How it all started

More seriously, though, the idea began to firm when I sailed my first Sydney-HobartSydney-Hobart Race: often described as the most gruelling ocean race in the world, this annual race starts on 26th December from Sydney Harbour and ends in Hobart. The course is 628 nautical miles. in 1977 – an awful race that year, and it seemed silly to have bashed all that way south only to turn around and bash back.I had unfinished business at the FastnetFastnet Race: 608 mile biennial race from Cowes, UK, Isle of Wight, to the Fastnet Rock off Southern Ireland, finishing in Plymouth. Berrimilla took part in 2005 and 2009. rock, having retired from my first ocean race, the 1961 FastnetFastnet Race: 608 mile biennial race from Cowes, UK, Isle of Wight, to the Fastnet Rock off Southern Ireland, finishing in Plymouth. Berrimilla took part in 2005 and 2009., before reaching the rock. There was also Cape Horn, with all its legendary ferocity, inspirational and terrifying. I had unfinished business there too, having set out in the Sydney-Rio raceA race from Sydney to Rio around Cape Horn. Sailed only once, in 1981. Alex was in Jacqui, one of the 4 boats that entered. They had to retire with broken steering gear in the Tasman Sea. See TommyMelville, Tommy: IsabellaAlex's sister asked Alex who Tommy was after seeing his name in the log. She received this (edited) answer:“Tommy was the owner of Jacqui, the boat I first set out in for Cape Horn in 1982. Great guy, rough as they come, magnificent seaman, not into bullshit of any sort and someone I really liked and trusted. He left the boat with me when we got back, so I had this lovely boat to play with for a few months as well. He died a few years ago and I didn't know, sadly, until recently. He owned a shipyard and tugboat in Brisbane. ... He'd have loved this.”. in 1981, only to have to retire in the middle of the Tasman almost before we had started. (TommyMelville, Tommy: IsabellaAlex's sister asked Alex who Tommy was after seeing his name in the log. She received this (edited) answer:“Tommy was the owner of Jacqui, the boat I first set out in for Cape Horn in 1982. Great guy, rough as they come, magnificent seaman, not into bullshit of any sort and someone I really liked and trusted. He left the boat with me when we got back, so I had this lovely boat to play with for a few months as well. He died a few years ago and I didn't know, sadly, until recently. He owned a shipyard and tugboat in Brisbane. ... He'd have loved this.” Melville?)

Time and Hobarts rolled past until, in 1998, Peter Crozier came aboard Berrimilla for the first time one Friday evening for a twilight race. I had never met him but the boat seemed to wrap itself around him and the team was formed, although we had no idea at the time. That was the year of the worst Hobart race storm, which we sailed through together and arrived in Constitution Dock on New Year’s eve to find only six other boats and a sad welcome. We won our handicap division overall and proved to ourselves that Berrimilla was seaworthy.

The following year was a more difficult race, with a series of fronts that gave us fierce southerlies from half way all the way to Tasman Island. The race took us over 9 days to finish. I managed to fracture my cheekbone quite severely during the first blast at half way and was unable to get it fixed in Hobart over the New Year period, so Pete and I got back on the boat and jumped back into the belly of the southerly and hurtled north up the coast – at least insofar as an old dinosaur of a boat like Berrimilla can hurtle.

We discovered that two handing the boat was easy and fun and so the fantasy merged into a project. I was planning it seriously in my mind from that time, although I think Pete had not really taken it on board.

Read more: 1st Voyage Summary →