied Knox-Johnston, who is still enjoying his illustrious career in sailing and was knighted in 1995

2 Sir Francis Chichester Francis Chichester proved the doom merchants wrong when, in May 1967, he stepped ashore on famously wobbly legs after completing the first one-stop, single-handed circumnavigation of the world. At the age of 65 and in remission from cancer, he sailed round the world on his 53ft ketch Gipsy Moth IV. Chichester covered 29,630 miles from Plymouth to Plymouth during 226 days at sea. He was away for nine months and one day, including a stopover for repairs and re-provisioning in Sydney. He completed his voyage, including rounding Cape Horn in a fearful storm, in the knowledge that many believed he would die in the attempt. Chichester was knighted by the Queen in Greenwich in June 1967, with the same sword Elizabeth I used to knight Francis Drake, and died in 1972

3 Sir Chay Blyth Blyth defied those who said he was heading to his death when he set sail in October 1970 in his 59ft steel ketch, British Steel, to try to become the first person to circumnavigate the world in a westerly direction, against the prevailing winds and currents. A former paratrooper who had already rowed across the Atlantic, Blyth completed his voyage in 292 days, 21 days faster than Knox-Johnston, despite having gone the “wrong way”. This was another stupendous feat of seamanship and sheer bravery, which was made all the more remarkable by the fact that Blyth’s self-steering gear was smashed even before he rounded Cape Horn. Blyth has enjoyed a long a career in the sport since, but prefers riding horses to sailing these days. He was knighted in 1997

4 Mike Golding A former Berkshire firefighter, Golding has done some serious mileage on the round-the-world course and is currently in third place in the Vendée Globe and could yet become the first non-French sailor to win it. Golding has had a solo career dogged by accidents and failure — his boat dismasted on the first night of the last Vendée Globe and he ran aground off New Zealand while leading the Around Alone Race in 1999. But he has also completed the Vendée, finishing seventh four years ago, and set his own westabout “wrong way” solo record in 1993-94 aboard Group 4, taking 167 days — 125 days faster than Blyth

5 Ellen MacArthur A surprise at No 5 perhaps, but Ellen MacArthur is still out there doing it and if she manages to break the 72-day solo round-the-world record she is currently taking on, she will jump right up alongside Knox-Johnston. She is ahead of record pace, but is taking nothing for granted after encountering mountainous seas during the Christmas period. Apart from Knox-Johnston, her second place in the 2000-01 Vendée Globe is the best by a British single- hander on the round-the-world course and she is the most competitive of anybody in this top 10. Her communication skills and straight-from-the-heart style — she famously cried on camera during the Vendée — have made her the best known sailor among the general public since Chichester. She is also the only sailor ever to have been lampooned on a nationally-televised satirical entertainment show, courtesy of Dead Ringers

6 Sir Alec Rose Alec Rose paid for his passion for sailing with the proceeds of his grocery business. A former engineer in the Royal Navy, Rose had wanted to sail round the world for years and set off in July 1967 at the age of 60. He originally intended to take on Chichester, but a series of accidents delayed his departure. Sailing his 36ft cruising cutter Lively Lady, Rose captured the public imagination just as Chichester had before him, stopping for a month in Melbourne and then again briefly at Bluff in New Zealand for repairs. He returned to Portsmouth after 318 days at sea. With him during his epic journey was his mascot, Algy, a large white rabbit. Rose was knighted in 1968 and died in 1991

7 Richard Broadhead Richard Broadhead finished the 1982 BOC Challenge in third place on his 52ft cutter, Perseverance of Medina. He carried out one of the great rescues at sea during the race when he turned back in the Southern Pacific Ocean to get to the stricken French sailor Jacques de Roux whose yacht, Skoiern III, had somersaulted and was sinking. Broadhead found De Roux and then later met up with a French navy vessel whose crew took him on board, “in exchange for some baguettes, some camembert and some rum”

8 Pete Goss A former Royal Marine, Goss touched the hearts of millions when he rescued French sailor Raphael Dinelli in the Southern Indian Ocean during the 1996-97 Vendée Globe. Goss beat a fierce storm to get to Dinelli, who was about 150 miles away. After dropping him off in Hobart, Goss finished fifth out of six on his Open 50, Aqua Quorum, after 126 days at sea

9 Josh Hall Hall skippered the Open 50 New Spirit of Ipswich to third place in Class 2 of the 1990-91 BOC Challenge (solo round-the-world race with four stopovers) but saw a second campaign in that race end four years later when Gartmore sank on leg one after hitting debris in the water. Hall retired from the 1998-99 Around Alone Race when he lost the top of his mast, but completed the 2000-01 Vendée Globe in ninth place

10 Samantha Brewster Brewster set sail in 1995 aboard the 67ft steel cutter Heath Insured to take on Mike Golding’s 161-day westabout record. After a six-week stop for repairs at Santos in Brazil, the 28-year-old from Suffolk ended up becoming the first woman to sail round the world in a westerly direction, albeit with a stopover. Her voyage was controversial: Chay Blyth, whose company rented her the boat, made it clear he wanted it back and was not prepared to wait while she rounded Cape Finisterre and then headed back to Santos