Jul 25, 2023 · Legendary offshore yachtsman, Pete Goss, talks us through the design of his latest boat, Oddity, a one-off designed with purpose TAGS: monohull new boat Top Story Designing my own boats has resulted in a series of different craft, ranging from small, high-performance multihulls through to a sea kayak, a Cornish lugger, a huge futuristic ... ... Pete Goss MBE is a sailor and adventurer turned entrepreneur and author of the bestselling book "Close to the Wind". He now splits his time between his ongoing adventures and delivering inspirational and motivational talks to organisations around the world, as well as lecturing at business schools including Oxford University. ... Feb 2, 2023 · Pete Goss has sailed more different yachts than most of us could imagine, but it’s a home-built 32ft gaffer that is his chef-d’oeuvre, as Elaine Bunting finds out TAGS: Family cruising New ... ... Pete first captured global headlines whilst competing in the Vendee Globe single-handed non-stop round the world yacht race. Risking his own life in the midst of a fierce Southern Ocean hurricane Pete turned his yacht around to rescue French sailor Raphael Dinelli. Once Pete had dropped Raphael off in Tasmania he completed the race, coming 5th. ... Pete Goss’s humorous, emotional and compelling storytelling takes you with him to that moment of truth. You are left realizing that Pete’s success rests on the shoulders of a very broad team that challenged the norm through innovation and technology, adapting to the disruption of change. ... Sep 3, 2024 · Pete Goss MBE is a well-renowned sailor and adventurer, and has sailed more than 250,000 miles both racing and cruising. In the 1996 Vendee Globe he rescued Frenchman and fellow competitor Raphael Dinelli from the Southern Ocean in hurricane force winds, for which he was awarded the MBE by Her Majesty the Queen and the Legion d’Honneur by the ... ... Book Pete Goss speaker and renowned yachtsman who unselfishly saved the life of a fellow French sailor. Booking email ask@pro-motivate.com. UK: +44 2078711829 . ... Pete Goss MBE is an Inspirational Yachtsman, a Polar Explorer and Inspirational Motivational Speaker. A former Royal Marine, Pete’s life has been dominated by sport and adventure. His record of achievement includes six transatlantic and two round-the-world races. The Vendee Globe Rescue: ... International Speaker and Adventurer · International Speaker: Pete Goss MBE<br><br>Outstanding Yachtsman / Inspirational Adventurer / Company Director and Author of the best-selling book ‘Close to the Wind’. Pete has competed in seven transatlantic and two round-the-world races, sailing more than 300,000 nautical miles.<br><br>In today’s challenging business ... ... ">

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Pete Goss: a new mini-exploration yacht that’s a bit different

  • Elaine Bunting
  • February 2, 2023

Pete Goss has sailed more different yachts than most of us could imagine, but it’s a home-built 32ft gaffer that is his chef-d’oeuvre, as Elaine Bunting finds out

They won’t come into a marina very often, but when they do, Pete Goss and his wife, Tracey will be doing a lot of talking. They were in Mayflower Marina in Plymouth when I met them, taking on fuel and water, and a steady stream of people stopped as they walked by. All asking, ‘What is this boat? What is she for?’

The name says it all. Oddity . Spelt out in a groovy 1970s font. Turquoise with a bright yellow tender, a big squared off coachroof, a gaff rig and daggerboards. This curious boat absolutely screams ‘Story!’

Pete Goss has time for every passer-by. He answers all their questions and invites one man on board to look around. He listens to descriptions of their own boats and sailing history, but he doesn’t counter with his own. Pete Goss is one of the humblest people you could ever meet, and you might never realise the full story: this boat is the creation of one of Britain’s most heroic ocean racing sailors.

Oddity tells you so much about Pete and Tracey Goss. It is a very personal boat, a downsizer that they plan to take on a nomadic journey to all the nooks and crannies of Europe.

pete goss yachtsman

Pete Goss planned Oddity to be the perfect yacht for the kind of cruising he aims to do. Photo: Lloyd Images

A few years ago, this wasn’t even on the horizon. In 2017 they launched Pearl , a Garcia 45 Exploration named to commemorate their 30th wedding anniversary, and set off across the Atlantic with the intention of sailing slowly round the world through the Tropics.

They were on the east coast of the US in March 2020 when the pandemic struck and the world closed down. They managed to get a flight home with little more than what they stood up in and returned to their UK home, a Mongolian yurt in a Cornish wood (more about that later…). By the time restrictions lifted, family life and commitments had changed. The window had closed.

They put Pearl on the market and were shocked when it sold six hours later, as lying, with their possessions still on board. They never got to return. “We left our tools, Tracey’s sewing machine and a drawer full of my holey underpants,” laughs Pete.

Although sad about this, they were also free to imagine what might come next. An idea had been brewing in Pete’s mind. I remember him telling me some years ago that he wanted to build a small plywood epoxy cat-rigged boat. Oddity is not exactly that, but it definitely grew from those seeds, the vision of an uncomplicated, robust boat that could gently explore the coasts and canals peacefully overlooked in the scramble for ever bigger craft.

