Wooden boat ready for epic voyage

The crew are all related like the original crew of seven from Cornwall

A wooden fishing boat that will take West Country adventurer Pete Goss to Australia using only the stars to navigate has been launched.

The lugger, Spirit of Mystery, has been taking shape in boatyards in Millbrook, Cornwall, for the last nine months.

The journey was inspired by seven Cornishmen who started the voyage of almost 12,000 miles from Newlyn to Melbourne in Australia in 1854.

Their open Mounts Bay lugger, Mystery, made the epic journey in 116 days.

In October Mr Goss, 46, his son Eliot, 14, brother Andy, 42, and brother-in-law Mark will set sail in a vessel that has been made as close as possible to the original.

The family connection is also a tribute to the first sailors who were all related.

Their voyage will be relying on a sextant and the stars to navigate, first to Cape Town in South Africa and then to Melbourne.

We will navigate by the heavenly bodies and follow their course

Pete Goss

The crew will have an engine and a VHF radio, but the only modern navigation equipment, a GPS machine, will be in the life raft.

Mr Goss said: "People go on about navigation, but modern equipment is only an aid to navigation.

"Traditional sailing has been going for far longer than the modern stuff.

"We will navigate by the heavenly bodies and follow their course."

Oak from local woodlands has been used to build the 37ft (11.2m) boat.

The seven Cornishmen who made the first journey did so to escape poverty and seek out a new life during the Australian gold rush.

Mr Goss and his crew are following in their wake to raise money for charity and satisfy a sense of adventure.

Devon-born Mr Goss, who now lives in Torpoint, Cornwall, said the project was something he had wanted to do since he heard about the voyage of the Mystery.

He said: "Their story got right under my skin. I wanted to shine a light on these guys' achievements and I have always wanted to build a wooden boat."

The naming ceremony for "Spirit of Mystery" will take place in August.