Cruising Yachts

Pacific Shipping And Cruising Yachts

[?]st Honours Apia's New Wharf

Vithout any fanfare, and

lout the Minister of Marine

n knowing, an Australian

tain managed to secure the our of commanding the first ) to tie up at Apia’s new deep er wharf on October 28.

IE ship was a purse seiner en route from California to Sydney re she will be the first ship of kind to be used in the tuna nds off the Australian coast. She the Espirito Santo under :ain W. B. Jeavens with an rican crew. The ship called at l for minor repairs, which were itated by berthing at the wharf, ic official opening of the wharf ill set for March 3, when it is cted Union SS’s regular inter d Matua will tie up for the first It is Apia’s first overseas wharf, lere is still wide diversity of ion about the Samoan harbour lopment programme. Latest ism came from the Apia nber of Commerce, which wrote le Government complaining that ivharf is too small to berth two and that it should be lengthened 600 ft to 1,000 ft.

They suggested that if finance was any problem, material should be diverted from the Asau wharf, which according to reports has run into trouble by the unexpected toughness of the coral seabed and reef entrance, which has to be widened.

It is generally believed, but not admitted in official circles, that the Asau scheme is going to cost a lot more than expected, but as pointed out by Minister of Works F.C.F.

Nelson, the Asau wharf is the key to the whole development plan.

Indonesians Rescued

From Drifting Ship

Ten Indonesian seamen were rescued from a disabled vessel, the Murni which was drifting off Aitape, Sepik District, on November 4.

The Indonesians, all in a very weak condition, were picked up by a P-NG Administration vessel and taken to hospital in Aitape.

An Administration spokesman said in Port Moresby on November 11 that it was understood that Murni was making for Tekasula when blown off course and badly damaged during a storm. It had been drifting for many weeks since. It was presumed that, when recovered, the men would be equipped to proceed to the nearest Indonesian port. The Murni was towed to Aitape.

"Valrosa" Wrecked

Valrosa, charter schooner operat ing from Tahiti was wrecked on the reef at Tikahaou in the Tuamotu Group, on October 25—10 hours after leaving Rangiroa, largest of the Tuamotus.

The 99 ft staysail schooner, built m a British shipyard in 1903, is owned and skippered by Tahiti personality Marc Darnois. She has become wery well known in the Polynesian Group through her charter cruises. There were some tourists as well as local people aboard at the time of the grounding.

She was on a pleasure cruise from Papeete to the Tuamotus and the

RENCH NAVAL VESSELS IN NEW GUINEA. Recent visitors to New Guinea ports were the French minesweepers "La [?]unkerquoise", photographed in Rabaul, left, by Max Hayes; and "La Bayonnaise", photographed at Port Moresby by W. A.

McGrath. Also seen at the Port Moresby wharf is the "Sletfiord".

ndward Isles. In bad weather, ire Darnois headed for the Wind rd Isles from his last stop at ngiroa, taking an indirect route miss the atolls of Tikahaou and itahiva. The south-easterly current ried them onto the Tikahaou f at 4 a.m. on October 25. fhree crewmen risked their lives ing a steel cable from the ship the reef then running a shuttle rice in the lifeboat to get those board ashore. Everyone aboard Wosa was landed unharmed though y were covered with oil and nched with rain and seawater.

"wo hours after passengers and w got off, all that could be seen Valrosa were the two masts pro- Jing from the waves on the out i of the reef.

Tie shipwrecked crew and tourists e cared for by the people from 5 village for two days until they lined passage to Rangiroa aboard yacht Machina Teata which was >ing Tikehau.

3Ther Formosan Ship

Jested For Poaching

l Formosan fishing boat and six he crew were arrested on October for poaching clam shells in the d (Nuguria) Islands, about 170 ss north-east of Rabaul. It was third time since May last year a Formosan vessel had been ?ht shell-poaching in the South ific; and the second instance in Fead Group. i the latest case, Mr. Alistair vn, of Fead Plantation, sighted boat with a crew of about 16, ng a reef for clam shells on )ber 28. He ordered the skipper eave by daylight next day but 3vered then that the boat had moved to a more concealed tion. r. Brown arrested six members he crew and held them at his ;e while he radioed the P-NG

Administration at Sohano for assist ance.

