An effort to duplicate the 19th century voyage of a group of Cornish fishermen came close to disaster off Australia.

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The Spirit of Mystery hit a storm Tuesday and then a freak wave that sent it into a roll, The Age reported.

The boat survived with minor damage. One member of the crew, Mark Maidment, broke his leg with the boat too far from land for a helicopter evacuation.

The Spirit of Mystery made an unscheduled stop in Portland Saturday to get Maidment to a hospital. He said he hopes to be back on board when the boat sails into Hobson's Bay in Melbourne.

The Mystery sailed to Australia in 1854 after a group of Cornish fishermen decided to try their luck in the gold rush. They equipped their 30-foot lugger with a zinc bottom and sailed off into the unknown, covering the 12,000 miles in 116 days.

The Spirit of Mystery is captained by Pete Goss, an experienced sailor who was honored by France and Britain for a single-handed rescue during the 1996-1997 Vendee Globe race.