Cruising

Yachts

Dozens of overseas yachts were in Suva in November, resting up after the rigours of Hurricane Bebe’s October onslaught. Local cargo boats and visiting yachts received a batter ing during the 180 mph storm and many vessels ended up in difficulties.

The salvage vessel Salmar went to the rescue of several craft, including the yachts Whistler and Optiki, both of which were swept by current and wind to the mouth of Suva Harbour.

Owner-skipper Bob Ogilvie and his son Robert, plus two others, were on board the 36 ft ketch Optiki when she was dragged across the harbour to the entrance of the reef. Mr Ogilvie, an American, said he and his crew experienced “an extremely har rowing couple of hours. I thought we were done for”.

As the eye of the hurricane hit Suva late on the night of October 24, Optiki’s crew managed to drop anchor —just 75 yards from surf-pounded reef.

Salmar, with partners Neville Gar rett and lan Lockley directing opera tions, threw Optiki a line and hauled her back to the Bay of Islands. She was not badly damaged.

Whistler, 42 ft yacht with American owner Pat O’Leary aboard, became fast on the reef, on her side, at the height of the hurricane.

At first light, Salmar came as close as she could—about 100 yards away —and Neville Garrett half-swam, half-clawed his way across the reef with a line to reach the bowsprit chain.

Mr Garrett was eventually hauled aboard Whistler and using power and the tide surge, Salmar pulled her off the reef. Whistler was slightly dam aged.

Salmar also helped prevent the 55 ft ketch Valhalla, owned by Ann Schmidt, from going on the reef.

Valhalla dragged anchor at the height of the storm and Salmar helped re float her when she went aground the second time.

Sad fatality of the hurricane was the magnificent 150-ton topsail schooner Fletcher Christian, which

broke up and sank in 180 mph winds at Lautoka.

Built at Hobro, Denmark, in 1909, she was believed to be one of only seven vessels of her type left in the world. At one time named Charlotte, the 60-year-old schooner was brought to Fiji early this year by Holiday Yachts Ltd, for cruising out of Lautoka. • ECLIPSE, 42 ft steel yawl ar rived in her home port Sydney after a two-year circumnavigation. She sailed via the Barrier Reef, Darwin, Cocos, Mauritius, Reunion, Durban, Capetown and then took part in the first race to Rio across the South Atlantic. She then cruised up the east coast of Brazil to Trinidad, spent six months cruising all the islands of the Caribbean before crossing to Panama.

From Panama she visited the Gala pagos and then Marquesas, Tuamotus and on to Tahiti. From Papeete she sailed to Moorea and other Poly nesian islands as far as Bora Bora before heading west to Niue, Tonga and Suva. From Fiji she made the final leg to the Isle of Pines in New Caledonia and then on to Sydney. • KARIE, 31 ft Blyth Spirit design sloop from Sydney, arrived at Port Moresby from Cairns, Cooktown and the Coral Sea in September. When the south-east trades ease, Wayne Smith plans to sail east to Samarai and beyond and eventually on to New Zealand and back to Australia.

• TUA-TUA, 28 ft Laurin design Koster L 28, fibreglass yacht from Stockholm, Sweden, arrived in Port Moresby direct from Fiji in late Sep tember. After a short stay, Goran Cederstrom sailed for the Torres Strait and Indian Ocean. • GAYNA-DARI is a 36 ft Nicol design Cavalier trimaran from Glad stone. After quite a rough trip from Thursday Island, she arrived in Port Moresby in late September. On board are Hugh and Meralon Huntir and their two children Nattolie and Alex. • FOUR WINDS, the 60 ft Los Angeles schooner with film-making crew aboard, was a recent visitor to Port Moresby. As reported in August PIM, the crew are making an adven ture film called Cutting Loose. Un fortunately their trip into the New Guinea Highlands was unsuccessful from the movie-making point of view, but the sailor-actors enjoyed their stay in Papua New Guinea anyway, They left mid-October for Indonesia and Singapore. • SOLITAIRE 11, an extended H 28 from Sydney, arrived in Port Moresby in early October. Keith Thompson and his crew Valerie Shine had a pleasant sail from Thursday Island via Daru to Port Moresby.

