Cruising
pp. 120-121 · Read in the full issue
Yachts
• CYGNUS A, six year-old 35 ft tri, will leave Sydney in April for an extended cruise with Dave Morris to Singapore, via the Barrier Reef, Thursday Island, Bali and Djakarta.
Dave was aboard her when she reached Sydney from England in ’65.
For his Singapore cruise he’s after crew; those interested can contact him at 59 Minimbah Street, North bridge, NSW, 2063.
O NEREUS, 23 ft auxiliary ketch from Caims with Axel Hart, owner/ skipper, was in Rabaul in January after an eventful voyage via Thursday Island, Port Moresby, Samarai and the Trobiand Islands. Hart writes: “Wally Cygan, who left Caims several weeks ago with his 14 ft Clark aluminium dinghy and 35 hp outboard, arrived here at Rabaul also, after successfully weathering storms, fuel shortage and floating trees in the Gulf of Papua and the Solomon Sea, where he nearly capsized after hitting a log at full speed in dark ness.
“We both had a very friendly welcome from the Rabaul Yacht Club members. It is a great place and we decided to stay here for a while.” • SOLO, Vic Meyer’s famous Australian racing and cruising yacht, was wrecked when a gale and a lost anchor smashed it against a quay at Punta Arenas, Chile, recently.
With mostly girl crews, Solo had made many calls in the Islands in recent years. • VAC I LABOR, the Steg’s 38 ft tri which was gutted by fire at Sydney last February ( PIM, Apr., 1969, p. 110) is up for sale, a new boat.
Arthur Barnes, formerly of Mistral (which was nearly lost at Lord Howe), bought Vacilador after the fire for $l5O and has since done her up. The asking price: $12,000. e REBEL, with Marvin Glenn, will leave Brisbane in March for NZ to take part in the single-handed trans-Tasman race, starting from New Plymouth on April 11. His wife, Ann, will remain in Queensland until Rebel reaches Brisbane after the race.
In a recent note, Ann says: “May I pass on to you the
numerous appreciative comments we’ve heard about PIM? Always a favourite with us because you’ve been so nice, your magazine is important to lots of others too. Keep up the good work!” • RESTLESS, 40 ft sloop with NZ bachelors Tim Beattie, Bruce Bond, Trevor Welsh and Roger Lawton, will leave Sydney in April for an extended Islands cruise, possibly including Fiji. The boys have been earning money in West Aus tralia while their sloop has remained at lan Rabbitts’ Cameray Marina. • ALOHA, 36 ft ketch, was re ported resold in February to a Qantas employee and delivered to Fiji. She was advertised in Sydney for $14,000.
Previous owners are lan Rabbitts and Ted Gotcher. • SANA (African for “very good”), 40 ft ketch with Carl and Loys Fristrom, will leave Sydney in April for Africa, via north Aus tralia. Sana made an unsuccessful attempt to reach Africa in ’6B, but Loys became seriously ill 800 miles out of Darwin and subsequently spent some time recovering in Timor. Carl is a shipwright. • TE MARINER, with Dave Chard, Jacques Sepir and Robyn Dean, was to leave Honiara in mid- February for Tahiti, via Tarawa.
The yacht reached Honiara on January 14 from the Trobriands and Port Moresby,
• Yachtie David Field, in NG waters since October, 1968, with his 20 ft yacht, was recently at Madang, where, New Guinea News Service re ports, he was resisting Customs Branch demands for $3OO imports duty on his yacht. • Timber from the Western Solomons is being used for what is believed to be the world’s biggest plywood keeler yacht.
The 73 ft yacht is being built for Mr. T. E. Clark, of Auckland, and will be completed in October. The timber, Pacific maple, is from Levers Pacific Timbers, which has a major logging operation on Kolombangara.
• A NG public servant, Mr. Hal Holman, hopes to launch what will be the territory’s first reinforced concrete catamaran at Port Moresby in March. The 48 ft catamaran will have a strong hull and be used for cruising.
Concrete was poured into the frame in February. “The hull has tremendous strength for when it hits a reef, which happens quite a lot up here,” he said.
Incidentally, it was recently re ported that Mr. William Shute, who disappeared with his tri Waka Torn in late 1968 ( PIM , Jan., 1969, p. 28) left an estate of about $85,000.
Yank and Kiwi combination, Chuck and Frances Harris of the yacht "Nexus" are a familiar sight in the Islands. They are currently due in the Solomons; here they are en route from Rabaul.