HMS Edinburgh provided a welcome lift to one of the world’s most renowned yachtsmen as he ploughed the southern ocean.

The destroyer sent up her Lynx helicopter and sent out her sea boat to chaperone veteran round-the-world sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in his yacht Saga Insurance off the Falklands.

The 67-year-old sailor was somewhat exhausted after sailing through the Beagle Channel following a brief pit-stop in Argentina – so the sight of Edinburgh was a boost to his morale.

“I have always thought Batch 3 Type 42 destroyers were good looking and Edinburgh looked magnificent,” he enthused. “I had my own ‘Navy Day’ – and it certainly brightened my day.”

Sir Robin, a former RNVR volunteer who served in Britain’s last battleship HMS Vanguard, is one of five sailors competing in the Velux 5 Oceans race (two of the original seven starters have dropped out).

The destroyer and yacht met about 10 miles from Sea Lion Island, off the south-eastern tip of the Falklands, in fine Austral summer weather.

Eddie’s Commanding Officer Cdr Scott Verney offered to send a bottle of whisky across to the yachtsman – but race rules forbid external help for the soloists.

“It would have been good for my morale,” said Sir Robin, “but I had to decline. Cdr Verney says he’ll keep it in his cabin until we meet again. Now there is an officer and a gentleman.”

Cdr Verney said he and his team were more than happy to provide a morale lift to someone involved in the longest race on earth (30,000 miles in all).

“It’s always a pleasure to meet up with a fellow mariner and the timing of Sir Robin’s arrival off the Falklands coincided with the end of a joint exercise for us,” Cdr Verney added.