Spirit of Mystery Leaves Port Phillip

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After an epic voyage from Newlyn, Cornwall, UK to Williamstown, Victoria, Australia the Spirit of Mystery was slipped at Williamstown for repair of damage she sustained in a knockdown on 3 March 2009.  The freak wave that hit the boat not only damaged communication equipment and tore off the life raft, it also resulted in one of the crew, Mark Maidman, sustaining a broken leg.  Sadly, it also tore off the sailing dinghy which had been built with off-cuts of the 37-foot Cornish lugger replica and which thus is irreplacable.

At the behest of the Couta Boat Association, a visit to the Southern end of Port Phillip was organised, and Andy Goss brought the Spirit of Mystery to the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron, the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club and finally to Queenscliff Harbour. Couta boat Lyndal Lea met the Spirit of Mystery just off Portsea and piloted her into her mooring spot in the central basin of the Harbour for public viewing.  And indeed a large number of visitors came to Queenscliff to see the boat over the ensuing days.

While moored at Queenscliff, some more boat maintenance was undertaken and plans were made for the next leg of her journey to King Island and then on to Launceston, Tasmania.  The Queenscliff stopover proved to be a stroke of good luck as the mooring facilities were quite protected to sit out a couple of violent storm fronts which were approaching, with winds of up to 55 knots and seas of 3+ metres within Port Phillip, and naturally much more in Bass Strait.

So, on Wedneday, the 29th of April 2009, the Spirit of Mystery left Queenscliff with a crew of 5:  Andy Goss and Henriette Lemay were joined by Rosebud boat builder Jeremy Clowes, Ocean Grove sculptor Noel Essex and retired Queenscliffe councilor Steven Lee. Couta fisherman Lew Ferrier in his fishing boat Rosebud escorted the Spirit of Mystery out the Cut and through the Heads and was joined by motor launch Rough Up from Portsea.  Lew handed one of his old couta jigs to Andy Goss as a departing gift with no doubt a colourful description of how to use it, and indeed it took less than 30 minutes for the crew on Spirit of Mystery to catch the first of several couta!

I was sad to see this gallant little vessel go, but am sure we will cross paths again somewhere around Australia.  Pete and Andy Goss are planning to be at the Sydney International Boat Show (30 July – 3 August 2009) at Darling Harbour; for anything beyond that, check the website www.petegoss.com