A solo yachtsman feared missing is due to arrive back in Falmouth this afternoon are confirming he is safe.

Robin Davie, 67, left Les Sables d'Olonne in France on Saturday last week and had been three days overdue on his 300 mile voyage, prompting serious concern for his welfare.

However, HM Coastguard has now confirmed that Mr Davie, currently skippering the yacht ‘C’est la Vie’ had heard broadcasts being made over his welfare and contacted them to say he was safe and well 25 miles south west of the Isles of Scilly.

The sailor had been reported as overdue by his shore contact and the French and British Coastguard had been trying to reach him.

Mr Davie told them that due to the weather conditions, he had to tack further to the west and it had therefore taken much longer than he had hoped to reach the Scillies. He had been out of radio contact range and without a mobile signal for quite some time, but as soon as he sailed closer to land he heard the broadcast and contacted the coastguard.

Dai Jones, controller for HM Coastguard said: “We were concerned for the skipper’s safety and so we’re really pleased that he has been in contact to tell us that he is safe and well. Being able to broadcast continuously can pay dividends and in this case it really helped us to locate him.

“We had worked out that the sailor could be somewhere around the Isles of Scilly by considering the weather conditions and what passage he would have been likely to take. It really was a case of putting ourselves in the skipper’s shoes.”

C’est La Vie is now due to arrive into Falmouth this afternoon.

Robin Davie was born in St Agnes in 1951 and served in the merchant navy for 20 years.

He competed in the first BOC Challenge Around Alone Race in 1990 in yacht named Spirit of Cornwall, and went on to make his second and third solo circumnavigations in the 1994 and 1998 BOC races