Cruising Yachts

• ATOM, 30 ft ketch from New York, with lone-handed owner skipper Jean Gau, is due to leave Auckland on April 1 for Port Moresby, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, Gau, who expects to be back in New York by September, 1966, contributes to several French news papers and the New York Times.

He left New York in May, 1962, and arrived in Auckland on December 10.

The voyage was via France, the West Indies, Costa Rica, Panama, Pitcairn, Tahiti and Samoa.

Gau is French-born, but a naturalised US citizen. For the past quarter-century, he has spent four years afloat followed by four years ashore. • MINERVA, 50 ft ketch from San Francisco, arrived in Auckland recently with owner-skipper Hugh Coram, a retired jeweller and life long yachtsman, and his wife Marge.

The Corams left San Francisco in January, 1964, and sailed via the Marquesas, Tuamotu and Society Islands, and Rarotonga.

They will steer for Sydney about the end of March, where Marge Coram plans to celebrate her birthday in mid-April, although she wouldn’t confide to our Auckland correspondent which one it would be. However, he says: “If this vigorous middle-aged couple con tinue to absorb sun rays and ozone on the high seas, they will be able to forget the calendar for many years”.

From Sydney, the Corams plan to sail to the Barrier Reef, visiting Brisbane along the way, then New Caledonia, Fiji, the Indian Ocean and what lies beyond. From Auck land they will be accompanied by Robert Sintes, 20, who is looking forward to seeing new horizons. • KISMET, an American yacht from Boston, was among the small fleet of cruising yachts tied up at Kings Wharf, Auckland, in mid- February. Kismet is on a cruise round the world. Her owners are skipper James Wales and his wife Patience, and navigator Ken Wunderlich and his wife Bebe.

Sailing from Nukualofa, Kismet made her New Zealand landfall at Russell, Bay of Islands. After two

pleasant weeks there, she came on to Auckland. Plans are to return to Russell in mid-March before continuing round the world. • YAR TEKU, 28 ft sloop, has arrived in Auckland from England under the lone hand of a retired RAF wing commander, C. W.

Bromley, DFC, AFC.

Wing Commander Bromley, formerly of Christchurch, went to England and joined the RAF in 1938. Despite an imposing record as an airman, including the Battle of Britain, he is still full of youthful

vim and vigour. He has now re turned to New Zealand to settle and look for a job.

He plans to sell Yar Teku, a slick lined craft, which, he says, has proved ideal for a lone ocean voyager.

Wing Commander Bromley sailed from Plymouth on September 13, 1963. Being entirely without ex perience in sail, and since his ketch carries no auxiliary power, he took with him an experienced sailing companion as far as Barbados. From there, he went on alone, Eight hundred miles from

Barbados he was becalmed for 19 days awaiting the tardy arrival of the Trade Winds. When the Italian tanker Centauro hove in sight, he hailed her with red flares, and was invited on board by the captain who arranged to send messages home for him to explain his being over due.

The Yar Teku’s voyage was via France, Spain, Portugal, Madeira, Barbados, the West Indies, Panama, the Galapagos, the Marquesas, Tahiti, and Aitutaki. • SOLO, 57 ft Sydney ketch, sailed from Sydney with owner skipper Vic Meyer and a crew of two girls at the end of February for a 12-month cruise round the world. The girls are Miss Rhondda Figgis, a pharmacist, and Miss Elsa Wanstall, a data-process worker, both of Sydney.

Solo will sail north through the Barrier Reef to Darwin, then to Christmas Island, Aden, the Mediter ranean, Madeira, the West Indies, Panama, Hawaii, Tahiti, and home.

Mr. Meyer says girl crew mem bers are “much more reliable, more compatible and don’t get in your hair as much”. He sailed from Tahiti to Sydney in 1963 with two girls as crew, and has since made a Townsville-Sydney trip with only his daughter to help. • SEA FEVER, 42 ft ketch, with Larry, Margaret and Johnny Alexander, recently returned to San Diego, California, after completing a trip round the world in four years, four months and 29 days.

