10:56.87S 152:42.33E

Swanky coming through the pass                      Olly checking the anchor

Reef colours from the top of the mast

Local dugout sail canoe coming in through pass, Swanky anchored in background

Six people on this tiny canoe coming in from the open sea to take their smoked fish to market in the main island, this is just a stopping off point.  It had taken them all day to come from Motorina, it had only taken us 3 hours!

Sadly, they left too early the following day in just before a storm and had their sails ripped to shreds.  They had to paddle back to the island they had come from, without being able to sell their fish to even help them buy a new sail!

Jimmy the island owner, enjoyed the muffins we offered, he told us the other Australian sailors who call in call him Jimmy the cake man, as he’s always given cakes!

Inside the Kamatal lagoon ‘yacht club’ with Jimmy, who had it built with money from the visiting yachts who come in a ‘Louisiades Rally’group on an annual basis.  The shelves behind are for ‘book swaps’ and other momentoes. 

Jimmy’s daughter has married a ‘black skin’ man, with whom she has three children, so they are racist amongst themselves, some from African descent, others Indonesian.

The well close to the houses offers a rather greenish, brakish water for them to use for washing.  Rain water is caught for drinking, as well as drinking nuts.

About three large red throated emperors were under our boat waiting for anything we threw over the side, such as chicken carcass etc.  However, as soon as we put some chicken skin on a hook and line, they refused to take it – no wonder they were so large, smart fish!

We had a couple of these fish caught for us outside the reef by the German couple aboard Antje, very bloody fish, but absolutely fine once the finer meat is filleted out for eating.

The outside reef area of Kamatal lagoon at low water, offered a good opportunity to walk round the island, and observe just a few interesting animals:

Like this sea slug, now protected due to overfishing in PNG, as they have been using this animal as their man income to sell to the Chinese.  They have almost vanished from the sea bed now, and are under serious threat of extinction, not having had time to breed/

Ollie is amazed at the size of the ancient shells of scallops.  These are also eaten practically to extinction, although we have seen smaller ones around whilst snorkelling.

The sailing canoe with outrigger

The carving on the front of the canoe represents the spirit from the tree cut to build it, which becomes a team with the owner of the canoe. To keep him safe whilst at sea.