‘A wave just flipped me over the rail'

Solo yachtsman Nigel Fox's life was saved by a ‘matchbox sized’ personal locator beacon when he was knocked overboard by stormy seas off the north coast of Australia

- Solo yachtsman Nigel

A fter my wife died from cancer, my life imploded so all I wanted was to get away from home, from our life, to heal. Once I had sorted out all of the paperwork, her funeral, the will, it was time to sail away.

I found my floating home not too far away at Philip Island; a Duncanson 34 called Bison, and brought her back to Queenscliff, then set about starting a new chapter, with my elderly cat Stinky.

After a rather adventurous voyage along the bottom of Australia then up the east coast, crossing every nasty bar, entering some dubious anchorages and some quite stunning places, I experienced the crazy tides of the Torres Strait, and finally ended up in Darwin.

I planned to get my paperwork sorted to sail to Indonesia with a view to living in Asia while my heart healed from it’s somewhat smashed remnants. But then the Covid pandemic hit the planet, taking with it my chance to sail overseas.

Due to the persistent trade winds, I was stuck in Darwin until the following cyclone season, when for a few months the trade winds reverse. I knew the conditions would be pretty disgusting, but with 24-hour weather monitoring via satellite, I felt confident that I could make the voyage safely, and it would save me travelling an extra 15,000 miles to go counterclockwise.

If I couldn’t go to Asia, I wanted to hang around the Great Barrier Reef. Stinky and I departed on 30 December 2020, bound for Cairns; the cat was cross with me and seasick.

Fast-forward to five days into the trip and conditions were disgustingly bad. We were in the back end of beyond – I’d only seen one ship in the last 400 miles.