Around Australia record in a 6.5 metre trailerboat

Well-known Melbourne fishing and charter specialist Mark Ratchford has made it home after spending four months on a solo 16,500km circumnavigation of Australia in a 6.5 metre fishing boat.

The record-breaking voyage and "huge adventure" meant dealing with towering seas, gale-force winds, freezing weather, sleep deprivation, and loneliness.

"It was tough," Rathchford admits, "but I expected that because I’m a seasoned boatie. It’s not a trip the inexperienced should tackle."

COPPING A FLOGGING
In the Southern Ocean Mark was often battling eight-metre seas, a six-metre swell with two metres of chop on top.

"There were days when I really copped a flogging," he said. "Up the east coast the trade winds were constantly hitting the boat at 30-40 knots.

"Around Tasmania I got absolutely belted by a big front, and it actually snowed at sea level. The wind and the cold combined made things very hard."

But it wasn’t the weather, it was confronting distance...

"Crossing the Gulf of Carpentaria I had to go 23 hours without sleep, and crossing the Bight I think I had two hours sleep in two-and-a-half days. Even when I wasn’t driving, it was extremely hard to go to sleep with the boat moving so much on the open ocean," Ratchford says.

"At one stage in the Bight, I calculated I was 300 kilometres from shore and more than 500 from help."

THE BOAT AND ENGINES
Ratchford's boat of choice for this epic journey was a 6.5 metre Evolution hardtop with twin Mercury 150hp FourStroke outboards.

Over the total running time if about 680 hours, there was not one problem, Ratchford says.

"It was a long trip and I worked the engines hard — I had to — and I was extremely impressed with their overall performance.

"Power-to-weight, these engines are excellent. Going over the Port Macquarie bar and the Wide Bay bar, when I needed power, it was there immediately.

"Fully loaded I was carrying about a tonne more than normal, including five 44-gallon drums of extra fuel, but when I accelerated I was astounded at how fast the boat still was. Very impressed," Ratchford says.

The Mercury technology associated with the FourStrokes also proved invaluable.

"The SmartCraft gauges were brilliant, especially when it came to fuel consumption. I really relied on it when planning each day’s travel to ensure I have a good safety margin. It was so accurate, I trusted it totally."

CANCER COUNCIL QUEST
The whole point of Ratchford's remarkable journey was to raise vital funds for the Cancer Council.

"We haven’t worked out the total yet because we’ve got sell some equipment, but it’s certainly in the tens of thousands of dollars which I hope will make a difference.

"Nothing would have happened though without the team who helped me put all this together and the wonderful people who helped me along the way.

"During this whole journey, it’s really hit home how ordinary people are willing to put up their hand to help a good cause.

"I’d like to thanks every single one of them," Ratchford says after his epic record-breaking voyage.

To learn more or make a donation, please visit fishforlife.org.au.