Pete Goss tells his Talisker Tales at the Royal Cape Yacht Club

It was a full house last night (30 December) at the Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) when club members joined together with World ARC crews for a special Talisker Tales evening with renown yachtsman Pete Goss in aid of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).

Pete is currently sailing from Cornwall UK to Melbourne Australia on Spirit of Mystery, a replica Cornish lugsail fishing boat, recreating the epic voyage of the original Mystery in 1854. By happy coincidence, Spirit of Mystery was due in Cape Town at the same time as the World ARC fleet, presenting an ideal opportunity to host a Talisker Tales evening – a convivial chat about Pete’s sailing adventures enjoyed over a mellow dram of smoky Talisker single malt whisky.

It was appropriate that the evening’s dram should be Talisker 57 North, since Pete had given one of his previous presentations at the Talisker Distillery beside Loch Harport - on latitude 57 North, during this summer’s Classic Malts Cruise, also organised by World Cruising Club.

Pete Goss has had some truly remarkable sailing adventures, and the entire audience were fascinated to hear him talk about a few of them, from his dramatic rescue of Rafael Dinelli in the 1996 Vendee Globe, to powering through waves at 30 knots on the 100ft super-cat Team Phillips. Since almost all the audience listening are themselves sailors, it was a timely reminder of the power of the sea, and a chance to thank those members of the rescue services who selflessly put to sea to help mariners. In gratitude, almost R1,800 was collected as a donation to the NSRI. The lucky sailors also had the opportunity to tour the NSRI rescue boat, which was moored in the RCYC basin for the evening.