Launching the Spirit of Mystery

Recreating an Epic 11,800 Nautical Mile Voyage to Australia

Aug 27, 2008

Sailor Pete Goss is recreating a historic fishing vessel and retracing its impressive voyage from Cornwall to Australia that took place 150 years ago.

The Mounts Bay Lugger Mystery sailed out of the Cornwall port of Newlyn, England on 10 November 1854 with seven brave souls aboard seeking their fortunes in the goldfields of Australia. Captain Richard Nicholls sailed the 37 foot fishing vessel some 11,800 nautical miles to Melbourne in 116 days, landing at the Australian port on 14 March 1855. The intrepid sailors only made one stop en route to their destination with a port visit to Cape Town, South Africa for repairs and provisioning.

Mounts Bay Luggers

Mounts Bay in Cornwall was the historic homeport to hundreds of the traditional lugger fishing boats. The large bay shelters ports like Newlyn, Penzance and Mousehole from prevailing Atlantic westerly winds and their associated foul weather. Luggers are traditional sail-powered fishing vessels that use lugsails rigged to two masts fore and aft.

Lugsails are derived from classic square sails. Like a square sail they are held aloft on the mast by a wooden spar that is raised or lowered with halyard line. The difference in rigging a lugsail is that the halyard is attached off the center of the spar and most of the sail falls aft of the mast. Another difference is that the trailing edge of the sail is taller than the leading edge of it. With the halyard off center, as the spar is pulled up the mast, its longer end can pull the trailing edge of the lugsail above the peak of the mast as the sail is pulled tight.

Renowned sailor Pete Goss followed the story of Captain Nicholls and decided to build his own wooden lugger and recreate the Mystery's voyage in the Southern Ocean. Working out of a shipyard in South East Cornwall, Goss laid the keel of the Spirit of Mystery and proceeded to build a vessel faithful in its construction to the original Mystery. In this keeping with tradition, a naming ceremony was held for the Spirit of Mystery in Newlyn with a blessing performed by the Mission to Seamen. Diana Berry, a descendent of the original Mystery crew helped christen the boat.

Plans are for the Spirit of Mystery to leave England on its voyage to Australia in October of 2008. Pete Goss intends to navigate with only the sun and stars to guide him. No modern navigation systems are installed. The only concessions made to the original design involve required safety equipment.

In a press release describing the christening, Pete Goss said of his upcoming journey, “We have just completed our last week of training and are confident in our strong and sea friendly boat. We have seen some tough weather conditions and are confident in the boat and each other. We can’t wait to set sail in just seven weeks time.”

The voyage of Spirit of Mystery has an appeal outside that of historic reenactment. Goss has plans to involve Cornish school children in the Spirit of Mystery project through a charity he helped establish known as Playing for Success. The students will learn of the original voyage and develop a better understanding of what's involved in such undertaking. Progress of the voyage can be followed on the project web blog.

The copyright of the article Launching the Spirit of Mystery in Sail Boats is owned by Alan Sorum. Permission to republish Launching the Spirit of Mystery in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.