yachts

Don Travers Re

ports from Tubuai

Island: MAIORE. 11 -metre cutter built of aluminium in France in 1979 recently called at Tubuai, Raivavae and Rapa.

Homeported at Raiatea, So ciety Islands, Maiore is owned by French couple, Jacques and Paule Blais who live on that island. Jacques is a retired merchant marine captain.

Maiore is equipped with two centre boards, one aft under the cockpit is used mainly when running with the wind. She draws only seven metres with the boards up and was de livered to French Polynesia from France by friends of the owners.

HARLEKIN. an immacu lately maintained 48-ft Swan

cutter arrived from New Zea land after a 17-day voyage with owner/skipper John Dennis of Canada and crew Don Crane of New Zealand and Hilary Sta pleton of the UK.

The beautifully built craft is of fibreglass with all-teak decking and interior joinery work.

She is equipped with a 75hp Volvo Penta diesel auxiliary engine and many modem fea tures including Sat Nav and a remarkable water maker which produces 16 gallons of fresh water per hour from sea water by a process known as “reverse osmosis” a compressor driven by the engine forces the sea water through a filter system.

Harlekin is homeported at Tortola, British Virgin Islands where John purchased her in 1982 and has since used her for charter work. The yacht was

built in Finland 14 years ago.

John commenced his cruise with other crew in June 1984.

From Tortola his route has taken in Panama, Cocos Is, Galapagos Is, Marquesas, Tuamutus, Tahiti, Society Is lands, Rarotonga, Fiji and New Zealand where he spent six months at Bay of Islands and Auckland where Harlekin was painted by professional yacht painter (and present crew) Don Crane.

From Tubuai they sailed for Tahiti where Don and Hilary will board a plane for New Zealand and John expects to pick up another crew for the return voyage to Tortola via the Marquesas, Galapagos and Panama.

WIKIWIN . a 41-ft fibreglass ketch arrived at Tubuai with owner/skipper Philip Holly wood of Canada and crew Sandra Hill from the USA.

Homeported at Victoria, Brit ish Columbia, Wikiwin is a replica of Joshua Slocum’s fam ous Spray designed by Bruce Roberts.

She took five years in the building and was launched in 1982.

Philip and Sandra left Can ada in August 1983, sailing down the US west coast to Mexico, Panama, Galapagos, Easter Island, Pitcairn, Man gareva, Raivavue and Tubuai where Philip, a retired Cana dian naval officer, told me their plan is, after Tahiti, to complete “the slowest circumnavigation in a Spray replica.”

Judith Sellars

reports from Suva:

• A PLACE IN THE SUN with New Zealanders, Pip and Oliver Campbell has been granted a per mit to operate a charter business under the Fiji government’s new tourism scheme.

The newly introduced scheme now requires only a 5 per cent duty fee instead of the usual 57 Vz per cent, for yachts brought into the country with the intention of operating a temporary charter service.

A Place in the Sun, the first overseas yacht to operate under this scheme, will be based at Mus

Wikiwin rides at anchor. Photo: Don Travers.

The Harlekln team relaxes at Tubuai. Photo: Don Travers.

ket Cove Resort on Molololailai island in the western Mamanuca group.

Launched in New Zealand in 1980. A Place in the Sun is a 45ft American Mobjack design by L.

Francis Herreshoff, constructed of four skins of New Zealand heart kauri.

The decks are double or triple diagonal kauri, overlaid with teak.

Teak is also used for all exterior trim while the interior finish is in solid mahogany.

The galley is equipped with a 4-bumer Roden stove with a large oven and grill, a deep freeze, instant hot water to shower and sink, and a Hoovermatic washing machine.

Two heads and a separate stateroom assure personal comfort and privacy for the six passengers per chartered cruise.

The ketch is rigged with lofty spars for light airs and easy reefing and furling for the strongest of winds.

Pip and Oliver opted for Fiji to operate their South Pacific island charter business after their un fortunate grounding on Suva’s main reef in July last year.

The ketch was badly holed on the starboard side of the hull, but after a few months of dedicated work at Whippy’s Boatyard in Suva, she looked just fine.

Pip and Oliver will operate their Fiji island charter business from June to September, when they will return to New Zealand’s Bay of Islands to continue chartering dur ing the New Zealand yachting season. • Defiance. It is not uncommon nowadays to come across a yacht that is exceptionally well outfitted with the latest, up-to-date com munication and navigation equip ment.

Defiance a Swan 51 sloop moored at the Royal Suva Yacht Club recently.

Owned and skippered by Austra lian, Marshall Phillips, Defiance boasted a full Brooks and Gate house Hercules 190 Instruments system, which among many other functions, displayed information such as wind velocity, boat speed and battery charge, as well as a depth sounder and a compass.

The sloop was also equipped with a Shipmate Satellite navigator and a Furuno weather fax machine which upon request printed up-to date weather maps for any specific area, complete with aeroplanes that might be flying high above the earth at that time.

As well as a 400 watt Codin SSB radio and a Furuno Radar, the skipper and crew have for more easy handling, an automatic pilot system and a furling headsail on a Hood Seafurl system.

Skipper, Marshall Phillips might be remembered by yachtsmen as

the owner of the popular Sweet Caroline fleet of ocean racing yachts, which he recently traded in exchange for the Swan 51, a design with comfortable, fast, cruising in mind.

Phillips, with his crew of six, are following the steps of the first solo sailor to circumnavigate the world, Joshua Slocum, way back in 1792.

They plan to pick up a film crew in Chile and complete a document ary of the historic voyage, (ex pected to be on Australian televi sion in a year), with emphasis on the Cape Horn passage, known as one of the most difficult ocean crossings in the world.

Defiance first set sail from Syd ney in March 1986 to compete in the Sydney to Mooloolaba Yacht race, more as an excuse to get them started on their world cruise.

The sloop then cruised up through the Barrier Reef, stopping over at most of the islands, such as Lady Muscrave Island, Great Kep pel Island, South Percy Island, Scawfell Island and Hamilton Is land, where they also took part in the Hamilton Island series in the cruising division, winning both line and handicap honours.

From there, they island hopped up to Townsville, then to Cairns, where they had to take shelter 2V2 miles up-river from Cyclone Manu, which was threatening the Queens land coast at the time.

After the cyclone eventually fiz zled out, the crew celebrated with an all-night party with fellow yachts men from PNG’s Di Hard another cruising yacht that was also up river.

Once Defiance was re-fitted she set sail for Vanuatu, Archin Island, Port Sandwich, Epi Island and then on to Vila for a week before a four day passage in 30 knot North Westerlies for the first couple of days, then the usual South East Trades for the remainder of the cruise to Suva.

After a short stop-over in Suva, Defiance was then heading for Tonga, Rarotonga, Tahiti, Pitcairn Island, Easter Island, Juan Fernan dez and Robinson Crusoe Islands off the coast of Argentina, before calling into Valparaiso.

The Swan 51 design, by Argenti nian, German Frers and built in Helsinki, Finland by Nautor, was a development of the two successful British and American ocean racing yachts, “Blizzard” and “Arcadia,” respectively.

The hull is fibreglass while the decks are teak laid.

The interior, also teak, has a large galley, complete with a gas stove and oven, two refrigerators and one freezer, hot and cold pressurised water and leather upholstered cushions in the saloon.

For auxiliary power, “Defiance” has a 78 horse power Perkins Diesel engine