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Pete Goss speaks of their arrival “Yesterday was an amazing day for it saw Spirit of Mystery moor up at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria. Having dropped Mark off in Portland we borrowed safety gear to replace that which was lost in the storm and went straight back to sea. It was so good to see Mark off in safe hands and to have some fresh food which had been dropped on board. Breakfast the next day consisted of bacon and egg sandwiches and the fruit was out of this world. The melon was particularly evocative both to the taste buds and nose. We could smell it on deck.
With the weather being very light, on the nose and with a horrible slop running it would have taken anything up to five days to make Melbourne. We had a good old chat about it and decided to motor for a while for as far as we were concerned the Spirit of the original voyage had been served and it was time to get in. We were terribly tired having had about two hours sleep a day for a week and I didn’t want to give the next depression a chance to start chasing us down. Apart from anything our schedule had slipped to the point that we might miss some people who had flown out to meet us.
On rounding Cape Otway the wind freshened and we were off on a fetch for Melbourne under a bright sky and lovely warm sun. It was perfect and we took some time out from working on Spirit of Mystery to enjoy. We put some popcorn on the stove, had a Coke and enjoyed the coast slipping by for it was beautiful. Particularly as we have had nothing but grey, grey, grey for the last two months. A lovely evening rolled into a bright moonlight night and being ahead of the tidal gate at the entrance to Port Philip we hove too and just enjoyed the atmosphere. In fact I had a quiet moment on deck reflecting on the last year and a half and how lucky we all are to have had such an amazing experience. In fact there was a hint of sadness under the excitement of arriving that it was all about to come to an end.
Just before sunup we entered Port Philip and were met by a Coutta Boat which is a traditional boat which reminded me of a Falmouth work boat. Fortunately for us the yacht ‘Secretary’ was just ahead of us and hearing us on the VHF to port control offered to hang back and take us through the western channel. Just as we cleared this Mark Lloyd turned up on a helicopter and we did a photoshoot which included putting up St Pirans – they are stunning. A welcome fleet soon started to build up as we closed Melbourne and the sense of anticipation built. As we closed the marina we noticed a crowd and on closing them realised that they were all dressed in traditional Cornish clothes and waving St Pirans flags.
Mark was there in his wheelchair so we were reunited and it just felt right to have him there as we brought the trip to conclusion. It’s all a blur; at the top of the gangway we were met by Derek Trewarne of the Cornish association of Victoria with a pint and a Pasty. There was a wall of press, Eliot gave his first interview and we moved up to the club to be officially welcomed. Commodore Tony Spencer opened the proceedings with the Mayor and Derek Trewarne speaking. It was the loveliest atmosphere, I can’t remember what I said but it concluded with thanks to Peter Harris, the Mayor, Tony Spencer, Janet Dawes, David Seaman, Lindsay Chapman and the Rescue services. I then asked asking the Mayor to sign our inflatable globe and had a Talisker.
From there it was off to a shower, lovely meal and a load of interviews with the UK and the deepest of sleeps. I woke up in the same position as I lay down.”