Sailing: David Brannigangets the thoughts of Damian Foxall after his victory in the 25,000-mile World Race.

The warm afterglow of a historic victory was still there yesterday as Damian Foxall and Jean-Pierre Dicks returned to the yacht Paprec-Virbac to survey what had been their home for three months at sea.

The shore team were swarming across the Open 60-footer, which had been stripped of all personal gear and loose equipment, cleaning and preparing the work-lists for the inevitable refit that will ready her for the next season of races, culminating in Dick's entry in the solo Vendée Globe this autumn.

"Coming ashore after three months at sea makes the experience hugely vivid," Foxall told The Irish Timeson the dock yesterday. "I immediately noticed colours and sounds, and suddenly schedules and places to be make demands. I feel like I'm slipping in and out of shock at times."

Monday night's finish after 25,000 miles of racing produced an instant transformation, from that of persistent competitor to race winner on the receiving end of accolades from around the world.

That instant change ended months of denial, of refusing to rest on their laurels as race leaders almost from the outset.

"We had to keep pushing the sentiment 'we're all right now' to the back of our minds," the Kerryman said. "It would have been too easy to make a mistake. If we had dropped the rig five miles from the finish I don't know what I would have done."

Foxall and Dick kept returning to the same basic principle that Hugo Boss, the second-placed challenger currently still at sea, and, earlier, PRB could come back up the course and attack their lead at any time.

"We thought about them and all the others in the fleet a lot," said Foxall.

But sailing is possibly unique in sport in that competitors afloat are best of mates ashore and often during competition as well.

"When the situation is in normal competition mode, we regard them competitively. But while the others are rivals, they're also friends and potential rescuers as well."

But as much as claiming victory counts as justification for the efforts of the race itself, the level of preparation the whole team invested prior to the start last November has been the key to their success. Gone are the days of provisioning a boat with food for a passage and spares for repairs and heading out to sea; winning at this level requires management techniques worthy of an MBA.

"I would definitely attribute a large part of our success to how well we worked together, even down to how we would communicate with one another, especially under pressure," said Foxall. "We discussed and planned as much detail as we could, and as a result we never vehemently disagreed on anything and we had no childish moments."

Living in a confined space for three months meant the Franco-Irish pair were never more than 60 feet apart and were able to achieve a harmony most crews, especially those at club racing, would never imagine possible.

"It comes down to the fact that if two lucid people with the same objective disagree then something isn't being communicated properly in the first place," he said.

"That's what we planned for in advance and we used the same system for our risk analysis when it came to, for example, sail selection in a gale or similar critical decisions."

Clearly, maverick personalities and arrogance had no place on board Paprec-Virbac, but their pairing was no accident either.

Foxall had already sailed with Dick in 2001 in the Tour de France à la Voile, the fully crewed inshore series that sooner or later features the best of France's sailing talent.

The quality of their victory this week was clearly evident in the tributes that have been pouring in since from all corners of the sailing world, including those from the skippers of boats forced to retire from this race.

"I'm really delighted for them," said Roland Jourdain of Veolia Environment, which was demasted in the South Atlantic. "Jean-Luc and I would have liked to fight to the end to finish at their side, but the race decided otherwise.

"Jean-Pierre and Damian have really done great work. Nothing more can be said. I hope that they will enjoy all the best parts of this fine finish in Barcelona and, again, well done for this victory."

Although the race was billed as a non-stop event, only Paprec-Virbac and to date the last-placed entrant, Educación Sin Fronteras, actually did not take a pitstop or retire, a point noted by many of the professional sailors that travelled to Barcelona to greet the finishers.

"JP and Damian have raced cleanly and they didn't steal this victory," commented ABN AMRO One skipper Mike Sanderson, winner of the Volvo Ocean Race, a fully crewed event with stops.

Having started this competition last November as rank outsiders, classified as least likely of the newest Open 60-footers to win the race, Paprec-Virbac defied the odds, the pundits and the extremes of weather they encountered in the toughest regions of the planet.

As they stepped ashore on Monday night, the rapturous welcome from the crowd of supporters, including 30 supporters who travelled from Kerry to bring a sea of green and gold to the Barcelona dockside, was alone confirmation for Foxall that the rigours of the last three months (and eight hours, 49 minutes and 49 seconds) were worth the hardship.

"The biggest lesson I've taken from this experience is that every minute of living counts. Live life now!" enthuses Foxall, with a look that suggests the sea will call again before long. That day may well come but for the 38-year from Derrynane, the call of his wife, Suzy-Ann, and eight month-old Oisín, the call he has sailed around the world to hear, was yesterday more than happily answered.