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"BRAVEHEART" Update on Jesse Martin's Story
by David Hunter-Thompson MSc
Video available
 Sunday 6th December 1998, saw 17 year old Australian, Jesse Martin, hoist his reefed mainsail, slip his moorings and begin a 27,000 nautical mile solo, non-stop sail around the globe. Jesse aims to land back in Melbourne before his 18th birthday. If successful, he will beat the current record, held by fellow Aussie David Dicks, by some 40 days.
Before he left, Jesse said, " To sail around the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted, is the ultimate in getting back to nature. I will only use solar and wind generators on board and the yacht's canvas to take me around the world". Jesse wants his voyage to highlight our over reliance upon and use of, fossil fuels and the urgent need to develop alternative, renewable energy sources.
Jesse's family joined a 300 strong crowd of schoolmates and well-wishers, to wave him off from Melbourne's Sandringham Marina. Light breezes carried Jesse to the Heads at the entrance to Port Philip Bay, then out into the Bass Strait. A slightly tearful Louise Martin related Jesse's words as he cast off: "Don't worry Mum, as soon as I pass the Heads I'll be on my way home!"
Jesse's course took him past New Zealand during the festive season. So, last year, instead of handing out presents, Jesse made the more appropriate gift of a Christmas Day telephone call to his family, using the Iridium phone. He reported that everything was fine and that he had shared his festive day with an inquisitive seal.
Anyone sailing round the globe will encounter bad weather at some stage - Jesse found his first big low pressure system in early January, in the Southern Ocean. Lionheart was knocked down twice, whilst Jesse was on deck trying to deploy a drogue anchor in a force 9 gale. From the tangle of rope in the cockpit, he threw the drogue over the side - the leeward side, promptly running it over. Jesse had to cut it free. He says it was a sobering experience and one he didn't want to repeat, especially because everything below got soaked. He was knocked down again in late February, approaching Cape Horn, during a gale that also savaged competitors in the "Around Alone" race (previously the BOC.) This time Jesse reported objects had lodged in places that seemingly defied gravity, so he reckons Lionheart was tilted more than 90 degrees. Soon after rounding Cape Horn, a third knock down slammed in, bending the frame supporting the three large solar panels around the cockpit. Overall however, the basic yacht has stood up well to the bad weather.
The Cape Horn experience was, according to Jesse's reports, "like something out of a movie", with an escort of dolphins and a rainbow the day before and then clear skies when passing the actual Cape in low, variable winds. Since then, Jesse has run into warmer weather and more consistent winds.
To complete the circumnavigation, Jesse will have to go round the Azores islands, west of Portugal, which is the northern hemisphere's antipodal point to Melbourne, in the southern hemisphere. Jesse should reach the Azores by late May and is looking forward to seeing his family, who plan to fly out there and charter a boat to greet their boy. However, they are not allowed to touch Jesse's boat or render assistance, as this would invalidate the record attempt.
Jesse dreamt of this extreme adventure since he was 13 years old, having been inspired by fellow Australian sailors, Kay Cottee and David Dicks. But he's been hooked on the sea since sitting in a dinghy as a two year old, in Northern Queensland. As a teenager, he completed a long voyage around Cape York on an open 14ft catamaran with his brother and father. Last year he crewed on a yacht from Belize to Tahiti, doing the last 3,000 miles just double handed. His mother Louise says, "Jesse is a self-reliant, outdoors type and has a lot of inner strength." Jesse was born near Dachau, the site of the German concentration camp, during his parents' European campervan trip. So perhaps he was just born to be a survivor. Whatever qualities he has, it's quite clear that Jesse is no shy, callow youth; he handled the media scrum at his send off (talking to at least three TV crews) with aplomb.
Louise Martin said: "His grandfather always taught Jesse and Beau [Jesse's brother] self-reliance, never to give up and to aim high. He always told them 'Remember the spider boys, remember the spider' ". This is in reference to the Robert The Bruce story, where the future Scottish King regained his own confidence, by watching a spider try, try and try again to attach his web to the ceiling of a cave. Jesse's grandfather was a direct descendant of Robert The Bruce, who became Scotland's king in 1306, less than a year after William Wallace (the previous King-wannabe, depicted in Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" film) was executed at Westminster.