“We started with a very simple principle: we want to go to Odessa and the Black Sea through the canals and go through these beautiful old cities that show their soul,” explains Pete. “One thing we learned from cruising is that the slower we went, the richer the experience was.

pete goss yachtsman

Twin daggerboards aid sailing performance for the internally-ballasted Oddity. Photo: Lloyd Images

“When you want to stay in places, then the whole game changes,” he observes. “You go when the weather tells you and you have the time to really embed yourself in places like the upper reaches of rivers.

“The anchorages of my youth are full of commercial marinas and jetskis now.”

He adds: “We loved cruising. The people we met were all bright-eyed and enthusiastic and had a fascinating backstory. We made more lifelong friends in a couple of years than we had in the 10 years before.”

To design and build this new pocket explorer yacht, he turned to his old friend and longtime collaborator Chris Rees, a designer and master craftsman of the old school. They sat down together and sketched it out.

“We sat down with a glass of wine and drew the boat,” says Pete. There was no CAD software or computer modelling involved; they simply pooled their joint knowledge and “hundreds of years of experience in different boats.”

Then they built a 3D model and did some tank testing. “We built a model and looked at it and felt it, and we did an inversion test in the kitchen sink.”

pete goss yachtsman

Oddity’s gaff rig promotes easy handling, and can also be completely lowered to the deck by hand for canal cruising. Photo: Lloyd Images

The result is a 32ft gaff cutter, with 11ft beam, a long keel that draws 3ft, 6ft daggerboards, two lifting rudders and a mast that can be lowered by hand. It has a rounded, scow bow and a hard chine that runs right aft and is “designed to heel to about 12½° and stay there”. Oddity will be able to sail perfectly well offshore, yet take the ground, go through canals, bump up against rough docks and be hauled up the beach.

From the beginning, the boat was known as Oddity – a humblebrag of course, and a nod to its licence to be the most practical, utilitarian little boat possible. It is, says Pete Goss proudly, “a farmer’s boat, a loveable scruff.”

A tough little boat

Oddity is large enough to live on, but handy for two to sail and small enough to go through the French canals. Pete had never owned a gaff rigged yacht before, but this sail plan allows all the spars to be lowered by hand and fit within its overall length.

The hull’s rounded bow gives it plenty of volume below and, along with its slight reverse sheer, a contemporary vibe. “She’s a mixture of modern and traditional,” Pete notes. Oddity was built over seven months in plywood epoxy glassfibre, a simple building method – the marine ply was cut with a jigsaw – and because, he explains, “we wanted a tough little bugger.”

The build started as Goss did a deal on 1.4 tonnes of lead from the breaking of a local boat. Oddity ’s ballast is all internal. The joy of that is that it can be moved fore and aft to get just the right trim, and easily altered. The current displacement is about 6 tonnes, but Pete says: “We are playing around with the ballast and we might add a half tonne over the winter. We want to see what that will be like.”

pete goss yachtsman

Pete Goss onboard Oddity. Photo: Lloyd Images

The hull sides are protected by a big rubber rubbing strake of the kind you see on ferries and pilot boats. A 10mm wide steel shoe runs along the bottom, a bash plate, and there is a steel lug on the waterline at the bow so Oddity may be hauled out of the water by a pick-up or tractor. “We can drag her along the road making sparks,” says Pete. “Or we could dry out on rocks. The daggerboards will act as legs.”

The bowsprit, stanchions, pushpit, pulpit and arch at the stern are all made of galvanised steel. Pete boasts that there is no stainless steel on board at all. The stanchions are high and the feet are structural “so we can put blocks on them.”

pete goss yachtsman

Practical galley is also very colourful. Photo: Lloyd Images

The high pulpit has two purposes. It sweeps down to a deck hinge just in front of the tabernacle and becomes an A-frame for lowering or raising the mast with a block and tackle.

At the stern a galvanised steel arch provides a structure to support a Superwind 350 generator and 150W of solar panels (the boat has 260Ah of batteries), a saddle to support the mast when lowered and also houses, lifts and launches Oddity ’s bright yellow tender, the aptly named Qwerky .

The little boat rows beautifully, according to Pete, and has a lug rig for sailing. It was built from a local mould. “One of the old fishermen said it came from the best of the boats that went out from Cawsand and Kingsand to the old [trading] luggers,” he says.

The rear part of the arch hinges back and swings the tender out and down to the water on a block and tackle, so that this too can be done by hand.

A board closes off the transom between the two lifting rudders and hinges down to become a boarding platform, or can be dropped into the water to act as a ladder. Like so many details on Oddity it is simple, inexpensive, clever and totally foolproof.

The cockpit is deep and secure – perhaps too deep, Pete thinks. “I think we got that wrong. The floor is too low but I will fix that this winter.”

