News of Cruising Yachts

«. Search And Rescue. The

DRIFTER incident (see elsewhere) is cer tain to weaken the New Zealand yachts men’s case against the imposition of Government regulations to control the movements of yachts on off-shore voyages.

Moore said that he had left full details of his yacht and its radio facilities and other equipment with a member of his yacht club. But these details apparently never reached the Search and Rescue people, and as a result there was prob ably unnecessary expenditure in the search operations. Moore did not complete one of the questionnaire forms which yachts men are urged to fill in and lodge with the police prior to departure.

He' said, however, that he did fill in such a form at Papeete when one was

handed to him for completion, and that information should have been available on request from NZ. The NZ forms are available at Marine Department offices in NZ ports and from the Harbour Master in Suva. Fiji. There seems no reason why they could not be submitted to yachtsmen as an essential paper for ship clearance, but under the present system yachtsmen must actually request the form.

Under legislation which the Government has been considering for introduction there will be heavy penalties, even confiscation of yacht, in the event of air search following failure by the yachtsmen to have submitted a form and to have had his yacht inspected prior to departure to see that it complied with certain safety re quirements.

Main opposition to the legislation is that it is too extreme, and that yachts men do not consider that they should be

1! down to any particular route or .nation—which must be stated on the prior to departure. Some yacht already have an inspection system seir own.

SELINA of Adelaide, 60-ft. ketch owned .. Poison, and with a crew of six is, arrived at Whitianga near Auck »on March 1. Mr. Poison intended to the international Big Game Fishing gst, after which, in the last week in rh probably, the yacht was to sail Sydney. ’ TAHI WAITANGI, with 76-year-old iain Percv H. London in command, ;ed at Nelson, NZ. 22 days out of ;ey at the end of February. The 58htch is likely to remain in NZ waters.

ICRUSADER of Auckland, which Mr. iEndean, with companions, sailed to [Diego via Polynesia last year, is now jjale there with a price tag of the ealent of £NZI3,OOO. Owner Endean back to Auckland at the end of rh and said that he expected a sale Jl take place soon.

REPOSADO, the big motor yacht ji Mr. Brian Neill purchased in »te last year, was scheduled to leave iland for Australian waters early in . Crew were being sought by ad liement in March.

CARLA MANUS mentioned recently aving changed hands in Sydney after ;e in New Guinea waters as a trading will be better remembered by some •r her former name of AMOHINE. iSEA CHANTY of Canada, at Whan , NZ. was purchased by crew-member Monk who plans to remain in NZ •s for a year. Ex-owner Roy Kempel • crewman Allen Cherrington, plan to iin in NZ for a few months before re mg home by ship.

WAIHAPE. 42-ft. motor-sailer owned johnny Wray of Auckland, who has ■ed several times to Tonga, from where (wife hails, was to clear for New :ea, the Great Barrier Reef, Lord Howe [be first half of March and return about November.

WHITE SQUALL and the Norgroves uckland were to clear for Papeete It about March 26.

FLYING WALRUS and the Wells ly of the US, in Whangarei these many months, planned to clear for !New Hebrides in April, after which will decide whether to turn back yard or continue west. [PATSY JEAN of Auckland, owned by Silk, and NINA of Auckland with ir J. Moody, both already known in (Islands, were to leave Auckland in any in April, bound Rarotonga, where will complete the job of rebuilding N which he purchased there on the u a year ago, IKEHUA which lost her mizzen coming from Tonga some months ago, will ue doing any deepwater cruising this This 29-ft. yacht belongs to Whan , NZ.

KOCHAB of England, with Dr. klin-Evans will clear for Fiji and yard late March or April.

IDEBONAIR, which made a false start 'iji last year and put back, is to clear pril from Auckland for probably Fiji, ;e westward. Aboard will be Jack irts and his wife and 16-year-old bter. This was the yacht which was lally sailed out from the UK by the Brothers some years ago.

CIMBA, which was reported to have

made a false start for Suva last year, is understood to be unlikely to sail on a deepwater cruise this year. • STARDUST, the big converted Fair mile motor yacht which has been in Fiji for some months past, has been cruising the Lau islands in the east of the Group.

Of the original crew from Australia, only owner Richard S. Smith and Kate Smith remain. • D’VARA, 30-ft. ketch crewed by a man and wife team, cleared Port Moresby on March 12 on the first stage of a round the-world cruise which is expected to take six years. D’VARA is initially bound for India, followed by Africa, Europe and Canada. Sailing her are Mr. and Mrs.

“Blue” Bradfield, who built her in Perth 18 months ago, took her to Port Moresby, and have lived in Port Moresby

for a year preparing for the cruise.

D’VARA is of the lately popular wishbone design which gives small sail area but simplicity of operation. She can make four knots under auxiliary power. (D’VARA —derived from the Motu lan guage of Papua. Davara—ocean.) • LAMMERHAK 11. After four months in the one place, the 23-ft. yawl is still tied alongside the main wharf at Rabaul waiting for her owner to accumulate enough funds (he freely admits it) to continue a round-the-world voyage. But if the voyage eventually goes to plan she will become the second smallest vessel ever to make the lonely circuit. Her lone voyaging owner Joseph Havkins is work ing as a stevedore at Rabaul for the time being. LAMMERHAK II hails from Haifa on the Levant Coast of the Mediterranean, and is bound west.