Their 50-foot steel ketch, Mithril, is now up for sale as the two contemplate a calmer life on Ireland's inland waterways.
Here, Geraldine shares her experiences. Links to their own site are below.
In 2006 I wanted to visit family in Australia and instead of booking an airline ticket my partner Peter Maxwell and I decided we would sail there aboard Mithril our 50 foot steel ketch. We built Mithril ourselves and have been living on board and sailing all over the world since 1991. Between 1996 and 2002 we circumnavigated the globe by way of the stormy Southern Ocean, including going round Cape Horn. We also visited the Antarctic island of South Georgia the first Irish boat ever to do so.
Ever since he was a schoolboy studying geography Peter had been fascinated by the little known French Antarctic Territory of Kerguelen Island; deep in the Southern Ocean between South Africa and Australia. Now was his big chance to go there. The island, the size of Northern Ireland, is completely uninhabited by humans but is home to millions of albatross, penguins and Antarctic seals. As far as I know Mithril is the first Irish boat ever to visit Kerguelen.
By contrast I have always had an ambition to visit Atlantic Canada so after our 3-month stay in Australia we sailed back around the world to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland where we spent this summer. Many of the Newfoundlanders are of Irish descent and still speak with a sort of Irish accent. To round off this amazing voyage we had an 18-day passage back across the north Atlantic and arrived in Kinsale at the beginning of September.
Now we are back in Newry where we began 2 years and more than 30,000 miles ago. Sailing around the world on your own boat is a magnificent experience and we have visited many places inaccessible to any other type of traveller. Now, however, we intend to hang up our deep-sea boots and retire to the Inland Waterways where well never have to worry about wind and weather. Mithril is a boat specifically designed for ocean voyaging and is unsuitable for canal work so we are putting her on the market hoping that someone else who wants to visit faraway places will be her next owner. For logs and photos of the whole voyage please visit sailmithril.tripod.com
