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