In your book, Chasing The Dawn, you talk about seeing big twisters and whales breaching in the middle of the ocean. Has that affected your spirituality?
It definitely does. I had a catholic upbringing but I hadn't really bought it. Now, having seen such beauty, I'm convinced there's a greater control out there. It's so painfully and uncomfortably cold on the ocean at times, that nobody would put themselves through it if there weren't such beautiful and enormous displays of nature to be seen. They really make you feel we're all commanded by a greater being.

Do you get much rest when you're on board?
I'm not very good at the whole solo thing. I can't get past the idea that the boat's on autopilot or there's nobody hooking up or checking ahead for icebergs and currents where whales migrate. I'd normally try to get 15-20 minutes at a time for up to four hours a day of accumulated catnaps.

How do you keep yourself sane when you're alone or with a small crew on the ocean for months on end?
For one mission we consulted various organisations in the UK and Australia to find out what colour we should paint the boat's interior to help us relax. All three organisations came back with a similar yellow, so we used it. I actually think it worked. It was very warming during the days when everything around us was slate grey.

Were you adventurous as a child?
Yeah, always. We lived in a small house 500 metres from the ocean, and also 500 metres from a river. I would sail on the river at low tide when the sand banks were exposed, and stake my claim on them as through they were islands. One of my most inspiring moments came at the age of five. Us kids would gather on the beach the day after boxing day, and watch the boats taking part in the Melbourne to Tasmania race as they crossed the horizon. On the first night my dad's radio would pick up the communication between race control and the boats. It was so exciting.

Are Australians more adventurous as a whole?
I get a feeling they are. Being in Australia is a very isolated feeling. There's a great desire to see the world, and many Australians stray a long way from home. There's also this fact we have a very short history. It was as recently as 1778 that the boats arrived and Australia was populated with non-aborigines. That was a huge and very recent adventure story.

What's next on your agenda?
I've got lots of ideas. I'm thinking about a mountaineering expedition as a stepping-stone to see if I'm enticed into climbing Everest. I've realised the ocean and the mountains are very similar.

Pictures copyright of DPPI.