A 17-year-old Australian sailor is more than half way to his goal of becoming the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe non-stop and alone.

David Dicks, of Perth, Western Australia rounded Bermuda yesterday after leaving his home about 146 days ago in his 34-foot-yacht Seaflight .

David was met about two miles offshore by his mother Patricia, close friend John Sanders, members of local and Australian media, Postmaster General Clevelyn Critchlow and ex-Regimental Sergeant Major Herman Eve who were on board the St. David .

He told The Royal Gazette later on ship-to-shore radio that it was "excellent'' to have seen his mum and Mr. Sanders -- whom he referred to as a "father figure'' -- for the first time since leaving Freemantle, Australia on February 26.

The last thing his mother called out to him before he sailed away was: "Make sure you take care of my teddy bear.'' No contact was allowed between the two boats or even David and his mother as it would have wrecked his chances of qualifying for the Guiness Book of World Records.

Mr. Eve was acting as a "referee'' to make sure nothing was passed to David that could help him on his voyage.

No provisions were allowed as he had to survive on what he originally packed on board the boat.

A large inflatable boat approached him carrying two people who offered him a chocolate bar in an act of kindness but they were shooed away.

David said he had to toss out all the canned provisions he originally packed because the tins had rusted and started to split open.

But he said he still had "heaps and heaps'' of freeze-dried food so he was not worried.

Water, on the other hand, was "liquid gold'' because he had to catch whatever rain he could to keep his tanks full.

He had not run out yet and said he had caught a great deal when he passed through the doldrums at the Equator where "it rained for days''.

David picked up "three big bags of mail'' from the St. David -- delivered personally by Mr. Critchlow -- which he said should keep him busy over the next few weeks.

"I'll probably read each letter several times,'' he joked.

The mail was sent from family and friends and included some he was scheduled to pick up when he passed the Falklands, but he missed the mail boat so it was sent on to Bermuda.

He was also presented with a photo book -- "Images of Bermuda'' - from Premier David Saul on behalf of the people.

Teenage solo sailor From Page 1 David said he was doing well and was glad to have rounded Bermuda -- the antipoedal point of his trip -- and be well into the second half of his voyage.

"If you drilled a hole down through Bermuda and the centre of the earth,'' he said, "it would come out in Freemantle, (Australia).'' He said he should be back in Australia a couple of weeks after his eighteenth birthday on October 6.

But missing his birthday was not a problem either, he continued.

"I've been at sea on my last two birthdays also,'' he said.

David said he had sailed through the southern Pacific, after leaving home, without incident although, "It was very cold and I spent most of the time in the cabin -- I even got snow''.

He added he was glad to round Cape Horn -- becoming the youngest person to negotiate the treacherous area alone -- and hit tropical weather as he headed north again.

Rounding Cape Horn had gone well and he said he had not met any of the notorious weather with which the region was associated.

David said he had gotten used to the loneliness of the voyage although the first week after setting out had been hard.

"It's funny because when you're on the water you think about being on the land and when you're on land you can't wait to get on the water again.'' But he admitted looking forward to getting home and seeing his friends and having the chance "to party hard''.

He said he had seldom sighted land as he never passed close enough to any but had seen sea birds and dolphins.

While in the doldrums, he continued, he had seen hundreds of dolphins, stretching out to the horizon on both sides of his yacht.

However he said he had not seen any whales which was a bit of relief because he was afraid of striking one in the night and damaging his yacht -- and the whale.

David said he had also been keeping an eye out for any containers which had fallen off ships because they floated just beneath the surface of the ocean and could wreck a boat.

He said his boat's special design would keep it from sinking if it struck anything but it would wreck his chances of completing his voyage.

From Bermuda, he planned to sail east so he could stay with the trade winds and then he would turn south, pass through the south Atlantic, around the Cape of Good Hope and through the Indian ocean ending up in Perth.

When asked if he had plans to try another voyage and try to surpass his accomplishments, he exclaimed: "Not like this -- once is enough for me!'' But he added that he would travel around the world again if he could have the chance to stop in at places along the way and "see the sights''.

G'DAY MATE - Solo Australian sailor David Dicks, 17, signals he is doing fine before setting sail on the second half of his voyage around the world.