To go down into the saloon, you enter through a keyhole shaped door (reminiscent of the David Sadler-designed Contessa 26 , for yacht history fans). Beneath the steps sits the boat’s 43hp Beta engine. As the couple expect to be doing a lot of motoring they wanted a big engine, “without electronics, one that is designed to be reliable.” It drives an 18-inch Brunton Autoprop feathering propeller.

After a bad experience with a fuel tank that split, Pete and Tracey had plastic tanks custom built by Tek Tanks. They have 426lt of water and 344lt of fuel that’s divided between two tanks in case of contaminated fuel.

The boat is fully insulated and has a Webasto heater so they can be comfortable in cold weather.

Oddity ’s saloon is colourful, surprisingly large, and very bright. “After Pearl , we could never go to sea without a large pilothouse that shares the beauty of an anchorage as we potter below,” Pete comments. There are windows all the way round and across the forward end of the coachroof.

In profile, the forward sloping windows at the front give Oddity the shape of a frowning forehead. There is a practical reason. The angle cuts the glare of reflections from the water – which is why similar profiles are used on the bridges of trawlers and ships.

pete goss yachtsman

Large double cabin sits well forward. Photo: Lloyd Images

There is a big double cabin for the couple right forward, a heads and shower starboard aft, and a double cabin that extends under the cockpit on the port side. There is no navigation station; the saloon table will be used instead.

The interior is multicoloured and cheerful as a children’s playroom. The locker doors are an assortment of orange, yellow and blue; the saloon table is a patterned red colour. They are made of laminate from Italian company ABET Laminati bonded to marine ply.

“The challenge was to create something simple and functional,” says Pete. “Oddity is to be our home from home, a centre of gravity about which the family and grandchildren can orbit. We wanted this to be a fun refuge.

pete goss yachtsman

Pete and Tracey Goss have created a light and airy main saloon with space to entertain the family. Photo: Lloyd Images

“All my boats have had totally different concepts and had a clear purpose. When people come to me for advice I always say: what do you want to do and how do you want to live? Why wouldn’t you want ice in your G&T, why wouldn’t you want a boat to be light and comfortable and have a proper kitchen? Why wouldn’t you want all-round views?”

Pete Goss – living off-grid

After Oddity was launched this spring, Pete and Tracey did a shakedown cruise by sailing west from Plymouth. On the way out to the Isles of Scilly they met their first test. “We had 22-25 knots on the nose and big bumpy seas but we were motoring through it at 1,600rpm while sitting below drinking tea,” Pete smiles.

pete goss yachtsman

Tall, galvanised pulpit creates security at the bow. Photo: Lloyd Images

There are some modifications to make this winter, such as adding ballast and changing the height of the cockpit floor, and then Oddity will be ready to venture forth. In the meantime, however, Pete and Tracey Goss have another project on the go: they recently got planning permission to build a house in the woods where they have been living off-grid. It’s a hands-on project, and the same principles of simplicity and practicality will apply.

It could hardly be less like the pressured, high-cost, high-tech, high-profile world of yacht racing where Pete Goss made his name. But he insists he doesn’t miss any of that.

“I’ve done all the races I wanted to do. When I think of the Vendée Globe , [a campaign] is four to five years in the grind of the sponsorship and the business. The sailing didn’t quite offset that price for me, partly because I have such a diverse life. You are gifted such a small amount of life, just 11 hours per day to invest in something. I have already scratched that itch.”

Yet when I ask if he could be tempted back on the race course, he admits: “I would love to do the Mini Transat. Would I like to jump on a big boat and do a round the world race? Yes. But I don’t want to set up a company and make the millions. And I’ve never repeated things. The joy is doing different things. I have got enough. I’m happy.”

pete goss yachtsman

ender Qwerky is suspended from a galvanised steel gantry. Note transom board that’s also a bathing platform… and a ladder. Photo: Lloyd Images

In its way, the eccentric-looking Oddity is the expression of sufficiency, yet it manages to be one of the boldest little yachts you’re likely to come across. Who else could it be for other than a pair of unconventional free-thinkers?

If you peep into the forecabin, you may see what could be a manifesto for this boat, and indeed for life. It’s a quote from Dr Seuss, printed on a cushion on the double bed. ‘Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.’

Pete Goss’ unique sailing history

There are clues to Pete Goss’s racing history in the details of Oddity . The twin rudders and daggerboards are reminiscent of his Open 50 Aqua Quorum , which he raced round the world in the 1996/97 Vendée Globe.

The bowsprit and flying Code O make one think of the little Seacart catamaran he and Paul Larsen raced round Britain and Ireland in 2006. The hull chine has the vibe of the Class 40 he sailed in the Route du Rhum in 2010. Its long keel and traditional look are very much part of the history too, because Chris Rees designed and built Spirit of Mystery , a 37ft replica of a Mounts Bay lugger, for Pete and a crew to sail from Cornwall to Australia in 2008.

pete goss yachtsman

A hero’s welcome for Goss after his Southern Ocean rescue of a fellow Vendée Globe skipper. Photo: PA Images/Alamy

Pete and Tracey Goss were always jointly committed to these exploits. They first met as youngsters at Torpoint Mosquito Sailing Club near Plymouth, when Pete needed a crew for his Mirror dinghy. After school, Pete worked on a salvage tug, then joined the Royal Marines. On a bus one night he bumped into Tracey again. She was about to turn 21, and when Pete discovered she had no special plans to celebrate, he invited her out. The couple have been married for over 35 years, and have two adult sons, a daughter, and now a toddler granddaughter.

