by Jesse Martin
It's my chance to tell people what it was like out there, to get into words all those things I find too hard to describe when I'm interrogated by curious people.
Whenever I meet someone, inevitably the question comes up, ‘So what was it really like?’
Or ‘Weren't you lonely?’
Or I've done some travelling myself—where did you stop off along the way?’
I get asked such questions so often, I find myself reciting a well-worn response that seems to lack enthusiasm. It's just that I can't get enthused about answering a question when the person expects a quick response that sums everything up. I simply can't convey the beautiful sights and experiences in a few words. It's taken four months to put these thoughts into a book and, in many ways, writing this has been therapeutic.
One statement I hear over and over again that I totally disagree with is: ‘I could never do that.’ As if I'm some kind of freak capable of something beyond the realm of the ordinary human being. I'm just a normal person! I spend time with my mates and do all the normal, naughty things eighteen-year-olds do. My friends treat me the same as before I left on the trip, which I really cherish, because with them I can truly be myself.
Having met a few celebrities since I returned, including Prince Philip, I dislike the perception that people with public profiles are gods. What I did was an amazing achievement and I am very proud of it. But it stops there because I'm referring to the achievement, not me!
What pushed me to give it a go in the first place and then succeed was the human spirit that lies in all of us—the spirit of adventure. To activate this, however, we have to push the boundaries and have faith that we as humans will be able to overcome any hurdles in the way.
I have a theory that our lives are governed by some mysterious and unexplained laws, which once we have put in the effort, will lead us along the right path. That is precisely what I'm proud of—heading out into the unknown in the first place and allowing those laws to take care of the rest. The hardest part is the thought of hitting the tarmac and, until you do, you're living through the toughest phase of it.
These laws are very much alive. Small miracles pop up everywhere. I was fortunate in a lot of things—that I got a great sponsor, and made it back alive—but I wouldn't be afraid to test this fortune again, because I believe you create your own fortune. I put in the effort with the proposals and the solution appeared from directions I wasn't even looking in. Just take my association with Mistral, Sandringham Yacht Club and the Herald Sun.
I'm not saying anything new here. We all know this stuff. We see miracles in movies all the time, yet often we don't believe that they actually happen in real life.
I now believe they do! I have experienced the power of the human spirit and it's changed me forever, and I'm thirsty for more.
So, what does the future hold for me? I'm eighteen, I have no real job, I haven't finished school and I think I'm allergic to suits and ties (either that or I'm colour blind).
But I have the most important ability in the world—the ability to dream. And no-one can take that away from me. For the last three months of the voyage I spent every moment I could in front of the computer documenting and putting into words my vision for the next trip. That proposal was finished before I got home and I'm now working on it.
So, what is it? Beau and I with three or four others will set out on an old-style 46-foot Polynesian catamaran built of timber with two gaff-rigged sails. We'll travel around the world again, but this time over three to four years, stopping off at the most remote and exotic places, such as the Amazon, Madagascar, Galapagos, the Spice Islands and Papua New Guinea.
We'll take only lanterns for light and a sextant for navigating. Electricity will only be used to charge the equipment for filming the voyage. That footage will be turned into a fifteen-part series on the themes of youth, environment, culture and adventure.
Now to the most important question: what have I learnt from sailing solo, unassisted and non-stop around the world?
I have discovered that we mustn't limit other people's abilities by our own. We need to encourage and help those around us, particularly our youth, with whatever their dreams may be, and then we'll start to see great things happen. I was just a normal kid with a dream who was serious about what I wanted to do. But without the support of my family, I would never have made it, and would have eventually lost enthusiasm with age and become like so many others—an unsatisfied grown-up who doesn't believe in himself.
There are many people out there dreaming of great things, and it's a good chance that your son, daughter, brother, sister or friend is one of them.
Believe and encourage them so they won't lose one of humanity's most prized assets—the ability to dream.
Gordon River Tasmania (4 months old).
Just arrived at the Daintree (13 months old).
The humpy in the Daintree Rainforest.
Showing off dinner on the veranda.
The old landcruiser with Mum, me. Pop and Beau.
Cow Bay beach, just down the road from our place.
Calm weather sailing on the way to Cape York.
We had to constantly dry the boat out as the sea water got everywhere.
Displaying dinner at Forbes Island.
The three of us fishing off lizard Island.
Beau paddling off New Ireland.
Duk duk ceremony in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.
The laborious work continues.
Food bags were stored up the front.
Leaving Port Phillip Bay. [Craig Hughes, Herald Sun]
The thick line holding the drouge.
My home for 328 days.
Email communications with the outside world.
Treating myself to pancakes, my favourite pastime.
First sight of the Horn, early morning.
Cape Horn.
