Cruising

Yachts

Yachties Get

Better Deal In

Pago Now

By Ann Glenn

Things are looking up for yachtsmen who want to visit Pago Pago, American Samoa. A drowned volcano with sheer cliffs

encircling its deep waters, Pago

Pago Harbour on Tutuila, has long been acknowledged as one of the best hurricane holes in the Pacific. Yachts cruising the Paci

fic, especially US yachts, regu

larly included American Samoa on their cruising routes.

Then, in March, 1969, a change in Administrative policy resulted in what could only be called “an un favourable climate for yachts in American Samoa”. While the official government policy was toward en couraging tourism for American Samoa, it was made abundantly clear that “tourists” must fit a pre-con ceived image—those prepared to stay at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Strict, and expensive, regulations were put into effect for “all yachts and pleasure crafts entering American Samoa from foreign areas and the home ports which are outside of American Samoa”. All such vessels were given a grace period of four days free mooring before charges were assessed.

There were two rates of charges one for using a mooring buoy be longing to American Samoa, and another, only slightly less, for using the yacht’s own gear to anchor in the harbour. Rates on the buoys ranged from SUSI 2 per month for a vessel under 20 ft to $5O for a vessel 60 ft or over.

The regulation which most con vincingly signalled, “Yachtie, go home!” read. “Second month rates shall be double the first month rates, third month and subsequent month rates shall be triple the first month rates”.

All of these regulations were put into effect shortly after our tri.

Rebel left American Samoa, and naturally enough, resulted in a storm of angry letters in PIM, pro

testing the changes and warning others away.

We found ourselves in the some what peculiar position of having passed through American Samoa in “the good old days”. In talking with other yachties, our assertions of the friendliness and fair treatment we had received were of no avail; their own experiences had been different.

Yachties come back!

So, on a recent trip through American Samoa, I made specific inquiries. I’m pleased to report that there have been some changes made.

A new set of regulations allows yachts to visit the harbour for seven days with no charges. Mooring charges, in excess of seven days, are half what they had been, and visitors are permitted a three-months stay before the rates are doubled.

The triple rates are gone—l hope forever!

While these harbour rates still make American Samoa one of the most expensive ports in the South Pacific, they are far better than the 1967 regulations.

Hopefully, many more yachties can now duplicate our experiences in American Samoa and leave to tell others that Pago Pago is a good place to stop.

Harbour Harbour Size of vessel Anchorage Buoy (Rate per month or fraction thereof)

Yachting Reports

• CUTTY SARK, 60 ft cutter with Basil Fleming, of Brisbane, was in Fiji late last year. Plans are to enter her in long ocean races.

She’s also due in Japan for Expo 70. e KITTIWAKE, with American Ed Boden, is whipping local craft in yacht races out of Rabaul. • WEST WIND, with NZ’s Lowes, will leave Rabaul in April for further cruising. She’s a 30-ton, 47 ft ketch. • ISBJORN, with Barry Lewis, Elizabeth Bird and Francesca Polt turak, arrived in Suva in early November from Sydney, en route to Tarawa, where the 39 ft gaff ketch

will trade in the Gilberts for the trading firm of Schutz and Wilder. o SABAAI, was wrecked and lost in the Seychelles late last year. All aboard, including Carl Leonard, were reported safe. • WANDERER, with the McLarens and Paul Brandt, left Rarotonga on November 5 for Chile, via Easter and Pitcairn Islands. o NOMAD, with Bruce Baker, finally left Rarotonga on November 14 for NZ. This followed three un

successful departures from Rarotonga in which Nomad was damaged.

9 Bluebird Of Thorne,

Lord Riverdale’s ketch which spent several weeks in French Polynesia last year, was at Auckland recently with plans of a year’s Islands cruising before Bluebird is shipped home for a refit. • TREASURE, with the Guzz wells, was in Russell, NZ, late last year. • JELLICLE 11, with Mike Bailes, was due in Auckland recently, out of

$ $ Under 20 ft .. .. 5.00 6.00 20 - 30 ft 7.50 10.00 30 - 40 ft 10.00 12.50 40 - 50 ft 12.50 15.00 50 - 60 ft 15.00 20.00 60 ft and over .. 20.00 25.00

Suva. Mike’s now been cruising for 10 years. ® KLIS, 22 ft tri with single hander Bernard Rhodes, was in NZ recently. ® OMEGA, with the Smythes, was in Pago Pago late last year.

Previous calls included a three-week stopover on Christmas Island. • TRI-ODYSSEY, 35 ft tri, abandoned in Pago Pago in 1966, has been bought by local, Josiah Douglas. • LAZYL, 52 ft American ketch, with the Findleys, Dave Munn, Peter

Van Inwegen, Ed Bennison, Dennis Gross and Wayne Newhouse was re cently to leave Rarotonga for Pago Pago and Apia. © MARIE CELINE, with the Bacons and a crew of three, was in Pago Pago late last year with Fiji and NZ in future plans.

