RESCUED British yachtsman Tony Bullimore stepped ashore to the tune of What a Wonderful World last night and said he wanted to go to a pub and have a pint.
Mr Bullimdre (57), from Bristol, managed to walk down the gang plank of the rescue ship and onto the jetty at Freemantle, Western Australia. But he looked uncomfortable and was steadied by a member of the ship's crew.
"Thank you Australia for giving me back my life," Mr Bullimore told thousands of cheering Australians. "I might not be able to do much but I'm here.
A plane flew overhead pulling a "banner saying, "Welcome home our heroes."
The Australian navy rescue vessel HMAS Adelaide was greeted by a flotilla of small boats which followed it into port.
Mr Bullimore, wearing a blue sports shirt and beige trousers, and with fellow rescued French sailor Thierry Dubois at his side, waved from the deck to a large crowd.
The British solo yachtsman was rescued last Wednesday after spending four days and four nights in the hull of his upturned boat in the remote and icy Southern Ocean hundreds of miles from land.
As the two men stepped ashore it was the first time either of them had been on dry land since setting sail from France at the start of the Vendee Globe single handed round the world yacht race on November 3rd last year.
Mr Bullimore's wife Lalel and family are on their way to an emotional reunion following his ordeal. Mrs Bullimore (56), her husband's brother David, and boat builder Wesley Noble were expected to arrive in Perth last night.
Mr Bullimore spent the four days and nights in a makeshift hammock in freezing conditions after his yacht capsized 1,400 miles south of Australia. The ordeal left him with frostbitten fingers - and at least one may have to be amputated.
He is expected to undergo treatment in a hyperbaric chamber, more usually used to help divers suffering with the "bends". The chamber floods the body with oxygen, enabling it to heal itself more quickly, and should help minimise damage to the nerves.