John Lucas: Sailing 3,000nm Melbourne to New Guinea in a houseboat

We discover one of the most fascinating ocean sailing passages of the 20th century in this episode. In 1972 John Lucas set out from Geelong, Victoria to sail a 40-foot house boat, with a makeshift mast, sailing 3,000 nautical miles north up the east coast of Australia to Thursday Island, New Guinea for missionaries desperately in need of vessel to transit rivers to their local villages. This 3-month journey led by skipper John Lucas and 3 novice crew led to the sailing adventure of a lifetime. They faced storms, mutiny, sand bars, media scrutiny, and needed the approval from 26 different government departments across 3 different states, just to start their journey. John recounts his story from 44 years ago with such clarity that you would think he had just completed it yesterday. Described as Australia's Kon-tiki, the media coverage in 1972 fascinated a nation. Visit Ocean Sailing Podcast for offshore sailing opportunities and podcast extras and follow us on Facebook.