A lone Swedish sailor travelling on the 14-foot yacht found much more than land and sea when he set out on his journey.

For Sebastian N?slund, who is en route from North Carolina to the Azores in his tailor-made miniature yacht, said that during the journey he has also found himself.

Mr. N?slund built the boat because he said that he always wanted a big yacht, but it wouldhave taken him at least 15 years to achieve that goal and so he built a small yacht instead.

It took him two years, 1,642 hours and $10,000 to build the He said: "When working on the boat, I had no cinema and no pubs, just studies and home to work on my boat.

Mr. N?slund, who is a broadcast journalist, said once he set sail from Scandinavia to the Caribbean a few years ago, he discovered that there can be highs and lows and it was one of the loneliest times in his life.

"Initially I was totally excited about travelling around in my yacht, but soon after I discovered that it was only me," he said. "I discovered things about myself and thought about things in the distant and not so distant past.

"When you are alone - it is only you. Do you like yourself? Do you want to spend time with you? Who are you? These are some of the questions that come to mind.

"I realised that I was selfish and really self-centred - when I returned to Sweden I was a much better friend - because I was a much better person.

"Humans are more social, we are not lone wolves, we are more like a flock of birds - there is a mutual benefit - otherwise we would not come together."

However he admitted there were days on this journey when he wished he was sitting on a lawn sipping lemonade.

"Or when the weather is bad and I am feeling sorry for myself - I wish I had one of my mother's hot chocolates to warm me up," said Mr. N?slund.

"Some days you have really fine weather and then you pay for it with six bad days when it is wet and rough.

"The Atlantic Ocean can be like a desert out there - there is nothing around.

"I tried fishing, but I found that I wasn't any good at it, but a fisherman here has told me that I must drop my lure down to at least 20 feet if I expect to catch anything."

His first trip took him 485 days or a year and four months at sea.

After setting sail from Scandinavia, he travelled to Scotland, through the Irish sea, stopped at Scilly Isles, crossed Biscay, stopped in Madeira, went to the Canary Islands and crossed the Atlantic in 31 days.

He passed Mustique and went to the Caribbean islands before sailing west to the Dominican Republic, then visited Cuba, sailed to Florida and touched a deserted Bahamian Island.He then took the boat to Montreal, parked it in a friend's yard and went back to Sweden.

Earlier this year, Mr. N?slund picked her up, bought a car and a boat trailer, and drove on an adventurous trip down to North Carolina.

And after setting sail from North Carolina, it took the 12 days, in bad weather, to reach Bermuda.

Mr.N?slund is moored near Chick's Bar and the ferry terminal in the Old Town. He said he was thinking of leaving Bermuda for the Azores tomorrow, but he was not sure.

"When I get on land, I find that it is sometimes hard to leave," he said.

The is a very small sailboat for ocean sailing, but the 34-year-old said people should not judge the size of the boat on it seaworthiness.

"When bigger boats are crushed by high seas, my little boat just keeps afloat and continues on," said Mr. N?slund.

The weighs 1,300 pounds, has a double hull and is deceptively spacious - like a four-man tent.

"The was named after the sailor who accompanied Aerendil onboard in J.R.R Tolkien's book, Lord of the Rings. in Elvish tongue means an ocean-wanderer."

On arriving off Bermuda, Mr. N?slund was met by thewhichtowed him into St. George's.

He said: "Some fisherman on other shores would ask you for $50 for the same thing, so I, being a pessimist, was expecting that in Bermuda they were going to ask me for at least $200, but they didn't. They just said `welcome to Bermuda'.

"I shouldn't be so negative!"

Mr. N?slund's next project? To build a house for a future wife and family - on dry land.