Taking my son on this trip has often prompted questions that skirt around risk and it's a hard one to answer. The question makes for a good sound bite whereas the answer when considered from a broader perspective goes far deeper than the project. The first point to make though is that I take any life as seriously as the next so a complete stranger would get the same sense of responsibility as a family member. With the lack of emotional ties it would be a bit more dispassionate perhaps but none the less considered on the same footing.

With birth comes the gift of a period of time known as your life and what ones does within that period is the sole responsibility of the individual. No child is 'yours' as a parent for you have but the privilege of being custodian of a short but very formative period of that person's life. Up until they are able and willing to take it into their own hands and do with it what they will. It's a wonderful privilege but as a new parent you quickly realise that the word 'responsibility' has just taken on a new depth and breadth of complexity than you had ever thought possible. Parenting has too many variables and different cultural outcomes to be a science; every child is different and that is where judgment comes into it and for all the advice that judgment is yours and yours alone.

To me the job of a parent is to prepare your child as best as you can for the big outside world and to open their eyes as to what a wonderful place it is, to understand and value what a hug really means, to care, to put others before yourself and above all to enjoy. There are two routes to education; the University of Knowledge and the University of Life, and in modern society one can't help but feel that the University of Life is being overlooked in the quest for paper certificates. As important as they are it should not be forgotten that they are by definition quite narrow. Despite being programmed into the formative years the reality is they can be taken at anytime in life. The University of Life on the other hand cannot be programmed and throws up once in a lifetime lessons at the most inconvenient of times. If you fall back on the convenience of legitimate excuses and don't grab them they are gone forever.

We have taken Eliot out of school for six months on the view that the lessons of life from the unique nature of this trip will far outweigh what he will miss in a classroom. This, I must confess is also based on the fact that like me he is not particularly academic and spends all day waiting for the last bell. Our hope is that from this experience he will be able to look at the bigger picture of his life and realise that the University of Knowledge does have great value and that he will start to take it more seriously. I wish I had but of course that's up to him and him alone for as we all know you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink. As ever it all comes back to individual responsibility.

One of the things I wanted for Eliot out of this voyage was to get out there and live it rather than watch others doing it on an electronic box in the corner of the room. Although he is the lad on board he has had to take responsibility for his watch through the thick and thin of the trip from being tired to seasick. You can't do half a job out here, it is either done, and up to standard, or it isn't; there is no well done for 'seventy percent'. It's a case of get back up here and do it again and again until it is done properly. That's the real world and I wonder if this is being lost in our modern society of blame, litigation and mediocrity.

When you talk about risk on this trip it is a narrow and easily answered question. I have a policy of never going into the southern ocean unless I have had the boat built for the job and know every nut and bolt that has gone into it and I know and trust the people who have put them in. Spirit of Mystery is a tried and tested design built by an amazing team under Chris Rees. We set out on a training curve that culminated in Cape Town. It was there that we made the final and measured decision to take on the last and most testing leg to Melbourne. As Tracey says: "there are lot of street corners in modern society that pose far more corrosive risks and influences than that which will be found in the southern ocean." Eliot has the best safety equipment and his father and uncles around him for this journey and has thoroughly enjoyed the experience. His participation is completely voluntary in that at all times he has had the opportunity to drop out if he found it was not for him. You don't know until you try but try you must.

So I don't see it as a huge risk. I see it as a gift, a very special gift that as a parent I feel privileged to be able to both give and participate with him. It has made us closer and if you go back to the bigger picture of parental responsibility and the complexity of the modern world that kids have to face, the greater risk would have been not to take him. Might it have been Eliot's leg, of course not; for a start a fourteen year olds arms are just not strong enough for the tiller when it's really rough but beyond that there is no way we would have put him on deck at that time. His job was to support us from below.

It is this view, sometimes seen as eccentric that draws me to Cornwall Playing for Success for it is a programme that uses the University of Life to impart the University of Knowledge. The kids love it, it has immense impact and it has been a privilege to be able to offer this project as a fulcrum for learning through the programme. As I have said about all my projects: "if at the end of all this we have encouraged one youngster to go that extra mile then it will have been worthwhile." I think we have.

