California ? Ken Barnes, the adventurous Newport Beach man whose lost-at-sea odyssey captured international attention, flew in to California from Chile and returned to the arms of family Tuesday.

“Praise God – answered prayers,” said Anne Chambers, the mother of Barnes’ girlfriend, Cathy Chambers.

One week ago, during an attempt to sail around the globe, Barnes encountered a brutal storm hundreds of miles off the coast of Chile. It took nearly three days before a fishing crew plucked him from his crippled boat.

Upon returning home, Barnes said he planned to rest up, then sit down with a pen and paper, take stock of his situation and decide where to go from here.

But he doesn’t regret the risky endeavor. “You’ve got to live life,” he said.