Yachts
pp. 91-93 · Read in the full issue
Cruising
‘Sixty two definite starters for Noumea,’ reported Peter Rys dyk director of the UTA Sydney-Noumea race begin ning on June 16 from the Cruising Yacht Club of Aus tralia at Darling Point. Mr Rys dyk said this was three times the number of starters in the 1977 race. He anticipated that there would be about 35 starters in the Burns Philp sponsored Noumea-Vila race following immediately on the heels of the Sydney-Noumea leg. Twenty of these would be from Australia, the balance from New Caledonia, New Hebrides and Fiji. * lEMANJA (‘sea nymph’ in a Brazilian dialect) a Luders 33 <etch from San Francisco, is aking California couple Grant and Donna Nielson around the /vorld, writes Jimmy Cornell rom Whangarei. The Nielsons eft California late in 1977, sail ng first to Mexico, then on to he Marquesas, Society and lslands, and to New
Zealand for the cyclone season. They plan to return to the Cooks before heading west for Samoa, Fiji and Aus tralia. • STARSHINE, a large 17 m ferrocement ketch designed and built by owner Doug Bal comb is spending the cyclone season in New Zealand. After working three years on build ing the boat, mathematician Balcomb left San Francisco accompanied by his wife Linda and 11-year-old daughter Heather. Late in 1977 Starshine arrived in Hawaii from where it sailed to the Marquesas. From French Polynesia the Balcombs headed west for American Samoa and Tonga. Now they plan to return to French
Polynesia along a southerly route which will allow them to visit the Austral Islands. • DRAGONERA, a Santana 39 of Flagstaff, Arizona, arrived in Rabaul with Paul Weaver, owner/captain, and crew Robert Jordan and Linda Hovland. Dragonera left New port Beach California in November 1977 and sailed to Hawaii, Guam, Hong Kong and Manila. Paul’s son, Mark Weaver, joined the boat in Hong Kong together with his friend, Brian Beamer, and they sailed to the Philippines for four weeks. Stop-overs in Palau and the Admiralty Islands were included en route to Rabaul. Favourite ports so far have been Mirs Bay in the New Territories off Hong Kong and Manus, in PNG’s Admir alty Islands. Plans are to pro ceed to Solomon Islands
• AURORA, 12.5 m ketch from Noumea, New Caledonia, arrived in early April in Whan garei on its first long voyage.
It took Christian Canel five hard years to build the boat near Noumea, mainly because most of the materials had to be imported. After being launched in December 1977, Aurora sailed around New Caledonia, ironing out various teething problems. Finally, Christian and wife Catherine gave up their jobs as teachers, being accompanied on the cruise by sons Lawrence (6) and Guillaume (4). • AUDACIOUS, currently single-handed by owner Hugh Stout, a much-modified Raw son 30 fibreglass ketch from Seattle, arrived in Rabaul.
Hugh left Seattle in July 1974 via San Diego, Hawaii, Marshall Islands, the Gilberts,
lemanja crew Grant and Donna Neilson ... eventually Australia.
Photo: Jimmy Cornell
Aurora’s full complement, Chris tian and Catherine Canel and sons Lawrence and Guillame... teething problems over. Photo: Jimmy Cornell
Fiji and New Zealand. A year n Australia was spent in Syd ney and on the Queensland coast. He left from Bowen, going out through the little jsed Flinders Passage and sntering PNG at Samarai. 3 lans are to go to Kieta, then south to Solomon Islands, be ore taking another look at the )right lights of Sydney!
WHY NOT, 13 m Perry de ign cutter, fibreglass sand wich hull made in Taiwan, irrived in Rabaul with Jack md Joanne Ford. The boat /as outfitted for cruising in suam, and departed Guam in /lay last year for Manus sland, Madang and Rabaul. •lans were to cruise in lolomon Islands and New lebrides, and to arrive in New Zealand by Christmas.
WHYAC, a Fortune-30 acht, now in Fiji, is the home f Canadian Kevin Tisshaw, 7. With four friends, he left ancouver in 1974, sailing own the US West Coast to an Francisco, and then on to rench Polynesia, Cook ilands, Tonga and Western amoa and Fiji.
Queen Victoria, Motor
ailing yacht, arrived in Fiji om Rarotonga with American eorge Herzer, wife, Victoria, nd family Bernard 19, Julio B, Carlos 17, Manuela 15 and srnando 14. They left Miami August, 1978, and visited exico and the Caribbean be •re passing through Panama, the Pacific they have visited ie Galapagos, Tuamotus and ahiti, where they stayed for ree months, before sailing to arotonga. They planned to lil to Brisbane, through cuth-East Asian waters, on to jrooe and back to the US.
• WY WURRIE, 10 m ferro cement sloop from Nelson, New Zealand, arrived in Rabaul with owners Tricia Monahan and Neil Thomas who built the boat themselves.
They left NZ in May 78 and sailed to Tonga, Fiji, New Hebrides, Solomons, into Papua New Guinea. Plans were to return to Nelson via Australia. • RANGER, a Garden 35 ketch from Victoria, British Colum bia. Gene and Marie Williams left home in September 1976, first sailing down the US West Coast to San Diego, Califor nia. From there it took 29 days to the Marquesas. After a whole year in French Polynesia, visiting the Tuamotu and Society Islands, they sailed on to the Cooks the Samoas, Tonga and Fiji, where . they spent three months. They plan to return to Fiji, then on to the New Hebrides and Australia and eventually around the world.
Why Not under sail ... New Zealand by Christmas. Photo: Roderica Laymon
Gene and Marie Williams of Ranger...a year in French Polynesia. Photo: Jimmy Cornell