rollicking

Yachting

A rollicking good time

Jim and Sue’s adventure in the South Seas on board Heart of Gold

By Sally Andrew

Heart of Gold is a sleek 30-foot sloop designed by Californian Carl Schumacher and built in the USA by Concordia Custom Yachts. Pursuing interests of racing and long distance cruising, owners Jim and Sue Corenman have raced Heart of Gold to Hawaii (two Pacific Cup’s and one Transpac Race), Mexico and in the South Pacific.

Between races to Hawaii, Jim and Sue cruised the islands which lie ,off the coasts of British Columbia and Alaska. In Canada’s Queen Charlotte archipelago,

they explored long-abandoned Haida

Indian village sites where Indian care takers answered questions as they walked around. Sequestered in gnarled forests and fog and sea, Haida Indians were fantastic woodworkers and carved the faces of bears, beavers, eagles, ravens and killer whales onto great cedar totem poles. They still stand sentinel over these silent settlements.

In 1992, Jim and Sue headed south as competitors in the Long Beach (California) to Cabo San Lucas (Mexico) Race. After spending winter in Mexico, they sailed to the South Pacific - a fast passage in light to moderate trade winds to French Polynesia.

Heart of Gold’s route has taken them through the Cook Islands, Tonga and, through the narrow Oneata passage in the Lau Group, to Fiji. At Suva market, they stocked up with four kilos of kava for sevusevu gifts in the outer isles.

All yachts cruising in Fiji are advised by the Ministry of Fijian Affairs to observe the custom of sevusevu - the tradition al presentation of kava to a village chief. Jim thinks it’s a great idea. “There’s no analogy in Western culture and the interesting thing about sevusevu is that, by making the effort and showing respect for traditional customs, you are instantly accepted into the village.”

Even in the Yasawa Group, with all its resorts and tour boats, Jim and Sue felt welcome. “The villagers here see more people, tourists and yachties alike, and we expected them to be a bit tired of visitors. Surprisingly, this generally was n’t the case at all.”

Sevusevu serves as an introduction to the chief, who designates a young per son to show you around and act as your interpreter and guide. This makes visi tors more comfortable about coming back into the village.

Their plan was to do a grand tour of Fiji in six weeks. Like many other cruisers,

they failed to realise just how big Fiji is - over 300 islands, 100 of them inhabit ed. And they/didn’t expect to make so many friends in the islands that it would be difficult to move on.

Like Jim and Sue, nearly every cruiser has a “favourite village” story in Fiji. It is rarely the same village, but is always the same tale of new-found friendships.

Trying to reciprocate island hospitality is sometimes difficult, but Jim and two other American cruisers (Steve on Tandem Cay and single-hander Mike on Lord Magic) found a way by fixing out board motors and radios, even the vil lage lawn mower. “There’s not much

Heart of Gold: on the rolling high seas

technology in a Fijian village, especially on Kadavu, but what there is can usual ly use fixing. Being able to get some thing going again is an easy way to give something back in return for all of the

hospitality.”

Back in cruise mode, Heart of Gold sailed to Vanuatu’s Tanna Island with a fleet of 10 boats, anxious to see Yasur volcano in action.

“Peering down into a live volcano doesn’t sound like much, but it really was a peek into the center of the earth ...We drove for about a half hour through the jungle, past giant banyan trees, under towering ferns, and finally

up towards the volcano. We could see black clouds rising over the trees, and could hear an occasional rippling ‘boom’ like distant thunder.”

When they peered into the crater, a few smoking vents were scattered on the bottom. “There was a brilliant orange flash from one of the holes, and then a KABOOM, a sound so low in pitch that it couldn’t be heard, just felt, like a kick in the chest, followed by a rippling blast that went on and on as a spray of lava showered hundreds of metres up into the night sky.

“It was quiet again, except for a few ‘wows’ and ‘oh my gods’ and then ...

KABOOOM, another blast, and then another and another as three vents opened up together, and then it was quiet again as the glowing sparks all over the crater slowly faded.

“The pyrotechnics were awesome, bright orange lava thrown into the air, as far above us as the crater floor was below, but to me, it was the acoustics that were the most impressive. It was like being inside a cloud when a clap of thunder goes off, an unimaginable blast of acoustic energy ... every wavelength possible ... that just kept rippling on and 0n...”