Tristan Gourlay, 47, arrived back in the Apple Isle on Saturday, setting foot on land for the first time in five months after smashing the Australian record for a solo, non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation of the world.
By completing the 21,600 nautical mile trip in 139 days, he took the record from his father, Ken Gourlay, beating his 2007 journey by 40 days.
While a lifetime of seafaring had taught Mr Gourlay to prepare for anything, some sights had to be seen to be believed.
"There's three stories: aliens, sea monsters and pirates," he told AAP.
Whales would breach the water's surface mere metres away from his boat before disappearing into the expanse of the sea.
Another night, in the depths of the south Atlantic, Mr Gourlay looked up and saw three or four stars behaving in ways he had never seen before, shifting left to right, up and down.
"There's got to be something out there - and there's so many conspiracy theories that one of them's got to be real," he said, noting the area had been known for the strange ways lights would move.
As for the pirates, he only came across one on his journey.
"It was the one I saw in the mirror when I brushed my hair each morning," Mr Gourlay said.
Some of the biggest challenges came not from Mother Nature but his equipment.
He lost his engine at one point, effectively cutting off his power, autopilot and links to the human world.
While attempting to cook dinner, the gas hose to his stove split, catching flame and starting a fire in the galley of the Blue Moon II.
It was quickly put out but replacing the hose meant Mr Gourley was forced to choose between heating and warm food.Â
With the boat heading into the tropics, he chose the latter.
Though tending to the ship was mentally and physically taxing, loneliness was rarely an issue for Mr Gourlay, who has always been comfortable in his own company.
"The boat becomes part of you too," he said.
"It's a friend, you talk to it before you go to bed, you know, 'come on girl, don't do anything stupid, I need some sleep', and off you go to bed."
The Tasmanian has been in and out of the water since he was six years old, moving between dinghies and keelboats depending on the occasion.
He plans to return to the high seas in a few weeks but for now, he's relishing his time on land.
"The biggest thing I'm doing at the moment is just enjoying a seat that's not trying to throw me out of it," he said.
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