Cruising
p. 87 · Read in the full issue
Yachts
• SHANTOH, 10 m sloop registered at Long Beach, California, arrived at Rarotonga on April 24 with Ralph and Sally Hetzel. They spent six months in the Society Islands and visited the Marquesas, Tuamotus and Maupiti. Plans were to visit Aitutaki, Niue, Tonga, Fiji and New Zealand. • JAGA, 12 m double-ender ketch, arrived at Rarotonga on April 29 with American couple Dave and Diane Weerts.
Their cruise began from San Francisco in October, 1972, and took them to Acapulco, the Galapagos and Marquesas Islands and French Polynesia. They called at the Tuamotu Group and, in company with Shantoh, visited Maupiti. The reef pass to Maupiti's big lagoon is intricate and often dangerous, as both yacht crews soon discovered, and for that reason is seldom visited by yachtsmen.
The Weerts hope to call at Tonga and Fiji, and will "toss-up" between the Gilbert and Ellice Islands and New Zealand. • TE MOANA, 15 metre ketch-rigged motor cruiser, arrived at Rarotonga from Papeete on April 13 with Captain George A. Percy Jr, navigator Tom Doyle, cook Mary Filippone, and Gerry Couture on board. Plans were to stay in Rarotonga about a week before pro ceeding on a circumnavigation with possible next ports of call being Tonga and Western Samoa. The yacht is regis tered at Wilmington, Delaware, USA. • SPRAY, 11 metre ketch, registered at Great Yarmouth, UK, arrived at Raro tonga from Papeete on April 15 with Tony Pearce and his father-in-law, Vernon Willmen, on board. Spray left England in September 1972, called at the Bahamas then spent seven months in Florida before reaching the Pacific.
Plans were to leave for New Zealand on April 20. • TAHOLI, a 41 ft fibreglass ketch, sailed from Sydney, via the Barrier Reef to arrive in Port Moresby in mid- March. On board were Captain John Robertson, formerly captain of HMAS Melbourne, Galen Ferguson, Peter Vasey and Tim Wheller. Captain Robertson plans to charter Taholi between the Solomons and Bougainville. • DENEBOLA, a 57 ft Herroshoff ketch from Cannes, France, sailed from Port Moresby late March, for the Sepik area in Papua New Guinea then on to Indonesia.
• TIKI, a 40 ft steel ketch from Toulon, France, with Jean-Charles Troalen and crew Pierre Prost and Tony Czepczynski sailed from Noumea to arrive in Port Moresby on April 8.
After a short stay, TIKI sailed for Indo nesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
RON OF ARGYLL, 15 metre ketch, at present in Sydney, is up for sale.
Owner-skipper Larry F. Bryant, of San Francisco, had planned to continue cruis ing in her. The yacht arrived in Sydney in October, 1973, after cruising in the Pacific. • EOLUS, 218 tons black-hulled bar quentine, registered at Portsmouth, Eng land, arrived at Rarotonga from Tahiti on April 22. On board were Danish master, Anders B. Jensen and 16 crew, including a Danish stewardess, Anita Jensen. The crew includes Britishers, Americans, Australians, a Frenchman and a German chief cook. There were also 22 British, Amercian, Australian and Canadian passengers on board. The cruise had taken Eolus to Panama and Galapagos. Next ports of call are Nuku alofa, Tonga; Lord Howe Island and Sydney. The Eolus is on a world cruise expected to last 11 months. • Eight yachts are taking part in the Auckland-Rarotonga international yacht race and a ninth is acting as mother ship. The yachts competing for the Air New Zealand Line Honours Trophy are: SIRIUS, owned by Mr J. W. McKenzie, Vice-Commodore of the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron, CHARLEMAGNE, (Mr W. N.
White), ROULETTE, (Mr F. G. Andrews), EROS, (Mr D. L. Drougn), WHITE SQUALL, (Mr R. R. Chalmers), KAHU
RANG), (Messrs L. D. Nathan and W. L.
Stuhlman), TOTOLO, (Mr D. P. Winstone), and MOEROA, (Mr C. Treadgold). The mother yacht is NEREIDES.
The yachts left Auckland on May 4 (Cook Islands date) in excellent weather and expected to reach Rarotonga 10 days later. This race is the first inter national yacht race from Auckland to Avatiu Harbour, Rarotonga and is the longest yacht race ever to leave New Zealand —it is 1,634 miles between the two ports. This is the first time sponsors have taken part in a yachting event and handsome prizes, including two silver trays and two silver cups, were given by business firms. • Fourteen yachts were scheduled to take part in the Sydney-Noumea yacht race which was to start on May 30. It is the first Sydney-Noumea race since the early 60s. It was organised by the Cruis ing Yacht Club, Sydney and Cercle Nautique, Caledonia, of Noumea. All yachts are from Australia with the ex ception of the DULCINEA, of Noumea.
They range from the 9 metre HARMONY to the 22 metre HELSAL, which holds the fastest time record for the Sydney- Hobart race. An interesting entry is Hustler, sister ship of Whisper 11, which took line honours in the last Auckland-Suva race. Some of the yachts are expected to cruise in New Cale donia and New Hebrides waters after the race. The remainder will return to Australia soon after the race.
The entries, apart from those men tioned above are APOLLO, BANJO