Cruising Yachts

• FREEDOM, 42 ft yawl, with ter and Joan Smith, of Britain, t Papeete in early February for molulu where the Smiths hope to 1 her and fly back to England.

Freedom arrived at Papeete from ickland last December ( PIM , Feb., 115). • ISBJORN, 39 ft ketch, with Dr. ivid Lewis, his wife, Fiona, and sir children, Suzie, six, Vicky, ir, and Barry, 19, left Plymouth, gland, on March 7 for Suva, via nama.

After his arrival in Suva—about y—Dr. Lewis will start a two-year earch fellowship with the Depart nt of Pacific History at the Aus lian National University, Can •ra, to study sailing techniques used South Sea Islanders.

He is particularly interested in the Caroline, Marshall and Solomon Islands.

Mrs. Lewis and her daughters will fly to Canberra from Suva. The children will continue their educa tion in Canberra while Dr. Lewis and Barry do their sailing research.

Last year the Lewises completed a three-year, 40,000-mile circum navigation, which finished in Plymouth. Their vessel on that trip, the catamaran Rehu Moana, was mentioned in these columns many times. • VALIANT, 40 ft ketch, with Trixie and Bill Moving, was in Honolulu in early January with plans for short cruises among the Hawaii Islands.

Valiant picked up Jack Ferguson at Matahiva Atoll in the Tuamotus last year ( PIM, May, 1967, p. Ill) after he spent five months stranded on the atoll following the loss of his ketch Te Matangi there in July, 1966. • FREE FLIGHT, American yacht, with Willie and Shirley Barnes, was at Balboa, Panama, in January after an extensive stay in the Galapagos Islands late last year.

The yacht had a pleasant return trip from the Galapagos—making the first 600 miles in four and a half days and the last 200 miles under power. • CALYPSO, 30 ft Tahiti ketch, with Mr. and Mrs. Ron Mitchell, and their son, Ron, 17, all of

David Lewis, who will be back in Pacific soon in the 39 ft ketch [?]jorn", is here seen in South Africa 1966 with his two daughters, Vicky [?]) and Suzie, and Miss Priscilla Cairns, [?] acted as navigator on his voyage in the catamaran "Rehu Moana".

Queensland, left Papeete on February 27 for Hilo, Hawaii.

Calypso reached Papeete late last year from Brisbane, via Whangerei (NZ) and Raivavae, Austral Islands (PIM, Dec., 1967, p. 119). After cruising around the Hawaii Islands, the Mitchells plan to sail to Sitka, Alaska. • TA’AROA, 50 ft American yacht on her way from Australia to Indonesia, was forced to put back into Darwin in February because of engine trouble and crew problems.

It was the second setback for the Ta’aroa since she left Sydney in mid-1967 after a Pacific crossing.

She was severely buffetted for about 100 miles off the Queensland coast during heavy weather in June, 1967, and had to be towed ashore for repairs (PIM, Aug., 1967, p. 111).

Ta’aroa is owned and skippered by Californian, Mr. Jack Sederlund. In 1966 and 1967 she made stops at the Marquesas, the Tuamotus, the Societies, Rarotonga, both Samoas, Vavau (Tonga) and Fiji. • NEXUS, 30 ft fibreglass sloop, with Californian Chuck Harris, was to leave Papeete on March 19 for NZ. The sloop arrived at Papeete late last year (PIM, Dec., 1967, p. 117) with two other Americans, Dick Burns and John Wyness of Long

Beach, California, who have sine gone their separate ways. • SOLO, 57 ft Sydney yawl, witl Swiss-born skipper Vic Meyer an< crew Mary Peitsch, 30, of Lo Angeles, and Alison Holster, 33, o Sydney, left Sydney on March 2'. on Solo’s second cruise round th world. She will make a east-abon passage.

Pacific Islands’ stops will be mad< at Suva, Apia, Tonga, possibly N 2 Tahiti and the Galapagos Islands.

Later calls will be made at Hawai San Francisco and Acapulco.

Miss Peitsch previously appearo in these columns in 1963-64 as i crew member of the 65 ft schoone Flying Cloud, which called at Thurs day Island and Queensland’s Grea Barrier Reef. Flying Cloud met Sol at the Barrier Reef on that voyage.

