'A Vulgar Imposition'

My wife and I are British and in our yacht Wanderer IV are at present paying our seventh visit to Suva where we are ex periencing a great change in treatment. I believe that other yachts planning to call at Suva might like to know the situation.

On arrival, one must anchor near the quarantine buoy north-west of Tamavua beacon where the health officer, who will probably want a de-rat certificate, will board.>The yacht must then go to the main wharf, which is unsuitable for small craft and is even dangerous at times, to be searched. We refused to do this as there was too much surge in the harbour that day, and therefore had to ferry off a customs officer by dinghy. He sealed up our drink and tobacco (none of it was out of bond), leaving us two bottles of the former and 1 lb of the latter. All this is fair ly reasonable (though not often practised in other countries) but he then searched the whole yacht, which for eight years has been our only home, poking into every drawer and locker, seeing what we have on board and where it is stowed. This is now done to all yachts on arrival.

Presumably, customs have this right, but I feel it is a vulgar imposition. Maybe there are a few yachts which do a dis service to us all by smuggling (drugs?) but this is no reason why we should all be

searched. Suva itself is not exactly free of crime, but surely that does not give the police the right to search everyone's home without a warrant.

In 26 years of voyaging in yachts, in cluding 3Vz circumnavigations of the world, this is the first time we have been treated as criminals in any port, and we re sent it.

Yachts are vulnerable to the harbour thieves which abound here we and many others have had first-hand ex perience of this and our only defence may be a firearm; this, however, is seized by the police on arrival and is not returned until immediately before sailing; yet nothing appears to be done to police the

yacht anchorage.

Perhaps, when planning a cruise in the Western Pacific, yachts might, in view of the above, prefer to select more honest, friendly and welcoming islands, such as the Cooks, Tonga, New Hebrides or New Caledonia where they are treated with the respect that they deserve, and spend their money, which is often a considerable sum, there.

Eric Hiscock,

Member of the Royal Cruising Yacht Club, London.