English woman breaks around-the-world mark

FALMOUTH, England -- For 71 days, Ellen MacArthur was alone at sea. On Tuesday, she sailed home in triumph, a royal title awaiting her while 8,000 exuberant fans packed the harbor and hundreds more lined the cliffs of this Cornwall town.

Returning to Britain's rocky coast after her record-setting around-the-world voyage, the 28-year-old Englishwoman sprayed champagne, hugged her parents and touched land for the first time in two months. A colorful flotilla guided her 75-foot boat into port through a turquoise bay with small planes and helicopters darting overhead.

"There were some times out there that were excruciatingly difficult," MacArthur said, her voice cracking as she fought back tears. "I have never in my life had to dig as deep as I did in this trip, and not just once or twice, but over consecutive weeks."

"There were more lows than highs, no doubt about it," she added. "I'm not going to hide that. It is exceptionally difficult to communicate how tough this was."

For her efforts, she was bestowed a title: Dame Ellen. Queen Elizabeth II approved a damehood for MacArthur, the female equivalent of knighthood. She's the youngest to receive the honor.

"This is a stunning achievement," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said. "The whole country is very proud of Ellen."

In addition, the Royal Navy said MacArthur would be made an honorary naval officer, holding the title of Lt. Commander in the Royal Navy Reserve.

French President Jacques Chirac also hailed her "extraordinary performance." MacArthur speaks French fluently, and her trip was followed widely in France.

MacArthur completed the 26,000-mile circumnavigation Monday night, crossing an imaginary finish line between Ushant, France, and the Lizard peninsula on England's southwest coast.

The 5-foot-3 sailor completed her journey in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes, 33 seconds, beating the existing record of Francis Joyon of France by one day, 8:35:49.

Back in Falmouth, MacArthur embraced her parents, Ken and Avril, as they came aboard her boat. Then she let loose.

Wearing a gray jumpsuit, she set off two flares, held them aloft and raced along the edge of the boat. Then she uncorked a magnum of champagne and sprayed it while bouncing on the trampolinelike netting.

"It's so fantastic to be here now at the finish, at the finish of this trip having been around the world, having got home," she said. "Above all being able to share it because a record means nothing if you can't actually share it."

MacArthur never slept for more than 15-30 minutes at a stretch, totaling only four hours a day.

"I remember two things yesterday evening very vividly," she told the crowd in a Falmouth square. "One was the first time I smelled the land again. It's funny when you smell the land and you have not smelled it for two months."

The second was seeing the beam from the lighthouse on the French shore.

"All we'd seen in 70 days was a couple of little islands and then that was it, that was coming home, that was Europe," she said.

Another highlight: a visit by an albatross that swooped just a few feet from her in the south Atlantic.

"Normally they don't get that close, and it was as if it was its last visit just coming to say goodbye," she said.

MacArthur, who grew up in landlocked central England and began sailing at age 4, seemed reluctant to leave the boat she called "my partner in crime."

Her triumphant arrival was carried live on British television, and hundreds of reporters, photographers and camera crews were on hand to record the event.

MacArthur's journey began Nov. 28. She endured freeze-dried meals in cramped quarters and drank water desalinated from the sea. She was forced to fix a generator and a watermaker, survived 65 mph wind, and twice had to climb the 98-foot mast to repair mainsail damage. There was also a daily battle with exhaustion and a close encounter with a whale.

MacArthur now has other challenges in mind, including the west-to-east solo trans-Atlantic record, which she missed by 75 minutes last year.

"There are lots more records out there," she said. "I do not want to stop sailing this boat."

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On the Net:

Ellen MacArthur: www.teamellen.com