TWO Hampshire world record breakers came face-to-face for the first time - and marvelled at each other's exploits.

Dee Caffari, who became the first yachtswoman to sail solo non-stop around the world against the prevailing winds and currents which added about 4,000 miles to her incredible journey, met Rhys Jones, the youngest person to scale the highest peaks in the seven continents.

He celebrated his 20th birthday by scaling Mount Everest.

Rhys, who returned to his Bartley home in the New Forest on Thursday evening to a rapturous welcome, described Dee's exploit as "amazing".

Speaking after meeting the he said: "I'm not sure how I could have coped with the loneliness.

"Climbing a mountain you are always aiming for the top, you have tick points and base camps to indicate where you are and how you're progressing.

"But if I was all alone on the ocean, I'd keep asking myself, 'Where am I? Am I going in the wrong direction. It must be hard to chart your progress, and what Dee has achieved is simply amazing."

Rhys, whose sailing has been confined to dinghies in the Solent, added: "I enjoy it and I would certainly like to do some more."

Dee said of Rhys: "What he has done is absolutely amazing. He is very confident person and he must have a great future in front of him.

"When I was doing sports science at university, I climbed in the Lake District but they were more bumps than hills or mountains!

"I'm not one to shirk a challenge but the cold must get to you. At least when I was cold and wet, I had the opportunity to go down below and change. I take my hat off to him."

During the meeting on Julian Clegg's BBC Radio Solent breakfast show, both confirmed they would never take up the challenge again. Instead they plan to write about their adventure.

Dee, 33, stunned by the magnificence of her welcome at Ocean Village last Sunday, explained: "Other projects will take me back on the water but having achieved a first, I wouldn't tackle it again."

Rhys concurred: "I could but I wouldn't. It's too dangerous and I'd be pushing my luck. The odds are against me."

However, the body clock is still ticking against them. Dee confessed: "My sea legs have returned but I did have a champagne wobble on Sunday! Everyone thinks I should be having all my sleep in one go but I've got used to cat napping and resting over four hours!"

Rhys quipped: "It's lunch time in Nepal and I'm starving!"