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Matthew Wright

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24.01.2022 I am on at end of this but I will be being interviewed next week by race organised Don McIntyre - Ian HJ nice to meet you

24.01.2022 I recently read this book by a famous French sailor - Eric Tabarly. As an Anglo-saxon I lacked a bit of knowledge of his achievements and his psychology - the book gave great insights into both. He had a series of boats almost all named "Pen Duick" - the photo below is a photo of the original yacht which he bought from his father. The yacht is an object of beauty.

24.01.2022 Next major expense are some sails so saving/working for these now - the choice is between saving some money and having them made somewhere in Asia or engaging with a local sail maker in France - the second option will be undoubtedly more expensive but having a sailmaker visit the boat, measure up, come for a sail and tweak the end result is valuable. I also need to come up with the best solution possible for catching rainwater - in the GGR you can't make water, you don't wan...t to have to stop for it so you need to catch it - which means a boom bag to catch rain off the main sail - just have to work out the best way to do this with slab reefing of the main and lines going around the boom potentially getting in the way. In the 2018 GGR some entrants (at least one that I know of) did essentially run out of water so I will start drinking my own urine soon to condition for this. See more

21.01.2022 In a double or nothing COVID-19 play I have just ordered a new mast and furlers x 2 for the boat - a long way to go to get to the start of a very long race and quite a few things still need to come together but things moving forwards

21.01.2022 I am an Australian entrant in the 2022 Golden Globe Race - The starting point was the dream to one day sail non stop, solo, unassisted around the world. I have had that dream ever since I was about 20 years of age. Never gotten to it, busy doing other things and other adventures but have never forgotten it. I was starting to wonder when I would get to it but some life events in recent years gave me reason to focus on this and now, with the love and support of my family - i th...ink it's the time to go for it. I am a signed up provisional entrant in the GGR 2022 (entrant # 12 from memory) and we bought a Rustler 36 in November 2019 - A boat I don't yet know well but from when I first saw it - seems to have a certain something. So, there are a lot of hurdles between now and September 2022 but a few of them are already behind me. www.goldengloberace.com

19.01.2022 The Boat - relaxing at St Mawes in a past life

19.01.2022 I got this sextant for Christmas ... now I just have to learn how to use it. The Golden Globe Race is a retro race which only allows Celestial navigation. Mini found the sextant in an antique shop in Port Adelaide but I had Captain Coconut check it out this morning and he says it is serviceable - thank you Mark Sinclair.

17.01.2022 Slowly but steadily getting there - although Stu Shimeld arrived on a Monday I have named him Man Friday - great to have his help as a fellow member of the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron - the photo is of us working on the boat in the hail with 3 degrees C - Julian Murray and Steve Dunn back at the Squadron don't know what they're missing - boat goes into the water tomorrow - surely Spring is just around the corner ?

15.01.2022 Some jobs happening in Brittany - rudder off - stripped - minor repairs - probably new gudgeons (love that word), hood lining out, deck fittings being fabricated in stainless - old toilet out - new bidet going in

15.01.2022 I haven't posted for a while because as an emergency physician in the time of a pandemic a sailing race seems a bit of a stretch. Australia has done well so far in terms of the Corona Virus (I still struggle with writing it as one word) which is a good problem to have. The boat is living the dream having moved into a nice spot in downtown Vannes in France - there is a job list drawn up to be executed and hopefully we can be reunited later this year to do some sailing miles. The photo was taken on a beautiful morning last week on Gulf St Vincent in South Australia. It reminds me a bit of a Hokusai woodblock. Wherever you are in the world I hope you and the people you love are safe.

14.01.2022 Should be in Falmouth in less than three weeks' time to hopefully get things ship shape and moving Mylor Yacht Harbour

13.01.2022 Boat now installed in a shed in La Trinite-Sur-Mer in Brittany - things starting to move

13.01.2022 A while back the ever talented Rachel Glasby made this for me and I was a bit shy to post it - here it is now.

