Cruising Yachts

• Mistress Santa Barbara,

yacht, arrived in Aitutaki, Cook Is lands, from Tahiti on November 24. • O KEAN OS, 39 ft. staysail schooner, with Joe Pachernegg and his wife (formerly New Guinea nurse Benita Burge), is leaving the Pacific —temporarily, at least—after cruis ing some 20,000 miles in the past 18 months.

After a wet and rough trip from the Galapagos and Cocos Islands, Okeanos reached Balboa in mid- November, her last Pacific port be fore going on to Miami, Florida.

The cruise of the Okeanos began in March, 1962, when she sailed from Wewak to Japan. From Japan, with different crews, the Okeanos went on to California, the Marquesas, Tahiti, Rapa, Juan Fernandez and Val paraiso, where Joe and Benita were married on board. ( PIM, July, 1963, p. 112.) She then sailed up the coast of Chile and Peru, out to the Gala

pagos and Cocos Islands, and on to Balboa.

In a cheery note to PIM from Balboa, Joe said: “Now we intend to sail to Florida and the Bahamas, mainly to fill up our coffers with gold for further travels, by doing, we hope, some charter work.

“We expected to do it the easy way by finding a tiny part of that buried pirate gold on Cocos Island. But, no.

To find anything there—if there is anything to be found at all—needs more devotion to hard work than only the wish to stumble over it on the beaches.

“After spending a season in the Bahamas, it might very well be that Benny and I will come sailing back to Australia again.”

Joe also gave news of several yachts that he and Benita had en countered either in the Galapagos or the Canal Zone.

“At Academy Bay, in the Gala pagos,” Joe said, “we met the 28 ft.

Swedish ketch Lunkentuss, with Gunnar Dahlgren and Dag Ekholm, bound for Tahiti and round the world.

“Then there was the French schooner Europe (about 70 ft. long), which was making a movie about the activities of the UNESCO station in

he Galapagos, and is probably now in her way to Tahiti.

“Another 70-footer came and left i few days later for Easter Island, Rapa and Tahiti. She was the American staysail schooner Barlo vento, of St. Thomas, with a charter larty on the way to the South Pacific md probably around the world.

“Here in Balboa, we met two old acquaintances of PIM, Tom and lanet Steele of the Tahiti ketch 4.dios. Tom, just a few days ago, ?ot the Blue Water Medal of the bruising Club of America.” [PIM’s ast news of the Steeles was from Diego Garcia, an outlier of Mauritius, ibout two years ago when they called here en route to Aden after cruising he Pacific in 1960.] • DWYN WEN, 106 ft. American schooner, which has been cruising the s acific shooting an adventure film in :olour, was tied up in Papeete at the :nd of November. The schooner was lue back in Hawaii early in the New fear. • GENEVE, Michel Mermod’s >5 ft. Marconi rigged sloop, arrived n Vila from Noumea on November 15, flying the Swiss flag. Mermod, a 17-year-old Swiss sociologist who first law the sea when he was 18, has ingle-handed Geneve from Callao, J eru, via the Galapagos, Marquesas, fuamotus, Tahiti, Society and Cook slands, Tonga, Fiji and New Cale lonia. After several weeks in Vila, viermod planned to move on to the Solomons, New Guinea and the J hilippines. • MALABAR VIII, 55 ft. Ameri :an schooner, was still in the South ’acific in late November—being tied ip at Papeete’s yacht haven with half l dozen other yachts. Malabar VIII urived in Tahiti on August 24 from iawaii after calling at Palmyra sland to drop an oceanographic re earch party, and also at Fanning sland. At Fanning Island, Malabar sill encountered another American racht of more or less the same size —Marty Vitousek’s Fiesta, which was here for 2J months exploring the agoon and ocean reefs. • TANGAROA, 36 ft. yacht with Die and Ann Hanson and their teen age son and daughter, was due to lead for the South Pacific from Los \ngeles in December. • WANDERER, 96 ft. topsail jchooner, whose port of registry is >an Francisco, was among the yachts n Papeete’s yacht haven in late November. Wanderer, originally lamed Grade S, was built as a San

Francisco pilot boat. Recently she has been under the command of Captain Omer Darr, a former owner oi Te Vega, and has been operating as a luxury cruiser.

• Extended Adolescence,

32 ft. ketch-rigged trimaran skippered by Jim Thomson, was causing some amusement in Papeete in late Novem ber on account of her unusual name.

The trimaran left Hawaii for Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia in Sep tember. • AWAHNEE, 52 ft. American cutter, which completed a trip round the world in July when she reached Honolulu as an entrant in the trans pacific yacht race from Los Angeles, is off on another South Seas ad venture. On October 24, she left Honolulu with owner Dr. R. L.

Griffith and his sailing family—wife Nancy and son Reid—and five crew members for the Tuamotus, Tahiti and Pitcairn Island.

Then, if the Trades allow, plans are to go to Easter Island and the west coast of Chile. After cruising the Patagonian channels, Awahnee will either go through the Straits of Magellan or return to the Pacific and cruise the Galapagos Islands. Dr.

Griffith has installed a new Japanese “Yanmar” diesel engine for the trip.

The five crew members, all Ameri cans, are: Sharron Antich, Bill Nord hoff (nephew of author Charles Nordhoff), Norman Zalkind, David Lamb and Mike Risdon. They expect to be away from home for about two years, and to be in Tokyo for the 1964 Olympic Games. • STAGHOUND, Paul Hurst’s 40 ft. ketch, which spent quite a while in New Guinea waters some time back, has recently been enjoying the hospitality of Indonesia. Writing to

Swiss yachtsman Michel Mermod of "Geneve".

s from Bangkok on November 15, 'aul said: “Not since Kar Kar Island nd Rabaul have we found the ordiality we experienced during two lonths in Bali and at the Soerabaya 'acht Club. Both friends and flicials there spent days taking us ightseeing, entertaining us and pro isioning us. Only in Tahiti, New Caledonia and Papua-New Guinea ave we postponed our departure as ften as we did in Indonesia.

