Fiji Regatta week

Yachting

By Sally Andrew

CRUISING Regattas in the South Pacific have caught on with cruising folk.

Not only first timers but seasoned sailors are joining in the fun of regatta cruising.

In 1992 three regattas headed north out of New Zealand to three different South Pacific locations in May to Nuku’alofa, Tonga; in June to Vava’u in northern Tonga; and in July to Savusavu in Fiji. These three cruising regattas, organized by Don and Jenny Mundell and the Island Cruising Association, provided cruising yachties with get togethers in prime blue-water cruising locations. But the original, the grand daddy of all the South Pacific regattas, is the “Musket Cove to Port Vila Regatta”.

The “Musket Cove to Port Vila Regatta” and the accompanying “Fiji Regatta Week” are the creations of Dick Smith, one of the pioneers in Fiji tourism and owner of Musket Cove Resort.

Conceived in the early eighties, this event has attracted boats from around the world year after year. This season marks the 13th annual “Fiji Regatta Week”.

Ocean going yachts sail in and out of the bay at Malolo Lailai Island in the beautiful Mamanuca Group in western Fiji all season long. But at the beginning of September the number of boats tugging at their anchors and the number of tourists staying in the resort increase to a maximum and the fun begins. By the start of “Fiji Regatta Week” nearly a hundred boats are gathered in the bay and crew members and skippers alike participate in the yacht racing and miscellaneous competitions. Semi-serious races to Castaway Island, Beachcomber Island and around Malolo Island are interspersed with windsurfing, dinghy

sailing, and biathalon (swim and run) events. “Fiji Regatta Week” tradition ally opens with a welcome feast hosted by the Musket Cove Yacht Club. Through ou< the we( * P eo P le make new fnends f nd , meet old ones ’ and the socializing aug ter, craziness, talent quests and X ach , t s u kee P ever y° n f busy and mvolved -. The re S atta concludes with a on the waterfront of Port a t the Vanuatu CruiBin S Yacht U . The key element in a successful regatta 18 diversity. Diversity in the nationalities and personalities of the participants; their backgrounds, ages and experiences; type and size of boats, Entrants in this year’s regatta and race week events include yachts from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States, Vanuaatu, Finland, Japan,

Swede, \ Hong Kong, England, Ger

many. Sloops, cutters, ketches, yawls, monohulls, multihulls, motorisailors and one mo(or ht have ’ entered this QveraH length ranges from William Burns’ 30-foot sloop to the luxur ious 90 . r00t U K ac f t „ r , ... . , one °[ the youngest sailors this year is Marcus Boomen ' ° nl y. ls , months old, Marcus is participating m his first riji to Vanuatu regatta and will be sailing to Port Vila aboard Reuben , a 35-foot Alan Wright design. Well known in New Zealand as a Lotus 10.6, Reuben was built by Peter and Fiona Boomen of Snells Beach near Auckland, New Zealand, They bought the hull and deck, finished out the interior and launched her in December 1990. Like many of the regatta participants, Peter and Fiona have done the race before - in 1986 aboard the 33-foot trimaran Shula. This year they spent two months cruising in Fiji prior to the race and especially enjoyed their curise to the island of Yadua on the south-west coast of Vanua

Levu.Like many cruisers, Peter and Fiona found Fiji a convenient place to make repairs and for reprovision. The trip north from New Zealand to Fiji is an especially tough one and it’s the rare yacht that arrives without needing a sail repair or a part fabrication .Suileka, one of several European yachts entered in the regatta, is a 45-foot steel ketch designed by Bruce Roberts. Owner and skipper Sally Dodd from Sussex, England has participated twice in Fiji Regatta Week but this year is the first time she and her crew will join the “race” to Port Vila.

Sally left England to go cruising in September 1985 and has been cruising the South Pacific for the last seven years.

Powered by a huge Gardiner diesel engine, the only non-windpowered vessel in the regatta is Astron, a 65-foot ocean going motor yacht from New Zealand’s South Island. Owners Brian and Louise Pearce and their 12-year-old son Hedley came north to Nuku’alofa “Island Cruis ing Regatta” in May and have spent the last three months exploring in Tonga, American Samoa and Fiji. Astron can carry 10 tons of diesel fuel and has a range of 6000 miles. Given good weather conditions, Brian should be able to complete the 530 odd miles to Port Vila in 76 hours, or a little over three days.

Dick Smith and his wife Carol have always extended a royal welcome to the

cruising yachties, hosting and sponsoring

“Fiji Regatta Week” and sharing the

resort facilities. Because Fiji lies at the centre of all international trans-Pacific air traffic, it is a great location for family and friends to catch up with itinerent yachtsmen. Add Musket Cove’s ameni ties - like showers, swimming pool, fuel dock, water, moorings, its proximity to Lautoka and Nadi Airport and a well protected anchorage with good holding in about 15 metres - and you have all the ingredients for a successful yacht regatta.

Who won the Musket Cove to Port Vila Yacht Regatta? Everyone! □ ,