Final Remarks
South Pacific Familyadventure 2008
Claes Brodin
Sun 25 Oct 2009 05:25
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Time is running out and it´s time to round up.Three
months ago I came to Raiatea,and it feels like an eternity.Months here are like
years at home,and when adapted to this life it attracts any nomad soul.Waking up
in the morning,and your day is an open chapter.
French Polynesia is still by far the most beautiful
of all the South Pacific islandgroups,with the Tuamotos on
top.
Tonga is not that beautiful,allthough nowhere else
in the world are the whales so easily approached.
Fiji is a gem.With it´s high and lush islands in
the east and south,it´s more beautiful than Tonga,and still very remote in these
parts of the country.The Mamanuca and Yasawa islands on the western side of Fiji
on the contrary, are higly exploited.Being Kiwi/Aussie backyard,they are still
attractive with beautiful beaches,enormous coralreefs/good
diving,surfing,restaurants and barbecues.
This years cruising socitey has been struck by a
high amount of accidents.The SSB-radio is the "djungledrum" of
cruisers,spreading rumours fast.Last year we knew of one catamaran that had to
be towed in to the Marquesas having lost his steering.
This year an Irish boat sunk 3 days out from Bora
Bora,the crew being rescued by French Navy.A Kiwi boat under way from Tahiti to
NZ,encountered hard weather and filled his boat that sank.MRCC in Papeete picked
up his Epirbsignal,and a SAR-vessel from Rarotonga was sent out and picked him
up.On one of the atolls of the Cookislands,a rubberdinghy hit a shark.The
shark got angry and took a big bite from the pontoon,circling while the
dinhy was sloly sinking.They were rescued by another boat nearby.A Dutch
singlehander hit a reef in unsurveyed waters in the Laugroup of Fiji.He was
rescued by people from Mel Gibsons private island.Our "own Liza"of the
Scandinavian group overslept when approaching Fiji from NZ,and ended up on a
reef in the southern Mamanucagroup.Liza was rescued without injuries,but the
yacht spent a week on the reef with severe injuries and being robbed.A couple of
days ago an American yacht lost anchorgrip and is now on a reef.Yesterday a
catamaran under way to NZ (with Swedish Niclas Jalgemo onboard)hit a whale,lost
their rigging and engine.They sent out a pan-pan message and are now drifting
120Nm south of Fiji.Fiji navy is involved.Finally and worst of all,the
Tsunami that hit Samoa and Tonga with not only local people,but
also cruisers lost their lives.If all the above is just coincidental,or has
anything to do with more unpredictable weather during El Nino circumstances can
of course not be answered.One must remember though,that around 300 yachts do the
"milkrun" every year.
Onboard Tarita we have had no major equipment
problems this year.When Martin and Thierry came onboard,the Furuno weatherfax
and the Jabsco freshwaterpump both broke within 15 minutes.The pump was replaced
by a Shurflo of same capacity,and the weatherfax will be sent to Furuno here in
Fiji for repair.Except for the ever present chafe on a blue water cruiser,all
major systems have worked well.
The future for Tarita is unknown.It´s 1100Nm to
NZ(7-8 days sailing),and could be an alternative for next year after sailing
Fiji again.Australia is 1300Nm away, and still in the tradewindbelts(New
Caledonia as a nice interim halfway).From Brisbane yachts can be transported to
British Columbia for a reasonable price,and Australia is the place to sell
yachts today(not NZ).Selling the boat on Fiji would be another option(Kiwi yacht
brokers operate here).
If this blog ever opens again,it means we are under
way.Wether this will be the case or not, is written in the stars of the southern
hemisphere..................
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