by Julie Hartwig
November 2012
Twenty-five years ago, Tin Can Bay multihull designer Len Surtees had a life-threatening brush with cancer. Now aged 62, Surtees is proof that age and surviving cancer are no barriers to a man’s aspirations. Many people dream of building a boat and setting sail on exciting adventures. While the dream costs nothing, making it a reality usually takes time, money and hard work. When Surtees finished building his 9m catamaran Zeavard and went in search of a new challenge, he decided to sail Zeavard solo, non-stop and unassisted around Australia, a goal that if successful, would set two world records: the smallest sailing boat and the oldest person to accomplish the feat.
Months of planning and preparation took place prior to departure, including lengthy discussions with Bruce Arms, the current world record holder for solo, non-stop circumnavigations of Australia. Sponsors and supporters came on board, among them Cancer Council Queensland, for whom Surtees was aiming to raise $10,000 sailing under the “I CAN Sail for Cancer” banner.
Surtees departed Tin Can Bay on September 20 2012. Escorted by rescue vessels from Coast Guard Tin Can Bay, Zeavard crossed the Wide Bay Bar just before midday. The first few days were very frustrating with light headwinds, but on the fourth day, Zeavard sustained minor damage to the bow of the centre pod. Surtees said, “The damage wasn’t serious at that stage, but if left unrepaired, it could have become serious, so I decided to head for Urangan to make repairs.”
At Urangan, Zeavard was hauled out to make repairs and three days later, Surtees restarted his circumnavigation. However, the restart was short-lived when he began experiencing problems with the primary autopilot track trolley. Back in Urangan, the trolley was modified and two days later, Zeavard set off a third time. “It was good to finally get away,” Surtees said of the third departure. “All the problems had been resolved and the weather was finally in my favour with steady southeast winds that set in for several days.”
Over the following days, Zeavard made excellent progress along the Queensland coast maintaining an average boat speed of six knots and covering an average of 130 nautical miles a day in steady 15-20 knot southeasterly winds. However, while the winds were favourable and Zeavard was capable of much faster speeds, the lumpy and confused three-metre seas and sleep deprivation were making life on board very uncomfortable.
As Zeavard approached the northern fringes of the Great Barrier Reef, conditions softened and while the speeds were down, the spinnaker was up and sailing conditions were very pleasant. Surtees said, “I caught a couple of fish on my trolling line - a Wahoo and a Spanish mackerel - but they were big fish and with no refrigeration on Zeavard, I had to cook the fillets and consume over a couple of days. I also found flying fish from three to twenty centimetres long on deck in the mornings. Sea birds were also frequent visitors. On one occasion, nineteen petrels enjoyed a nightlong chat, and each evening two or three albatross would hitch a ride to rest and preen themselves. It was amazing to see these large birds tuck their heads under their wings and sleep for hours, swaying to keep upright as Zeavard bounced along.”
Crossing through the outer Great Barrier Reef and navigating through the reef-strewn waters to Cape York was Zeavard’s next major challenge. Surtees passed through the Raine Island Entrance on Wednesday 10 October and at 11.15 am the next day, Zeavard rounded Cape York under blue skies and calm seas and celebrated reaching the first major milestone of the voyage with a glass of wine, a bowl of soup and a block of chocolate! “Transiting the Prince of Wales Channel was a worrying time,” said Surtees. “I was running under spinnaker with good easterly breezes that I wanted to make the most of, but there were ships everywhere; I didn’t have many options. After battling 3.5 knot head currents, it was a big relief to finally clear the channel at 8.00 pm that night and head out on the next leg of the voyage across the Gulf of Carpentaria.” It was also an opportunity for Surtees to get some sleep; he had not slept for 32 hours!
Designed for short coastal cruising, Zeavard’s icebox could keep a variety of food fresh for two to three days and there is no need to ration water. With a non-stop voyage, Surtees had to pay careful attention to these issues. Even though Zeavard had the ability to collect rainwater, water supplies were carefully monitored and consumption was limited to three litres a day in the tropics. To conserve water when making a cup of coffee or soup, Surtees would measure a cup of water then pour it into the kettle to eliminate boiling excess water and consuming gas.
While life was simple, it wasn’t a piece of cake. In fact, for Surtees, it was mostly soup and more soup! He quickly became an expert on the various types of soup and was sustained by dried power sachets (add boiling water) and chunky tinned soups. Coffee came in 3:1 sachets (just add hot water). There were no fancy meals, just basics, but Surtees did have five slabs of chocolate and five small bottles of wine to celebrate the milestones of his voyage.
Once past Cape York, conditions deteriorated, delivering the toughest conditions of the voyage with 30-knot southeast winds and very rough, confused 2-3 metre seas. However, as is Nature’s way, when things are at their worst she sent a couple of ‘pick-me-ups’ to lift Surtees’ spirits: a visit by a pod of about twenty dolphins and a magnificent sunset. Zeavard had been running under jib alone, but the winds gradually eased to 10-15 knots from the east and Zeavard began her five-day romp across the Top End.
Another ‘highlight’ came when a Coastwatch aircraft buzzed Zeavard. Surtees said, “I talked to the Coastwatch crew on Channel 16 and answered their questions about my journey. It was wonderful to see and talk to them.”
Zeavard progressed steadily east towards Cape Van Diemen on Melville Island, aware that the next leg of the voyage along the north-west coast would be quite challenging. Over the next forty-eight hours, light and variable winds gained the upper hand, leaving Zeavard at the mercy of the north Kimberly coast’s strong currents and big tides. Surtees said, “I had little or no wind after rounding Melville Island and spent a lot of time going up and down on gentle swells with the sails hanging like limp rags. The GPS said I was moving at 1.3 knots, but I was actually going sideways with the current in the wrong direction! It was very frustrating.”