After a short stay, they left to sail for Samarai. • REBEL, Marvin and Ann Glenn’s 35 ft Piver design Lodestar trimaran, was at Rodrigues Island on October 5. After they left Port Moresby, Rebel stopped at Thursday Island, Darwin, Bali, Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands and then spent what the Glenn’s described as 13 miserable days sailing the 2,000 miles from Cocos to Rodrigues Island. « DENE BOLA, 57 ft ketch registered at Cannes, arrived at Raro tonga on September 28 with five on board, owner-captain Bernard Catu, his wife Christiane, their two> children and crewman Rimi Desforges. All are from France. Dene Bola was built in Spain seven years ago and left France on a world cruise in October, 1970. Calls were made in the West Indies, Panama, Easter Island, Pitcairn and Tahiti. Plans are to visit the Cook Islands of Palmer ston, Suwarrow and Penrhyn before proceeding to Australia. Next year Mr Catu intends to sail to Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa and will return to France two years later. e HAN 11, a small New Zealand sloop, left Rarotonga for Tonga, Fiji

Fletcher Christian aground at Lautoka. -Photo: A. G. Shearer.

and New Zealand on October 2 with owner-captain Brian Owen and his wife on board. Mr Owen, who built Hanii, had been an earthworks fore man with Gammon-Milne, the joint contractors who built Rarotonga Air port, for about 15 months. He plans to build a larger yacht and sail round the world in her.

• Paulmarkson, A 60 Ft

ketch-rigged motor sailer powered with a 175 hp Gardener diesel, arrived at Rarotonga on October 11 with owner-captain Reginald A. E.

Mossman and crew Oscar Jorgensen, Jiko Railala and Talaiasi Lomani.

The owner is a New Zealander, Jorgensen is a Dane, and the other crew members are Fijians.

Reg Mossman started his cruise from Auckland last April with seven crew, all New Zealanders. They called at various Fijian islands, then the crew returned home for business reasons. With a new crew, Mr Moss man then called at Nukualofa and Niue before arriving at Rarotonga.

Plans are to visit Tahiti, Honolulu, and possibly, the US. If the US call does not eventuate he hopes to sail to the Caribbean and the Mediter ranean with calls at the Greek islands. • HADAR, 36 ft 6 in. steel sloop with skipper Arthur Franklin, Daryl Lindholm and Catherine Hardesty on board arrived at Rarotonga from Honolulu and Penrhyn on October 18. Mr Franklin was delivering the yacht to Auckland for its owner, Mr den Hollander and he was planning to leave Rarotonga at the end of October and arrive in Auckland about November 14. He is a New Zealander and his crew are both from the US. • WHITEWAKE, 15 ton gaff rigged ketch which arrived at Raro tonga on April 4, 1970, with owner captain Barry White, his wife Eliza beth, and their three children, left Rarotonga for Palmerston Island in late October. During his 2J years in Rarotonga Barry White was Fisheries Officer for the Cook Islands Government. His plans were to visit American Samoa, Fiji and the Solo mon Islands. • EVVIVA, 45 ft Canadian ketch, arrived at Rarotonga on October 23 from the Society Islands. On board were owner-captain Frank Lane and Bernard Cornett from Canada and Mr and Mrs Stein and son, Billy, from the US. Mr Lane built the ketch himself in Victoria, Canada.

Pacific ports of call included the Marquesas Islands and plans are to visit Tonga, Fiji and New Zealand, weather permitting.

After 12 months in Fiji waters, the 70 ft ocean racing yawl Baruna has been presented by millionaire owner John Mclntyre to the California Maritime Academy, for use as a training ship. As well as meaning a substantial tax saving for Mr Mclntyre, his unconditional gift of Baruna to the academy will save him paying out about $54,000 in Fiji customs duty. Vessels of Banina’s size and origin attract a 40 per cent duty if they remain in the dominion for more than a year. The Fiji Customs Department valued Baruna at $135,000 —but her new owner, the maritime academy, estimates her worth at about $175,000. Mr Mclntyre, chairman of the big US land engineering company, Mclntyre and Quiros Incorporated, had Baruna up for sale for some time, but was unable to find a buyer. He has been using her for personal ferry work in Fiji, where he owns Soqulu Estate in Taveuni, but is now planning to acquire a more suitable yacht.

• UTAHN A, 35 ft ketch-rigged trimaran registered at San Diego, ar rived at Rarotonga on October 22 with Donald and Joan Reynolds on board. The tri had arrived from Bora Bora and plans were to sail to Tonga. • TUFFIE, 34 ft 5 in. American ketch from Palm Beach, Florida, arrived at Rarotonga on October 25 from Bora Bora with R. J. Brooks and his wife on board. Plans were to call at Pago Pago, American Samoa. • KINTAN, 33 ft steel sloop, with owner Max Morton, wife Dorothy and son Stuart, 16, was at Kira Kira, BSIP, in September, Now three years old, Kintan was built by Mr Morton over a period of three years at Ferntree Gully in Victoria where he runs a small battery factory.

They left Melbourne at Christ mas, 1970, spending a summer in Tasmania, winter in Queensland, summer in Wellington, then Fiji, New Hebrides, Santa Cruz and Tikopia.