9 Return Of The Dove,

with American round-the-world youth Lee Graham, left St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, mid-November for Hawaii, via Panama. ® APOGEE, with Alan Eddy, was recently in the east coast inland waterways of the US, at Norfolk.

® TARM IN, 25 ft sloop withi American bachelor John Sowden, was < to leave Durban in January for"

Capetown. • NOMAD, with NZ’s Williams < family, is in Durban for about a i year; Mark left Nomad in Mombasa j and flew to England to complete: high school. • MARISTELA, NZ ketch with i John Morrison and Mike Reilly, , was in Durban late last year. Mike ; was to settle in Durban; John was ; to stay a year and then head for Rio. ® ELLIMATTA, 44 ft Brisbane ketch with Eileen and Curtis de Camp and Kaye and Tim Armstrong, was to leave Durban in January for the Virgin Islands, where they hoped to charter. ® DANCING GIRL, with James Comer, was at Tarawa late last year, where Comer, of the Marshall Islands, planned to ship her to Hawaii. ® Judy Kilponen, of PO, Box 43, Samarai, NG, is after a berth from February onwards on a yacht leaving NG. “Have no great sailing ability but love the sea and can cook” she tells us. She’s prepared to meet the yacht in Moresby or Samarai. • HAKUO, 24 ft Japanese yacht, was in Durban late last year. On a circumnavigation, she’s made calls at Guam, Christmas Island and Mauritius. • CETACEAN, 35 ft American tri, was to leave Durban in Decem ber for Capetown. Well known in Pago Pago, she’s carrying three students. Clark and Meta Bartel and Dennis Fontany.

In the news this month, Marvin and Ann Glenn. Ann wrote the lead story for cruising yachts and both in early December were aboard "Rebel" in Mangonui, NZ, waiting for weather to take them to Australia via Lord Howe.

They expect to cruise to P-NG in 1970.

• SEA ROVER, 35 ft American ketch, with John Lewis, Ross Goldstein and Kelvin Brown, was in Durban late last year. • TRIVENTURE, out of NG en route to Durban, was wrecked in a storm off Mozambique late last year and her crew, John Nichols and Mai Beilby, were reported in the Persian Gulf after being picked up by a passing freighter. • MY ON lE, 36 ft ketch with the Gehrmans, was to leave Durban for “points west” in January. She reached Durban on November 19 last year after a rough passage from Christmas Island. • PEN DUICK IV, was expected in Noumea in January, with Eric Tabarly, from Papeete. • MOONRAKER, with the Palmers and Bill Fisher, and MANDALAY, with David Beer and Terry Shick, recently put in stops on Lord Howe Island, out of Sydney. • Fire late last year destroyed what was believed to be the biggest catamaran built south of the Equator.

She was 75 ft long, and destroyed on Kadavu Island, south of Suva, Fiji, and her maker was New Zealander, Mr. R. J. Jackson. Her cost was 5F50,000 and she would have been used for charter work in Fiji. • WHITEWAKE, with Barry and Betty White, was at Moorea, French Polynesia, late last year with plans to sail to Brisbane, the Great Barrier Reef, New Guinea, the Solomons, Guam, Japan, and in Barry’s words “who knows?”

Whitewake left Connecticut on November 1, 1968, and stopped at Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, Gre nada, Venezuela, Curacao, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Mangareva (Gam biers of French Polynesia) and Tahiti.

At Mangareva, part of the French atomic testing area, Whitewake was allowed to stay seven days: the Whites described the island as “en chanting”. • BONNIE, with Alanson and Jean Russell, will leave Wilmington, California, in June this year for a two-year cruise of the Islands. The 36 ft ketch was awaiting the return

of the Russell’s son John, due from service in South Vietnam. • SWANHILDE, with Bernie and Gwen Skinner, was recently to leave Auckland for Acapulco. The 40 ft ferro-cement sloop left NZ in May, ’6B, and cruised to the Cooks, Tahiti, the Tuamotus, Hawaii and Califoraia. She received numerous mentions in PIM in ’6B. • TZU HANG, was at Victoria,

British Colombia, late last year with her owners, Miles and Beryl Since ton about to leave on a trip to Britain and Spain. In Britain, Miles hopes to lecture. Bob Nance is to remain on board.

On return from Europe, the Smee tons’ plans were to build a house at Alberta. Tzu Hang was last men tioned at Talcahuano, Chile {PIM, June, 1969, p. 113); she has travelled to many out-of-the-way spots of the Pacific.