Tobias Fahey, seen here on his way past the Iron Pot at the start of his record attempt, has has to abort the trip after his batteries became damaged. Picture: Jimmy Emms and Tasmanian Air Adventures
TASMANIAN solo yachtsman Tobias Fahey has been forced to abandon his around-the-world voyage and is limping back to Hobart.
He set sail on Wednesday on his attempt to circumnavigate the world in under 180 days but yesterday encountered a battery problem that sank his plans.
"I have been having charging issues since I left and they have progressively gotten worse to the point that my batteries will no longer hold charge for a sufficient amount of time," he said.
Faulty wiring in the alternator regulator caused the batteries on board to receive an excess charge, which overheated them and damaged them beyond repair.
The batteries, which are charged by the boat's motor or wind generators, supply power for several essential onboard systems, including communications, radar and the automatic identification systems (AIS) needed to avoid collisions with other vessels at sea.
Without sufficient electricity to power these systems and no way of repairing the damage at sea, Fahey, 25 from Dodges Ferry, made the heartbreaking decision to turn back to Hobart just three days into his voyage.
"I still have this strong urge to go on but it's not worth the risk, it's unsafe," he told the Sunday Tasmanian by satellite phone last night.
"I've spoken to my family and they all said not to risk going on -- the world's not going anywhere, it'll still be there later."
Fahey said the westerly winds and swell that had carried him so swiftly towards New Zealand were now working against him as his yacht, Sea Quest, battled into the wind and waves for a much slower and rougher journey home.
"I was basically surfing down the waves all the way until now but now I'm slamming into them," he said. Fahey was closer to New Zealand than Tasmania when he turned back and expects the return trip to take four days.
Fahey's goal was to complete his voyage in under 180 days to break the Australian record for sailing solo around the world.
Before turning back, he was on track to do it in around 135 days.
He said the repairs would cost thousands of dollars and he was unsure when he would be able to make another attempt at the record, but is determined to try again.
"I'll just have to take a look at that once I'm back in Hobart," he said.
"The past few days have been some of the most satisfying and rewarding days of my life."
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