P.E.I. man to make 2nd attempt at sailing around the world — this time in self-made boat

Three years ago, Alan Mulholland tried to sail across the world — but a rogue wave thwarted his plans.

Since then, the Bayfield, P.E.I., sailor has built a new boat and plans to set off Tuesday, taking another spin at a world voyage.

If you asked Mulholland in 2020, he never would have thought he'd get a second chance at his mission.

"I thought it was the last. I mean, how often do opportunities like this actually happen?" he said in an interview with CBC News.

But within three months after returning from his first attempted world voyage, Mulholland was making plans to sail again. 

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On that initial trip, Mulholland sailed a 40-year-old boat called the Wave Rover, which he repaired before travelling the high seas.

But then, while still in the Atlantic Ocean, disaster struck.

"One night, about 700 miles before I got to the Caribbean: a great big wave, the likes of which I have never seen — and I have done a fair bit of sailing — it picked the boat up and tossed it down ... I cracked two ribs and there was some damage to the boat," he said.

Mulholland said he made sure his new boat, Waver Rover II, has some extra safety and navigational features. 

Inside Wave Rover II 

Mulholland has thousands of subscribers on his YouTube channel, Sailing Wave Rover, and he said that online community helped this next voyage be possible. 

It was one of his subscribers who connected him with a naval architect in Baltimore named Andy Dize. 

Over the course of three to four months, Mulholland said he and Dize hashed out the size, shape, weight and all other technical details of the new boat.

"It's been a terrific partnership," Mulholland said.

Waver Rover II is about 6.4 metres long, compared to the first Waver Rover, which was almost eight metres long. But Mulholland said his new boat is much more stable and has more internal usable space than his first.

The boat itself is only about 9.5 milimetres thick, but Mulholland said there are ring frames inside of the ship that give it plenty of support.

Waver Rover II also has solar panels, giving it enough electricity for Mulholland to see other ships day and night. The new boat has a transmitter too, which will let other ships know Mulholland is out there.

As for the days spent inside the ship, Mulholland said he has no problem sailing solo — or eating the same meal every day.

"I carry a lot of sardines and tuna and vegetable flakes and stuff that you can sort of turn into a stew," he said.

"But as soon as I get ashore, I usually go to a really nice restaurant and have fruits and vegetables and salads because that's what you miss."

'You do not want to put anybody else in danger'

Mulholland said it's unlikely what happened on his first voyage will happen again, but the potential of danger is always on his mind.

Mulholland was a naval officer and worked on a vessel that would take part in rescues.

So, he takes every precaution he can because he knows people risk their lives to rescue others.

"You do not want to put anybody else in danger because we do this for fun. No one is making us do this," he said.

"[The] last thing you want to do is for my personal passion project to put someone in danger."

Throughout this whole process, Mulholland said his family has encouraged his efforts. His wife is currently working part time to save money so she can fly to see him in as many ports as possible.

Although Mulholland's wife is not a big sailing fan herself, she's been with Mulholland every step of the way.

"She has been probably my biggest supporter and has helped me get this far. Without her help, we'd be months behind at this point."

Mulholland's route will be different from the first time. He'll start his journey by travelling to Port Hawkesbury, N.S.

After that, he's leaving the remainder of his route up to his YouTube subscribers.