A Shipley doctor who sailed the high seas to Australia is on the crest of a wave once again after raising £10,000 for Bradford's Marie Curie hospice.

Dr Gavin Craig, who works at Westcliffe Medical Centre, left his stethoscope behind in September when he embarked on the adventure of a lifetime and took part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

Four months and 15,000 miles after setting sail from Liverpool in September he finally anchored in Freemantle, Australia.

Out of the ten clippers, each with a 16-strong crew, who took part in the world-famous race, Dr Craig's crew came last.

But losing the race could not take the edge of raising more than £10,000 for the Marie Curie Cancer Care Hospice in Leeds Road, he said.

And, he added: "I've been totally overwhelmed with the support from my patients, contacts, staff at the practice and friends who have all been so wonderful.

"Money is still coming in from sponsorship but I need to formally close it now that I'm back in one piece and the challenge has been completed."

Dr Craig survived his sea voyage relatively unscathed apart from a broken finger on the final leg of the trip to Australia.

"Force 10 winds suddenly blew up from nowhere in the middle of the night and we had to haul in the sails. I was gripping on so tightly but the wind just wrenched it from my hands, breaking the bone.

"I managed to carry on with most of my duties after that but it did put a stop to me writing my log," he said.

Another near miss, which could have had tragic consequences, came when the clipper's forestay which holds up it's 84ft mast crashed to the deck during the first leg to Brazil.

But when Dr Craig safely reached South America he was visited by his son and daughter-in-law before sailing on to Durban in South Africa then finally to Australia for another family reunion - this time his wife and family flying in from Yorkshire to meet him.

Some of the most memorable highlights from his trip included seeing leaping whales along the South African Coast and being followed by an albatross for three days as the clipper approached the Cape of Good Hope.

Dr Craig, who started sailing in his 20s, said he had been land-locked and back at work since the middle of January.

"Life is getting back to normal but I must admit I struggled with crowds a bit at first after spending so much time surrounded by vast, open seas and endless night skies," he said.

"Even though there were 16 of us on the boat, we only spent time with three or four people at a time when we working on the deck."

Brenda Doyle, Marie Curie's community fundraising manager, said she was happy Dr Craig was home safely and had now been able to total his fundraising at £10,000.

And she added: "It's been absolutely fantastic. Obviously it was a great challenge for him and something he really wanted to do but it was nice he combined it with raising money for us."

The cash will go towards buying more button-press openers for doors at the hospice in Leeds Road.

"It doesn't sound such a glamorous way to spend the money but it's an essential one," she said.