Cruising
pp. 73-76 · Read in the full issue
Transport Briefs
• Airline fares out of Australia vill rise by four per cent to nine per ent from November 1. From Aus ralia to the Pacific the increase will >e eight per cent. There will also be ncreases in fares from other countries 0 Australia.
O Airfast Services Pty Ltd, which iperated a helicopter service in Fiji or about five years, took its two heli opters and associated equipment out if the country in September. The ompany complained about lack of o-operation from the government nd other matters. One of the “other latters”, the company claimed, was lat the Ministry of Transport had Mowed another helicopter company 3 operate under conditions of “con iderable advantage”. • A bulldozer came to the rescue f a stranded ship in the New lebrides in September. The govern lent ship Navaka ran on to a reef etween Eton and Rentabour. She 'as stranded for three days and weral attempts to refloat her failed ntil a public works team brought a ulldozer and pulled her off during high tide. The Navaka was holed 1 the engine-room. • The P and O liner, Oronsay, ell known in the Pacific for about 0 years, completed her last trans acific voyage in Sydney on Septem ;r 15. She was then sailed to the lipbreakers in Taiwan. The Oronsay as used extensively in Pacific Islands uises from Australia, and in passen ir voyages through the Pacific to merican west coast ports, and later ► Britain. She was also used on the ritain-Australia run, via Suez and icn via the Cape of Good Hope. • Sofrana-Unilines, since relin aishing its charter of the Captain addon a few weeks ago, has entered to a slot charter arrangement with AD to service Noumea from Aus alia. The PAD ships, Parella, llunga and Pilkara, are providing 21-day service from Adelaide, Mel aurne, Sydney and Brisbane, and xasionally Burnie. The ships accept irgo for the New Hebrides from 1 ports, except Sydney. This cargo transferred into the Captain Cook Noumea for delivery to Vila. • The Bank Line’s Lindenbank, hich went on a reef off Fanning land on August 17, is likely to be )andoned. Even though her bow as partly off the reef, the Linden ink seemed to settle harder amid lips, nullifying attempts of three tugs ’ pull her off. Some copra was taken ►hore, but coconut and palm oil id coconut pellets, which comprised uch of the cargo, were lost.
Cruising Yachts
In August and September there was an exodus of visiting yachts from Raro tonga to other Pacific ports. • ALKINOOS, 30 ft sloop from Van couver, which arrived with single-hander James Duncan, from Papeete and Bora.
The yacht left for Tonga on Septem ber 17. • AMAZING GRACE, 24 ft motor sailer, also from Vancouver, arrived from Papeete with David Boyes (skipper) and Tim Noot. They left Rarotonga for Tonga on September 17. • KYSTENS PERLE, 25 ft 7 in. sloop rigged folkboat with Richard Walker and David Anderson on board was at Rarotonga from early July until Septem ber 17 when she left for New Zealand where the two men hope to find work and sell the boat. • RABBIT, 37 ft sloop registered at Palm Beach, Florida, arrived at Rarotonga from Papeete and Bora Bora on Septem ber 27 with Daniel P. Dyer and Mary Louise Dyer. They planned to leave for Russell in New Zealand's Bay of Islands on October 4. • BORN FREE, 60 ft auxiliary ketch from Longview, Washington, arrived in Tahiti the first week in September, after
cruising from Washington to Honolulu, then on to Palmyra, Penhryn Island, the Samoas, the Cook Islands and the So cieties. Owner Warren Hanly bought Born Free from the original owners two years ago as his first sailboat. With him in Tahiti was Donald Johnson from Rockland, Maine. Warren's plans will carry him from Tahiti to Hawaii in a few months. • CALYPSO, a German built 22 ft sloop singlehanded by Helmuth Waser, 32, a Swiss from Australia, arrived in Tahiti in July. Helmuth left Yugoslavia in July, 1973 and plans to settle in New Zealand, after spending a year in French Polynesia. • DELIVERANCE, 32 ft Atkins-design double-ender from Santa Barbara which was built by owner Mike Magee, left California in May and arrived in Tahiti mid-September. Sailing from the Mar quesas with Mike was Bob Probst of Malibu. Mike planned to spend three months cruising the Societies and then single-hand Deliverance to New Zealand, where he hopes to live. • HYDROPHILE, 31 ft sloop designed in Belgium, sailed into Tahiti on August 24 with Christian and Bernadette Lepage and their 3-year-old son Damien. The family, will be in Tahiti for two years while Christian and Bernadette work. • FREEDOM, 50 ft William Garden ketch built in Taiwan three years ago, sailed into Tahiti on September 13.
