A 72-year-old sailor will be calling into Bermuda on a journey from North Carolina to Athens on a voyage that he hopes will draw attention to an age-old dispute in his homeland.

Charalambos Mavromichalis said Greece had suffered from Britain's nearly 200-year refusal to return the Elgin Marbles - statues crafted by the ancient Greeks that were removed from the Parthenon by a British Ambassador in the early 1800s.

Mr. Mavromichalis is hoping his trans-Atlantic voyage this month will put pressure on British officials to return the treasures to what he said is their rightful home.

The senior, who has lived in Canada since he was 22, expects the voyage to Greece to take 45 days.

He plans to start in Elizabeth City, sail to Beaufort, and then on to Bermuda.

On the Island he will stock up ready for the next leg. After his brief stay in Bermuda, he plans to stop in the Azores and Gibraltar, before finally ending his trip in Athens.

The trip will be Mr. Mavromichalis' second attempt to cross the Atlantic in his 20 foot boat, The Caryatid.

He tried the journey once last year, but had to turn back after suffering heat stroke.

He said: "The only thing with a small boat is you get beat up; you get black and blue in rough weather. I'll get there; what shape I'll be in, I don't know."

But despite his efforts, the veteran sailor knows his plan is a long-shot. Greek governments and citizens have been petitioning the British Parliament for return of the sculptures since 1833.

"We're not permitted to return the sculptures by law", said British Museum spokeswoman Hannah Boulton.

"We certainly consider our legal ownership of the marbles to be unassailable."

The British Museum gained control of the statues and sculptures through the Elgin Collection Act of 1816, a law named after Lord Elgin, Britain's Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in the last decade of the 18th century.

The Greek Government spent the latter half of the 20th century negotiating with the British to have the sculptures returned. They want the artworks either re-attached to the Parthenon or placed in a museum near the site of the ancient temple.

Mr. Mavromichalis said: "They should try and put them back into the Parthenon. They have to put them back."

The old sailor's wife Anita, who is a teacher in Victoria, British Columbia, said she was supportive of her husband, but concerned.

She said: "He should be all right. He's very good at repairing things and fixing problems."