Pete stayed in the Marines for nine years. “I never thought of it as a career,” he says. “I ended up as an instructor in the sailing centre just when it became a profession. But when I left the Marines with no qualifications it was a job. I had to make a living.”

He wanted to be an ocean race skipper, and Tracey was up for that. “We had to sell our house and we both threw everything into it,” he says.

pete goss yachtsman

Lugger Spirit of Mystery was sailed to Australia. Photo: Silverport Pictures/Alamy

In 1988, Pete raced a 26ft catamaran, Cornish Meadow , in the Carlsberg Single-Handed Transatlantic Race . In 1990 he was taken on by Chay Blyth as a training skipper for the British Steel Challenge, a hugely ambitious westabout round the world race for amateurs. Pete raced as skipper of Hofbräu Lager, finishing 3rd.

Since then his projects have been on both a huge scale and also very small. He is still, rightly, most famous (and revered in France) for his Vendée Globe in the 50ft Aqua Quorum , when he battled upwind in the Southern Ocean to rescue fellow competitor Raphael Dinelli from his upturned hull. Goss returned to a hero’s welcome and was awarded the French Légion d’Honneur medal.

This led on to a much bigger and even more daring sailing project, but one that did not end well. In 2000 he built Team Philips , a giant 120ft catamaran, on the banks of the River Dart in Devon for a new non-stop round the world race, The Race. Its wave-piercing hulls and twin rotating rigs were to be revolutionary, and in many ways it was ahead of its time, but the venture ended catastrophically.

pete goss yachtsman

Team Philips was a daring and ultimately unsuccessful project. Photo: Brenton West/Alamy

The boat suffered a severe structural failure during a training sail in the Atlantic and the crew had to be rescued. The various subsidiary companies bearing the Goss name were wound up.

It is something he doesn’t dwell on. “The Race was irresistible. You have a choice of taking an idea and doing it bigger or coming up with your own idea and doing something different. It was the coalface of technology and innovation. Yes, it’s a tough old one. You could say it was a great white elephant, but that does it a disservice. The tech is out there now.”

There have been numerous other adventures since, but never with quite the same profile. Perhaps, having been burned by failure, that was intentional. In 2006, he raced the bantamweight Seacart 30 catamaran in the Round Britain and Ireland Race, in 2008 he sailed the lugger Spirit of Mystery to Australia, in 2010 he raced a Class 40 in the solo Route du Rhum transatlantic race, and in 2012 he downsized yet further by paddling and sailing a sea kayak round Tasmania.

pete goss yachtsman

Goss kayaked around Tasmania

In between, Goss has done all kinds of work: fencing and building, renovating a farmhouse, leading expeditions to the North Pole. He is also still a speaker, a business coach and a lecturer at Said Business School of Oxford University.

He and Tracey, “blessed with restless spirits” as he puts it, seem spectacularly unafraid of change. Fed up with British winters, they sold their farmhouse some years ago to buy a ‘bach’ or beach shack in New Zealand and a Mongolian yurt (complete with horsehair guy ropes) to live off-grid in a Cornish wood bought from Pete’s parents. Now they’ve sold both, they have Oddity and are building a new home in the woods.

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Pete Goss

OUTSTANDING YACHTSMAN, INSPIRATIONAL ADVENTURER, COMPANY DIRECTOR and AUTHOR of best selling book ‘Close to the Wind’. 

pete goss yachtsman

A regular lecturer at business schools, he is an Associate Fellow of Said Business School Oxford University .

Recently Pete built the 37’ Cornish Lugger ‘Spirit of Mystery’ (as seen on BBC Coast ) which he sailed with family members, including his fourteen year old son, to Melbourne. This recreated the voyage of the smallest migrant vessel to make it to Australia 150 years ago. Rowing out of harbour and navigating by the stars, they faced many challenges including a ferocious Southern Ocean storm that rolled them upside-down and broke a crewman’s leg. However they still reached Australia together.

In addition to this Pete circumnavigated Tasmania by sea kayak; with limited communication he was exposed once again to the Southern Ocean and the notorious Bass Strait.