There is an awful lot that I want to say but fear I don't have the time to do it justice so I thought I would knock out a quick overview of the arrival and as I get on top of things I will come back to various areas in more detail. One of them being the second phase of 'Operation Mark' which is really interesting, I also want to keep this back for we will be meeting the aircrew that did the medical drop.

Yesterday was an amazing day for it saw Spirit of Mystery moor up at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria. Having dropped Mark off in Portland we borrowed safety gear to replace that which was lost in the storm and went straight back to sea. It was so good to see Mark off in safe hands and to have some fresh food which had been dropped on board. Breakfast the next day consisted of bacon and egg sandwiches and the fruit was out of this world. The melon was particularly evocative both to the taste buds and nose. We could smell it on deck.

With the weather being very light, on the nose and with a horrible slop running it would have taken anything up to five days to make Melbourne. We had a good old chat about it and decided to motor for a while for as far as we were concerned the Spirit of the original voyage had been served and it was time to get in. We were terribly tired having had about two hours sleep a day for a week and I didn't want to give the next depression a chance to start chasing us down. Apart from anything our schedule had slipped to the point that we might miss some people who had flown out to meet us.

On rounding Cape Otway the wind freshened and we were off on a fetch for Melbourne under a bright sky and lovely warm sun. It was perfect and we took some time out from working on Spirit of Mystery to enjoy. We put some popcorn on the stove, had a Coke and enjoyed the coast slipping by for it was beautiful. Particularly as we have had nothing but grey, grey, grey for the last two months. A lovely evening rolled into a bright moonlight night and being ahead of the tidal gate at the entrance to Port Philip we hove too and just enjoyed the atmosphere. In fact I had a quiet moment on deck reflecting on the last year and a half and how lucky we all are to have had such an amazing experience. In fact there was a hint of sadness under the excitement of arriving that it was all about to come to an end.

Just before sunup we entered Port Philip and were met by a Coutta Boat which is a traditional boat which reminded me of a Falmouth work boat. Fortunately for us the yacht 'Secretary' was just ahead of us and hearing us on the VHF to port control offered to hang back and take us through the western channel. Just as we cleared this Mark Lloyd turned up on a helicopter and we did a photoshoot which included putting up St Pirans - they are stunning. A welcome fleet soon started to build up as we closed Melbourne and the sense of anticipation built. As we closed the marina we noticed a crowd and on closing them realised that they were all dressed in traditional Cornish clothes and waving St Pirans flags.

Mark was there in his wheelchair so we were reunited and it just felt right to have him there as we brought the trip to conclusion. It's all a blur; at the top of the gangway we were met by Derek Trewarne of the Cornish association of Victoria with a pint and a Pasty. There was a wall of press, Eliot gave his first interview and we moved up to the club to be officially welcomed. Commodore Tony Spencer opened the proceedings with the Mayor and Derek Trewarne speaking. It was the loveliest atmosphere, I can't remember what I said but it concluded with thanks to Peter Harris, the Mayor, Tony Spencer, Janet Dawes, David Seaman, Lindsay Chapman and the Rescue services. I then asked asking the Mayor to sign our inflatable globe and had a Talisker.

From there it was off to a shower, lovely meal and a load of interviews with the UK and the deepest of sleeps. I woke up in the same position as I lay down.

More blogs to follow so don't think it's over yet.

Pete Goss and the crew of Spirit of Mystery have arrived in Melbourne Australia after an epic five-month and 11,800-mile journey. No doubt Pete will do a full blog update in due course, but for now he and the crew are spending a little family time together before getting their heads down. In the mean time, check out the latest news section for details of their arrival. Thaanks for all your interest and support. Cheers, Stuart.

As you can imagine over the last few days since the storm which was the cause of Mark's broken leg, we have received a tremendous amount of support messages via the website.

I'm sure at some point Pete will acknowledge his gratitude via the blog to everyone who has written in, but in the meantime I would like to personally say a big 'thank you' to all of you on behalf of Pete, Mark, Andy, Eliot, the families and the support team:

- THANK YOU -

Your messages will be posted on our 'Supporters' section of the site in due course for other followers to read and share.

Thank you for all your support as always.

Regards

Mandy