Cornish sailor Pete Goss is on his way to Australia having left Simonstown in South Africa early this month.

But his progress is being followed closely by friend Paul Moody from Falmouth who met up with Pete and his crew in South Africa at Christmas and is now hoping to link up with him again when he reaches Australia.

As Pete, whose vessel Spirit of Mystery was moored in Falmouth last year at the maritime museum, left for the wild southern ocean on the next leg of the voyage, he and his crew were fit and excited after their only stopover since leaving Newlyn on October 20, said Paul.

Despite the light winds at times plus four big storms, the boat had performed very well on route to South Africa, with just some minor repairs to the deck caulking as the timbers dried out.

The boat is an exact copy of the orginal Spirit of Mystery built 154 years ago and taken down under by a group of Cornishmen.

Pete told Paul that he had great confidence in the vessel and of her being able to cope surfing down wind in the gale torn roaring forties they will experience in the next 5,700 miles to Melbourne.

It was during the filming last year of the recent Three Men in More Than One Boat programme for BBC television that Paul and his friend Shane who runs Marine Designs at Falmouth docks were together. They met up with the TV programmes stars Rory McGrath, Gryth Rhys-Jones and Dara O’Brian who were using one of their vessels while in port.

Paul, who is a close friend of Pete Goss, lives on his own boat at Pendennis Marina when not travelling.

The 57-year-old is a former saturation diver and is assisting Pete with weather routing and carrying spare parts for his boat during the voyage to Australia.

For Shane it is a case of staying at home where his company are about to build the large breakwater pontoons for Superyacht berthing on the new Port Falmouth Marina.