The Government boat Nivani was sent to escort the Chinese vessel King Chai, to Sohano. A week later, in Bougainville District Court, the captain was found guilty of bringing illegal immigrants into New Britain and fined £25. Six members of the crew were found guilty of being illegal immigrants.

On May 27, 1964, a Formosan fishing vessel was arrested at Aneityum, the southernmost island in the New Hebrides, for trochus poaching. The vessel was escorted to Lenakel, Tanna, where the captain was severely admonished by the French Resident Commissioner, Mr.

Maurice Delauney ( PIM, July, 1964, p. 103).

Two months later, a Formosan vessel and crew of poachers were arrested by Captain Bill Hallam, manager of a Fead Islands planta tion. The vessel was escorted to Rabaul by the Nivani and the For mosan captain was fined £5 for be-

ing an illegal immigrant (PIM, Aug., 1964, p. 95).

Early in 1964, Captain Hallam un successfully pursued an unidentified sampan whose crew was reported to have made two illegal landings in the Fead Group.

Carrying On The

"Cook's" Work

The survey work carried out by HMS Cook in th§ South Pacific over several years is now being done by another Royal Navy survey ship, HMS Dampier.

The Dampier arrived in Honiara on October 26 to carry on the Cook’s work.

The Cook was paid off early in 1964. On October 1, 1963, she had been badly damaged when she struck a coral reef off Ellington, Fiji.

"Coral Queen"

To Be Sold

Damage to the BSIP Government ship, Coral Queen, was so extensive that she will not now be repaired, but instead will be sold by public tender.

The Coral Queen went aground on Papari Reef, Ysabel Island on February 4, 1965. Explosives were used to free her from the reef.

"Walande" Goes

Into Service

The first working cruise of the Walande was in October when she sailed from Auki in the BSIP to Allardyce Harbour.

The Walande was built at the South Pacific Commission boat building school. She will be stationed at Malaita as a district touring ship.

Total Loss: Re

cently aground and a total loss, except for its cargo, was the Rabaul - based trawler "Theresa".

The trawler went aground on Djaul Island, near Kavieng, in heavy seas. —Photo: Max Hayes.

NEW VESSEL: The Bougainville Company's new vessel "Edenhope", here photographed in Port Moresby, is now at work between Rabaul and Bougainville ports, under Captain E. V. Glennie, a former master of the "Polurrian". She will be renamed "Nukumanu". She is 264 tons and was built in 1949. —Photo: W. A. McGrath.

Isip Trader

[Eplaced

The BSIP trading firm, R. S. Symes fly. Ltd., have replaced the Moala, unk in a collision off Guadalcanal arlier this year, with the Hawk, /hich they bought in Sydney.

The Hawk, which will carry 80 to 0 tons of cargo, will go into service a the outer islands.

10Squit0 Fleet

Or Sale

One of Fiji’s best known operators 1 the “mosquito” fleet of small inter ►land cutters, ketches and schooners, Ir. Tim Hurley, is apparently want ig to get out of the worrying busi ess of small shipping.

Using the “smalls” column of the iji Times, Mr. Hurley has advertised le sale of his five cutters, Adi Talei, 'oroibo, Malawai, Malolelei and ielanesia.

Mr. Hurley refuses to comment on is reasons for wanting to sell.

Shearwater" Expedition

The United States miliary trans ort vessel USNS Shearwater called t American Samoa on October 5 ith eight scientists who are making study of the life of seabirds. They ave visited the Phoenix and Line lands and plan to also visit Christ las Island before returning to Hawaii.

Re In Port Moresby

Arbour

Fire broke out on the ammunition irrying Australian Army LSM rudenell White in Port Moresby on ctober 22.

The vessel was taking ammunition id aviation fuel from Sydney to and Lae as supplies for PIR aining exercises. It called at Port [oresby for stores and rations for ie crew of 38.

The fire was fought by the Port [oresby fire brigade and controlled Tore it had a hold on the ship.

