News of Cruising Yachts

• NEOPHYTE, a 40 ft yacht with Lee Quinn and an all-girl crew of four, set sail from Sausalito, California, on December 28 for the South Pacific.

Quinn, 35, a former steeplejack, employed four girls because he said they made better crew members.

The crew is: Giselle Mayer, 22, Jackie Miller, 24, an airline stewardess, Susan Bird, 20, a laboratory worker, and Mrs. Karol Hope, 20, a folk singer.

Quinn will pick up his wife Mary Ann in Hawaii, and she will take over as first mate when Neophyte continues its voyage to the South Pacific. • ABACUS, Park and Gloria Shorthose’s yacht, was still in Suva early in January, having arrived there from Tahiti on October 28, Also in Suva in early January was the ketch John Hanna, last reported in July, with C. K. Wing and J.

Counterman, at Tai-o-hae, Nukuhiva. • MONSOON, 47 ft San Diego registered yacht, reached Whangaroa, New Zealand, in December after a 10-day voyage from Suva. She sailed from Los Angeles in July with a crew of five on an 18-month voyage round the world. Three of the original crew members stayed in Tahiti. The crew is now Herb Hope, skipper, of Los Angeles, Barbara Boulter, cook-deckhand, of San Francisco, Andy Cooper, Barry Ryan and Tony Horton. • TOLOA, a yacht from Van couver, arrived in Nukualofa, Tonga, late last year aboard the Thorsile. • STAGHOUND, Paul Hurst’s 40 ft yacht, which has been knock ing around New Guinea for more

in a year, is still in those parts, ul said in a card from Rabaul Christmas that he (and presum ly his Tahitian wife Tere) had t completed a trip up the Sepik yer—this being the fourth yacht go up the river since the war, d the smallest by 30 ft. After it he visited Wewak, Madang and haul. • ESCALDUNA (we’ve also seen ? name spelt Euskalduna ), a Hong ng-built sloop, was in Nukualofa December. Our correspondent did t say who was commanding her where she had come from, but did say that she was being single nded. Our last report on this ssel (PIM, June, p. 116) said that ; was owned and sailed by two anish-born Guatemalan bachelors, anuel Carvapal and Alfredo irvapal, and that she was on her y from Hongkong to Chile. She s in Honiara last Easter. • OKEANOS, with Joe Pachern g and his fiancee Benita Burge, •ived in Papeete, Tahiti, from San ego via the Marquesas on Decem r 12. They intended to stay in peete until after Christmas, then d a quiet anchorage in Moorea r essential painting and main

tenance before heading for Rapa at the end of January. After Rapa, they planned to go straight to Valparaiso, which would mean two months at sea.

Joe is a sailor who likes to chew off great chunks of ocean in one bite. After leaving New Guinea last March, he sailed straight for Japan.

After Japan, for the United States.

From San Diego, straight for Tahiti.

His 10 days or so in the Marquesas were an exception. t , 0 .. , , . - Joe and Bemta had a third crew member during their 32-days’ voyage from San Diego to the Marquesas— an American seeking the simple life.

He left them m the Marquesas to

look for something even simpler— until the French Administrator catches up.

They are hoping to pick up a congenial third hand in Tahiti, but if , one doesn’t eventuate, they’ll sail alone. This will mean a continual a grmc !’ watch on, watch off > Wlt h an occasional day hove-to t( ? cat °h U P on sl ee P and domestic ch 2f t f s - , „ , . .. w • ave no fi xe d plans after Va paraiso except maybe the Galapagos where Joe wrecked his rst y ac j-|t an d spent 18 months (on si B / some yeans ago before shipping on a » real luxury job ” and finally finding his way to New Guinea and a j ob as an Admin, trawler master.

He learned that Moonfleet, ex ma, (now Okeanos ) was for sale Suva through PIM, went there, ught her and sailed her back to NG, Joe’s ambition? To have a bigger ip something like Robinson’s irua (alongside which Okeanos was d up in December on Papeete’s iterfront) would do. He’d like to into charter work, maybe in the est Indies, or the Pacific.

For Benita the seafaring life has all over nursing, her job in New jinea where she met Joe. She’s ; one girl in 10,000,000 who’s oving that being born female is bar these days to doing exactly you like—up to and including nning away to sea. Joe reckons e’s the best crew he ever had, Dugh Bill Gasson, Kiwi Reuter respondent who sailed with them )m Japan to the US, was “pretty od”. The thing that Benita Dbably misses most at sea and in ange foreign ports is a big Aus ilian steak.

• YASME 111, Danny Weil’s 51 it yacht, which arrived in Apia from fn U tr^ W r.nc^ V H K ber ’ brok f n ni e ht of Vanda S ° n the mght of December 12.

Weil, an amateur radio enthusiast. js samng round the world with his wire. Both were ashore when the yacht was ransacked. About £lB5 worth of Weil s and his wife’s possessions were stolen.

K Entry was made by forcing a hatch which was considerably damaged.

Personal effects that were not taken away were left strewn about the yacht. Heavy rain did further dam-

age, as the vandals left the hatch open.

Many of Weil’s radio records were lost — the record for one com plete year being torn up> Three youths were later arrested and pleaded guilty to having wilfully damaged the yacht to the extent of £2O, stolen goods to the value of £lB5 and trespassed by night, , .