During the cruise, the Alexanders covered 45,000 nautical miles and called at 200 ports in five con tinents. They spent six months or so in the Pacific in 1961-62. Their address is now: c/- R. H. Alexander, 2416 W. 76th Street, Los Angeles, California, USA. • MISTRESS, 35 ft ketch, arrived in Sydney on January 30 from Auckland after a 30-day trip across the Tasman. The crossing was slow because of calms and headwinds.

On board were the owner-builder,

• This snap was taken from the deck of the 22-metre ketch, "Sirocco" as she entered Papetoai Bay, Moorea, recently. "Sirocco", once owned by film actor Errol Flynn, now belongs to Jack Belcher, a Las Vegas architect.

In January, "Sirocco" sailed to Honolulu from Bora Bora for repairs to a cracked mast.

Photo: John Smedley.

Don Burg, of Santa Barbara, Cali fornia, and Mr. Clive Good, who acted as crew.

Mistress left Santa Barbara in June, 1962, and sailed to New Zealand and Australia via Tahiti.

Burg broke the journey at Tahiti to sail to Hang Hau, near Hong Kong. • SEA WIFE, an American yacht, went aground on a reef at Huahine, French Polynesia, in late January, not far from the recent wreck of the inter-island vessel T amarii-Raiatea. On board were the yacht’s owner, his wife, and young child, all of whom were taken off safely. No further details have yet come to hand. • MONSOON, 55 ft ketch, arrived in Honolulu on December 10 after a 36-day trip from Pago Pago.

The ketch, originally from Vancouver where she was built as a fishing trawler, was skippered by Phil Sharp, of Auckland, New Zealand. Aboard as crew were Bob Brodie and Charlie Lees, of Western Samoa.

The trip completed the delivery by Sharp to Monsoon’s new owner, Maurice Phillips, of Honolulu.

The trip was made mostly under power and used 1,700 gals, of diesel fuel. It included two four-day stops at Canton and Palmyra Islands.

Sharp and Lees have since re turned to Pago Pago where Sharp’s boat, the Wakanui, was being cared for by Jim Davies, of Auckland.

They were to continue their cruise from there. • KORSAR, 40 ft doubled-ended cutter owned and skippered by Keith Kibler, left Honolulu on January 20 bound for the Marquesas, Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. Aboard as crew are Ken Court, Harald, Conway, and Mary MacDonald. • LUNKENTUSS, 26 ft Swedish ketch with Gunnar Dahlgren and Dag Ekholm, left Durban, South Africa, on January 14 on the last leg of a two-year voyage round the world. She will call at St. Helena, Ascension Island and England on the way back to Sweden.

Lunkentuss was in the Pacific for several months last year during which she called at the Galapagos, Tuamotus, Tahiti, Cook Islands, American Samoa, Fiji, New Hebrides, Port Moresby and Thurs day Island.

• SIT 1 SI, a 40 ft American yacht, called at Honiara, BSIP, on January 25 en route to Santo, New Hebrides. On board were owner skipper J. M. Lavery, his wife and two crewmen.

Sitisi was built in California and sailed from San Diego in 1958 for a Pacific cruise.

Captain Lavery stayed in Madang for two years and then visited Bougainville, calling at Kieta en route to Honiara. • KAHUTARA, a new steel 45 ft ketch, is expected to sail from Russell, Bay of Islands, NZ, about March to Raratonga, then, in

leisurely fashion to Japan, Hawaii, and the mainland US. The owner is Mr. R. R. Kershaw, of Russell, who will cruise with his wife and family of two boys and two girls. • HIGHLIGHT, 35 ft trimaran, arrived at Norfolk Island from Auckland on January 28 and stayed till February 20. Highlight’s crew are John Glennie, skipper, his brother David Glennie and Graham Copp.

The trimaran, which was built at Blenheim, NZ, has sleeping quarters for 11 people. Back in Auckland, Highlight’s crew will prepare for a longer cruise in the South Pacific.