On the third and final leg of his triple circumnavigation of the world, Sanders journeyed around the Horn, across the Equator and into the Indian Ocean. On Guy Fawkes Day, 5 November, dieseline leaked into the bilge and Sanders had to pump diesel out of the starboard tank to a buck and dump it into the sea. By this time also, Sanders’ videocassette recorder had stopped working and he could no longer view the videos he had taken with him on the voyage. On 28 December the cabin stove stopped making gas and poured out fiery liquid kerosene which filled the cabin with black smoke and stained the roof beams.

During this third leg, Sanders experienced a flare up of a chest complaint called pleurodynia, which is exacerbated by damp and cold conditions. This caused Sanders intense pain in the right side of his rib cage. Indeed, Sanders was plagued by ongoing problems with dampness in the cabin. He had an almost non-stop job of scrubbing mould from the inside of the yacht. To keep his voice box exercised, Sanders spoke his thoughts aloud each day. He kept up regular leg and toe stretching exercises, as well as exercising his stomach muscles. He maintained his general fitness by running on the spot.

Sadly, Sanders’ mother passed away at age 80 on 17 December 1987. As the HF (long distance) radio was not working, his family were unable to notify him of her death until 9 March 1988, a few days before the end of the voyage.

Sanders was originally scheduled to arrive at King George Sound, off Albany, to reprovision then complete his journey to Sydney for the Bicentennial celebrations. However, in keeping with the wishes of Parry Corporation, Curtin University, the Australian Bicentennial Authority and the WA public, the finish line was moved to Fremantle. Captain Roy Marsh from the naval patrol ship HMAS Geraldton met with Sanders just prior to his arrival to outline plans for the welcoming festivities. (Source Project Endeavour)