Pete first captured global headlines whilst competing in the Vendee Globe single-handed non-stop round the world yacht race. Risking his own life in the midst of a fierce Southern Ocean hurricane Pete turned his yacht around to rescue French sailor Raphael Dinelli. Once Pete had dropped Raphael off in Tasmania he completed the race, coming 5th. In recognition of his courage Pete was awarded the Legion d’Honneur, Frances highest bravery award, an MBE presented by Her Majesty the Queen and voted World Sailor of the Year.

pete goss yachtsman

Always keen to defy convention he attempted a world record with a revolutionary catamaran, Team Philips (which was sadly brought to a halt by a freak storm in the Atlantic). This was a five-year project where Pete headed up a workforce of more than 100 employees, brokered multi-million pound sponsorship deals and assisted with the creation of several new companies. Handling these complex and often conflicting pressures, gave Pete a unique insight into the challenges that face every organisation.

Whether Pete is taking on the next sailing challenge or heading expeditions to the North Pole he combines a competitive tenacity with a keen ‘will to win’.

From design to completion Pete managed every aspect of the 15 projects he took on. His stories create an interesting, motivating tapestry through which he weaves business lessons learned. A natural communicator with a dynamic but informal style, Pete never ceases to amuse, entertain and inform.

pete goss yachtsman

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" Pete's presentation, like the oceans he has sailed, has an underlying calm, while on the surface the audience are hit with waves of ideas, advice and emotions that leave a lasting and valuable impression in the business world. An amazing speaker. "

" Pete was recommended to us as a motivational and leadership speaker. We wanted to put him in front of our customers, a senior group of no nonsense operational management. Having not seen Pete speak before, I was apprehensive. His session was a keynote, the audience was tough, but one minute into his speech, the attention was 100%. You could hear a pin drop, everyone related to his adventure and story of determination in business. We were all truly motivated by it. In our feedback survey everyone voted 5/5 for Pete, we would definitely hire him again! "

" What strikes me most about Pete Goss is that he's authentic! No pretenses, no self-adulation, just exceptional wisdom and leadership skill. He takes real-life adventures and extracts lessons that are relevant to many business situations. "

" Absolutely First Class. We were mesmerised. Without doubt the most interesting, stimulating and motivational speaker we have experienced... Pete Goss has excellent management motivation. "

" Pete's work with executives exhibits his ability to reinforce important business lessons. These include, how to move on from having an idea to making it happen and how to manage risk. He always remains humble and grounded - reinforcing the concept of the team approach. Pete's sessions provide the ideal backdrop for global senior executives to challenge their capability, whilst remaining true to their values. "

" His style is balanced and at times understated, not punctuated with dramatic outbursts or flashy media, however through this he delivers a significant impact. Having captured the unwavering attention of every delegate within seconds of his introduction, Pete's session proved to be a source of energy and a talking point throughout the whole of our event. "

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Pete Goss 's 2024 biography

Pete Goss is a multiple adventurer, businessman and lecturer who relates his experiences of courage and determination to the business audience. He is still adventuring and his in-person talks and book have motivated and inspired people around the world.

In today’s challenging business environment, Pete understands the need to deliver real performance; he achieves this through mentoring and empowering individuals, motivating teams and driving companies forward…

A regular lecturer at business schools, particularly the Said Business School of Oxford University, Pete has the privilege of being an Associate Fellow, and The London Business School.

Before any speech Pete Goss spends time researching and talking to the company

  • He listens to their specific needs and requirements for the conference and the speech.
  • He makes sure key messages flow through the talk clearly and seamlessly.
  • He produces a unique and dynamic speech full of usable content and fresh ideas.

Pete Goss is an experienced businessman having set up and managed 15 different projects:

  • He has headed up workforces of more than 100 employees.
  • He has brokered multi-million pound sponsorship deals.
  • He has assisted with the creation of several new companies.

In turn this has given Pete the experience to speak knowledgeably on many different themes and aspects within business.

Pete Goss 's 2024 talks & topics

Dare To Dream

More astronauts have circled the globe than single-handed sailors. The Southern Ocean is known as the most desolate place in the world. Imagine you are competing in a single-handed round the world yacht race and you are in the midst of a fierce Southern Ocean hurricane. You are thinking of your family when suddenly you hear a mayday call. Do you risk your own life, turn your yacht around and prepare to sail into the unknown to rescue a stranger?

Pete Goss’s humorous, emotional and compelling storytelling takes you with him to that moment of truth. You are left realizing that Pete’s success rests on the shoulders of a very broad team that challenged the norm through innovation and technology, adapting to the disruption of change. From creating new yachting concepts, studying sleep patterns, analysing dietary requirements and developing personal resilience. Pete has a ‘can-do’ spirit that’s infectious. His exploits are both inspirational and awe-inspiring. When he recounts his adventures and you feel you are at sea by his side!

With remarkable skill Pete, a successful businessman in his own right, takes real life adventures and relates them to todays business situations. He reinforces lessons in Leadership, The Importance of Teamwork, Risk and How to Make Things Happen. This talk will touch you, stay with you and influence your thinking.

The importance of Team

Picking the right team is imperative but how you keep all members of the team motivated, feeling involved, valued through listening, communication, sharing and good delegation is what brings the magic to successful teams.

