Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is to attempt to sail solo across the Atlantic 45 years after he became the first man to sail alone non-stop around the world.
Sir Robin, who founded the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, is to return to his solo ocean-racing roots by entering his Open 60 yacht Grey Power into the Route de Rhum Transatlantic race.
The pensioner, who is the oldest participant to have entered so far, last competed in the 3,500-mile race in 1982 in his 70ft catamaran Olympus.
He said: ''Participating in the 2013 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race reminded me how much I enjoy the excitement of an ocean race.
''Solo sailing is where I feel most at home, no one else can benefit you or let you down, it is all in my hands. The Route de Rhum is one of the classics - it is a very well-run race.''
The grandfather of five set his circumnavigation record when he completed the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race on April 22, 1969.
The other seven competitors dropped out at various stages leaving Sir Robin as the victor as he sailed into Falmouth aboard his 32ft boat Suhaili, 312 days after he left the Cornish port.
For his latest challenge, Sir Robin will compete in the 10th anniversary edition of the Route de Rhum race which starts in St Malo, France, on November 2, and finishes at the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.
In 2006 Sir Robin Knox-Johnston set off on board his yacht Saga Insurance from Getxo, northern Spain to start the single-handed around-the world Velux 5 Oceans race (AP)
Sir Robin dismissed questions about his age and said he was not coming out of retirement to take part as he had never actually retired from racing.
"I just feel like it, why shouldn't one, there's this attitude I find that once you have passed the retirement age of 65 the next day your brain turns to porridge and you have a heart attack every time you come up the stairs, it doesn't happen like that," he said.
"If you keep active and keep fit, you keep active and fit, it's as simple as that.
"I lead quite an active life which I enjoy, I wouldn't want my life any other way and I have a very low threshold of boredom hence when I get bored I think of something to do and then I spend the next year regretting I thought of it.
"Age is just a measure, it's not a measure of your physical ability, that varies between human beings.
"I could drop dead tomorrow or I might last another 30 years, who knows, in the meantime I'm going to get on and enjoy the life I have got."
He also insisted that he will not be using one of the most modern boats, as he "does not have a spare £5 million", and will be using his Open 60 Yacht Grey Power.
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's sailing career
He said he decided to take part in the Route de Rhum after the Sydney-Hobart race made him realise he missed racing. He also added that it's "getting a bit cold in England at that time of year and rather warmer in Guadeloupe" - where the race finishes.
The inaugural race in 1978 was won by Canadian Mike Birch after a nail-biting finish but was marred by the disappearance of French sailor Alain Colas, who was lost at sea.
The 2014 race is open to mono and multihull boats across four classes with almost 80 entrants.
Sir Robin will be racing in the Rhum class and will start serious practice once the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race finishes in July.
Sir Robin, of Portsmouth in Hampshire, is the chairman and founder of Clipper Ventures which runs the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, the biennial event which sees amateur sailors from around the world completing a 40,000-mile global circumnavigation. Some pay up to £30,000 to take part in the race while others are sponsored.
In 2006 he became the oldest yachtsman to complete a round the world solo voyage at the age of 67. And in 2013 navigated on one of two Clipper 68 yachts competing in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
Last year Sir Robin said the country had forgotten about sailing amid becoming obsessed with football and cricket.
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