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RUGGED LAPTOP JOINS ‘SPIRIT OF MYSTERY’ PROJECT ON HER INTREPID ADVENTURE
Blazepoint, a leader in rugged technology and engineering, is an official sponsor of the ‘Spirit of Mystery’ project to recreate and celebrate the heroic journey of seven Cornishmen who sailed a 37-foot Cornish Lugger to Australia more than 150 years ago.
Unlike its original namesake, the 16-tonne boat, brainchild of sailor and adventurer Pete Goss MBE, will be carrying a Blazepoint ndura RUGGED® laptop on board for this intrepid voyage, meaning the crew can stay in touch with supporters around the world.
After nearly ten months of building by Cornish craftsmen, the Spirit of Mystery Lugger has been given the big thumbs up after initial sea trials this week. The 46 year-old West Country 
sailor and adventurer was positively beaming after stepping ashore. He said: “She is a thing of beauty; an organic living object that is everything I dreamed of and more. She sails well and is safe, fun, simple and kind. I couldn’t be happier.”
The crew is now undergoing training every weekend wherever possible and will undertake a two-week sea passage to prepare for their epic journey to Australia, 
which will commence in October. Like the original crew, who were all related by either blood or marriage, it will be a family affair comprising: Pete Goss; his younger brother Andy; Pete’s youngest son Eliot (who is 14); and Pete’s brother-in-law Mark Maidment.
Pete, who was awarded an MBE after his dramatic rescue of a fellow competitor in the 1996-7 Vendee Globe single-handed yacht race, said the crew is settling in well, although they are more than aware of the difficult task that lies ahead of them: “The Southern Ocean is a wild and dangerous place that is unforgiving of mistakes. However, we are training hard, the boat is as strong as anything I have ever sailed, and we will be fully prepared for the exciting journey and all it will bring.”
Pete Goss commented: “We are especially grateful to Blazepoint for their sponsorship of Mystery’s hull and for providing a rugged laptop. A standard laptop just wouldn’t be able to survive in the harsh marine environments on board, whereas the Ndura RUGGED® laptop will give us crucial access to communications so that the public will be able to share in our journey, including thousands of schoolchildren who are using the project as an educational adventure.”
The ndura RUGGED® laptop is ideal for such a voyage as it has been specially designed to withstand harsh environments, operate in high and low temperatures, withstand vibration, shock and water resistance. It also features the most innovative advances in computing technology and has the ability to hit speeds of 2.2GHz, while the 14.1” TFT LCD touch screen provides a high resolution display, ensuring clear, sharp images in high sunlight locations.
Pete has built Spirit of Mystery to shine a light on the bravery of the seven Cornishmen who made the heroic journey to Melbourne to escape poverty and seek out a new life in Australia. Leaving Newlyn on Saturday 18 November 1854, the Mystery travelled about 11,800 nautical miles in 116 days before arriving in Melbourne on 14 March 1855.
Pete will follow in their wake in a boat that has had history literally built into it, as Pete has sourced wood from Nelson’s Victory and the Cutty Sark, and a part of the rigging from the SS Great Britain.
The boat will be available for the public to see at The Southampton Boat Show, Friday 12 September - Spirit of Mystery will be a star attraction at the Boat Show press day
The project is a useful tool for the Cornwall Playing for Success charity, of which Pete is a founding trustee. Not only will it raise awareness of the out of school hours education initiative, the children will also follow the adventure and therefore learn about local and social history, boat building, navigation and a host of other subjects as part of the ‘Sense of Place’ program.
Further details about the ndura RUGGED® 13.3 laptop can viewed HERE.