 Pete Goss is sailing with three other members of his family |
West Country sailor Pete Goss has set sail on an epic voyage to Australia in a wooden fishing boat. Mr Goss and several family members set off from Newlyn in Cornwall on Monday in the Cornish lugger, Spirit of Mystery. The journey was inspired by seven Cornishmen who voyaged 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. Mr Goss, 46, his son Eliot, 14, brother Andy, 42, and brother-in-law Mark Maidment are sailing in a vessel that is as close a replica as possible to the original.  |
 We are confident that the boat, crew and support team are ready for the voyage
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The family connection is also a tribute to the original sailors, who were all related. Like them, the Goss crew will rely on just a sextant and the stars to navigate, first to Cape Town in South Africa and then to Melbourne. Mr Goss said: "This project has been a long time in the making. "It has been a hectic time but everything has fallen into place. Some projects are meant to be and we are confident that the boat, crew and support team are ready for the voyage." Elliot Goss said: "We have trained really hard so I am not scared, just excited. "I think this is a real learning experience and the chance of a lifetime." The crew say they are prepared for difficult conditions. A log entry from the 1854 voyage describes a storm the original Spirit of Mystery crew encountered: "A terrific gale of wind - heaviest so far experienced. "Our gallant little boat rides the mountains of sea remarkably well." But before leaving Newlyn Pete Goss said the biggest worry was not making it to Cape Town in time to celebrate Christmas and New Year with family members who are flying out to meet them. The trip is raising money for Cornwall Playing for Success, a charity Mr Goss is a patron of, which provides out of hours activities for children.
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