The Skipper

As much as I enjoy good company, I am very content with my own. By nature I am self-reliant and capable of fixing, or working around, problems. In the tradition of many early solo sailors, I’m building my own boat, a Suhaili replica.

I’ve sailed since a young age and had the urge for the Southern Ocean almost as long after reading The Lonely Sea and the Sky by Sir Francis Chichester. My sailing experience is varied and includes South Atlantic and Tasman, cruising the Eastern Coast of Australia and probably the most relevant is my adventure sailing, often single handed, around the Cape of Good Hope coast in a 23’ plywood Van de Stadt keelboat without GPS.

Apart from the self-discipline of sailing the boat, and staying on top of repairs, when tired, hungry and cold, the GGR will expose me intimately to the physical world that we live in including the raw power of my friends the ocean and the wind, I look forward to this.

From a sailing perspective a Suhaili replica in the GGR may help me to understand the design attributes of a traditional heavy displacement double ender in high winds and big confused sea state when sailed hard. Boats are an endless fascination for me.

The Boat

Pingo is a Suhaili replica. Construction is composite strip plank with 2.5mm thick E-glass epoxy laminate both sides of western red cedar strip planking and built on plywood cnc cut frames/ bulkheads. This construction method provides a relatively easy build for a home builder and results in a strong and light structure. Every aspect of the boat is optimised as far as is practical and within the allowed rule constraints and a non-existent budget for the build. Nothing that is not absolutely necessary will be fitted; saving cost, time to install, less to go wrong and most important saving weight.

More information at https://thepingoproject.wordpress.com/eric-csp/

Mike’s website: https://www.mikeggr.com/home/