So, the person who bought her, is selling because he doesn’t have the time to do the things he wishes he could with Constellation… With that in mind, she’s a bargain and needs to be sold ASAP. I hope someone with big dreams buys her… Presently she’s up for $17k Australian Dollars, with all the gear that was previously listed. Since new ownership, she has new bottom paint, new dinghy, and some new seacocks.

Here is a video I recently made experimenting with a few things in my video editing software – The last scene is my seeing Constellation for the last time.

Someone who reads this blog, please buy my old boat back and sail her to… Madagascar. Or somewhere similarly far away.

If interested, contact me for details – She is on a mooring in Sydney.

nick.

So what have I be doing anyway? Oh yes! I did get some sailing in a couple of months ago, quite unexpectedly… I flew to Palau, returned to Melbourne, and then flew back to Palau, to help deliver a boat to Darwin. It was a mighty long, and mighty hard trip. We sailed (or rather, motored, burning close to 600 litres of diesel), against the winds and currents for two weeks. Several engine failures later, a few hair-raising moments and a couple of pirate scares off of Indonesia, we arrived in Darwin, Australia. This was my second entry into Australian waters by boat, and also my second time across the equator:

The sailing was pretty extraordinary… It was also the longest distance I’ve ever sailed with others aboard, which was a very different experience to being alone. I dare say, harder… We sailed close to shore for a few days, right amongst the Indonesian fishermen. At one stage we even sailed through a small straight, just 1nm wide, at the top of Papua New Guinea. To the left and right of us were small subsistance living communities, as enormous tankers took advantage of the water way:

Some nights we were surrounded so tightly by small fishing vessels, it was virtually impossible to sleep. The curious ones would come close by, and scare the daylights out of us… Flare guns at the ready, minds churning with self-defence tactics… Thankfully curious was all they were, and through the waters we sailed with little outside trouble.

So other than that brief month of sailing, there is little other news to report on the personal voyaging front. For avid followers, you will already know I moved to the countryside, and am working away at my own business… We (re)launched two projects in the last two weeks -Neverstop Pedalling, an online bike store, and our web hosting company Serversaurus…

SV Harmony still lies at rest in California… Awaiting her owner (me)… How and when I will ever scrounge the money together to get there, I’ll never know (perhaps buy a bike, or change your hosting provider! Plug plug!) … However, I guess when the time is right, it will all come together.

A massive congratulations to Adam who recently completed his first solo transpac – I finally have someone to commiserate with about sailing small vessels alone, across that stretch of from SF to HI… We both concurred: Yes, it’s possible, but…

Jack continues to work on the documentary about my voyage, however, from my understanding, the creation of the documentary is just as financially crippling and difficult as the voyage itself… ! We hope it will screen in European film festivals this year, but as to if and when it will be available to buy as a DVD or stream online – I have no idea. This is Jack’s film, so it will be up to him as to how it’s distributed…

I will be archiving this site as we know it soon, and replacing it with a new site which will allow me to just generally blog about sailing – At the moment, the layout and construction of this website is for a voyage which is now complete: It will still be at Bigoceans.com, however I’ll move the current incarnation of the site and start afresh… What do you guys think?

Cheers! Nick

A few more photos in the usual place…

Nick!

It’s highly unlikely the boat is insured, and if under charter I imagine an agreement was made, whereby the vessel would be paid for in full, at its former asking value of $150k (as advertised by Regatta Management of New Jersey when Wild Eyes was for sale last year). She was under charter for $60k / year, which is less in comparison to the S&S 34 purchased by Don & Margie McIntyre, which was given/leant (I don’t know which) to Jessica Watson… That is however an apple & orange comparison, and next to useless since the cost of a boat is actually only a fraction of the overall cost of such an endeavour…

