Yachting

Danielle Pater

SON reports from

Port Moresby: te quila SUNRISE. A real Cap tain Sligh sailed into Moresby aboard his 33ft Roily Tasker designed sloop, Tequila Sun rise.

The sloop was cold moulded in Fremantle originally as a racing boat when Roger Bligh decided in November, 1985 to refit her for cruising.

Six months later, Roger, accompanied by crew Romy Shovelton and Mike Centa, de parted Fremantle last April for Lake Macquarie via Port Moresby and the Solomons.

On their way north to Mores by the crew visited Monte Bello islands, Cockatoo Island, Dar win and Thursday Island. Their immediate goal was to cruise the Milne Bay area of PNG for a month before moving on to the Solomons.

A legacy of her racing design is Tequila Sunrise's sailing ability. This, together with the requirement for only a small horsepower diesel (in this case

a 15hp Yanmar) makes her an economical cruising boat.

On board equipment in cludes Uniden VHF, CB and Coden HF radios, satellite navigation and refrigeration.

ASTROLABE. Dudley Hughes, his wife and first mate Rosa mond and daughter Francis arrived aboard their 42ft Robert Harris-designed Tayana after a seven-day sail from Port Vila.

They were quite elated to have picked up Moresby with out a hitch a test of their own navigation and that of the Mag novox satnav.

With son Carter from the States, Astrolabe was bound for THursday Island, Darwin and Fremantle for the America’s Cup.

Named after the pre-sextant navigational instrument, Astro labe measures 42ft over all with a beam of 12ft bins and a draft of just under 6ft. She is rigged as a cutter and has a 55hp Perkins diesel within her con fines.

She carries an Epsco VHF transceiver and Sailor RDF re ceiver together with normal items such as EPIRB and AM/ FM stereo.