Aboard were owner-skipper Bryant Mor ris, 43, his son, Scott, 21, Don McNeil and Deidre Park, all of Los Angeles.
When Freedom left California last Feb ruary Bryant intended to sail to Europe, but changed his mind in Cosa Rica. They
planned to cruise the Societies and head for New Zealand, before continuing their circumnavigation. • PATRICIA, 60 ft replica of the Chesapeake Bay oyster fishing boat, was fo have left Tahiti early September for San Diego. Bjorn Johansen was at the captain's helm to deliver Patricia back home where owner E. O. "Ollie" Olson is waiting to turn her over to her new owner. Also sailing were Bjorn's daugh ter, Leslie, 14, and crew member Roland Hofer of Basel, Switzerland. • PIECES OF EIGHT, originally a Frazer 42 ft fibreglass masthead sloop, /vas designed and built by owners Tony and Sandy Challenor, both British and iving in Vancouver. They left Vancouver n November, 1974 and sailed to Hawaii, /vhere they stayed for six months before jailing to Christmas Island and Tahiti, arriving in Tahiti on August 7 with crew nembers Des George, 25, of England and Jan Osborne of San Juan Island, Washing ton. Their plans were to remain in Ta liti about a month and sail to New Zea and by way of Rarotonga. • SEDINA, 26 ft sloop from West Germany, sailed into Tahiti on August 9 and left a week later for Fiji and Sydney o continue a circumnavigation that has hus far brought owners Manfred and 3aby Wedell from the Netherlands in \ugust, 1974, through the English Chan nel, across to Spain, Morocco, across the Atlantic to the West Indies and on to he Pacific. They visited the Marquesas and the Tuamotus and liked the gentle /vinds so much they plan to come back n two years with a bigger boat and ;ee more of the South Pacific. • SOLAR WIND, Cal 48 from San )iego, carrying the Crisp family of Jerle, wife Tamra, daughter Desiee, 16 and son Kevin, 15, planned to leave fahiti on October 1 for Honolulu, after rruising the Societies for several weeks.
Fhey left San Diego late June and sailed o the Marquesas, before arriving in fahiti in August. • TATOOSH, 81 ft yacht built in Seattle in 1961, and now owned by actor s eter Fonda, arrived in Tahiti on August 12. On board were Fonda, captain Bob richelberger, David and Diane Hudson, Jill Crawford, David Welker, Danny lohnson, Portia Crockett and Gail Herrin, ill of Maui, Hawaii, which is now the lome port for Tatoosh. They sailed from lAaui to Nukuhiva in 16 days, sometimes jetting up to 18 knots, then went to Jangiroa before sailing to Tahiti. Tatoosh, vhich is named for the Tatoosh Indians n North America and means "breast", is >uilt of teak, White Alaskan Port Oxford redar and yellow cedar and a huge imount of bronze which was used for all
the fastenings. Fonda, who bought her 5? years ago, says the boat is his home.
He will leave her in Tahiti in charge of Eichelberger while he flies to Los Angeles to begin discussions on the shooting of a new movie. • LE PETIT PRINCE, a Chilean-built yacht, was put on auction in Tahiti in August, but no one made a bid. The asking price was 1.5 million French Paci fic Francs, or $U518,750. • MACUBAH, 41 ft fibreglass ketch, which left Papeete in March, arrived in Honolulu in June after stopping in Maui.