Adding up Abby’s ‘Platinum level’ of sponsorship request yields a sum total of $430,000. Comparatively, Jessica Watson asked for $205,000 for the naming partner (who ended up being Ella Bache), and four principle partners at $20k / each, bringing her asking sum total to $365,000. Who actually knows whether these goals were reached, but those were the asking numbers. I should think the maintenance and costs of maintaining an Open 40 would far outweigh the tried and true Sparkman & Stevens… And the whole point of the temperamental Open 40, was speed in order to beat the non-ratified age record that Jessica now holds… However, that was soon quashed by equipment failures in South Africa – Mike Perham had the same kinds of issues with his chartered Open 50, seemingly stopping at every continent – These Open spec boats need a lot of love, and a lot of money to keep running in the conditions required – I really don’t think they were designed to do more than one circumnavigation… Ok, so that’s not entirely true, the success of Steve White aboard Toe in the Water in the 1998 Vendee was impressive on all counts, with him sailing an ‘ancient’ Open 60 built in 1998, as the newer boats fell apart around him… I also have a strong suspicion that Mike & Abby had very little experience with pedigree boats like these, and so their temperamental speed machines struggled between oceans. Steve White had no teams or people to help his campaign, and probably knew Toe in the Water better than the designers and builders combined. He was so entrenched in the endeavour of his Vendee campaign, his house was mortgaged, and he and his family were living on the boat in a French shipyard… Now that’s dedication.

Anyway, it’s a sad day for yet another Open spec boat, but at least the sailor in question will live to tell the story, which no doubt will be a rather lucrative one… Should Abby be under jury rig now, like Mike Golding in Ecover 3 was in 2008, headed towards Perth from 930nm out? Who knows, I’ll save the criticism for others, it’s all just an interesting story… Here are some images:

Before

After

Here is a video I found of what a dismasted boat in the southern ocean looks like – In case you were wondering. It is Mike Golding aboard Ecover 3 with a jury rig – If I remember correctly, his speed was about 4-5kts:

So, if you were interested in getting a free Open 40, there is one floating around 40°48′S 74°58′E.

nick.

So of course, the web is now awash with commentary on child sailors, irresponsibility etc. In success these ‘kids’ are heroes, in failure their parents are maniacs and terrible people. There is little point in harking on about this, the plain fact is, there is a sailor stuck down in the southern ocean right now, and my only question has nothing to do with age, boats or parenting: It’s simply: Why is she in the southern ocean in winter? After some searching I found her last known position, and mapped it against Tony Bullimore who capsized in a similar area. At least he was down there at the right time of year, 1200nm from where Abby is now:

Australian rescue services always get the task of looking after these waters… In fact, said services have just sent a Qantas Airbus down there to sweep over her. In 1997 when Tony Bullimore was down there as part of a race, he and a French sailor were picked up, the story as follows: “The Royal Australian Navy launched a rescue mission for Bullimore and another capsized competitor, Thierry Dubois. Bullimore was alive and managed to survive in an air pocket in the upside-down boat in pitch darkness, having lost his food supplies – his only food was a bar of chocolate. On January 9, Thierry Dubois was rescued by an Australian S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter embarked on the frigate HMAS Adelaide. Adelaide then proceeded further south to where the Exide Challenger had been located by a RAAF P-3 Orion. Adelaide dispatched an rigid-hulled inflatable boat to the Exide Challenger where crew members knocked on the hull. Hearing the noise, Bullimore swam out from his boat and was quickly rescued by personnel from Adelaide. HMAS Adelaide then returned both Dubois and Bullimore to Perth.”

The estimated cost of this rescue was six million dollars. However, rescue costs are difficult to calculate, and while Webb Chiles might not agree with a pickup, I think she should be at whatever financial cost.

Criticism is so easy from an armchair. She’ll be terrified right now, but thankfully the boat she’s in is nearly unsinkable… Five watertight bulkheads, a hull loaded with foam designed for the very ocean she is in. I have no idea why she is sailing where she is right now, however this is what she’s experiencing:

It’s a calculated gamble to sail anywhere, at any time, but we can lessen the potential negative outcome of that risk, by succumbing to natures seasonable characteristics…

It’s winter in the southern hemisphere, and even at the best of times, it’s the world’s most terrifying ocean. Whether you’re 16, or 55 years old is irrelevant.

nick.

A few photos…

A few more images in the usual place.

I still have some Contessa 26 tshirts for sale – Unfortunately now only in small & medium!

nick.

A few weeks ago, my great friends Captain Ted and Rob over in the Bay Area of San Francisco graciously moved my sweet little boat ‘SV Harmony’ to her new home: Out of water. She now lays in a yard full of other boats that are gasping at their gills to sail. It’s a sad turn of events in one sense – I had sort of hoped that maybe I could wrangle a small visit to see her, and make sure she was safely stored and could weather the next year or so of neglect, but alas that won’t be happening…

If anyone is curious as to what I actually do now, I’ve started a company with a close friend here in Melbourne, and we’re both working hard to pull it off the ground. I had two opportunities on arrival here in Australia: A great job offer with a company I had worked with previously, and the opportunity I’ve taken: To pursue our own ideas & ambitions, and take a risk. Just like sailing Constellation, this could sink, but on the other hand, just like sailing Constellation, it could float and be an extraordinary experience. I’m pitching for the latter. But like sailing, and taking any kind of risk, there is self-doubt, and worry… So, I live out in the country in a small miners cottage, and work away on something we hope will be self-sustainable, far away from the sea.

