More than two years after narrowly escaping death sailing to Bermuda, Canadian sailor Sergei Morozov has fulfilled his childhood dream of sailing around the world.

Mr Morozov, who set out from Halifax on December 5, 2011 in the 35-foot sailboat Hikari with only his cat Tsylka for company, arrived safely back at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron on Wednesday.

Speaking to CBC News, the sailor said: “I came back really rich because it was 2.5 years, a real adventure of my life.”

The first leg of Mr Morozov’s journey, from Halifax to Bermuda, proved to be particularly challenging. The US Coast Guard launched a search for the sailor after he was reported overdue.

He was later located, and limped into St George’s Harbour on December 28, 2011.

Mr Morozov told The Royal Gazette that as soon as he hit open waters both his steering system and tiller pilot system ran into problems, forcing him to make hundreds of adjustments for six days in a row. After that he said a pain struck him on the left side of his chest that was so painful he couldn’t breathe.

“I couldn’t move, I was like almost dead, and it was then that I decided to make my last note on camera for my loved ones,” he said. “I tied the camera to my right hand and fell asleep because this situation made me feel like I would never wake up again.”

He said he completely lost power around 150 miles south of Bermuda, but was able to sound his emergency E-Perb signal.