Off the Azores. [Beau Martin]
Meeting my family at the Azores. [Beau Martin]
A tearful reunion. [Beau Martin]
Trade wind weather . . . whooo hooooool
Under South Australia. [Mark Smith, Herald Sun]
Crossing the official finish line with the lighthouse in the background. [Serge Thomann]
Closing in on the yacht club. [Mark Smith, Herald Sun]
Seeing my mates out on the boat. [Craig Hughes, Herald Sun]
The first hug from Mum. [Craig Hughes, Herald Sun]
Minutes after steeping ashore, with Dad and Suzie. [Serge Thomann]
The crowd the welcomed me home. [Paul Jacka]
Mates coming out to see me the day I arrived home.
Spraying the crowd. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. [Simon Dallinger, Herald Sun]
Left to right, from top: John Hill; Steve O'Sullivan; Scott Eccleston Ed Gannon [Vince Calati]; Phil Carr; Jacinta Oxford; Matthew Gerard [Serge Thomann]; Beau [Serge Thomann]; Andrew; Mum; Dad; Phil Gregory, me, Paul Currie (left to right).
APPENDIX 1
Equipment List
Navigation
admiralty list of radio signals (4 volumes) barometer
binoculars divider
parallel rulers (2) sextant
sight reduction tables (4 books) star finder
steering compasses (2)
Safety
50 metres nylon line for drouge fire extinguishers (2)
four-man liferaft with double harness lanyards (2)
layered floor medical kit including
safety harnesses (3) injections and pain
drouges (2) relievers
sea anchor
Sails
#3 jibs (2) genoas (2)
mainsails (3) spinnaker (1)
spinnaker poles (2) storm jibs (2)
Sail repair kit
hanks heavy duty sail cloth
leather metal rings
needles palm
scissors sticky back sail cloth
twine webbing
Rigging
coil of rigging wire fl
emming wind vane
Norseman fitting (various kinds) plough anchor and chain
spare halyards (2) spare heavy duty blocks (6)
spare shackles (various sizes) spare vanes (7 sizes)
whisker pole winch handles (6)
wire cutters
Tools
drill sets (3) hacksaw
hammers hand drill
sockets spanners
vice (fixed to bench) WD40 grease
Electronics
video cameras with underwater CDs (60, various artists)
housings (2) autohelm tillerpilots st2000 (2)
CARD radar detector CD stereo system with
digital temperature gauge speakers
emergency whip antenna Garmin 48 handheld GPSs (2)
Hf radios (2) laptop computers and
mobile spotlight chargers (3)
radar reflector Raytheon 24nm radar
Raytheon GPS (installed) Raytheon wind instruments
satellite e-mail equipment (Inmarsat C) satellite phone
spare battery chargers and film still camera
and batteries VHF radio (installed)
Electricity
AA batteries (50) 480 amp hour battery bank
80-watt Solarex solar panels (3) air marine wind generators (2)
Batman digital battery readout D-size batteries (20)
spare generator blades (3)
Electrical repair kit
acid connectors
electrical tape fluorescent globes
fuses globes (various sizes)
pliers Senson grease
solder spare light units
wire brushes (2) wire
Emergency grab bag
406 Mhz EPIRB breakable neon lights
flares (rocket, orange, red, white) Garmin 48 handheld GPS
handheld VHF radio PUR water maker 1000
strobe light survival suit
Clothes
boots (2 pairs) hats (8)
polar fleece jackets (3) sleeping bags (2)
thermal underwear (3 sets) wet weather gear (4 sets)
tracksuits (6) socks and jocks (8 sets)
t-shirts (6)
Toiletries
baby wipes bottles of shampoo (6)
cakes of soap (12) toilet paper
toothbrushes (8) tubes of toothpaste (10)
Miscellaneous
alarm clock beanies (3)
books (over 100) biros (box)
pencils (box) buckets (6)
cooking utensils dolphin torches (8)
erasers (6) fishing line (5001b)
guitar in case jerry cans (12)
large tupperware containers (8) methylated spirits (200 litres)
multi-vitamins pair of gloves (2)
pencil sharpeners (4) school books and CD Rom
small tupperware containers (6) spare ropes
exercise books (8, various sizes) water (450 litres)
waterproof Pelican cases (8)
APPENDIX 2
Glossary
Aft Towards the back of a boat.
Bilge Lowest point of the hull's interior.
Boom The horizontal pole that extends from the mast, holding the bottom edge of the sail.
Broach To surf down a wave and turn side-on.
Bow The front of a boat.
Clew The lower aft corner of the sail.
Cockpit The area where a boat is steered.
Companionway Stairway and opening leading from the cockpit to the cabin.
Deck The platform running the length and width of a boat.