Solo and her skipper are we] known to many Islands people. The; were in PIM about two years ag< when she reached Sydney after he first circumnavigation. • QUEST, 30 ft cement-built an steel-framed New Zealand yacht, wa at Lord Howe Island in mid-Marc from New Zealand. After a shoi stopover, anchored at Sylph’s Hoi at the northern end of the island’ lagoon, Quest was to sail for Sydne and then Queensland’s Great Barrie Reef.

With Quest were Keith Bellingharr Milson Hutchinson and Ta n i Barford.

• Black Dolphin, 40 I

ketch, with owner-skipper Olive Peak, 66, and crew Geoffrey Tayloi 40, and Bob Griffes, 35, will leav Sydney in late April for Bali, Indc nesia, via Queensland’s Great Barrie Reef and Torres Strait.

The ketch reached Sydney froi Queensland and New Zealand o February 1.

Black Dolphin had remained i NZ for a year while repairs wort $22,000 had to be made after sh was dismasted off Auckland earl last year.

he originally left San Diego, ifornia, on April 15, 1966, and le stays at Nukuhiva, Papeete, orea, Raiatea, Bora Bora, Raro ga, Niue, Vavau (Tonga) and a before reaching NZ.

Ir. Peak, an affable, retired ifornian oilman and fruit farmer, PIM he bought Black Dolphin the early 1960’s after his wife I and he sold his properties. le set out to see the world in ck Dolphin after five years of el by other means in Canada and itral America.

Ir. Grifies, from Newport Beach, ifornia, was a real estate salesman >re he took to cruising. Mr. lor, an electronics expert, joined :k Dolphin when she stopped in >sa Heads, Queensland, early this Ir. Peak said that in Vavau, gans came out to the Black phin in outriggers every morning ging for clothing or anything board. fhey tried to steal anything they d lay their hands on—blankets, ks, pillows, ashtrays,” he said, was the only instance of begging encountered in the South Pacific.

Fhe Tongans insisted on staying

on board all day and were a nuisance.

So we cut short our stay and sailed for Suva.” • VAQUERO, Chuck Kenahan’s 32 ft New Zealand cutter, was in Broken Bay, north of Sydney, early this year awaiting a new mast and a new mainsail before continuing a cruise of the Pacific Islands.

Vaquero spent several months in Port Moresby last year ( PIM , Apr,, 1967, p. 113), before leaving on November 15 for a slow 29-day trip to Sydney. On the trip Chuck lost a new $3OO mainsail overboard and had two jib halyards damaged.

• YOUTH, 35 ft South Aus tralian steel-hulled sloop skippered by Allan Quigley, of Adelaide, was to leave Rabaul in March for further cruising of the New Guinea Islands.

The sloop underwent a general refit in Rabaul in late February.

Youth appeared in these columns late last year after she arrived at Port Sandwich, Malekula, New Hebrides, on September 29 (P/M, Nov., 1967, p. 107). • HELLY, 38 ft American sloop, reached Sydney in mid-March from Auckland, NZ.

The sloop left Panama last July

"Black Dolphin".

and made stops in the Galapagoi Islands, French Polynesia and th< Cook Islands before reaching N 5 late last year ( PIM, March, p. Ill) Helly was bought in Panama b] three former US Air Force men— Ken Grant, Winslow Brabson am Ben Kajer. • C AMIR A, 41 ft yawl, witl four Italian migrants to Australia— Bruno Vatta, Nino Yugovaz, Luciam de Gastani and Luigi Romolo—wa to leave Sydney on March 31 fo Trieste, Italy, via the Pacific Island and Panama.

Calls in the Pacific Islands will b< made at Noumea, Fiji, Tonga, th< Cook Islands and French Polynesia The four men, all naturalised Aus tralians, migrated from Italy 12 year ago and began building their yaw in a Sydney backyard three year ago.

Lloyd Triestino supplied all thei initial supplies for the trip free. • TRITON, 35 ft Sydney registered trimaran, with three ga] bachelors, lan Eeles, Don Mormi and Tony Spooner, left Papeete ii February to cruise in the Tuamotu and Marquesas Islands before head ing for Honoloulu.

The trimaran reached Papeetj from Rarotonga on December 1' (PIM, Feb., p. 114). • TAURUA, yacht which hat been in Papeete for several weeks left on February 13 for Honoluh with skipper Chris Christopher, am crew Scott Daniels and Jim Franken Mr. Christopher is delivering th< yacht for her owner, Stanley Miller who was in France on business ii February.