Plymouth yachtsman Conrad Humphreys has announced his return to international solo sailing by entering the Solitare de Figaro race.

Humphreys last solo race was the Vendee Globe, which he completed in 2005.

The course of the 1700-mile Solitare de Figaro race takes the yachts around Northern France and the Irish sea.

Humphreys told BBC Spotlight: "It's very intense with 55 boats on the water and all of the great French legends of solo sailing taking part."

He continued: "Le Solitare lasts for the whole of August and it's a four leg race mainly around the Brittany coast but with one leg up to Ireland, which means it's very difficult to get into a routine.

"These boats were custom built for this event- every year they change the class and so these boats are coming to the end of the their cycle in 2013.

"That means that the top 25 to 30 pros have got 8-9 years on these boats, and so they can literally sail them with their eyes closed."

Humphreys has previously circumnavigated the world on three separate occasions, with the BT Global Challenge (2001) and the Whitbread Round the World Race (1994) on his list of achievements alongside the Vendee Globe.

The 2011 Solitare de Figaro will begin in the Brittany port of Perros-Guirec on 31 July, from where the competitors will embark on the first leg to Caen.

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