Cruising Yachts

• DAUNTLESS, 28 ft trimaran from Seattle, has been in Nukualofa recently with her owner-skipper Errol Christen and crewman Curt Huffman.

Dauntless, which was last re ported in Rarotonga {PIM, Nov., p. 107), later visited Aitutaki for a five-week stay.

From Nukualofa, Christen intended to sail for New Zealand to wait out the hurricane season and amass funds for further travels. • CLARINDA, 26-year-old yacht with Colin lies and Martin Mitchell, of Great Britain, and a Canadian, Peter Harrison, called at Niue in October en route to Tonga and New Zealand.

Clarinda left England last April.

After passing through the Panama Canal, she called at Tahiti ( PIM, Oct., p. 115) and Aitutaki before reaching Niue. • SHIREEN, 52 ft English ketch, which spent several months in the Pacific Islands in 1965, has been in Durban recently. On board are owner skipper Michael Crockett and his wife Liz, who were married in New Zealand.

A New Zealand couple. Phil and Lissa Skipworth, who joined Shireen in New Zealand, left the ketch in Durban to travel through Africa on motor cycles. Their ultimate plan

is to get to England, buy a yacht, and sail it home again.

Shireen left England in July, 1964.

We last reported her in Nukualofa en route for Auckland in August, 1965 (PIM, Sept., 1965, p. 107). • BONA DBA, 41 ft New Zealand ketch, which took part in the 1966 Auckland-Suva yacht race, is cur rently in Durban. She has a crew of four—brothers Fred and Andrew Price, and Dick Thornbury, all from Invercargill, NZ; and Miss Jackie Minett, from Napier, NZ, who joined the ketch in Darwin.

After the Auckland-Suva race, Bona Dea visited New Caledonia and then spent a year in Australia. She reached Durban via Port Moresby, Darwin, Christmas Island, Cocos, Rodriguez, Mauritius, Reunion and Madagascar.

The crew plan to replenish their finances in Durban and then sail for Europe via the Cape, probably in January. After seeing as much of Europe as they can next summer, they will sail for home via the Panama Canal. They expect to be back in New Zealand within three years. • ATEA, 30 ft American fibre glass ketch, with Gordon Simmons, his wife Cookie, and their 17-year old daughter Carol, is due to sail from Durban to the West Indies in mid-January.

The Simmons family, who hail from Los Angeles, began a world cruise in June, 1964. They spent nine months in Tahiti and surrounding islands, and subsequently visited the Cook Islands, Samoa, Fiji, Brisbane (where eight months were spent refitting A tea), and Port Moresby

(where Mr. Simmons got a job for a year).

Atea reached Durban from Port Moresby in October, having called en route at Darwin, Christmas Island, Cocos, Mauritius and Reunion.

The Simmons family plan to be home in Los Angeles in June or July.

• Wanderlure 11, 73 Ft

motor yacht, which we last reported in Vila last February ( PIM, p. 113), reached Durban in November.

The yacht is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Carl Heintz.

Her crew comprises a Tahitian cook, Adrien Tamarino; a Colombian mechanic, “Veejee” Wijetunga; an American navigator, James Day; and a Filipino seaman, Gregorio Dor timas. • APOGEE, 30 ft yacht from Newport, Virginia, USA, reached Durban in November with solo yachtsman Alan Eddy.

Mr. Eddy, who began sailing round the world in mid-1963, spent a couple of years in the South Pacific and was frequently mentioned in PIM. He told reporters in Durban that his boat had been attacked by whales between Cocos and Rodriguez Islands.

“No damage was done, but it was a hair-raising experience,” he said.

“Between Cocos and Rodriguez I ran over a sleeping whale. He must have called his mates because sud denly a big wave appeared from behind with whales shooting out like torpedoes. There were 20 of them

around the boat. Their length was about 15 to 18 feet.

“Two decided to take a bash at the boat and they hit it twice, low down like they would hit a shark in the liver.

“I just stood there petrified, not knowing what to do and wondering if I should pour detergent over them.

“They followed the boat for about 20 minutes before they finally dis appeared.” • BLUE WATER, 42 ft ketch from Alaska with Richard and Sylvia Gard, was in Nukualofa in October. • HOPE, 29 ft Australian gaff rigged cutter, which reached Durban

last March ( PIM, May 1967, p. 113), sailed for Rio de Janeiro via Cape Town on November 7, Her owners are Graeme and Jutta Townes. • WINDSONG IV, 48 ft ketch, which left Melbourne in January, 1964, for a cruise in the Pacific and Caribbean, returned to Sydney at the end of November after having sailed 36,000 miles in a couple of months short of four years.

She struck only one patch of bad weather.

Windsong is owned by a stock broker, Mr. Philip Weate, who sailed the ketch for much of her cruise. He then returned to Sydney,

"Wanderlure II"

handing over command to Mr.

Michael Law, an Englishman.

The ketch was in Nukualofa in October and sailed from there to Noumea. • TOOLUSH, 35 ft wooden ketch owned and skippered by Stuart Burns, of Powell River, British Columbia, Canada, and with Michael Burns as crew, arrived in Pago Pago on November 20 for a four-day stay.

The ketch left Canada about 12 months ago and has since visited San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hilo (Hawaii), Honolulu and Canton Island.

