Australian Brian Pattinson from Melbourne Australia is an extremely experienced skipper with over 500 thousand miles of sailing and racing double or single-handed to his account. He is used to sail in the treacherous waters of the Bass Strait and south of Tasmania, where he learnt to respect the enormous force of nature. He is the 20th entry in the Global Solo Challenge and will be looking to buy a boat that suits the staggered starts event format then prepare it for the challenges of the Southern Ocean.

Interview

Where does your passion for sailing come from?

I believe it was just natural to be a sailor, I always dreamed as a child to sail away into the sunset. The weather and nature always interested me.

Experience has taught me it’s not that romantic, but the adventure of what / could happen keeps me excited.

What lessons have you learnt from sailing?

Mother Nature will always win.

Expect the unexpected and thoroughly enjoy every moment you spend of your life at sea. It’s special.

Us as sailors, take it for granted that we float around the seas and see it as a part of our life, other people just dream about the freedom and excitement, we have it all. It’s up to us.

What brought you to like single-handed sailing?

I was doing a double-handed race to Japan, when my co skipper got sick and had to leave the boat. I continued, with the belief that I’ll go as far as I can and then retire when I can’t handle any more.

After a while it was closer to get to Japan than back to Melbourne, so I just kept going. I loved the challenge of doing it by myself. And the satisfaction.

What prompted you to sign up for this event?

You’re dead a long time…. this is just what I’ve been looking for. Every body needs an adventure, something to look forward to.

How do you plan to prepare for this event?

I’ve been ocean, sailing/racing double-handed and single-handed club racing for years now, it keeps me fit. I’ll purchase a new boat for this race and fit it out specially for the southern ocean.Hopefully have the boat early to the start line, and do lots of miles over there.

What do you think will be the biggest challenge?

The Southern ocean. We ocean race out through the Bass Strait every race, and sometimes below Tasmania. It can be, the worst seas I have ever been through, we are trained and expect the worst. It keeps us realistic about what can happen.

Tell us about your boat or the boat you would like to have.

This event is very interesting, as there will be many different types of yachts and speeds. I haven’t purchased the yacht yet, but will be conscious of the handicap times/ staggered starts.

Do you intend to link this personal challenge with a social message?

Not at the moment, I’ll be working on it. There are lots of charities and subjects that I support, hopefully I’ll get some help.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I believe this opportunity to “sail around the world” is fantastic. You will only get this chance once in you lifetime. Everyone who wants to do something special for themselves … Do It.

Sailing experience

I’ve been racing for many years, I have ocean sailed numerous times within Australia and overseas and sometimes lucky and win races. The pleasure for me is to finish, and the achievement.

Marco Nannini

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