Pete Goss and his family crew are on the edge of the Doldrums as they make their way south towards Cape Town, en route to Australia.

Their 37 ft Mounts Bay lugger, Spirit of Mystery, is following in the wake of seven Cornishmen who sought out a new life in the Australian gold rush. Leaving Newlyn on Saturday 18 November 1854, the original Mystery travelled about 11,800 nautical miles in 116 days before arriving in Melbourne on 14 March 1855.

In his weblog, Pete wrote: “At one point last night it felt like it was raining fish; two big flying fish hit the hood and one took off right beside me and landed in the middle of the mizzen only to slip back into the sea. They are really quite entertaining as they take off from under the bow and skitter away in a star burst retreat with the sun sometimes reflecting off their backs to add to the spectacle. The big ones can cover large distances and remain in the air for quite some time as they are able to give the water another flick of the tail as they come back down. Then you get the baby of the family, all of two inches, giving it their best effort for a couple of feet. It’s really quite sweet to watch.

This morning we had a choice of Chocolate or Strawberry steam pudding with custard for breakfast, and as a result I feel like a lion. Halfway through cooking it Andy gave a shout from the helm, and we all piled on deck to find a pod of Killer Whales by the boat. We didn’t get as close as we would have liked but they were a magnificent sight and we could see them blowing as they made their way north – to where I have no idea.

We managed a gratifying 132NM run yesterday and will be looking to make our dive south for the doldrums in a few days as we will not be looking for any more westing for a while. So it was a happy crew, feeling like its making progress that sat for supper and sundowners last night.”

Keep up with their intrepid voyage on Pete Goss’ website