Spirit of Mystery Update

The age of epic ocean adventuring lives on. A replica wooden craft will provide an inspiring example of Australia’s rich maritime history and close links with Great Britain at the Sydney International Boat Show starting on Thursday 30 July.

The 37 foot lugger Spirit of Mystery voyaged 11,800 nautical miles from Cornwall to Australia earlier this year, and sailed into Sydney on Sunday 5 July.

The historic craft was built and skippered by British adventurer Pete Goss to follow in the wake of the original Mystery, an open Mounts Bay lugger built in Newlyn and sailed to Australia by seven Cornishmen wanting to try their luck in the Australian gold rush. They completed the journey in 1854 and Mystery became the smallest migrant vessel to make it from England to Australia.

Spirit of Mystery is as true to the original Mystery as possible and although there are concessions to safety, there are no modern electrical or navigational systems, with navigation by the sun and stars.

Skipper Pete Goss is an ocean adventurer who won international respect during the 1996 Vendée Globe non-stop, single-handed round-the-world race, when he rescued a fellow competitor Raphael Dinelli whose boat began sinking in the Southern Ocean.
Goss’ crew for Spirit of Mystery’s five month voyage from England to Melbourne consisted of his 14-year-old son Eliot, brother Andy and brother-in-law Mark Maidment. The passage was not without incident, with Maidment suffering a broken leg when a large wave threw the replica wooden lugger onto its side in rough seas south of Portland on the west coast of Victoria during the final approach to Melbourne.

Since successfully completing the passage to Australia, Spirit of Mystery has been skippered by Andy Goss from Melbourne to Sydney via Bass Strait, the north coast of Tasmania and the NSW South Coast. He navigated Spirit through Sydney Heads on Sunday 5 July and has since been based at the Rozelle Bay Superyacht Marina., preparing the boat to be a special marina exhibit at the Sydney International Boat Show.

The boat will be open to the public during the whole show, and Andy’s brother Pete Goss will give daily talks on his heroic voyage.

Information on the craft, her crew and her voyage will be available at NSW Maritime’s Marine Precinct at the Sydney International Boat Show, where Pete Goss will be working with NSW Maritime to promote safe and responsible boating.

The 42nd Sydney International Boat Show will be held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre & Cockle Bay Marina, Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia from 30 July - 3 August, 2009.