Jesse drew up his own formerly budgeted proposal and went hunting for sponsors. (Rumour has it that Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett read the document and was impressed). The main sponsor is Mistral International, the consumer goods arm of Adelaide based conglomerate, Gerard Industries. Jesse's enthusiasm and sense of adventure so inspired Managing Director Matthew Gerard, that he quickly committed his company to become principal sponsor. "Jesse struck me as a person who was not afraid to complete what he set out to", said Matthew. "The boy has his own rules that he plays by and I respect that. When I asked how much money he needed to make the dream a reality, he replied straight-off 'One hundred and eighty thousand dollars', as calmly as if asking for pocket money." Mistral has provided around $200,000 for essential equipment, clothing and state of the art navigational systems.
Lionheart is a 34 foot Sparkman & Stephens designed yacht, renowned for its offshore handling. This design has already carried at least two others on solo circumnavigation's, but it doesn't come cheap. Seeking funds to buy the yacht was very difficult. So much so, that Louise Martin eventually realised that she would have to re-mortgage the family home to fund the purchase. Lionheart was built in Perth with long-distance cruising in mind, so her hull is specially strengthened. This made her the ideal choice for Jesse's record attempt. The running rigging has been replaced with Spectra fibre rope called "SuperBraid", which is approximately twice as strong as racing braids and vastly more resistant to UV and fatigue. Kon Martin (Jesse's father), a seafaring adventurer himself, did the rigging alterations and added extra stays to the mast, giving Lionheart three forestays and 12 in total. A life raft sits in the cockpit and contains an EPIRB, whilst another EPIRB is in the main cabin. A 'night-watchman' radar is installed and sounds an alarm when it spots anything big enough to reflect its beam. Lionheart is kept on course by a Fleming Global Series 401 Self Steering System, which is once again being made in Australia. This was chosen for its ease of use and reliability, as demonstrated by Kay Cottee during her solo circumnavigation in 'First Lady' in 1988.
The interior layout was copied from Jon Sanders' yacht, as this was thought to be a very practical scheme. Jon Sanders completed a double round the world sail in the early 80's and followed up with a triple circumnavigation in the late 80's. Jon also assisted with David Dicks' preparations for his 'youngest around the world' attempt, which is the record Jesse Martin is now trying to break.
The storage area in the bow has been converted into a collision bulkhead, by filling it with foam and sealing it up. Two 100 litre water tanks sit in the hull and there's a further 250 litres stored in Jerry cans. Hence water for washing is rationed to one cup per day, (a 'hardship' some male teenagers might envy.) So an "economy wipe-down" will have to suffice, unless it rains, when Jesse can take an outdoor shower (sea state permitting), replenish his tanks and scrub the accumulated salt off the decks. Nutritionist, Jacinta Oxford, planned the menu and calculated that Jesse will need around 5,000 calories per day. Each day's food was wrapped in heat shrink, and 7 days worth was packed into 2ft long packets, which were distributed around the hull. Very little is tinned and a typical day's menu includes one litre of milk, cereal, dried fruit, chew bars, cheese and freeze-dried main meals. Jesse also has a bread mix, so he can make an Aussie-style damper bread. Fully loaded, Lionheart sat about 5 inches lower in the water than normal, at the start of the voyage. So far, Jesse's plan to supplement his diet with fresh fish hasn't gone well; he caught nothing in the Southern Oceans and only landed his first fish, a small Dorado, off the Brazilian coast in early April.
Roger "Clouds" Badham keeps Jesse updated with the latest weather every few days, so he should be able to avoid the worst of the storms, wherever he is.
"Are you feeling lonely darling?", asked Louise Martin, when Jesse telephoned her at 1:00am, early in the trip. Jesse replied, "Aw, no Mum. How could I be lonely - there's four albatross following me!" Surely, these are the words of a real
'Braveheart'?
© 1999 by
David Hunter-Thompson MSc
Read Part 2
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