Adventures On Land And Sea

This after-dinner speech is a mix of funny but thought provoking anecdotes from every thing Pete has done so far – from racing in the Vendee, pushing the boundaries of boat design with Team Philips, having an integral role in The British Steel Challenge, leading 4 expeditions to the North Pole to being a the Royal Marine, raising a family and working on a Salvage Tug!

Leadership Reflections

‘Leadership challenges the norm whereas management makes it more efficient.’ ‘The best teams are all leaders, it’s an ethos, an attitude’. Imagine starting with a sketch, a sketch that stretches the norm and then turning that sketch into reality. Where would you start, what would your guiding principles be? How would you ignore those timid experts that choose to judge future potential by polishing the past rather than challenging it? Leaders must have mental resilience, be credible, they are judged and must judge themselves by their actions.

Planning for Success

For all Pete’s adventures he has to have a plan in place years in advance – sharing his knowledge of how he does this and sticks with the plan is hugely valuable to corporate leaders.

Spirit of Mystery

Weaving a story through history, family, risk and adventure. This is a unique, amusing yet thought-provoking speech recreating Pete’s journey on-board the ‘SPIRIT OF MYSTERY’.

Mental Resilience

Having the mental capacity to keep going when things don’t go to plan.

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pete goss yachtsman

Your tether might not keep you safe – Pete Goss

  • December 19, 2023

Hearing a tale from the Rolex Fastnet Race had me contemplating the unglamorous safety strop. Many of these reflections came from bashing our way into the Southern Ocean with hanked…

pete goss yachtsman

When is a race more than a race? When it’s the Fastnet

  • October 11, 2023

The Rolex Fastnet Race is of course a race – it’s in the title. But lightly scratch the surface and it quickly reveals itself to be much more than a…

pete goss yachtsman

Why my yacht is my refuge – Pete Goss

  • August 29, 2023

Tracey and I have just commenced construction of our very own Grand Designs in so much as we are self building a long dreamed of off-grid house in our little…

pete goss yachtsman

How to get your yacht home without power

  • August 1, 2023

Electrical systems and electronics have become such an essential part of our normal lives that it’s hard to imagine life without them. Those good old days when there was a…

pete goss yachtsman

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Conference Speaker Pete Goss - By Promotivate Speaker Agency

Oustanding Yachtsman, Inspirational Adventurer & Author of the bestselling book “Close to the Wind”.

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Adventurers & Explorers Leadership and Business Transformation Teamwork Technology & Innovation

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  • Internationally renowned yachtsman; twice sailing round-the-world.
  • Noted for unselfishly risking his own life and saving the life of French sailor Raphael Dinelli.
  • A brilliant and renowned speaker on leadership, team building and making the impossible – possible.
  • Has competed in seven transatlantic and two round-the-world races and has sailed more than 300,000 nautical miles.

A former Royal Marine, Pete has taken on numerous endeavours that share the same four principles; innovation, technology, challenge and adventure. An acclaimed International Speaker, he draws on his experiences to offer leadership and management talks, team-building exercises and training sessions, inspiring individuals and groups to achieve beyond what they thought possible.

He has raced in seven transatlantic and two round-the-world races sailing over 330,000 nautical miles. He advocates that the are four consistent components to each of his challenges which are (i) innovation (ii) technology (iii) challenge and (iv) adventure.

He is most noted for unselfishly risking his own life by turning around to rescue French sailor Raphael Dinelli who was in difficulty in a fierce hurricane in the Southern Ocean.  For his courage, he was awarded the Legion d’Honneur and an MBE and voted World Sailor of the Year.

A regular lecturer at business schools, he is an Associate Fellow of Said Business School at Oxford University.

Recently Pete built the 37’ Cornish Lugger ‘Spirit of Mystery’ (as seen on BBC Coast) which he sailed with family members, including his fourteen-year-old son, to Melbourne. This recreated the voyage of the smallest migrant vessel to make it to Australia 150 years ago. Rowing out of the harbour and navigating by the stars, they faced many challenges including a ferocious Southern Ocean storm that rolled them upside-down and broke a crewman’s leg. However, they still reached Australia together.

In addition to this Pete circumnavigated Tasmania by sea kayak; with limited communication, he has been exposed once again to the Southern Ocean and the notorious Bass Strait.

Pete understands the need to deliver real performance; he achieves this through mentoring and empowering individuals, motivating teams and driving companies forward…

Pete Goss Keynote Speaking

  • Mental Resilience – Having the mental capacity to keep going when things don’t go to plan.
  • The importance of a Team – picking the right team is imperative but how you keep all members of the team motivated, feeling involved, valued through listening, communication, sharing and good delegation is what brings the magic to successful teams.
  • Planning for Success – for all Pete’s adventures he has to have a plan in place years in advance – sharing his knowledge of how he does this and sticks with the plan is hugely valuable to corporate leaders.
  • Follow your dreams. Pete is a living example of how to do this – any of his stories will leave the right message.
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"Pete was simply one of the most inspirational speakers we’ve ever had, and his messages about the importance of teamwork and innovation were very relevant for our business. He’s a great story teller, and an incredibly humble and likeable guy. The feedback from our event was overwhelmingly positive about him and his message, so I’d strongly recommend him."