Surtees took advantage of the light conditions to tackle a few deck jobs, but quickly realised he could easily slip and fall into the water. In those conditions, it wouldn’t be a problem because he could easily swim back to the boat and climb aboard by the transom steps. Back in the safety of the cockpit, Surtees happened to glance over the stern and saw a sight that made his blood run cold. “There were six sharks circling waiting for their lunch!” he said. “After that I made sure I had a good hand-hold when working on deck.” Sharks weren’t the only sea life Surtees saw. Even though Zeavard was over fifty nm off the coast, he saw a large number of sea snakes drifting with the current towards Indonesia.
As a single-hander, sail handling and vessel management (collision alarms going off, continual motion and sea noise) were relentless and sleep deprivation was a 24/7 issue. “I was very, very tired, but you grab sleep when you can - twenty minutes here, an hour there. It’s never enough, but you just seem to get by.”
Despite its remoteness, there was a lot of shipping activity on the north-west coast and Surtees became very concerned about encountering ships in the calm conditions. “I decided I’d better have the outboard on standby just in case,” he said. “But when I went to fire it up, the engagement lever was locked in neutral. I contacted my outboard mechanic in Tin Can Bay and got instructions to rectify the problem. These involved dragging the outboard into the cockpit, unbolting the bottom of the engine and spraying the lever with copious amounts of WD40. I didn’t think it was going to free up, but it eventually did. The problem was caused by an accumulation of salt in the nylon bearings!”
With the outboard on standby, Surtees’ next encounter was with a couple of survey ships. “I saw these two large ships on the horizon and was aiming for the gap between them,” he said. “Next thing a Coastwatch plane buzzed me. I knew they were looking out for me, so I turned on the radio and heard them calling me on channel 16.’ However, this wasn’t a friendly visit. Surtees had strayed into a restricted area and the Coastwatch plane was warning him off. The two ships were conducting survey operations towing four miles of cable and there was a six nautical mile exclusion zone around them. Surtees tacked away to the south to avoid the exclusion zone.
Then disaster struck when Surtees slipped and fell heavily, landing on the autopilot, bending the shaft. “It was still working,” he said, “but not very well and considering what lay ahead, it was a failure looking for a place to happen. I spoke to my shore contact who ordered another shaft to be freighted to Broome.” This stop meant that Surtees’ quest to set the two world records was over. However, having made it almost half way around Australia, he wasn’t about to quit and decided to continue the voyage as a ‘stopping circumnavigation’.
After the windless trials Surtees had experienced during the previous week, he had a great ride into Broome with steady westerly breezes and covered the 96 nm in just over twelve hours. Arriving about 4.00 a.m., Zeavard anchored in Roebuck Bay. Locals Gary and Neila Harding invited Surtees for breakfast and provided transport to and from town. He also met with the local Sea Rescue commander and over coffee and muffins, they discussed Zeavard’s voyage. Unbeknown to Surtees, Broome Sea Rescue had been tracking Zeavard from north of Cape Leveque and were on hand to provide any assistance Surtees required whilst in Broome. “It was great to find that kind of support so far from home,” he said.
Despite media reports to the contrary, Surtees had not abandoned his voyage. He said, “The voyage was always about more than those records; they were just two of several goals that I set out to achieve. It was disappointing that the world record aspect of the voyage was nullified, but I was still sailing to raise funds for cancer research and to achieve my own personal goal of circumnavigating Australia single-handed in a boat that I designed and built.”
After a thirty-hour stop, Zeavard departed Broome and headed towards North West Cape, 300 nm away. Zeavard now encountered strong south-westerlies and over the next few days, the conditions continued to hinder Zeavard’s progress. With 25-knot-plus winds and seas over two metres, Zeavard spent three days hove to. Faced the prospect of battling these conditions for another 1,000 nautical miles and weather forecasts indicating that this weather pattern had set in, Surtees decided to return to Broome and suspend the voyage until favourable weather conditions prevailed.
“It was disappointing,” he said of the decision, “but I was aware that I was sailing along that coast at a time of year when conditions could set adverse prevailing winds against me. I was also conscious of the need to take care of the boat and the equipment loaned to me by my sponsors and supporters and considered the risks associated with continuing the voyage too great.”
Surtees is now preparing to resume his voyage in late March and when a suitable weather window presents, Zeavard will again set sail with the goal of completing her solo circumnavigation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Surtees would like to acknowledge the contribution and assistance of the following sponsors and supporters: Colin Quin Sailmaker (custom-made headsails and asymmetrical spinnaker); Brian Pocock Upholstery (spray dodger); Peter Walsh (outboard technician); TC Communications (satellite phone); Convatec (daily medical supplies); Turvey Digital (website); OceanTracker.net (satellite vessel tracking); Great Circle Marine (life raft); Para Anchors Australia (para anchor); International Paints (anti-fouling); Julie Hartwig Photography & Design (media liaison).
ABOUT THE SAILOR
Len Surtees is a multihull designer and builder based in Tin Can Bay on Queensland’s Cooloola Coast. Diagnosed with life-threatening cancer in 1987, Surtees elected to undergo radical world-first surgery that gave him only a 20% chance of survival. Against the odds, he survived and emerged from the experience to prove that cancer survivors can live a full and exciting life. Surtees built his first boat in Canada in 1973, and designed and built Tristan Jones’ trimaran Outward Leg. In Australia, Surtees built Tamworth’s ‘Golden Guitar’ and set world records with free-flight gliders. In 2009, he designed and began building his 9m catamaran, Zeavard, which was launched at Tin Can Bay in September 2011. Visit Surtees’ website at www.surteesmultihulls.com.