intheboatshed.net

Pete Goss’s new boat, Spirit of Mystery. All photos by
Mark Lloyd of Lloyd Images

Solo ocean racer Pete Goss’s latest project is to build a lugger to follow in the wake of the Mystery, which sailed from Cornwall to Australia to join the goldrush in 1854.

The Mystery was an open Mounts Bay lugger built in Newlyn. Times were hard and the seven Cornishmen, all related by either blood or marriage and shareholders in the boat, made the decision to try their luck in the goldrush over a pint in Newlyn’s Star Inn. It was suggested that the Mystery be sold to cover the passage, but being in good spirits after a couple of drinks Captain Richard Nicholls made an announcement. ‘I’ll take you in the Mystery,’ he said - and so the story began.

The Mystery measured 37ft in length with a beam of 11 feet 6 inches, and weighed 16 tons. Skipper and crew beached the boat to sheath her hull with zinc, decked her fore and aft, and set off.

The new Spirit of Mystery was launched a few days ago at Millbrook, near Torpoint in south east Cornwall, and was built by local craftsmen under designer and shipwright Chris Rees.

Goss’s intention is to research the original voyage, draw attention to the achievements of the original Mystery’s crew of seven Cornishmen, and to provide a vehicle to support the educational charity Cornwall Playing for Success.

But Pete also makes it clear that he has always wanted to build a wooden boat. And what a boat he has built! I’m sure we all hope the voyage is successful - but also that she comes back to the UK and finds a useful long-term purpose, as it would be nice to see her sailing around our shores.

Norfolk Broads boats racing, photo by Robert Henson, image from
the Wikipedia. This photo is from 2004, but could easily have been
taken fifty years ago. That’s part of the magic of The Broads

•Fifty years ago, schools on the Norfolk Broads were teaching kids to build boats.

•A lifeboat restoration at Walton, Essex is nearing completion. Read more here.

•A large wooden powerboat takes shape in a boatbuilding revival at Leigh, Essex.

How to build a Greenland kayak

Instructions on how to build a skin-on-frame Greenland kayak. If you’re interested in these boats, the chap responsible, Wolfgang Brinck, has a busy website that’s well worth exploring, and also a weblog.

Here’s what he says about himself:

‘I build skin on frame boats and make paddles and teach other people how to build skin boats and make paddles. Skin on frame technology may seem like retro technology but in fact is the wave of the future. There’s no technique for building small boats that is faster and uses fewer materials than skin on frame. It is the boat building method of choice in a world of dwindling resources.’