Around Alone

Regarding the voyage as “the holy grail” was Tristan’s reason for attempting the solo, unassisted record, Credit: Tristan Gourlay

This feature article originally appeared in AFLOAT Magazine and forms part of our latest edition of boating features exploring solo circumnavigation sailing and offshore endurance.

“It’s the holy grail of yachting,” Tristan Gourlay tells Afloat when questioned about his motivation for completing his solo, unassisted 138 day circumnavigation. After limping off his yacht Blue Moon II, with the aid of a walking stick at Hobart on the March 28th, the 47-year-old Tasmanian has gone into the record books. With a support crew that included previous record holder, father Ken, Tristan was well prepared and fairly determined to beat his dad’s 2007, 179-day record. “Well, I’d a bigger and faster boat of course but I did push pretty hard,” Tristan tells me. Ken’s 42-foot wooden Andy Dovell designed Spirit Silver Edition held the record for 19 years but was beaten by a whopping 41 days; impressive sailing. “Dad helped me out a helluva lot with advice and information so I still say he’s got the right to be in this record just as much as I do.”

As for officialdom, the voyage was timed by the Royal Tasmanian Yacht Club. Beyond that, the main parameter was ensuring the route length complied with World Sailing guidelines. Mostly a family affair, no professional weather routers were used during the west-to-east voyage, with Tristan using various apps via Starlink satellite for the best route, including Windy. This app was used extensively when three low pressure systems collided off Cape Horn, forcing Tristan far south and into the ice zone. “I dipped into the Screaming 60s for about 45 minutes.” Once beyond the Horn the slow uphill sail was required to ensure the record mileage was done, leaving the Falkland Islands to starboard then rounding the St. Peter and Paul Rocks off the bulge of Brazil in the North Atlantic, before turning south, passing Tristan da Cunha island on his way towards the Cape of Good Hope and the Indian Ocean. “Then, for the last month or so it was then just a matter of pointing straight home.” But the weather had a final challenge for him in the Indian Ocean; his first prolonged storm. “I had five or six days that were around 30-40 knots but after that it was a matter of riding the top of the fronts that came through, staying below those highs to avoid easterlies.”

After each major cape Tristan took a tot of rum to celebrate, as he did when passing Australia’s Cape Leeuwin before finally reaching Tasmania, logging 22,500 miles in total.

Making a sailor

A vastly experienced offshore sailor, after growing up on dinghies with his brother, to buying an Adams 11.9 as a 17-year-old, Tristan has enjoyed plenty of sea time. In his mid-20s he moved into short-handed racing, doing the 2006 Melbourne-Vanuatu Race. An active supporter of the Short Handed Sailing Association of Australia (SHSAA), he did the 2024 Sydney-Hobart double-handed on his Adams 16.4 Blue Moon II and competed in tough West Coasters (Melbourne to Hobart via the Tasmanian west coast) and other major ocean races. In 2018 along with dad Ken Gourlay OAM, Tristan, completed the Melbourne Osaka Double-Handed Yacht Race on his Adams 11.9 and again in 2025 on Blue Moon II. A single-bloke, Tristan works as a crane operator and yacht rigger when not doing yacht deliveries or offshore racing.

Acquired by Tristan and Ken a few years ago, the Adams 16.4, Blue Moon II was well prepared for the circumnavigation having done a major ocean race already – the double-handed 2025 Melbourne to Osaka; a 5,550nm marathon. The long and narrow Blue Moon II is a well proven offshore boat with protective deckhouse. She was built in 1989 of GRP with foam laminate, with centreboard drawing 4.5 feet and a solid displacement of 13 tons in. “She has a fairly high stability, mainly form-stability from the hull.”

The sailplan has a large roller genoa with a new roller staysail fitted for the circumnavigation to spread the canvas with snuffers on the spinnakers. Tristan took both symmetrical and asymmetrical: “I actually only used an asymmetrical spinnaker once, near the Equator.” Instead, he poled out the headsail when running square, a tactic used when passing the Bight on his approach to Tasmania. The deep cockpit with single wheel is well sheltered and clear of most running rigging, with the mainsheet track forward on the deckhouse roof. For navigation, Tristan had two electronic autopilots. “I thought about fitting a windvane as well but the costs were high,” he said.

