#Offshore - Last October, a Canadian solo yachtsman made the news when he was taken in by the residents of Inis Mór in the Aran Islands after a tumultuous Atlantic Ocean crossing.

And now The Irish Times reports that Erkan Gursoy has received a hero's welcome upon arrival at his final destination of Turkey.

The 68-year-old retired teacher had sailed his self-built boat Altan Girl all the way from Vancouver, navigating the challenging Northwest Passage, before stormy weather slowed his progress towards Europe.

Contact with his vessel was lost for a short time, but Gursoy eventually made it to the safety of the Aran Islands with only minor damage sustained.

In the 10 days he spent in Galway Bay, he related to the locals even more of his lengthy adventure – including a collision off Greenland, and scaring away polar bears while stuck in ice in the far north of Canada.

But his homeland of Turkey beckoned, and after sailing most of winter away through the Mediterranean, Gursoy at last reached a marina in Istanbul this week.

“My wife said I had better go and get it out of my system, so we could then live out our lives,” he said of his epic near-10-month voyage.

The Irish Times has much more on the story HERE.