“Pete’s presentation, like the oceans he has sailed, has an underlying calm, while on the surface the audience are hit with waves of ideas, advice and emotions that leave a lasting and valuable impression in the business world. An amazing speaker.”

“I have to say that Pete’s presentation was absolutely first class, his presentation skills were spot on, mixed with a sense of life experiences, challenges and real business issues that he has overcome during his obviously challenging career. I am pleased to say that everyone in my audience has remarked at how impressed they were with his presentation and that it put a lot of the issues that my business is facing, into context and how uplifted they felt after his presentation.”

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Pete Goss

Oustanding Yachtsman, Inspirational Adventurer & Author of the bestselling book “Close to the Wind”.

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Pete Goss

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Inspirational Yachtsman

Pete Goss MBE is an Inspirational Yachtsman, a Polar Explorer and Inspirational Motivational Speaker.

A former Royal Marine , Pete’s life has been dominated by sport and adventure. His record of achievement includes six transatlantic and two round-the-world races.

The Vendee Globe Rescue:

Pete Goss is best known for taking part in the 1996/7 Vendee Globe non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race in his yacht ‘ Aqua Quorum ‘.

It was during this race that Pete turned his 50-ft yacht back into a hurricane-force headwind to rescue French sailor Raphael Dinelli. He risked his life and any chance of winning one of the world’s great yachting challenges.

He dramatically rescued his fellow competitor, for which Pete was awarded the MBE by HM The Queen and the Legion d’Honneur by the French President.

Pete’s determination and competitiveness during the race was evident later on in the race when he had to operate on himself to repair ruptured muscles around his left elbow without anaesthetic and just a few basic instructions, after which he joked… “Now I’m truly a single-handed sailor” .

Even with these setbacks, Pete became the fastest Briton to sail around the world single-handed with a time of 126 days and 21 hours.

Other Seafaring Challenges:

The british steel challenge.

Pete’s other sailing exploits include training and leading a previously inexperienced crew of fourteen through what is generally held to be ‘the worlds toughest yacht race’ – The British Steel Challenge (later known as the Global Challenge). The route goes the ‘wrong way’ around the World, against the prevailing winds and currents. Pete, having spent three years as the training manager for the whole fleet of amateurs, proudly went on to lead his team aboard Hofbrau into third place.

Carlsberg Singlehanded Transatlantic Race

In 1988 he defied convention by finishing second in class in the Carlsberg Singlehanded Transatlantic Race , sailing Cornish Meadow , a tiny catamaran just 26 feet in length. This was Pete’s first fully-sponsored project, which he used to prove that small, lightweight multi-hulls can be viable giant-killers by coming in ahead of many larger craft.

Team Philips

In December 2000, Pete gathered together the team and sponsors that enabled the construction of the world-famous giant catamaran Team Philips ; a five-year-long project that ended with the sad loss of the boat, but thankfully not the crew, in a freak mid-Atlantic storm December 2000.

Like all of Pete’s projects, Team Philips rested on the four legs of Innovation, Technology, Challenge and Adventure. ‘Dare to Dream’ was the project’s strapline as it challenged many norms, including a spirit of community and openness. The Project visitor centre, which was free to enter in keeping with the ethos of the project, saw some 1.2 million visitors. The website generated 97 million hits, of which 76% were outside the UK.

Round Britain and Ireland Yacht Race

Pete Goss returned to competitive sailing in 2006 competing in the Two-handed Round Britain and Ireland Yacht Race , and in 2007 competed in the Rolex FASTNET , considered one of the world’s classic offshore races, with former Team Philips crew mates Paul Larsen and Andy Hindley.

The Spirit of Mystery

In 2008, Pete built a wooden lugger and followed in the wake of seven Cornishmen who made a heroic journey to Australia 154 years ago – The Spirit Of Mystery . Pete and his crew set sail for Australia on 20th October 2008, arriving on 9th March 2009.

Arctic Expeditions:

Away from sailing, since 2003, in partnership with Arctic Explorer and friend Alan Chambers MBE , Pete Goss has led many teams to the North and South Pole including a team of 15 internationally known business leaders.

Together, Pete and Alan lead groups through the barren beauty of the arctic wilderness to the very peak of the planet.

Pete Goss Motivational Speaker:

With a wide variety of adventures under his belt, yachtsman Pete Goss talks positively and with passion about leading teams through exciting, but often complex, challenging and dangerous situations. A natural communicator with a dynamic but informal style, Pete never ceases to amuse, entertain and inform with his presentations.

At the height of the Team Philips project, Pete headed-up a workforce of more than 100 employees, brokered multi-million-pound sponsorship deals and assisted in the creation of several new companies in fields as diverse as new media, engineering, education and boat-building. Handling these complex and often conflicting pressures while all the while being under the media spotlight, gave Pete a unique insight into the challenges that face every organisation.