13.01.2022 Day 1 in Falmouth - it has been raining even more than usual in these parts recently but managed to get the boat anti fouled within a few hours of arriving - Falmouth is a nice part of the world

11.01.2022 GGR Entrant Live interview NO. 8 with Matthew Wright from Australia...

10.01.2022 Continuing Barry Pickthall and Sheila's 'Down-under' tour of GGR skippers: South Australian Matthew Wright. Matthew Wright turned 50 on January 14. It was a d...efining moment. "I'm an emergency physician. In my line of work I see a lot of people in their 50s who thought they had plenty of time left. This job is always reminding me that the moment is now." "I'm a dreamer and long wanted to sail solo non-stop around the world. I followed Mark Sinclair's programme very closely and it is he who inspired me to get on and do it." The two are friends, and during our stay, Mark devoted time to help Matthew select a sextant and calibrate it. Mark is a natural mentor and I'm sure the two will be out checking sun sights together as soon as Capt. Coconut returns from his trip out into the Southern Ocean. Another big plus that Matthew has going for him is his elder brother Ben Wright who has made a career out of managing teams in the Volvo Ocean Race and America's Cup. "I hope he has time to help out with my preparations. I've bought the Rustler 36 Agitator based in Falmouth and plan to head over to the UK to start preparations later this year. I didn't see any point in looking for a boat in Australia. First the traditional long-keeled production boats that are allowed in the race are few and far between here, and it would have mean't sailing half way round the world just to get to the start." Matthew's other great asset is his partner who is fully supportive of his 'mid-life' challenge. "We discussed it at length long before I knew about the Golden Globe Race" He says: "She's very much onboard!"

10.01.2022 start is 2 years today - fingers crossed

09.01.2022 well - after a hectic week of doing a long list of jobs on the boat in the UK we made it across to Lorient in Brittany (France) arriving this morning from Falmouth after a vigorous, cold and very wet sail. I think we just managed to squeeze the trip in between some worse weather so have done well. The boat sails really well which is good news.

08.01.2022 Day 2 - dominated by man versus mould - forget pasties - mould is big here - happy to endorse this product just wish it came in a large drum

07.01.2022 One of the big decisions for the boat/race is which self steering system to go for. In the 2018 Golden Globe Race ( https://goldengloberace.com ) some entrants had failure of their self steering systems which put them out of the race - obviously in a single handed event self steering is essential. The self steering systems used are wind vane based - so that your boat steers a consistent angle to the wind rather than a compass course. These systems are great - they don't mak...e any noise and don't use any power. I installed a Hydrovane (Hydrovane International Marine) on my Australian boat (Bliss - Duncanson 37) in 2019 (centre cockpit, wheel steering with a popular ladder on the transom - off centre installation) and the sense of freedom of being able to let go of the wheel and go and do something else was fantastic. I also think that using the Hydrovane improved my sailing as wind vane systems will struggle to work if the boat isn't balanced. I found I was reefing the sails earlier and mostly not seeming to lose boat speed. The choice for me is probably between two brands - the Hydrovane and an Aries Windvane - although I remain interested in the Fleming system which is/was an Australian one with a South Australian connection to Port Lincoln a long time ago- the Fleming may be allowable in the race on approval. The two different systems are both wind vane based but work differently - the differences are a bit technical but one is an auxiliary rudder (with the Hydrovane you lock the boat's rudder and the windvane steers the boat via it's own rudder), the other is called a servo pendulum system (the Aries and Fleming windvanes have a connection to the boat's steering system and they steer the boat via turning the wheel or tiller). I think that one system must be superior to the other in terms of powering up the boat to sail as fast as possible and cooing with weather helm but which one ?

05.01.2022 I just completed a great sail from Hobart to Adelaide via the South and West Coasts of Tasmania - I sailed on a Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron boat called Enchantress which had competed in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. The trip was fantastic from Hobart-Port Davey-Strahan-King Island-Portland-RSAYS. Thank you to John Willoughby. All great experience.

05.01.2022 From little things, hopefully, big things will grow - Matthew Wright

02.01.2022 Tuesday 9:30 pm Adelaide time

01.01.2022 Very pleasant evening spent with Loïc Lepage talking all things Golden Globe Race in Vannes. Loic was an entrant in the 2018 race and gave us a lot of great advice. Loic is very keen to go around again in 2022.