Yachtsman Adrian Flanagan gained a coveted place in sailing history as he completed his journey around Cape Horn.

The notoriously treacherous stretch of water at the tip of South America always promised to be a critical point in Mr Flanagan's bid to sail round the world via the polar regions.

But at 3.18am on Monday, he finally made it, crossing 50 degrees south latitude on the Pacific side and fulfilling an ambition that has been 30 years in the making.

The latest message on Mr Flanagan's website read: "The legend of Cape Horn was never going to let me pass without spitting me in the eye and spit she did, with ferocity and venom.

"Cape Horn has challenged Barrabas and me to the very limits of our endurance. Then she gave us reprieve and showed us her kinder face, a face of startling beauty.

"Very few sailors have made single-handed roundings of Cape Horn west-about against the prevailing winds and currents. I feel profoundly privileged to join so intrepid a band of venturers."

Louise Flanagan, Adrian's ex-wife and expedition manager, believes there are only 11 others to have achieved this as part of a round-the-world attempt.

Others include Joshua Slocum, who became the first person to sail around the world in 1895, and Sir Chay Blyth, who recorded the first solo non-stop west-about expedition around the world in 1971.

For Mr Flanagan, the Cape Horn attempt was not without its problems.

He was forced to take shelter from bad weather in the days leading up to the attempt as eight-metre waves and 60 knot winds stormed through the region.

His weather router, Portugal-based Ricardo Diniz, warned that it would "not be fun" as gale force winds were forecast.

Mr Flanagan, a 45-year-old father of two from Ludgershall near Bicester, has undertaken the expedition partly in aid of the Oxford Children's Hospital Campaign.

He has now been at sea for four months, having set sail from Southampton on October 28 last year.