But in a departure from the fast and high-tech yachts that have taken him on many round-the-world races and expeditions, he will be making the 11,800-nautical mile journey in a wooden Cornish Lugger.

Mr Goss will attempt to sail from Newlyn, Cornwall to Melbourne, Australia in the small traditional craft with a crew of seven.

He hopes to recreate the epic voyage made 153 years ago by seven fishermen seeking a better life away from the hardship of a tough and dangerous fishing industry at home and who set sail in a boat named The Mystery.

Many other Cornishmen working in the mines had already departed for similar reasons.

But what was so remarkable about this now legendary tale was that the boat they sailed in was a mere 36 feet long and until shortly before they left was an open layout, designed for fishing in home waters - hardly the best choice of vessel for such a long and potentially dangerous voyage.

However, they did eventually land in Australia and their story entered Cornish folk law.

Mr Goss, captivated by this fascinating tale, has already begun working on a new wooden yacht which he has named Spirit of Mystery.

The 36ft Mounts Bay Lugger, which he is having built in the traditional way using locally felled and milled green oak, is due to be finished in late June 2008, and is being constructed in Millbrook by boat builder Chris Rees, who has also designed it, close to the adventurer's own Cornish home.

Mr Goss will be best remembered for his heroic rescue of Frenchman Raphael Dinelli during the 1996 Vend??e Globe, the non-stop, single-handed yacht race, a feat for which he was awarded the MBE, and French Legion d'Honneur. Also for his revolutionary catamaran, Team Philips, built in Totnes for the Millennium non-stop round the world race, which, despite his teams best efforts, never reached the start line after breaking up in the North Atlantic during sea trials.

Of this latest project, Mr Goss said: "I have always wanted to build a wooden boat and relish the challenge and adventure of sailing such a small vessel to Australia. In short, I just fancy it and, as in the past, I find that is enough to just get up and go for it.

"So here we are on the brink of another exciting adventure that has the added element of history, which I find I am really enjoying. Life is for living and this, for me, is life at its best."

The original Mystery was built in Newlyn for mackerel fishing. Her crew came up with the idea of sailing her to Australia one evening over a pint of beer in the Star Inn, Newlyn.

The seven men were Richard Nicholls, Job Kelynack, brothers William and Richard Badcock, Charles Boase and Philip Curnow Mathews, and a Penzance man Lewis Lewis.

Job Kelynack suggested they should sell The Mystery to fund their passages, but Richard Nicholls, a Captain on board a large ship who was on leave, is reputed to have said: "No, we'll sail her, I'll be the navigator."

They decked the boat and strengthened the hull with zinc plates, loaded her with water and salt beef and watched by a small gathering of well-wishers, Mystery left Newlyn harbour for the last time on November 18, 1854.

Their navigation was simple, all they had were maps, the sun and moon, the stars and a sextant. Nothing more was heard of them until an article appeared in the Shipping Gazette and Sydney General Trade List, dated March 26, 1855.

It read: "On Thursday last there arrived in Simon's Bay, the Mystery, a small fishing smack of 16 tons, from England, bound to Melbourne. The little gallant adventurer has made an excellent passage of 60 days.

"On her arrival in Simons Bay, she was considered to be a Table Bay cutter, and on that account was not boarded by the Harbour Master. He did not know the real character of the diminutive craft, until he observed the captain and his crew quietly beaching their bark and hauling her with ease on the shore."

The Mystery became the smallest boat to have ever made the 11,800-nautical mile journey to Australia and at the same time, became the first fishing boat to have carried Her Majesty's Mail. The Mystery was sold shortly after they landed for £150 and was wrecked 14 years later while being used as a Pilot Cutter in Keppel Bay off Rockhampton, Queensland.

Of the seven men, five returned home - only Lewis and Mathews stayed behind.

It is planned to launch Spirit of Mystery on June 21 and commence passage in October.

article copyright THE CORNISHMAN 

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