Yachts

Don Travers

reports from Tubuai,

Austral Islands ,

French Polynesia:

• SCOTCH MIST 11. A luxurious 29 m aluminum cutter (reported on in PIM Nov. ’B2) called at Tubuai from New Zealand with professional crew:

captain John Clyde-Smith, Andrew

Crawford, David Hawke, Debbie Dowdney (all U.K.) and Roger Janes (Aust). The large yacht was built by a shipyard in Stockton, Calif, and is equipped with two 250 HP Caterpil lar diesels, a furling mainsail on a 30m mast, two furling headsails, a large inflatable with 50 HP outboard, two Boston Whalers with 25 HP outboards, central heating and air conditioning, 250-gallon per day wa ter-maker and many other luxurious

and high-tech appointments. Ameri

can-owned and registered, the yacht is being returned to Florida after a Pacific cruise to Australia.

• Windana Wyang. A 13M

Bowden-designed steel cutter of the Sea Mist class, built in Sydney in 1971, arrived in Tubuai 21 days out of Auckland. Captain-owner lan Sur plice and crew Stuart Melville, both of Australia, left for Raivavae and Tahiti with plans to cruise in French

Polynesia, including the Marquesas,

before returning to Australia by the end of the year via Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. The cruise commenced from Sydney in January.

Windana Wyang means “Which Way Now” in one of the Australian

Aboriginal languages.

• Timespinner. An 11M Al

berg sloop, Canadian-built and own ed, arrived in Tubuai from New Zealand with captain Peter Garnett, and Marie de Troosteurbergh (Bel gian) and cat Baggy wrinkle. Peter started cruising in 1978 from Toronto to New York via the Hudson River and down the U.S. East Coast to Florida, the Bahamas and Caribbean islands, where he met Marie. They cruised to Trinidad, Venezuela, Curasao, Panama Canal to

Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuamotus,

Tahiti, American Samoa, Tonga, Fi ji, New Zealand. They left Tubuai for Vancouver via the Tuamotus, Marquesas and maybe Hawaii. Both Timespinner and Windana Wyang were at Tubuai during cyclone

Veena’s devastating passage through

French Polynesia. Fortunately, they

were virtually untouched. • KENNEMER. A 12.5 m Carib

fibreglass sloop registered in Tortola,

British Virgin Islands (reported on in PIM Nov. ’B2), with Martin and Gerda Witkamp, arrived in Tubuai from Tahiti. Martin and Gerda are

originally from Holland but have been naturalised American citizens for many years. Martin is a retired

biologist. They commenced cruising

in 1977 after six years bareboat char tering their yacht in St Vincent and have they done some cruising!

Caribbean to North Carolina for work, then to Mexico, Honduras,

Florida, Bermuda, Azores, Ireland, the Caledonian Canal to Norway, Denmark, Germany, Holland for a summer, thence England, Spain, Portugal, Madeira, Canaries and back to the Caribbean. Later to Guy ana, Trinidad, Venezuela, Panama and back to Florida to see new grandchildren.

Returned to Panama via Belize for canal transit 1980 and on to Cocos Island, Galapagos, Pitcairn, Gam biers, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Societies, then north to Christmas Island and Hawaii. After more grandchildren visits (by air) the Wit kamps left Hawaii for the Marshalls,

A long way home: Peter Garnett and Marie de Troosteurbergh have a long way to take their dinghy over the shallow reef to their Canadian-based sloop

Timespinner. - Tubuai picture.

Kosrae, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Wallis, the two Samaos and Suvarov. They were overtaken by cyclone Prena between Suvarov and Penrhyn where they recuperated and repaired consider able damage. They sailed from Pen rhyn to Tahiti to be hit by cyclone Veena while well anchored in

Papeete harbor where they experienc

ed no damage. They couldn’t say enough about the skill and help fulness of the various harbor tugs and launches assisting the many yachts in distress in Papeete during Veena.

After cruising the other Austral Is lands they plan to continue to New Zealand. They have two radio call signs: N4DMC (Martin) and T2JBE (Gerda). • SEA HONEY. A'l2m Hartley

designed ferro-cement sloop from

Fremantle, Western Australia, ar rived at Tubuai from New Zealand with captain Graham Norton, his son Jeff and additional crew of Peter Fox, Rob Taylor and Kevin; (all Aust.).

They are on a fast-paced, nine-month cruise of the South Pacific. From Fremantle they sailed the south coast of Australia, on to New Zealand and Tubuai which they left after a short visit headed for Tahiti. They will then head west through the islands for Torres Strait, Darwin and home. • RASHABA. A 14m Belgian cut ter on a world cruise called at Tubuai from Tahiti with the Levie family, father, mother and their three young daughters.

Australian yachtsmen lan Sur plice and Stuart Melville on board the steel cutter Windana Wyang. - Tubuai picture

The Bounty 35 Vagabundo, sailed by Helio Setti and Cindy Dumas from the USA, displays sleek lines off the Royal Papua Yacht Club, Port Moresby.