Newlyn artist Glyn Macey painted the 37ft replica Mounts Bay fishing boat before Pete, his brother Andy, brother-in-law Mark and son Eliot left for Melbourne. After successfully navigating first the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic before crossing the notoriously stormy Southern Ocean, the four men were greeted as heroes when they stepped ashore in Australia after four months at sea.
The crew were re-creating the voyage 154 years earlier of seven Newlyn men who sailed the original Mystery to Melbourne in their quest for a new life during the Australian gold rush.
Glyn Macey's painting of the vessel in full sail, entitled Spirit of Mystery, is in acrylic on canvas and will be sold to help improve the lives and education of children in Cornwall. Signed by both the artist and Pete Goss, it will be sold in aid of Cornwall Playing for Success, a charity of which the sailor is a founding trustee.
The painting, measuring 30in by 40in, will be listed on eBay in a seven-day auction from Monday, July 15. All the proceeds will go to Cornwall Playing for Success.
Since returning from Australia in March, Pete has raised an additional £5,000 for the charity, with fundraising activities including talks about his adventures at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth.
Many of Glyn's paintings are of the sea, harbours, moors and coast of his native West Cornwall. When Glyn heard about Spirit of Mystery he decided to record the project, inspired by the voyage and the heroism of the original crew.
Glyn, who was born in Newlyn, said: "Cornwall not only has inspirational landscapes and seascapes, it has a history of inspirational people whose influence has spread around the world.
"The original voyage of the Mystery has inspired people through the generations and now Pete Goss has inspired a new generation by following in their wake. It was a pleasure and privilege to paint Spirit of Mystery."
Pete Goss, who lives near Torpoint in East Cornwall, added: "The picture is absolutely fantastic. I think few artists can truly capture the spirit of the sea – but Glyn can. It is great that a Cornish artist has put himself out for Cornish schoolchildren who will benefit greatly through his generosity.
"Cornwall Playing for Success is an out-of-school-hours initiative set up to raise literacy, numeracy and ICT skills in children who have unrealised potential, using sport to improve young people's attitudes to learning and motivation in school. They often don't quite connect with school, leaving them feeling disaffected and demoralised.
"Playing for Success uses sport to bridge that gap with dramatic results. On a 10-week out-of- school-hours programme the students improve their literacy and numeracy scores by 17 and 24 months in primary and secondary schools respectively.
"However, the real 'fairy dust' is self-esteem, which is carried back to school with long-term results."
Bid for Spirit of Mystery by Glyn Macey on eBay from Monday. A limited run of 500 prints of the picture, signed by the artist and Pete Goss, are also available at £45 each. For more details visit www.petegoss.com or www.glynmacey.com.
article copyright WESTERN MORNING NEWS