Southend-born sailor Tony Bullimore has been battling rough sea winds in a bid to hang on to third place in the world's most lucrative yacht race.

The veteran sailor is hoping to beat his three rivals to the prize of one million dollars in cash by being the first to sail around the world and return to the Persian Gulf where he set off at the beginning of this month.

Over the last few days he has been battling rough winds while trying to catch up with the other ships.

In a log on his website he said: "We have been steering around 210 degrees by the compass, doing around 18/20 kts. A difficult course to make, with the choppy cross seas that are continuously trying to knock us off course. With the winds whistling across the deck and the boat rolling and pitching badly, we are going along very slow."

Mr Bullimore, who grew up in Southend, currently lives in Bristol.

The 66-year-old made headlines in 1997 when the yacht he was sailing single-handedly capsized in the Southern Ocean.

He was rescued five days later, suffering from dehydration and hypothermia, huddling under his upturned boat.