• Seawanderer, A 36 Ft

ketch, arrived in Nukualofa on November 5 with owner-skipper Edward Allcard sailing solo.

Well-known as the author of three books, Allcard left Plymouth, England, 11 years ago in the 56-year old Seawanderer which he had bought as a derelict six years earlier.

He left Valparaiso last May for his first journey across Pacific. He has called at the Tuamotus, Tahiti, and Aitutaki (Cooks). Tonga is the 40th country he has visited.

From Nukualofa Allcard planned to sail via Minerva Reef for New Zealand where he will promote the sale of his latest book, Voyage Alone, and stay until April.

Asked if, on his solo voyaging, he ever feels the need of his fellow man, Allcard said he would some times welcome company, but he would spurn, in fact detest, any assistance in sailing his craft. • HELLY, 38 ft centreboard keel sloop registered at Balboa, Panama,

arrived at Rarotonga from Tahiti on November 19. On board were Dr.

Win Brabson, Dr. Ken Grant and stockbroker Ben Kajer, all US citizens, and all part-owners.

The three friends, all ex-US Air Force, bought Helly in Panama {PIM, Dec., p. 117). They left Panama on July 29, 1967, and reached Rarotonga via the Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuamotus and Society Islands. They plan to sail to New Zealand, Australia and the Mediterranean before returning home in two to three years.

Helly is an unusual yacht with racing lines. She was built in Hong Kong in 1962 by a ship’s master,

was sunk in Beirut harbour during a storm, and remained in Beirut for 13 months before being repaired and sailed to Panama, She is a Finisterre racing design. but her builder adapted her from yawl to sloop rig in an effort to improve performance. She has a teak hull and is fitted with a 15i hp diesel engine. • TRITON, 35 ft trimaran registered at Sydney, arrived at Rarotonga from Auckland on November 12 with three friends, all young bachelors, The crew are lan Eeles, Don Marmo and Tony Spooner. They

built Triton in 19 months, working during their weekends, and left Sydney last March.

After arriving in Auckland, they left their yacht for a while to hitch hike through the North and South Islands.

They have planned a world cruise and after leaving Rarotonga will visit Tahiti, Hawaii and San Francisco.

Their trimaran is powered with an 18 hp outboard engine. • JELLICLE 11, 25 ft sloop with skipper-owner Lt.-Cmdr. Michael Bailes, RN retired, on board, called at Rarotonga from Tahiti on Novem ber 24 and left the following day for the Bay of Islands, New Zealand.

The yacht is of Scandinavian Folk boat design, flush-decked, and equipped with nylon ropes and new terylene sails. She has no engine.

Lt.-Cmdr. Bailes visited Rarotonga 11 years ago in Jellicle I when he made many friends. His present visit was cut short because it is now the hurricane season and he was anxious to take advantage of a favourable wind.

Since leaving the Royal Navy in 1959, Mike Bailes, as he prefers to be called, sailed from England to the West Indies where he worked for a year as a charter skipper. He sailed back to UK in Jellicle II then made two more voyages to the West Indies in his yacht.

During his present voyage he worked in Tahiti for 18 months as a tourist guide. Food prices there, he says, are astronomical, especially for meat and eggs.

He found that Cook Islanders still have time to be friendly to strangers and that prices in Rarotonga are reasonable. He was still in the Navy when he first visited Rarotonga and had been granted a year’s special leave to make his voyage.

In New Zealand, he will have Jellicle II slipped and overhauled. He hopes to revisit Rarotonga after the hurricane season.

o CAROUSIN’ 11, 40 ft Piver designed trimaran, arrived in Papeete in late November with owner-skipper Mike Kane, and crew Jim Franker, Jim Wallace, Scott Daniel and Linda Littlejohn.

The trimaran left Hawaii in Sep tember and called at the Marquesas and Tuamotus en route to Tahiti.

Kane and crew hope to be the first to sail a trimaran round the world.

They were due to leave Papeete for Sydney about December 1. • OHRA, 25 ft cutter, which Lothar Harder, a German-born Aus tralian, built in Lae, New Guinea, in 1963, was wrecked in a collision with the Japanese freighter Avatu Mam near Durban at the end of October.

Harder and his sailing companion, David Dick, a Canadian art student, were rescued by the freighter and taken to Durban. Ohra was later washed up on a Durban beach.

Harder, who is known as “Laurie”, is a an engineering surveyor.

After building Ohra, he spent two years sailing in Australia, then sailed via the Barrier Reef to New Guinea, Timor, Bali, Christmas Island and Rodriguez.

Harder was an his way to Ger many to visit his parents. • DARU, 36 ft American ketch, which we reported in Port Moresby several months ago, reached Durban at the end of November.

• Constellation, 75 Ft (102

ft overall) American schooner, left Papeete in November 29 for the Marquesas, Honolulu and San Francisco. Aboard were owners Sid and Irene Wallace, and crew, Jern Hansen, Jerry Beem, Roger Gray and Warden Yee.

Constellation began a cruise from San Francisco to the South Pacific in December, 1966 (PIM, Dec., 1967, p. 113).

"Carousin' II" leaving the Ala Moana yacht harbour, Hawaii.