They were rushing off back to the Australian coast circuitously via Malaita, the Floridas, Guadalcanal, Rennel, and then direct to Cairns by early November they hoped. They aimed to return to Melbourne for daughter Joy’s wedding on November

18, before sailing off again into the Pacific. • BEBINKA, US ketch, arrived in Suva on September 17 from Vavau with Scott Kuhner and wife Kathleen on board. The Kuhners weren’t sure how long they’d be staying in Fiji but planned to make Auckland the next port of call.

Other yachts in Suva in early October included ZOROYA IV, Cana dian ketchrigged tri, with Ernie and Lee Crampton on board; WHISTLER, US schooner with Patrick and Polly O’Leary on board and TOROA 11, Auckland sloop, with Mr and Mrs C. W. Brash on board. Zoroya IV had been in Fiji since August 28 and Whistler and Toroa II since June. • GALADRIEL, Canadian-regis tered sloop, arrived in Suva on October 2 from Nukualofa, skip pered by Peter Paget. His crew of three were aiming to stay in Fiji for about a month but the yacht and Mr Paget will stay until the hurricane season is over, departing for Noumea around March, with a new crew. • WHITE SQUALL 11, which arrived in Fiji on April 14, was still there in October, cruising around

Baruna at her moorings in Fiji. — Photo: Chris Moorhouse.

the group. Ross and Minine Norgrove had no definite date for departure. • BLACK ROSE, 28 ft Auckland ketch, arrived in Suva on September 17 from Tonga and was due to leave for Auckland during October. On board were Bruce and Anne Goodhue and son David. • TAU, 90 ft steel-hulled yacht, arrived in Sydney on November 1, from Suva, via Noumea, carrying owner-skipper Colin Philp, navigator John Hope, and crewmen lan Stinson, John Woodman, Nacanieli Vaka talai, Sefo Fiu and Had Lai. Another member of the crew, Rob Hart, left

the yacht at Noumea and flew back to Suva. Tau was in Noumea from October 21 to 26. She travelled most of the way in a rough sou-easter.

She did not run into calm seas till she was off the NSW coast. Mr Philp said in Sydney that Tau averaged nine knots from Suva to Noumea and eight knots from Noumea to Sydney.

The men are all on a working holi day, and expect to leave on the return journey in January. Mr Philp’s wife and their three sons will be on board for the return trip. Meantime in Sydney Tau is having new spars fitted, • ANWYL, 27 ft Welsh-named sloop, registered at Bristol, was due

to leave Fiji for New Zealand before the end of October. She arrived in Suva on September 18 after an eventful 28-day voyage from Papeete.

Owner-skipper Mr Arthur E. Thomas, sailing Anwyl single-handed, said he’d planned to make the Tahiti-Fiji stretch in 21 days but “foul weather” forced him to heave to off the Tongas for five days. Since leaving England in November last year, his wanderings have taken him to Madeira, Antigua, Panama, the Galapagos Islands, Honolulu and Canada, where he worked for the winter. The trip from Victoria to Tahiti took 60 days. • EURYDICE, American ketch, was due to leave Suva for Auckland in November, sailed single-handed by Bud Kilberg. Last port was Niue. • PEREGRIN TOOK a ketch, left Suva for New Zealand in early November with a crew of three. • FIA, Swedish cutter, was due to leave Suva in November with owner Carl Seipel and crew Hans Bernwall.

Fia arrived in Fiji from Western Samoa on October 20. • CHI SQUARED, 24 ft fibre glass sloop, was due to leave Suva in November for Auckland. Aboard were young Australian Clive O’Con nor, of Gardenvale, Victoria, his wife Nancy and their baby daughter Carol.

The family set out from Lake Ontario about a year ago and arrived in Fiji from Vavau on October 19. • CLEAR SKIES, a ketch, arrived in Fiji from Vavau on October 18 and was still there in early November.

Aboard were Mr and Mrs G. Murray. • MORIAH, a yawl, with C. Nun nery, his wife Joyce and small son Matt on board, were due to leave Fiji for Auckland on November 15.

Stop before Fiji was Pago. • Other yachts in Suva in early November included CLOE T T A, sloop, with J. E. Mayo and S. Doyle aboard; ROULETTE, a tri, with rov ing yachtsman Lawson Burrows: THALASSA, sloop, with German couple F. Schenk and wife Karla; FREJA, a ketch, with American couple Peter and Sandy Oehmen and SHEBESSA, a ketch, with N. J. Mar tin, wife Sheila and Frank Roedel.

O CALYPSO HI, Australian ketch, with Australians Ron and Florence Mitchell and son Ronald, left Fiji on November 3 for Noumea, on the last leg of their journey home to Sydney.

The yacht has been on an extended round-world cruise. Vavau was the last port before Fiji.