Equally at home battling the elements alone or leading a business team from the front, Pete Goss draws from these experiences to offer management talks, team-building exercises and training sessions that will not only challenge individuals and groups but inspire them to achieve beyond what they thought possible.

For more info on Pete Goss MBE, email us or speak with an agent on 01275 463222

Testimonials

“Absolutely first class. We were mesmerised. Without doubt the most interesting, stimulating and motivational speaker we have experienced….Pete Goss has excellent management motivation."
“Pete Goss made an enormous impression on our audience. He had the right mixture of ‘adventures’, pertinent leadership and teambuilding, delivered in a relaxed and personable manner which left our audience with a lot to think about”.
“Incredibly motivating. Pete Goss has a unique ability to turn problems into challenges. One of the most thought provoking speakers we have heard."

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IMAGES

  1. Pete Goss to go solo

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  2. Pete Goss: a new mini-exploration yacht that’s a bit different

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  3. Pete Goss. Sailor, adventurer, international speaker. What next? Find out here

    pete goss yachtsman

  4. Pete Goss’s lessons learned from two and a half years sailing around the world

    pete goss yachtsman

  5. Pete Goss. Sailor, adventurer, international speaker. What next? Find out here

    pete goss yachtsman

  6. Oddity the yacht designed by a legendary yachtsman

    pete goss yachtsman

COMMENTS

  1. Pete Goss - Wikipedia

    Pete Goss, MBE (born 22 December 1961) is a British yachtsman who has sailed more than 250,000 nautical miles (460,000 km). A former Royal Marine, he is famous for his pioneering project Team Philips. [2] He was invested in the Legion d'Honneur for saving fellow sailor Raphaël Dinelli in the 1996 Vendée Globe solo around

  2. Oddity the yacht designed by a legendary yachtsman

    Jul 25, 2023 · Legendary offshore yachtsman, Pete Goss, talks us through the design of his latest boat, Oddity, a one-off designed with purpose TAGS: monohull new boat Top Story Designing my own boats has resulted in a series of different craft, ranging from small, high-performance multihulls through to a sea kayak, a Cornish lugger, a huge futuristic ...

  3. Pete Goss. Sailor, adventurer, international speaker. What ...

    Pete Goss MBE is a sailor and adventurer turned entrepreneur and author of the bestselling book "Close to the Wind". He now splits his time between his ongoing adventures and delivering inspirational and motivational talks to organisations around the world, as well as lecturing at business schools including Oxford University.

  4. Pete Goss: a new mini-exploration yacht that’s a bit different

    Feb 2, 2023 · Pete Goss has sailed more different yachts than most of us could imagine, but it’s a home-built 32ft gaffer that is his chef-d’oeuvre, as Elaine Bunting finds out TAGS: Family cruising New ...

  5. Pete Goss. Sailor, adventurer, international speaker. What ...

    Pete first captured global headlines whilst competing in the Vendee Globe single-handed non-stop round the world yacht race. Risking his own life in the midst of a fierce Southern Ocean hurricane Pete turned his yacht around to rescue French sailor Raphael Dinelli. Once Pete had dropped Raphael off in Tasmania he completed the race, coming 5th.

  6. Pete Goss - Inspiring Yachtsman, Leadership Speaker

    Pete Goss’s humorous, emotional and compelling storytelling takes you with him to that moment of truth. You are left realizing that Pete’s success rests on the shoulders of a very broad team that challenged the norm through innovation and technology, adapting to the disruption of change.

  7. Pete Goss, Author at Yachting Monthly

    Sep 3, 2024 · Pete Goss MBE is a well-renowned sailor and adventurer, and has sailed more than 250,000 miles both racing and cruising. In the 1996 Vendee Globe he rescued Frenchman and fellow competitor Raphael Dinelli from the Southern Ocean in hurricane force winds, for which he was awarded the MBE by Her Majesty the Queen and the Legion d’Honneur by the ...

  8. Pete Goss | MBE is a Sailor Adventurer, Entrepreneur & Author

    Book Pete Goss speaker and renowned yachtsman who unselfishly saved the life of a fellow French sailor. Booking email ask@pro-motivate.com. UK: +44 2078711829 .

  9. Pete Goss MBE - Sailor - Motivational Speaker | Gordon Poole ...

    Pete Goss MBE is an Inspirational Yachtsman, a Polar Explorer and Inspirational Motivational Speaker. A former Royal Marine, Pete’s life has been dominated by sport and adventure. His record of achievement includes six transatlantic and two round-the-world races. The Vendee Globe Rescue:

  10. Pete Goss - Pete Goss MBE - Self Employed - LinkedIn

    International Speaker and Adventurer · International Speaker: Pete Goss MBE<br><br>Outstanding Yachtsman / Inspirational Adventurer / Company Director and Author of the best-selling book ‘Close to the Wind’. Pete has competed in seven transatlantic and two round-the-world races, sailing more than 300,000 nautical miles.<br><br>In today’s challenging business ...