Mr. I, Skinner, Port Moresby’s ivil Defence co-ordinator, said that ; was not informed of the danger, e was later reported to be seeking arification of the position.

Istreatment Of

Ago Tuna Men

The Pago Pago newspaper Samoa mes reported in late October that ere was a growing desire among panese fishing boat captains of scontinuing their Pago base, fol wing injuries to three Japanese hermen a week or so earlier. The hermen were injured by thrown

stones, although versions of the in cident differed considerably.

“Industry spokesmen said this latest of a series of such happenings could heavily set back American Samoa’s tuna canning, which pro duces the bulk of the Territory’s ex port earnings,” the newspaper re ported.

In a later editorial, the paper said; “During the past year there have been numerous incidents involving mistreatment of Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese fishermen . . . We are not trying to blame anyone, but only seek the solution to a serious pro blem.

“Perhaps some fishermen have

started trouble, but if the present trend continues we will never know that they have, because no accused fishermen are ever brought to court . . .

“Community leaders, especially in Atu’a, should set up a plan to prevent these incidents. The police should determine the identity of lawbreakers within a few days of each incident, but if there are persons obstructing justice by witholding information, the police should say so . . .

“The curfew on fishermen implies that in some way they are second class visitors to Tutuila. A system should be established to abolish it gradually.” (Over)

(Ailas' At Nausori

Or Repairs

The Fiji inter-island cutter, Kailas, r hich sank off Viro, Ovalau, on ►ctober 7 after striking a reef, has een refloated and towed to Nausori >r repairs.

The owner, Mr. Shiu Shankar, itimated damage at £l,OOO.

He expected it would be about tree months before the Kailas re imed its Suva-Labasa service,

Usden Buys Again

*Om Mh's

Captain Athol Rusden of the ew Hebrides, has bought the Tuvalu om Morris Hedstrom Ltd. in Fiji.

Morris Hedstrom bought the ivalu, which has been lying in the •earn off King’s Wharf, Suva, in ►56 from the Co-operative Whole le Society, Tarawa. She is 120 ft ng, and has a draft of 8 ft.

Captain Rusden earlier bought the It air from Morris Hedstrom.

The Morris Hedstrom fleet is now •wn to two ships—the Adi Keva d the Tui Cakau.

Trader

Nks Near Kikori

The Tarana, a 45 ft coastal ship longing to P-NG MHA and >codile shooter, and Kikori trader, r. Keith Tetley, hit a submerged I in the estuary near Kikori in tober and sank. The Tarana was ;d for trading between Port aresby and the Gulf ports of irema, Beara, Baimuru and Kikori.

Another Account Of The

"Dumped Crewmen" Story

A new development in the “dumped crewmen” story ( PIM, Nov., p. 103) occurred in November when the 36 ft ketch Tropic Seas was advertised for sale in Honolulu for $12,000. The ketch is part-owned by Arthur Elliott, who wrote to PIM in October from Papeete, reporting that he and Anthony Ledwidge had been left by the ketch at Nukahiva, in the Marquesas, in late July, when the Landrigan brothers, John and Brian, had sailed off in the night for Honolulu, Elliott had been left with out his passport. PI M’s Honolulu correspondent reported in November that the Landrigan brothers were working locally, aboard British square-rigged ships used in the film ing of “Hawaii”, and were “well thought of in the boating community here”.

The brothers said they had left Nukahiva without Elliott and Ledwidge when they did not report aboard on the morning of their re quired departure. The vessel had had only a seven-day permit and had to leave that day. Elliott’s passport had been mailed to his mother in Sydney in September.

The Landrigans added that the owners of the yacht were themselves, Elliott, Lewis Carter and Joseph Birt, and that “one more signature” would be needed before she would be sold.

Paradox Of "Moana

Roa" Capacity

The Moana Roa, the NZ Govern ment vessel which operates a monthly Auckland-Rarotonga service, cannot cope with all the goods the Cook

Islands need to import, and on the other hand is “far too big for the Group’s exports”.

This statement is contained in the Cook Islands News, commenting on the NZ Island Territories Depart ment’s annual report on the vessel.

