Lively Lady-Yacht that Changed Australia's History

by Sail-World on 5 Aug 2008 In 1968, not long after Sir Francis Chichester's historic circumnavigation, Sir Alec Rose completed his own circumnavigation in 354 days in his modified Transatlantic racing boat, Lively Lady, in a journey that perhaps changed Australia's history(read on to discover why).

Now Alan Priddy has repeated the feat, and helped many young people turn their lives around at the same time.

Priddy had scaled mountains and set world records in powerboats, but after a few glasses of wine with friends one evening he decided to embark on the 'Lively Lady Project', with the goal of taking young adults as crew who were 'trying to turn their lives around'.

They formed the Raymarine Lively Lady Project and needed to raise £500,000 to renovate the ship, provide provisions and organise flights to deliver and collect the crew from the 27 various stop-off points on the way.

Recently Priddy reminisced to members of his home Rotary Club: 'The crew was to be two experienced adults and two young adults. Fifty applicants were selected and each instructed to raise £1,000 to fund the project, which they achieved by running events, getting corporate sponsorship and asking charities and 16 Rotary clubs for donations.'

The cruise covered 28,042 nautical miles, with the crew operating four hours on, four hours off.

They had to face storms, sharks, fear of pirates and human relations with male and female crew. Mr. Priddy said it changed and developed the young adult crew members lives forever.

When, at the end of the two year journey, the historic yacht arrived at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, UK, the harbour was filled with a flotilla of welcoming boat and hundreds of people cheered from the shoreline.

After this welcome, all the young crew who had taken part in the project, sailing on various legs of her long journey, marched through the streets to more applause of the watching crowds.

Later Alan Priddy said: 'I'm just amazed that it is over. It has been an incredible project and has ruled my life and the lives of everyone involved for the last few years.'

One of the final crew members, Jay Williams, from North End, said: 'It is weird to be back – you suddenly realise that this incredible trip has actually happened.

'It has been an amazing experience and I feel really proud that I was on the final leg especially because I was on the first leg when she left Portsmouth.'

We'll wait now, for an announcement of a new Lively Lady journey.



Footnote: For Australians, Sir Alec Rose's journey has special significance, as it may have changed the course of Australia's history. On 17 December 1967, the then Australian Prime Minister, Harold Holt, drove with some family members to Port Phillip Heads, south of Melbourne, to view Rose complete this leg of his voyage. Holt then went for a swim at nearby Cheviot Beach, but the surf was rough, he disappeared from view, and was presumed to have drowned.

Who knows how our history may have been altered if he had not died on that day.