They were each sentenced to six months’ imprisonment on the first charge and 12 months’ imprisonment on the second. They were convicted without penalty on the third count, The police recovered about £lOO

TOP: Mr. E. J. Taylor, recently retired m the Union Company, photographed th Mrs. Taylor. (See p. 109.) LOWER: Michael Mermod who is lone nding in the "Geneve", was in Suva in nuary. He will resume his voyage und the world to Marseilles after the rricane season.

worth of property, chiefly clothing, from the Sulimoni, which the youths, although not members of the crew, used as their base.

Earlier, Weil had worked hard to get Apia radio hams to form a club.

Officers of the club are Messrs.

Ernest Betham (president), P.

Rivers (vice-president) and J. Moore (secretary).

Mr. Betham says the purpose of the club is to stimulate interest in amateur radio and give young people a chance to learn about electronics.

In late December the club was seeking a building for meetings and to house its equipment, much of which is being supplied through Weil, who works for an international foundation of radio hams.

Weil has three radio transmitters

and five receivers aboard Yasme HI.

He made contact with 3,000 radio amateurs all over the world in his first 17 days in Samoa.

He has appealed through the foundation for which he works for equipment for the Apia club. Before his yacht was ransacked, he said: “In all my travels round the world over the last 10 years, Samoa is the friendliest place I have ever visited and amateur radio really warrants support here”.

But after the ransacking, he said “After working to get radio equip ment for Samoa, I don’t think much of this in return.”

Weil, who is making his third atempt to sail round the world, has had a lot of bad luck. His first yacht, Yasme, which he was sailing

alone, sank under him about miles from Port Moresby in 111 He was rescued by a Catalina fly\{ boat.

Yasme II was wrecked in the \7 Indies in 1959; and Yasme 111 nes foundered off the coast of Me:s in December, 1961. • DWYN WYN, a big yas which was last reported in Marquesas (in mid-July), arrived; Honolulu in mid-December. • SEA WIND, 38 ft ketch, v Malcolm and Muff Graham, wE arrived in Suva in November, still there in January and probsc likely to be there for some tf after that. Mrs. Graham, ini note to PIM during the month, . not mention future plans, but asked if we could track down j yacht Myonie. Myonie is a 36? cruiser on a trip around the ww with Captain A 1 and wife “Mil Gehrman. Myonie and Sea UN were in Tahiti together last M We have not heard from My*k since. If anyone knows her whci abounts or mailing address, M Graham, Yacht Sea Wind, Sic Fiji, would be very pleased to H from them. • SARI MARAIS, 45 ft yatr with Royce Hubert and his t Linda, is likely to be seen in Western Pacific in the next months. Sari Marais is on a voyc round the world. She was in R.s tonga in November after a five-s trip from Bora Bora. Earlier ste were made at Tahiti, Moooi Huahine, Raiatea and Tahaa. • KALONA, in the news soz time ago when she was dismasteoe the Central Pacific, was en route!

Rarotonga in January with hri Kiwi crew R. M. Mcllvride (w known former skipper of the Atb\ skipper, W. J. McCarthy, rnn Honoluluan Dave Hamon, and H Siess, of Hawaii Yacht Club, t has been “doing” the South S during the past year on Ahw&M and Ben Gunn. Kalona was saitn via Fanning and Penrhyn. • WHITE LADY, with Joe Mrs. Hart and son Joey, Honolulu in December, 53 days a of Pago, tired and sea-worn. ITT Lady’s sails were blown out a miles from Diamond Head and 1 docked on the end of a Coast Gut tow line. • ENTICER, 45 ft ketch, hasg£ turned to Honolulu after a v successful cruise to Tahiti and Ps 4 !

r crew included owner Carl Ilette, his daughter Joyce, and Ski linowski and Nuuelue Sepulona, of nerican Samoa. Mr. Gillette is iusiastic about the hospitality of : New Zealand officials of Raro »ga and Niue, plus the Kellums of petoi, and HMS Lock Killisport.

9 Race To Noumea :

i angarei, New Zealand’s northland :hting centre, may be the starting nt for a yacht race to Noumea, w Caledonia, in April, 1964.

Hie proposal comes from the erahi Yacht Club which has cessfully organised local events I now feels experienced enough to something on a bigger scale.

Hie club is confident that over s yachts will enter, including at 5t one from the United Kingdom.

> “Lodestar” Heads

*RTH: The American-built tri ran Lodestar with John Daig ult and two New Zealanders as w, left Wairoa, NZ, in early member and headed nor’east. Rapa first stop; Tahiti comes later. lodestar, because of her unusual icarance, has had a lot of publicity :e she arrived in New Zealand ;ew months ago. She left San incisco in May, 1962, and headed th via Honolulu and the Cook inds. Daigneault joined her in nolulu when two original crew mbers quit; his two new com lions from NZ to French Poly ia are Charles Urquart and yne Dumbleton. fhe trimaran has 400 sq. feet of and a six hp outboard motor help her on her 2,300 mile voyage Papeete, but carries no radio.

s handsome building is the new head rters of the Nukualofa Yacht and for Boat Club, which was opened by [?]ce Tu'ipelehake in September. The ding is 72 ft. by 20 ft. and is finished de in alternating panels of two shades green. In the centre of one wall is a ral of a Tongan man and woman painted by Mr. Graham Peart.

Photo: I. T. Simmons.

Recent visitors to the Polynesian Asso ciation in Sydney were these French Polynesian lads of the French Navy. In front is smiling George Lagarde; at extreme left is Serge Salmon; on George's left is Philippe Meule (other sailor unknown).