In the year to March 31, 1965, Moana Roa’s working losses, at £41,369, were £17,169 higher than in the previous financial year.

Increased salaries and wages for the crew, increased stevedoring costs and higher repair costs, were major factors in the higher operating loss.

Freight rates were increased on October 1, 1964, and the effect of that move was expected to show sometime in the current year.

The Moana Roa has space for about 1,800 tons of cargo. In the year ended March 31, 1963, on 11 voyages she carried 13,251 tons to the Cooks, and carried away 9,273 tons.

The next year, on the same number of voyages, she carried 16,976 tons to the Cooks, and carried away 9,699 tons.

To March 31, 1965, on 10 voyages she carried 16,524 tons to Rarotonga, and on the return voyages to Auck land carried 9,101 tons.

Barquentine On

Pacific Cruise

Verona, 131 ft barquentine, which left the Bahamas in June on a voyage round the world, arrived in Vila Harbour on October 19, from Suva. Twenty-four young Americans are on board to see the world and help to sail the ship. They are shar ing the expenses of the voyage, and are working as full crew members, scrubbing decks, painting ship and

irrying out all crew duties. The taster. Captain Christopher Sheldon, as a first mate, an engineer, a doctor id a cook on board as senior crew.

Verona is fitted with a 250 hp igine but she is making her 12 tonths’ world voyage almost entirely ader 8,500 square feet of sail, and ith a good wind behind her she can lake up to 14 knots. She will visit ie island of Tanna and other parts : the New Hebrides before sailing »r New Guinea. te Verona, which was built in ritain over 50 years ago, will end ;r present voyage in London some ne in June next year, and Captain leldon will get her ready for her ixt journey, which is to take her »und Africa and then across the tlantic to the West Indies.

(Aiming Yacht

I Thf Cniltm Cfaq

i mnuum Corsaro 11, 68 ft yawl-rigged ilian Navy training yacht, spent a jek in Suva early in November fore sailing for Noumea, Brisbane id Sydney.

Among those on board were veral officers who had just graduid from the Italian Naval Academy, id who were on their first practical lining.

The captain, Lieut.-Commander

Gianfranco Alberini, his crew and the new officers joined the yacht in Honolulu and sailed it to Suva via

Pago Pago. . .

Lieut.-Commander Alberini had visited Suva at the end of 1956 in the Italian cruiser, Montecuccoli.

The Corsaro II will take part in the annual Sydney-Hobart yacht race.

The yacht has a moulded beam of 15 ft and a displacement of 44 tons.

Her average sail area is 2,206 square ft and the maximum is 4,520 square ft. she has two masts, and her 96 hp Mercedes-Benz auxiliary engine allows her to cruise at 7 to 8 knots.

Will Yankee

Ever Go Home?

The future of the brig Yankee, which ran on the reef at Avarua, Rarotonga, in July last year, is still undecided.

The contract to salvage Yankee was given last year to a US shipbuilder and designer, Mr. Bud Sperber. In the event of his getting the brigantine off the reef, he would receive a percentage of the ownership.

There was a time limit on the salvage and the percentage of ownership was to decrease until the total time

ran out. Evidently it did—Mr. Sperber is no longer connected with salvage operations.

Mr. Branco Cavic, the agent, left Rarotonga by air on October 15 for t fo e USA where the owners were to decide whether to salvage, abandon or se R the vessel,

Pago Pilot Leaves

Captain George R Jacobs, harbour f^ ot Assistant Port Administra tor at , ag ° Pago fo £, the . st f° ur years, left American Samoa in early November to return to California,

Gold Plated Cruise

The SS Statendam, a gold-plated cruise ship, called at Pago Pago on November 8 while on the last leg °f a ‘‘f >ac ifi c adventure” cruise from the US to Hawaii, the Orient, Indo nesia, Australia, New Zealand and

Ffil

- 642 ft vessel, was built 10 years ago and in November was carrying about 500 passengers, The cost of a cruise around the Pacific on the Statendam costs up to $9,000 for a suite for two. Average cost for a couple is about $6,000.

The vessel was to continue to Bora Bora, Papeete, Los Angeles and San Francisco. (Over)