On an August night back in 1854, one rare individual was enjoying a pint in the company of fellow fishermen at The Star Inn in Newlyn. Times were particularly hard for a community for whom poverty was a way of life. As they drank, the talk turned to huge fortunes being made by some of those brave enough to turn their back on Cornwall and head for Australia.

By the end of the evening seven men had begun to plan a voyage that was to earn them a place in maritime history.

Just over 150 years later another mariner with the same spirit of adventure was discussing the events of 1854 over a glass of wine with family and friends. By the time they reached the bottom of the bottle, he had decided to follow the example of those intrepid Cornish fishermen.

The first seaman was Captain Richard Nicholls; the second was Pete Goss. Nicholls and six crew sailed out of Newlyn on November 18 1854 aboard The Mystery and arrived in Melbourne some 115 days later. Pete Goss intends to leave the West Cornwall port in October this year aboard Spirit of Mystery, a boat which he, his crew and construction team hope is a faithful replica of the original.

In a few weeks, Spirit of Mystery will be put into the water at Millbrook, just across the water from Plymouth. Then, following sea trials and appearances at Cotehele Quay, Southampton Boat Show and Newlyn Fish Festival, a four-man crew will set sail for Cape Town on the first leg of a 12,000-mile journey.

Pete Goss MBE is a true sporting hero. No stranger to adventure, he first came to worldwide attention when, on Christmas Day 1996, he risked his life and gave up any chance of winning the gruelling Vend??e Globe solo round-the- world race by turning his 50ft yacht Aqua Quorum back into a hurricane-force headwind to rescue French sailor Raphael Dinelli. His courage earned him the L??gion d'Honneur, France's highest honour. There have been several other challenges since, the most notorious ending in disaster when Team Phillips, a revolutionary giant catamaran skippered by Pete, broke up in a freak mid-Atlantic storm in 2000.

Compared with Aqua Quorum and Team Phillips, Spirit of Mystery could not be more low-tech. Unpowered and with no sophisticated navigational equipment, the crew intend to steer by the stars - just like their Newlyn counterparts did a century and a half earlier.

Pete, who lives in the village of St John, just up the road from where Spirit of Mystery is taking shape in a shed at Millbrook, says he has a real sense of empathy with Richard Nicholls, Job Kelynack, Richard Badcock, William Badcock, Lewis Lewis, Charles Boase and Philip Curnow Mathews. Theirs was a mighty feat - the smallest craft on record to make such a long voyage. However, the 21st-century re-enactment will be no less treacherous because, although Pete and his crew will be able to stay in contact with home via satellite link, the perils and unpredictability of the Southern Ocean have not changed in the intervening years - and nor have the physical and mental stresses inherent in such an endeavour.

"I have no wish to eat salt pork and wear a woolly jumper," he said, admiring the 37ft vessel's surprisingly roomy living quarters. "I'm going to wear my Gore-Tex and we'll have plenty of supplies. But the boat itself is as close as we can get to theirs."

With St Piran's flag painted on the stern and the five stars of the Southern Cross constellation on the bow, Spirit of Mystery is being built by a small team led by Chris Rees, who designed the boat by studying measurements and plans of Cornish luggers of the time.

Constructed from fallen Cornish oak for the frames, ekki (an African wood) for the stem, stern and keel, larch for the planking, telegraph poles for the masts, ash for the tiller, and five tonnes of lead, she is every inch a traditional fishing boat.

"Originally we weren't going to fit an engine at all," said Pete. "But we discovered that for Australian bureaucratic reasons we must have one. However, I'm going to ask the harbourmaster in Newlyn to put a lead seal on the prop shaft - so the engine is effectively just ballast. We'll row out of Newlyn and we'll row into harbour at Cape Town and Melbourne."

Like most great adventures, Spirit of Mystery began by chance. "I was aware of the Mystery but had never gone into its history in any depth," said Pete. "Then I was introduced to a woman who is directly related to six of the original crew. We went to Newlyn and the whole idea just got under my skin - it just seemed meant to happen.

"Soon afterwards I was driving past the creek at Millbrook and I saw this guy working on a wooden boat. It was Chris Rees. We talked about wooden boats and I mentioned the Mystery and found that he'd always wanted to build a lugger. I realised I'd found my boatbuilder and a designer - a match made in Heaven. He is the most amazing guy, extraordinarily skilled."

Although working with wood has been a hobby of Pete's for some years, he has never sailed a lugger. "Up to now I've always gone down the hi-tech route, so it was really exciting to start this project with only a plan and a chainsaw. It's literally come out of the ground in Cornwall - we've cut it all here and made it all here."

He says there are many reasons for embarking on the project, not least the need to set the history books straight.

"It staggers me that people are not aware of the Mystery story because it was remarkable. I want to shine a spotlight on what these amazing men did, what pushed them from Cornwall, what drew them to Australia, why it didn't work out, why most of them came back.

"I also want to challenge the notion of Joshua Slocum being the 'forefather' of small boat ocean sailing. He was actually only 10 years old when these Cornishmen set sail. What they did was really significant and I want to celebrate their achievement both here in Cornwall and in the wider world."

Both the original voyage and the 2008 version have a great sense of family tradition. The seven-strong crew of the Mystery were all related by blood or marriage. Pete will be joined by his 14-year-old son Eliot, brother Andy, and brother-in-law Mark Maidment. In addition, descendants of the original crew from all over the world, as well as Cornwall, have been in contact via the website, www.petegoss.com

There is also to be a strong educational element, with 150 students at Falmouth studying every aspect of it - from design and construction to history, navigation and the voyage itself. Pete is also keen to promote the work of Playing for Success, a charity which helps young people unlock their potential.

Funding will mostly come from Pete himself, with a small amount of sponsorship and the proceeds of merchandising. As well as mugs, T-shirts and the usual array of memorabilia, a limited number of medallions made from Cornish tin will be available. With only a few being made, they are likely to be highly sought-after by the time the crew arrive in Australia in the spotlight of the world's media.

It will be a far cry from the events of March 14, 1855, when Richard Nicholls dropped anchor in Melbourne. Of the original crew, Philip Curnow Mathews and Lewis Lewis remained in Australia and lived out their days there.

The others returned home to Newlyn within a short time and most went back to fishing. The gallant little boat was sold for £150 and used as a pilot cutter until she was wrecked off Queensland in 1869.

Pete hopes everyone in the South West - particularly daydreaming adventurers - will be inspired by his latest project.

"It's just going to be an amazing adventure. It's not a race. The boat is as strong as an ox and I have great confidence in the people who built her. We're going to have some tough times but we're going to have fantastic times too - and in life nothing worth having is easily gained. I am really looking forward to it."

article copyright THE CORNISHMAN 

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