On board were skipper Brooke George of Sidney, and crewman Toby Tyler of Cambria, Canada. • NUNAGA, 50 ft wood sloop, with skipper Peter Francis of Locust, New Jersey, and Roger and Ruth Tuck of London, left Papeete in May and arrived in Honolulu in June. This Marken, Massa chusetts-based yacht has travelled 12,000 miles from her home port to date, and has visited the Caribbean, Panama, Galapagos, French Polynesia, and Hilo. • SAMARANG, 55 ft wood schooner, with skipper Jim Wells and Chris Myers of El Segunda, California, plus Jerry Silva of Capitola, California, Marcia Lewis of Carmel, California, and Doug Skelton of Brisbane, Australia, left Papeete in June 1975, and experienced quite a bit of rain before arriving in Honolulu in July. • GROG, 50 ft wood sloop with skipper Don West, Dick Miller, and Lane Remy of Phoenix, Arizona, as well as Tom Dross of San Francisco, California, left Papeete in June and arrived in Honolulu in July, 1975 via Kona, Hawaii.
• NORSEMAN, 37 ft wood, gaff rigged ketch with skipper Peter Lattey of Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, and crewmen Elizabeth Clarkson of Australia and Graham Dickey of New Zealand, arrived in Honolulu in July having sailed 9,000 miles from Papua New Guinea, with a stop in Pago Pago which they left on June 18. • FAIRWINDS, 40 ft wood ketch, carrying David A. Taskett and his wife Beverly of Honolulu, returned home after a 39-month cruise that took them to British Columbia, the West Coast as far as Costa Rica, the Galapagos, French Polynesia, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, and back to Tahiti. They left Papeete on June 24 and arrived in Honolulu on August 8. • SHAULA, a 40 ft wood yawl with Gordon and Ruthanne Crawford of the Pago Pago Yacht Club in American Samoa, left Tahiti on July 28 and arrived in Honolulu on August 22 via Hilo, Hawaii. • TOLAKI, an American ketch regis tered at Friday Harbour, arrived at Raro tonga on September 5 from Tahiti after spending 12 months there. The 34-ton yacht is owned and skippered by Tony Duff, a retired airline pilot, and with him were his wife, Ladia, and their children Paul and Amanda. Tolaki took four years to build and gave the Duff family six years of pleasure sailing off Mexico, Central America and the Carib bean Islands. Plans are to leave the yacht in Papeete, then the whole family will fly to Austria for the ski season. • KATHI 11, a 22 gross-ton sloop registered at Los Angeles, arrived at Rarotonga on September 7 from Papeete, Huahine and Bora Bora, with James King (captain) and Christine Gray (crew). • SWEET THING, a 53 ft 7 in. British cutter-rigged motor sailer, arrived at Rarotonga on September 7 from Bora Bora with Rene Carstensen, master, and four crew. Next port of call was to be American Samoa. • PELAGIC, a 31 ft 6 in. sloop regis tered at Seattle, arrived at Rarotonga from Papeete on September 11. On board were William Fierling, and his wife, Katherine, who plan to visit Tonga next. • PAI NUI, a 53 ft ketch registered in Panama, also arrived at Rarotonga on September 12 from Bora Bora, with Cap tain Ron Hash and three crew. Next port of call was to be Tonga. • HAVORN, a 47 ft 6 in. ex- Norwegian fishing boat, arrived at Raro tonga from Bora Bora on September 12.
On board were American owner-captain Lee Ehrheart, his Norwegian wife Greta, their 10-year-old son, Jens, Mike McClure
Tatoosh
and Raymond Naterlin. Mr Ehrheart spent many years in Europe fishing with the Norwegian fleets and doing charter work in the Mediterranean. He converted Havorn for ocean cruising and has owned the vessel for 10 years. He plans to call at Niue, Tonga and New Zealand, and sit out the hurricane season in NZ while Havorn is slipped for overhaul. • ALKINOOS, a 30 ft sloop registered in Vancouver, arrived at Rarotonga from Papeete and Bora Bora on August 15 with singlehander James Duncan. She left for Tonga in late August. • SOLONG 11, a 34 ft sloop-rigged motor sailer, which arrived at Rarotonga from Auckland last June, returned there on August 29 after calling at Tahiti and the Society Islands. On board were Cap tain Mervyn W. Halsey and four crew members, and plans were to return to New Zealand. • NEELEEN, a 44 ft racing sloop, arrived at Rarotonga from Auckland on August 30 with owner-captain Ralph Neeley, Anne Herring, Peter McKenzie and Robert Vernon. Mr Neeley, an Ameri can, is a pilot with Pan-Am and built his yacht in Auckland. He described this voyage as a "shakedown cruise" to try out the yacht. They experienced gales all the way and, when only four hours from Rarotonga, the boom broke in relatively calm weather. They made Raro tonga under jib and storm trisail and, after repairs, intended to call at Tahiti. • ERIK THE RED, a 30 ft yacht of junk design arrived at Rarotonga from the UK and Tahiti on August 3 with single-hander Hugh Donald Buller Riddler.
