Jesse Martin to set off to sea in a Contessa 26
by Des Ryan on 10 Oct 2010
Jesse Martin SW
Australian sailor Jesse Martin, who remains the youngest solo non-stop unassisted sailor to cross opposite points of the globe in a single round the world voyage, and the young sailor that inspired fellow Australian sailor Jessica Watson in her solo voyage, is to set to sea again.
The young sailor, who has had an adventurous life since his record setting journey, has purchased a Contessa 26 - an ideal yacht for a solo sailor - in Miami Florida, and is off to Miami in two weeks to sail it back to Australia.
The Contessa 26 is the yacht that was chosen by previous young American solo sailors, Tania Aebi (circumnavigated solo at age 21 in 1987) and Brian Caldwell (circumnavigated solo in 1996 aged 20).
These days Martin lives in Melbourne, has started a media production company. In the past he has run a sailing adventure charter business in Papua New Guinea, written two books and helped produce a documentary of his aborted voyage with several friends in South East Asia. Last year while driving in Melbourne he collided with a train at a level crossing and walked away uninjured.
About the Contessa 26:
Designed by David Sadler and Jeremy Rogers in 1965/66 as a GRP Folkboat type, the first Contessa 26 was launched in 1966. The first few boats proved to be very successful racers, including in long-distance events. They are still sought after as very attractive and seaworthy small cruisers.
A few more were built using the same moulds, first by Chris Carrington and then by Maclan Marine. About 350 were built in England in total.
Another set of moulds were shipped to Canada, where they were built under licence by J. J. Taylor until 1990. They produced another 400 or so boats, originally being sold as Contessa 26's, but after 1984 being called J J Taylor 26's - some of these later boats had a slightly modified deck moulding with an enlarged 'hump' by the hatchway to give greater headroom, and a slightly revised interior layout, although the hull always remained the same.
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