Drogue A small webbed canvas parachute about one metre in diameter towed behind a boat to slow it down in rough weather.
Fore Front section of a boat.
Foredeck The forward part of the deck.
Forepeak The front section of the cabin, where the bow rises up. Used for storage on Lionheart.
Forestay The wire from the top of the mast to the bow.
Furler Mechanism to pull genoa in and out.
Genoa Largest front sail, attached to the forestay.
GPS Global Positioning System—the navigation tool enabling accurate latitude and longitude readings for location.
Gybe To catch a tail wind on the opposite side of the mainsail, swinging the boom across a boat.
Halyard The rope used to lower or raise a sail via a pulley system.
Hanks The small rings or clips that attach the sail to the stay.
Hove to To point the bow into the waves, using a small amount of sail, to stop its progress.
Knot Measure of nautical speed: 1 knot equals 1 nautical mile per hour.
Lanyard A short rope to secure a safety harness to a boat.
Lee side The side of a boat or land protected from wind and rain.
Leeward The direction to which the wind blows.
Lifelines Small safety fence around the perimeter of the deck.
Luffing up To point a boat into the wind.
Lying ahull The process of pulling all sails down to ride out a storm.
Mainsail The principal sail of a boat, attached to the mast.
Mainsheet Rope controlling the angle of the mainsail.
Mast The vertical pole holding the sails.
Meridian A line of longitude.
Nautical mile The measure of nautical distance: 1 nautical mile equals 1.852 kilometres.
Outhaul A rope used to pull a sail along the boom.
Pitch-pole To tip a boat end on end, usually by sailing down a wave and nose-diving into the wave ahead.
Port To the left of a boat.
Reef Reduce the amount of sail area to slow a boat or reduce strain on rigging.
Rig The mast, sails and wires on a boat.
Sea cocks Water inlets in the hull of a boat.
Shrouds The wires from the mast to the side of a boat.
Spreader Horizontal bar on the mast which wire runs through to support the mast.
Starboard To the right of a boat.
Stanchion The small posts supporting the life lines around a boat.
Stern The back end of a boat.
Washboard Removable boards that seal the companionway.
Wind vane Self-steering device mounted on stern that uses wind to steer.
Windward The direction from which the wind blows.
APPENDIX 3
Parts of the Boat
1 baby forestay
2 backstay
3 books
4 boom
5 bow
6 bunk
7 cockpit
8 collision bulkhead filled with foam
9 companionway slide
10 companionway steps
11 forepeak food storage
12 forestay
13 forward hatch
14 furler
15 galley
16 genoa
17 head (toilet)
18 inner forestay
19 jerry can storage
20 keel
21 lazarette
22 mainsail
23 mainsheet
24 mast
25 metho tank
26 motor
27 navigation table
28 portholes
29 port side
30 propeller
31 pull-pit
32 radar
33 radar detector
34 reefing lines
35 rudder
36 running backstay
37 solar panel
38 spare sail storage
39 starboard side
40 stern
41 storage
42 switchboard
43 tiller
44 tricolour light
45 washboards
46 water tank
47 wind vane
Acknowledgements
A special thanks go to all these people who, in some way, put considerable effort into my life and the publication of this book.
First of all, John Hill, for his passion at
helping out wherever possible and his eccentric ideas, which often turn out to be genius.
Phil Carr, for his huge contribution in time for getting the boat ready at the last minute.
Scott Eccleston and Richard Hewett from Sandringham Yacht Club for the organisation of dinners and the day of my return. Kevin Wood, the commodore of the yacht club, and Stewy Howarth, the radio officer.
All the operators at Sydney Radio who took my calls and chatted briefly with me.
Dr Broomhall, who made several visits to our house on Tuesday nights to advise me on medical procedures and on what to take.
Jacinta Oxford, for an unbelievable effort beyond the call of her job in regard to the nutrition of food, menus, purchasing and packing. Much appreciated!
Roger Badham, who gave me peace of mind every day with his weather forecasts for the whole journey. Thanks, it was a huge job!
Barbara Pesel, for organising the media and synchronising everything—a rather large job and well done.
Don and Margie Mclntyre, for not only subsidised equipment but positive mental support before I'd even left.
Bob Charles, for assistance in various areas.
Andrew Burley, for nothing in particular but just constant energy and ideas and a sounding board for theories. Thanks!
Matthew Gerard, for his big heart, which to this day I can't comprehend.
Steve O'Sullivan, who seemed to be the pivot on which all the great assistance came. Without that help I'm sure things would have turned out differently!
Sue Hines, the publisher, for a quick reaction and foresight in signing on the book. Mark Davis, for the cover and art layout and Foong Ling Kong for the editing.