He sailed for Tonga in late August. • PALADIN, a 30 ft ketch registered at Whangarei, New Zealand, arrived at Rarotonga from Tahiti on August 29 with single-hander Frederick W. Smith whose next port of call was to be Tonga. • LUTETIA, a 48-year-old Carol ketch from Charlotte Amalie, arrived at Tahiti on July 23. Skipper Alexander du Prel du Chapois singlehanded the 37 ft yacht from Panama to Hawaii, where his family joined him. Wife, Michelle, son Philippe, 7, and daughter Sophie, 4\ sailed the Hawaiian Islands with Alexander before they all cruised to Palmyra, Penrhyn Island and Bora Bora. In Tahiti, Alexander found a job at the Tahara'a hotel as chief engineer. The family will be in Tahiti for at least two years and are living aboard. • MANANA, 37 ft Seven Seas fibre glass ketch from Melbourne, dropped anchor in Tahiti on August 8, stayed five days and left for Moorea, Bora Bora, Samoa, New Caledonia and back to Aus tralia. Owner George Swinbourne, his friend, Gwen, crew members Mark Denzer
of Honolulu and Jamie Mott of London were aboard. George built the boat him self and when asked when he would finish it, he kept replying "manana". He left Australia intending to make a cir cumnavigation, and had visited Hawaii and Ahe before sailing to Tahiti. • ONDINE, 79 ft racing yawl owned by Mr S. A. (Huey) Long of New York, was in Tahiti for one week and left August 11 for Capetown via Fiji and Australia. During the past year Ondine has won seven out of eight races, losing the Trans-Pacific race from Los Angeles to Hawaii to RAGTIME. The streamlined teak and aluminium yacht that has been referred to as a "machine" or a "space ship" by her crew of seven, is completely air-conditioned, has a large freezer, a sauna, fresh water showers and three heads. Long, who is in the tanker broker age business in New York, said thal Ondine can be sailed with 8,000 sq ft ol sail at one time, including a spinnaker.
Ondine's itinerary has taken her all ovei the world. The late Aristotle Onassis sailed with her in Greece during the past year.
• Different Drummer, Islander 40
ft ketch motor sailer from Honolulu, arrived in Tahiti on August 11 and planned to leave September 1 to cruise the Societies, before heading for the Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, New Caledonia and Australia for Christmas. Owners Bob Rediske and Paige Vitousek were in Tahiti in 1974 for the Bali Hai race.
With them from Honolulu to Tahiti were Lynn Lindquist, 16, and Bobby Midkiff, 21. • IMPOSSIBLE DREAM, 40 ft Morgan ketch-rigged yacht registered in Whistler Bay, Ohio and owned by Dr Roger Mason and wife Elayne of San Diego, arrived in Tahiti on August 14 and planned to stay a week before cruising the Societies for a month. They plan to visit Samoa and then Fiji, where they hoped to be by the end of September. • LA MOUETTE OF PARKSTONE, a 32 ft Hillyard wooden sloop from Poole, England, owned by Australian Graham Holmes, 44, arrived in Tahiti on August 17. Holmes flew from Sydney to England, bought the boat and is sailing it back to Australia. With him is Noi Kosinklang, 28, of Thailand. After two attempts to leave England, the first try failing be cause of strong gales in the Bay of Biscay, La Mouette sailed the Atlantic to the West Indies, through the Panama Canal and on to> the Marquesas and Tahiti. They planned to cruise the Socie ties before going on to Samoa, Fiji and Sydney in mid-September. Graham re ports he averaged 156 miles a day for one week just west of the Galapagos.
He even managed to make 193 miles one day when he encountered strong currents.