yachts

Kay Bason Re

ports from Port Moresby , Papua New Guinea:

• GRETHE. Bob Pfeng believes that the cast lead keel saved his 10-metre yacht when she hit the reef close to Port Moresby. Grethe is a 22-year-old wooden ketch built by Halvorsen & Sparkman, Sydney.

Approaching a foreign coastline is always a tense affair, but when sea conditions are poor, winds strong and visibility lousy, you are faced with extra problems. Bob blames his fatigue and broken steerage for his grounding. The tidal set on the Papuan coast can create errors in navigation, and Grethe should have stayed at least five miles from the coast. It was rotten luck that on the day she hit the reef, the tides were mid-neap without much change in height.

While she pounded, Bob radioed to the Royal Papua Yacht Club reporting the situation, hopeful that the yacht would refloat that night.

He told his crew what to expect and what to do if the situation worsened.

They prepared for the worst, without panic, but the constant battering grated on everyone’s nerves. The following night, still hard aground, the crew opted for sleeping ashore on the beach.

Grethe was fast aground, not willing to budge an inch.

Bob managed to arrange a ride to the nearest phone, 20 kilometres away at a Chinese trade store, to call the yacht club. The phone was out of order. Transport was arranged for the following day, and Bob eventually arrived in Port Moresby.

A certain company offered to salvage Grethe under Lloyds open order, but the yacht was not in sured. Bob, like so many small craft owners, could not obtain insurance for cover in PNG waters. Steam ships had no vessel available to tow Grethe off. A local motor boat offered to assist and Bob was most grateful. However, while he was arranging the rescue operations Grethe was badly robbed and vandalised, even the anchors being stolen. There seemed to be no end to this bad luck until Grethe was finally towed into Port Moresby.

Bob arranged for his yacht to be slipped and lifted out of the water by Steamships and repairs com menced a week later. All the repair work was completed by national

craftsmen with excellent skills. Pa puans are expert boat-builders, and Bob is most pleased with the workmanship.

It’s many years since Bob worked in PNG for the Lands Department (before the days of Waigani) and he has seen many changes. The law and order situation might have deteriorated in Port Moresby, but he feels the people are as friendly as he knew them 10 years ago. He considers there has been great development and that the Papuans have done a fine job of self government since independence.

He’s confident they will forge ahead.

Bob’s looking forward to happier days visiting old haunts and renew ing old friendships in PNG. He hopes to cruise onward through Solomon Islands before returning to Southport, Queensland, later this year. • ECLIPSE 11, Jim and Betty Hanford had quite a rough trip from Thursday Island to Port Moresby in their 17 m steel motor sailer. Their

Above: Bob Pfeng in Port Morseby, and (right) his ten metre yacht Grethe. In the first of a whole chapter of mishaps, Grethe ran hard aground on the reef close to Port Moresby.

When she had finally been freed and repaired, Bob was “most pleased” with the skillful work of the Papuan boat-builders who did the job. - Kay Bason pictures.

boat is “almost what they want”, having incorporated the best ideas from previous boats. She certainly is very well equipped.

Jim fitted out the hull in Brisbane and they have an excellent home afloat. Eclipse II has 240 v power throughout. They run a modern galley, full stove, microwave and air-conditioning unit. The engine room houses a Gardiner 6LX motor, plus a Perkins auxiliary engine. Jim has a lathe in his engine room. They carry enough fuel to give them a range of almost 4000 nautical miles.

Jim and Betty have cruised from Southport along the Queensland coast and plan to visit Samarai, Lae and Rabaul in PNG, and then explore Solomon Islands. • MESTIZO. Jake Rabinowtiz and Nancy Claridge called into Port Moresby recently. They plan to cruise PNG and Solomon Islands in their Tayana 37. Last card from Nancy said; “Eating plenty of cray fish we’ve caught but Jake’s begin ning to feel like a fish roaming the reef looking for food. ” They are both keen divers and thoroughly enjoying the reefs and top fishing here in PNG.

Kay Bason’s Tampatum (left) with Obsession off Port Moresby.