But after engine failure in the Atlantic near the Falkland Islands and cloudy weather that limited battery charging, he had to hand-steer for significant periods to conserve power. “That began to really push the body and the mind, so I also set the boat up to self-steer as well but this didn’t work when running, only on beam reaches.”

Voyage challenges

The circumnavigation took Tristan nearly five months of living alone in a tiny space, with only his thoughts and the occasional phone call to loved ones. Given his vast sailing experience, the practicalities weren’t really a problem though, he said. But he was surprised by the lack of much down time. “There was always something to do, or something to fix.” The first major problem was in the Atlantic when his diesel engine failed near the Falklands. “That’s when I started thinking, now it’s got hard.”

When his Starlink satellite also failed, it meant no weather routing, leaving him with only two satellite phones. “So I could still talk back to dad using them, send him positions every lunchtime and a few notes about what was going on”. The diesel engine powered his batteries which were required to run the navigation and various other systems; and a wind generator wasn’t fitted. “The solar was the only backup but in the Indian Ocean dull weather meant I had limited power, prioritising running the plotter to record my track and distance, so I had to do some hand-steering”. Standing tethered-on for hours at a time took a major effort from Tristan as he made his way south towards Cape Leeuwin off Western Australia. Family and friends tracked the Blue Moon II via her Automatic Identification System (AIS) which Tristan ensured had enough power to operate.

Rest is the eternal challenge for solo sailors but Tristan’s short-handed experience ensured he knew when to grab rest, for safety. “At the start in the Pacific I slept pretty well, with usually at least four hours each day.” Another essential he knew about was ensuring energy levels were maintained with decent food. “Any free time I had, I’d cook up a good big feed to keep me going.” Cryovac meals and pre-cooked meat were stocked in the freezer (until the batteries weakened in the Atlantic) and Tristan used plenty of fresh food where possible, including fishing. “But for the last two months I was eating from tins and making my ship’s broth – a heap of rice, some tinned ham, tinned veggies and mixed up into a simmer sauce of curry.”

This also involved baking bread in his gas stove, that on one occasion nearly led to a major fire off Cape Horn. A gas leak from a cracked hose exploded into flame which could have been deadly if more had escaped into the bilges; turning the boat into a bomb. “Afterwards, I posted on Facebook that I’d had a fire and a gas fitter bloke told me how to fix the hose.” It involved cannibalising his diesel heater stove to get the cooker going. However, the stoic Tristan survived it and sailed on. Mentioning the mental side of this solo voyage, Tristan said he found it surprisingly easy. “I was surprised at my mental strength but I had strong will to do this trip, which kept me focussed and going.”

Helming for hours was his only time to really reflect but there was often another job on his mind; such as how to make the boat go quicker or plan his next sail trim. Other challenges included ensuring chafe didn’t affect the running rigging, with only a few failures, the topping lift which Tristan moused with another line; which still required a fairly dangerous mast climb on a lumpy sea. The other major gear that broke was his main traveller, after an inadvertent gybe; which was lashed back together and held all the way home to Hobart. “Afterall, I knew if I called in to get anything fixed, I’d lose the record, and I may not get the chance to do it again.”

Cruising

Recovery from the voyage will take some time, as the cameras showed when Tristan limped off the boat at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania; symptoms from a prior illness. With no major sponsors the budget had to be carefully watched but Tristan was grateful for a berth at the Royal Yacht Club which greatly helped the kitty. During recovery, some time will be used to write a book. Sharing his experience with yacht clubs is another thing he plans, with talks at various Australian venues – so watch his Facebook page (Chasing the Endless Horizon) for dates and give him a shout if your club is interested. “I’d also like to do the grey nomad cruise up north next winter,” laughs Tristan. Yet, racing is never far from his mind, because he then talks about the revival of the Tasmania Three Peaks Race in 2026, a race he’s done several times, like many other hardy Tasmanians.

This feature article originally appeared in AFLOAT Magazine. To explore more stories like this, browse the AFLOAT Magazine archive or view the latest edition of AFLOAT Magazine.