Ellen MacArthur

I only have a few heroes, and Ellen MacArther, a 28-year old sailor from England, is absolutely one of them. She's just endured 71 days of gruelling conditions at sea, terror, exhaustion and deprivation to become the youngest person, the only woman, and only the second person ever to sail around the world non-stop, alone, in a multi-hull sailboat.

To put this in perspective, about 1800 people have reached the summit of Everest, about 450 have been into space -- but only five sailors have attempted to race around the world non-stop, alone, on a multihull. Before MacArthur, only one, Francis Joyon, managed to finish, and that was just last year.

As I type this, she is within 15 minutes of crossing the finish line off the north-west coast of France, and I can't concentrate on anything else! There are thousands of well-wishers, including some 300-odd journalists, lining the harbour to cheer her in - wish I was one of them! For more info, check out her website at Team Ellen .