In between all this, I’ve had ups and downs, missing my sweet old boat. I don’t regret my decision to sell her, but I do miss the memories and feelings I had whenever I was aboard. The odd smell of mould and diesel inside her cabin, was enough to put me right in the thick of it. Right in the middle of the Atlantic. Rolling and churning through the water, seemingly at a standstill against the backdrop of vast water and sky… What extraordinary times.

So while I thought about all this, I made a tshirt of the Contessa 26, and decided to have a few of them printed. Screenprinting isn’t cheap, and the little amount I do make on each tshirt is going towards my monthly hard standing bill for Harmony.

Buy online.

I’ll try to update more regularly!

Nick.

It’s hard re-adjusting to life on land. The constant drama and adventure of sailing is in the past… It isn’t gone forever, but things are certainly different. So what’s been happening in the aftermath? I seem to have lost some inclination to write, but things are definitely active, post-sailing. Firstly, I’d like to introduce the work of Jack Rath, who has been following me around the planet with a camera. Following is a 6minute trailer of the film he has been shooting on my travels for the last four years. It’s a very strange feeling having a film made about oneself… The film is called ‘Between Home’ & the project website is www.betweenhome.com, if you’d like to keep up to date with its progress.

The film isn’t my only news… The adventure will always continue in one way or another. Please say hello to my new sailing boat ‘Harmony’ –

More photos here

She’s a perfect 32ft long, and has all the wonderful attributes of a solid and trustworthy sailing vessel, much like my dear old friend Constellation… As to where we shall venture – Unlike my last voyage, future sailing will be just as ambitious, yet less prone to deadlines, and specific goals. I have new work commitments involving a freshly formed company with a great friend here in Melbourne, so I’m 100% focused on that at the moment & for the foreseeable future – Yet the very fact of knowing Harmony exists keeps my sense of adventure and connection to the sea alive. The type of sailing I performed with Constellation was to give up everything and concentrate on one single goal for several years – This worked for me at the time, but I plan for my future sailing endeavours to work a little differently. Harmony also resides many thousands of miles away, and I have to thank my friends Adam, Captain Ted and Rob for helping me make the purchase from Australia. Thank you also to Zack the former owner, for being patient and helpful through such a faraway sale.

For those interested in keeping up to date on the goings on of the adventures of Harmony, please click on the drawing of her on www.silentunrest.com. A new website will be announced there when the time is right.

nick.

This morning I packed the old windvane paddle from Windy the Windpilot, and a set of charts for Palmyra Atoll into my backpack, started up a borrwoed two stroke outboard for the last time, and buzzed onto the dock at Cammera Marina, in Sydney. It was humid and rainy, and the last filmic moment of this whole crazy voyage, was Constellation fading away into the background as I motored ashore. She sits on a mooring in Sydney, the keys are hung up in the office, and a fresh owner has taken over with new dreams and impending oceanic madness…

The last month has been spent moving Constellation from Coffs Harbour to Sydney… Originally I thought I would have the gumption and technical resources to sail her to Melbourne, however as things ended up happening (always by the cusp), we sailed no farther than Sydney harbour.

In some respects it is a very sad day. But in others, as one door shuts, new ones open… As they already have… I may not have Constellation the physical object, but what memories! And those memories can never be taken away, or even sold.

I plan to write an exhaustive post on the statistics of this voyage, and thank all those that have helped me come this far… But for now, just a farewell and a few small images from the last month…

Me and Chris, the new owner.

Flying from Newcastle to Coffs with Chris

Downwind to Sydney

Catching a tuna the first night out

On the public dock at Port Stephens (thanks Brad!)

Great friends and amazing supporters of my trip, Paul, Duane & Marty

Moving all my personal stuff off of Constellation

Thank you everyone,

Nick.

I will pick Constellation up in early Jan, and sail nonstop to Sydney, and then hopefully nonstop to Melbourne. I don’t think it’s going to be a particularly enjoyable sail (due to weather and the nature of the Australian coast), however it must be done!

There needs to be more:

nick.