Love, Jesse's greatest adventure

by Melbourne's Herald Sun on 19 Apr 2003 Solo yachtsman Jesse Martin has walked from a $2 million sponsorship deal because he could not bear to be separated from his girlfriend.

Martin said his love for Deakin University student Maya Knight, 22, was more important than his epic adventure.

'I love Maya and I couldn't wait two years to be with her again, Martin said.

Now his two-year dream voyage, The Journey of Kijana, is all but over.

The deadline to find $200,000 for the next leg of the adventure passed last Tuesday and organisers hold out little hope of finding a benefactor.

Martin, 21, said issues with sponsors also led him to quit.

The voyage, which left Sandringham yacht club on March 10, last year, has been dogged by problems, including a mutiny in which two female crew stormed off the boat in Darwin last July.

Martin has passed the captaincy to the only remaining crew member, Josh Schmidt, who is now hoping sponsors will fund the next leg of the journey.

The Kijana has been lying idle in Thailand since December.