“Before coming to Bangkok, we iad six weeks in Singapore and reek-ends at Jahore, Kota Bharu and le Beach of Passionate Love in orthern Malaysia. By the time we ot there, it was All Passion Spent.

“Harry Fink who joined Staghound i Port Moresby left us after six tenths to attend to his business in ydney.” • MAKOA, Don Gillam’s 32 ft. larconi-rigged cutter, arrived in [onolulu’s Ala Wai Harbour about le middle of October from some here south. ( PlM’s correspondent ould not give any other details.) • FJORD 111, 49 ft. cutter, which r as on a world cruise, was stranded n Nairai , Reef, in the Lomaiviti rroup of Fiji, about 11 p.m. on lecember 5.

On board were the owner and laster, Dr. George Lapin, of Long each, California; Leo Gilson, an ngineer, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts; /infred Schneider, a German student, udying at Washington; and Mistrel an Englishman, who is irector of a Nevada ski school.

The four men were rescued by the oyal Navy survey ship, HMS Cook, hich left next day to return to ngland.

The Cook left a six-ton launch, ith a rescue team of seven men, with le Fjord 111. The team was in ructed to refloat the cutter and tow er to Levuka.

At first glance the order appeared almost impossible as the Fjord 111 was three times heavier and well up on the reef.

But the launch did the job and towed her, leaking badly, to Levuka.

Captain Stan Brown’s Maroro then took over the tow and brought her to Suva.

The Fjord 111 kept the Royal Navy men busy baling. The engine-room was under water and the engine was out of commission.

Fjord 111, valued at $50,000, left Los Angeles early in July, and called at Hawaii, Tahiti, Rarotonga and American Samoa before heading for Fiji.

Dr. Lapin, a dentist, picked up Schneider as a crew member at Pago Pago and Gilson at Tahiti.

This is how Gilson told the story of Fjord Ill’s stranding to a PIM representative: “It was after 11 and I was up forward keeping a look-out. The moon hadn’t risen and visibility was poor. Suddenly I saw waves break ing on the reef, about 60 yards away.

“I yelled to the others and dropped the mainsail, but it was too late.

We were doing about four knots at the time.

“The yacht was battered by heavy seas and defied attempts by the four

of us to refloat her. She was firmly wedged, and racing the engine astern did not work. For a long time we were afraid the waves might break her up. But when the tide went out we were left high and dry.”

The Fjord 111 sent out a May Day distress signal, which was picked up at Suva, and passed on to the Harbour Master (Captain E. L.

James).

HMS Cook left Suva at 1 a.m. while an RNZAF Sunderland flying boat, captained by Flight-Lieutenant P. J. McKay, flew across and pin pointed her position, homing the Cook to the reef.

On reaching the stranded vessel at 7 a.m., the Cook sent across small boats (one of which overturned and threw the ratings into the sea) to pick up the cutter’s crew and take them back to Suva.

In Suva, Dr. Lapin said he would wait for a report of a survey of the damage to the yacht, but that he intended to resume his journey.

Fjord 111 was built in Argentina.

She won the Bermuda yacht race in 1954. • LUNKENTUSS, 28 ft. Swedish ketch, with Gunnar Dahlgren, 31, and Dag Ekholm, 25, arrived in Tahiti early in December from the Gala pagos Islands.

Lunkentuss left Sundsvall, Sweden, in September, 1962, and visited Den mark, Holland, Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal before heading for the Canary Islands and Panama.

She is on a voyage round the world. • SIGA WALE, the 30 ft. yacht which left Suva for Auckland on November 5 against the advice of the Fiji Harbourmaster, Captain E.

L. James, had not arrived in NZ by the second week in December, and

The crew of the "Fjord III" (from left) George Lapin, owner-skipper, Leo Gilson, Mistrel Cumberledge and Winfred Schneider. Photo: Stan Whippy.

Visitor To Tonga:

Tied up in Nukualofa in mid - November was the yacht "Auau Kai", of Los Angeles, which is on a cruise in the South Pacific.

Photo: G. J. Clear.

description of the yacht was being ssued to NZ shipping. The Siga Wale las no radio and none of the three nen on board has had any experience if navigation. The three are the iwner, Mr. Pat Ewins, 61, his son, Robert, 22, and a nephew, John ?aine, 16.

Mr. Ewins allowed himself 30 lays to reach Auckland, which would lave meant December 3, but it later ranspired that he had stopped off at Cadavu for eight days. Thus keep ng to the 30-day sailing schedule vould mean that he did not expect 0 reach his destination until Decem ier 11.

An American yacht, the Ulu Lani, vhich left Suva seven days after the Uga Wale, reported on arrival at Bussell it had seen no sign of the r acht.

The RNZAF was prepared to make 1 search if necessary and RNZAF ircraft travelling between New Zea and and Fiji were asked to watch for he Siga Wale.

RESENT FROM RAFTMAN: William Willis, 0-year-old raft voyager, wore this canvas [?]ap, which he made himself, during his [?],450 mile journey to Western Samoa. In [?]pia he presented the cap, suitably in cribed and autographed, to Mr. Eric [?]mith, who is seen holding it. Mr. Smith [?] a Sydney oyster farmer who has been [?]orking for some time in Western Samoa, he two men became firm friends, and [?]Villis plans to stay with Smith in Sydney [?] and when he continues with the final leg of his raft voyage.