Leaving Honiara
Lapita-Voyage
Klaus Hympendahl
Sat 14 Feb 2009 23:58
The German TV crew have packed their cameras, we threw a party in the Ponit
Cruz Yacht Club with expat Tikopian and Anutan communities, ate well in a
fine restaurant one last time and today finally left Honiara. It feels like
the final push, the downhill run to Tikopia and Anuta. The local MP in
Honiara has radio contact with the islands and apparently preparations for
our arrival have already begun. But first we have the little matter of 400
odd sea miles along the northern coasts of Guadalcanal and Makira to Lata in
the Santa Cruz Islands. We need to make this passage before the North East
monsoon winds we've enjoyed thus far turn into the prevailing South East
Trade Winds, that will hit us head on and quadruple the distances we need to
sail. It will be the sailing equivalent of running through treackle.
Keith Dobney is aboard now checking the DNA sampling that we have done
already and helping us gather more data along the next stage. Sampling
continues to be both good fun and a great ice breaker in the villages we
visit. And importantly the data set should be big enough and varied enough
to give Keith and his team further insight into the movement of man and
beast through the South Pacific. The next exciting sampling stop will be the
Three Sisters Islands, that lie off the north coast of Makira Island. I hope
their chickens are ready.