Yachts

About 13 yachts, the smallest being 10.7 m, set sail from Jakarta in Indonesia on March 12 on the famous ‘Spice’ route to Rotterdam. They will take part in Spice Race 1980 spon sored by the Dutch shipping group Nedlloyd, well known in the South Pacific. After a stop in Cape Town, the yachts will complete the course in the first week in June, having covered 12 500 miles in one of the lon gest yacht races in the world.

The ambition of every com petitor is to beat the sailing re cord for the course between the Straits of Dover and Sunda Straits which is held by the famous Cutty Sark which covered the 12 000-mile stretch in 73 days in 1876.

Entrants registered in December were; Spirit of

Ramfish. 15.24 m, Dutch, skipper Adriann Van Stolk.

Gauloises 111, 19.2 m, French, skipper Philippe Facque. Gypsy Moth V, 17.37 m, English, skipper Peter Hambly Batavier, 22 m, Australian, skipper Jos Maasakkers. Seltrust Endeavour, 16.76 m, English, skipper Michael Dunham.

DLC Zanzara, 10.7 m, Dutch, skipper Ewald Niejenhoff.

Bubblegum, 13.1 m, English, skipper lain McGowan Fyfe.

Nutmeg, 15.24 m, Dutch, skipper Dik Dehaan. Flying Wilma, Dutch, skipper Ger rard Dykstra (winner of Whitbread Round the World race) Prodent, 12.5 m Dutch, skipper Dirk Navta. Caleo, 13.4 m, Singapore. • ROGUE: 12.6 m one-tonner racing yacht from Sydney is cruising in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Wallis with owner Roger White, a retired merchant banker, accompanied by ever changing crew. Rogue left Sydney on June 16 for the race to Noumea, a month later taking part in the Noumea to Vila race. From the New

Hebrides Rogue started cruis ing and had a rough but very fast four-and-a-half day pass age to Suva. • KIWI: This 13.3 m Atkins designed wooden ketch left San Diego in April 1978 with Dick and Sherri Lenz on board. After calling at Hawaii, Kiwi sailed to the Society Islands, Vavau and Fiji. The cyclone season will be spent in New Zealand, from where the crew plan to return to French Polynesia and possibly home. • SHA MAR: Walter and Gloria Streifling, with children Shauna and Marc, left their home in San Diego in February 1979 for a two-year circum navigation of the Pacific. After the Marquesas, Sha Mar sailed to the Tuamotus, Society Islands, Suwarrow, American Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. The cyclone season will be spent in New Zealand. In 1980 the crew plans to return to Tahiti via the Australs, then carry on to Hawaii, Canada and home. • VELELLA: 10 m Angelman ketch from San Diego is taking

i American singlehander Pete Bartoe on a leisurely trip around the Pacific. He left I home in June 1978, sailing to Maui, in the Hawaii Islands, as part of a small fleet of veteran sailors participating in the [Ancient Mariners’ Race. From he sailed to French [Polynesia, where he spent a [year before heading for Raro- [ tonga and Fiji. Next desti- I nation is New Zealand,-and [possibly Australia in 1980. • BRIGAND I; This Spencer [3O sloop (9.3 m.) is taking [Diana and lan Jones on a short [cruise around the Western Pa cific. They left their homeport of Melbourne in May, 1979, sailing via Lord Howe Island to New Caledonia, New Hebrides and Fiji. After cruising in Fiji as far as the Yasawas, they are [returning to Australia via the New Hebrides, planning to return to the Islands in a larger boat in two years time.

• Kleena Kleene Ii: Cana

dian couple Bill and Frances [Stocks left home in Victoria, [British Columbia, in Sep tember, 1977 for a planned circumnavigation. Their For tune 30 cutter (9.3 m) has so far taken them to California, French Polynesia, Rarotonga, Pago Pago, Tonga, Fiji, the New Hebrides and the Solomons. Last year’s cyclone season was spent in Fiji, while this year they are heading for

Png.

> ALEGRIAS: Australian auth or Alan Lucas spent two years building this three-masted fer 'ocement schooner. The 18 m (acht is home now for him, his vife Patricia and sons Ben (3) md William (13). Alegrias left Maryborough in Queensland n December, 1977, sailing to 3 NG, back to Australia, then to slew Caledonia, New Hebrides ind the Solomons. In 1980, he Lucas family plan to sail to he Philippines and Indo lesia.

I WARAMBA: Waramba, mea ling Turtle in Australian abor igine, is a dream come true for revor Darvill. Working as an engineer on the ill-fated Betio iairiki causeway in Tarawa, Jribati, Trevor spent every pare moment of his 20 nonths contract completing Varamba. The hull of the 0.4 m Manitau ketch was

sent out from Australia and he had to import every single fit ting to finish off the yacht. He finally left Tarawa at the end of October with the barely finished boat making a slow 18-day passage to Honiara, with American Tom Carsen as crew, who flew in from Bris bane just for the passage.

Trevor was met in Honiara by his wife Jan and children Maria (11), Jamie (9), Claire (8) and Timothy (6) for a shakedown cruise in the Western Pacific. • MAGIC, a 10.3 m yacht in Suva until May has a magician as her owner-skipper. He is Austrian Hagen Tremmel, known on stage in his own country as Scaramouche. An illusionist and holder of a black belt in judo, Hagen has been entertaining people at the Tradewinds Hotel marina with his tricks, which, he says, are an aid to communication. ‘When we call into a port for the the first time,’ he said, ‘I just show a few tricks to immi gration and customs officials and it makes communications much more easy’. Magic left Hamburg in May, 1978, and sailed to Britain, Spain, Por tugal, Gibraltar, Morocco, Ca nary Islands and through the Panama Canal to the Pacific calling at the Marquesas, Tuamotus, Tahiti, the Cook Islands and Tonga before

reaching Suva. Hagen and his wife Waltraud hope to move on to New Zealand and then to Australia before returning home via Suez.

• TERN: 11 m fibreglass sloop from Knysna, a small port on the East coast of South Africa, skippered by singlehander John Travers. He left home in November 1977 calling in at Capetown, then crossing the Atlantic to Martinique via St Helena, Ascension and Fer nando de Noronha. Three months were spent cruising in the Caribbean before sailing to Florida, where John worked for six months. He entered the Pacific via Panama early in 1979, calling at Galapagos, French Polynesia, Rarotonga, Tonga and Fiji. Tern is heading first for Australia, but will later cross the Tasman to New Zealand, where John hopes to settle.

American World War II veteran Boysie Day (left) aboard his yacht Sugar Bear. Boysie is on a sentimental journey to the spots in the Western Pacific where he fought nearly four dec ades ago. In Papua New Guinea waters, Boysie went straight to the Laughlan and Woodlark Islands where he first arrived as a company commander of the

‘Bushmasters’ infantry regiment

in January 1943.