YACHTSMAN Adrian Flanagan has begun sailing through Arctic pack ice in one of the most dangerous sections of his round-the-world voyage.

The 46-year-old said although it was hard to see the extent of the ice, he estimated it covered about a third of the sea's surface.

Mr Flanagan, a father-of-two, from Ludgershall, near Bicester, set off from Alaska on the second part of his voyage last month and is currently sailing through the northern sea route off the Russian coast.

He said: "I am dressed warmly, helped considerably with a heated mid-layer.

"A ski mask protects my eyes and prevents the frigid air from drawing tears which obscure my vision.

"I am in amongst the ice, completely surrounded.

"The entire mass is moving and shifting on the currents, openings slowly closing, new channels widening, contracting and expanding as though the ice is drawing breath.

"It is like being a giant among a miniature archipelago.

"The ice is sculpted, closely resembling land forms. Hills rise and fall - but the higher ones only stand 6ft tall.

"Seals rest on level shards, curious at the low growl of my engine. Heads bob up around me, whiskery faces at this unexpected interruption to their day.

"It is tense but exhilarating. This is pristine - I am the first man to be out here alone, this far from land along Russia's polar waterway."

Mr Flanagan, who hopes to become the first person to sail solo around the world via the polar regions, is raising money for Oxford Children's Hospital and Save the Children.

He aims to arrive back in Southampton next month, although he said he might have to wait until a channel from the east opens through Vil'kitskogo.

Last month, Mr Flanagan set sail from the Alaskan port of Nome, where his boat has been stored for the past nine months.

And he was able to set off again thanks to an intervention by the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich, who helped him get the necessary permits for his journey.

Mr Flanagan had to halt his trip last September due to engine problems.