‘You’re a cork in the ocean’ – Aussie sailor makes it around the world in a mini yacht

Aussie adventurer Eric Marsh has made it home after successfully sailing solo around the world in a miniature yacht.

The veteran ocean racer was overcome with emotion last weekend when family and friends flew in from around the country for a surprise welcome home party at Coffs Harbour.

Marsh, 72, was the oldest person to finish the first Mini Globe Race – a 24,000 nautical mile journey on the smallest boats to ever race around the world.

He crossed the finish line in Antigua last month aboard his 5.8m yacht Sunbear before taking a well-earned holiday with wife Brenda on their way home to Australia.

“It still blows me away. I can’t comprehend that we sailed so far in these little boats. You really are a cork on the ocean,” Marsh said when reflecting on the trip.

“Some of the waves that hit the side of the boat, and some of the weather we went through, it’s incredible that they hold together.

“The boats are such a good design. They’ve got great stability, they’re strong and well built. It’s a testament to the designer. They really are amazing.”

All 15 competitors in the inaugural Mini Globe Race had to sail a new class of yacht called the McIntyre Class Globe 5.80.

Australian sailor Don McIntyre founded the race and commissioned Polish boat designer Janusz Maderski to create the class.

Marsh bought his boat Sunbear in Florida and another Australian competitor, Dan Turner from South Australia, built his own.

It took competitors 13 months to finish the five-leg race, which began in Antigua on February 23 last year. The first stop was Panama, then Fiji, Cape Town, Recife and back to Antigua.

Of the 15 starters, four retired and 11 made it around the world, including Marsh and Turner.

Marsh said it was an incredible feeling to sail towards the finish line and be greeted by a sea of cheering spectators.

“I was amazed at the number of local people who watched us sail out of Antigua and the same people were watching us come back in for the finish,” Marsh said.

“There were boats all over the place and big super yachts honking their horns. It was a pretty incredible sight to see and hear coming into Antigua for the finish.

“When you start a race like this, it’s really about proving to yourself that you can live up to your dream and actually sail around the world without assistance. It’s a tick in a big box when you complete it.”

Reflecting on the highs and lows of such an epic journey, Marsh has many standouts.

There were spectacular sunrises and sunsets at sea, the breathtaking beauty of remote islands, the wildlife, the welcoming locals at every stop, and the camaraderie of his new sailing family.

The worst and scariest thing to happen was being tossed overboard in the middle of the night in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

He was still attached to the boat with a safety line and had to overcome being dragged through the water to haul himself back on board.

“That was definitely the hardest thing to go through and get over. It was a scary incident and I did struggle with that,” Marsh said.

“It slowed me down quite a bit. It slowed me down moving around the boat and I sailed a lot more conservatively after that. I didn’t take risks, whereas prior to that I was probably a bit bolder and it showed in the results.”

Marsh came 8th overall and the race winner was Renaud Stitelmann, from Switzerland.

But for those following along at home, the tally board was inconsequential and the real result was simply finishing such an audacious challenge.

It was not uncommon for the sailors to come up against 50-knot squalls, 4-metre seas and strong currents. Or times when the wind would drop to nothing and they’d spend hours going nowhere.

One of the most daunting hurdles was getting down the east coast of Africa and around the notorious Cape of Good Hope.

“It’s very similar to the west coast and bottom of Tasmania. You have to really respect it,” Marsh said.

“The South African search and rescue organisation gave us a seminar on how to approach it, which was really good. That local knowledge really helped.

 “I hit the Cape of Good Hope early in the morning. We had 35 knots right through the night and I was down to just a headsail.

“I knew rounding the cape that the winds were predicted to pick up and, sure enough, it got up to 45/50 knots. I furled the headsail to just half a headsail to get around that area.”

There were even challenges at the end of that gruelling leg when Marsh had the sails down, the motor on and was making his way into the marina at Cape Town.

The area is renowned for catabatic winds off the mountain top. Marsh was about 100 metres from the marina when, whammo, 35 knots came flying over the mountain.

He had to whip up the headsail again to gain control of the boat and safely manoeuvre into a marina pen.

Same again coming into Antigua at the very end of the fifth and final leg of the race. The ocean proved yet again that it is powerful and relentless.

“I was about 5 miles out and thought, this is fantastic, getting close to the finish now. I could see the entrance to Falmouth Harbour and then I see this big black cloud over the islands heading my way.

“I thought, here we go, King Neptune wants to dish up his last squall, which he did,” Marsh said laughing.

“It’s all part and parcel of sailing, especially ocean racing. You can never get complacent.”

There were times Marsh had to overcome frustration, exhaustion and loneliness, and his daily calls to wife Brenda, a retired nurse, on a satellite phone became a lifeline.

He said he would never have embarked on a such a long and risky event without the full support and his wife and family.

“Brenda was amazing. There were times I called her when I was pretty stressed and you put that stress onto her and your family members.

“You can get really down and depressed if things aren’t going right and the weather’s not good. And of course, you miss people and you’re lonely sometimes.

“Having that phone call where you have someone trying to pep you up makes a big difference.

“It really is a team effort. You probably wouldn’t make it around the world if you didn’t have these people supporting you and helping you. That’s what gets you through a lot of the time.”

Marsh, a retired builder, also had the support of his sailor mates at Hobsons Bay Yacht Club in Melbourne, with whom he did most of his ocean racing.

A contingent of friends from the club were among those who made the trek to Coffs Harbour for Marsh’s welcome home party.

“It was pretty awesome. I was very shocked and really overwhelmed to see everyone. I really appreciated it,” he said.

“All of a sudden, a big chapter has ended and they’re memories now, which is quite weird.

“I’m slotting back into things, doing a bit of surfing and I’m back on the pushbike and just concentrating on Brenda and the family.

“It’s very different after being out in the ocean for so long. When I first came home everything seemed large and noisy. I can understand why people sometimes don’t settle into living back on the land. They feel more at home at sea.”

For now, Marsh is happy to stay on solid ground and thinks that might be it for him and big adventures.

He’s proven to himself that he could achieve his dream of sailing around the world, solo and unassisted.

 “We were the guinea pigs. No one had ever attempted to race around the world in these little boats and we had 11 out of 15 boats finish,” Marsh said.

“Some of the younger competitors will go onto other adventures, I’m sure, but me being the old bloke, I’ve ticked off the big thing I really wanted to do.”

As for his trusty boat Sunbear, she is currently a little ship on a big container ship, making her way back to Australia where she will begin her next chapter too.

Marsh has sold Sunbear to another Melbourne sailor with dreams of sailing around the world.

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‘Half crazy and very healthy’ – what it takes to sail a mini yacht around the world at 72 – Sister Sally

Mini Globe Race – Small Boat. Huge Adventure.