experience

The yachtie experience

The Pacific’s large, and very mobile, population of “yach ties” collect useful information of all sorts as they cruise around the great ocean. Americans Basil and Nanci Campion, of the Seven Seas Cruising Association, warned colleagues recently of the prevalence of malaria in the Solomons and PNG, especially in the cyclone season from October to April.

Basil learned the hard way.

He went down with both vivax and falciparum malaria, simul taneously, ran a temperature of 103 deg. F for 35 days and lost 30!bs in weight. “Dam scary when you don’t know what’s wrong,” he said. He was taking anti-malaria pills at the time, he said, but falciparum was the chloroquine-resistant strain of the disease which, he under stood, could lead to cerebral malaria and possibly death.

Part of the problem Basil faced was that doctors were treating him for the vivax strain and the drugs used masked the fact that he was also suffering from falciparum.

“A good friend died on a cruise from PNG to Cairns,” said Basil. ’They thought he had suffered a stroke, but the autopsy showed cerebral malaria. ”

The Campions say they do not recommend self-treatment, but on a cruising yacht there is usually not much choice. “At least carry Fansidar for treat ment. Most of the yachts spen ding the cyclone season in the Solomons had at least one case on board; 16 of 27 yachties we were with in January had malaria, and only two of those were falciparum.”

The malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquito flies only at dusk and dawn, they said, but prophylactic drugs, repel lent lotions, sprays, coils and screens were now essential equipment for anyone cruising the region.

The Prince of Wales with some of the dancers at the display One of the official conch shell players takes a moment to snap staged at the Hubert Murray Stadium in Port Moresby. his own picture of Prince Charles.

Dibela Charies Walks among the welcoming crowds at Jackson’s Airport. With him is the Governor-General, Sir Kingsford