Louisiades Prep - Navigation
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Friday Sept 12th 2014
We cleared customs in Townsville Breakwater marina and left at 10am. George’s brother Ken and his crew in their bigger faster cat ‘Resolute’ left a couple of hours later. Not much wind, and too easterly to point to the South Flinders reef, so we motor-sailed with a view to stopping at Holmes Reef.
Leaving Townsville
A small Spanish mackerel
Lunch at sea
Sunset over Hinchinbrook Island, the last sight of Australia.
The wind picked up in the evening and we started our watches under a full moon. All exciting and beautiful.
Saturday Sept 13th
Resolute overtook us in the morning, and were anchored in Holmes Reef by the time we arrived. Just as we arrived I inconveniently hooked a large barracuda. George brilliantly kept us off the bommies until I got it landed after a big fight.
Sunday Sept 14th
We rested up overnight and set off again at 7am for the bigger jump to the Louisiades, four days away. The wind was 25-30 knots and we started with the storm jib and two reefs. Bumpy and sea-sicky. Stugeron helped.
Monday and Tuesday
Something of a blur. Its a long way. It was windy. It was tiring.
A white-bellied storm petrel
Wed Sept 17th
A critical issue with cruising around coral is to negotiate shallows in good light, preferably as close to mid-day as possible, so you can see the bommies, helped by polarised sunglasses and a position up on the cabin roof. We arrived near Gwa, on Rossel Island just before dawn. It seemed prudent to kill some time by sailing down to the western end of the Rossel lagoon and motor sail up through it to Tryon Bay, the main Rossel harbour. Two big Spanish mackerel, one of which we gave to Pastor Sigi. He was recommended to us by Phil Bailey, a missionary who produces one of the better blogs of the Louisiades. http://yachtmaranatha.wordpress.com/. The religious issues on Rossel Island are contentious, as you can read here.
The local kids were very friendly.
Resolute had arrived about 12 hours before us, and were in Gwa. Later on they joined us, with some local girls guiding them to a good anchoring spot.
We had a good time catching up with the Resolute crew and had some fun dinners.
Ken (George’s brother)
Janice (Ken’s wife)
Mike
Prue
George
Here is a YouTube video/slideshow produced by the Resolute team about their trip.
Thursday Sept 18th.
We had an informative talk with Daisy, the wife of the local ‘big man’.
Rossel Island is the eastern-most island of the Louisiades. It gets the least government attention, and also relatively few visits from yachts. It was badly hit by Cyclone Ita in April. The PNG government allocated two new boats to the island, one for the northern areas and the other for the south. Rossel now has PNG Govt representation, the Honorable Titus Philimon, who was visiting as part of the launch festivities. Torrential rain and wind did not dampen the celebration.
Daisy gave us a guided tour in the rain.
Ken talking to the Tryon Bay teacher from the Uniting Church
The exchange rate is about two kina to one Australian dollar.
Pastor Sigi’s wife and tribe.
Skinny ribs and pot-bellies reflect malnutrition after Cyclone Ita trashed their gardens in April.
Friday Sept 19th.
A big advantage in starting with a eastern island like Rossel, and going through the archipelago from east to west is that we had the wind behind us throughout the cruise. We sailed with Resolute down through the huge Rossel lagoon, and crossed over to the main Louisiades lagoon, entering through Snake Passage, which is quite a phenomenon.
A sailau on the way to Nimoa.
We had a nasty reminder of the inaccuracy of charts in the Pacific, when we hit and stuck on some coral just as we were approaching Nimoa Island. A big fright. The charts were about half a mile out! Fortunately we got off easily, and there appeared to be no serious damage when I dived down to check.
Our trampoline was ripped on the crossing, and Ken did a fantastic job repairing it. We were feeling a bit bruised and vulnerable.
Saturday Sept 20th
Dawn on Nimoa Island
Peter, an elder, was reading 'The Count of Monte Cristo'
His wife
This banana boat is replacing the sailaus, when they have fuel....
George, the shoe saleswoman. Tracey Tinga's white joggers go to a good home.
The local policeman, Raphael, came on board, and we started a protracted negotiation to trade an obsidian stone axe.
George trying on a 'bagi', or necklace.
Another sort of 'bagi'
An outrigger canoe, and a 'sailau'.
Bagi-making
Sunday Sept 21st
Another scary moment with our anchor chain entangled round some coral. I dived down with our 'Divemaster' 12 volt compressor and hose and managed to free it.
Then off to Mass! We had heard of the lovely singing, and it was indeed impressive. I recorded some audio of it. Click here.
The Catholic church on Nimoa
Father Tony
After church we checked out the Nimoa Health Centre, and George was asked to do a ward-round and see some of the patients.
'Guardians'. Nursing is done by family members or surrogates called Guardians.
Dr George's ward-round
Nurse describing how she amputated the patient's toe. No anaesthetic available.
It was quite a shocking visit. The two nurses running the show were very brave, and hopelessly under-equipped. Hardly any medication, antibiotics, pain-killers, anaesthetics. No running water. Next best hospital is five hours by sailing canoe to Misima. They handle 200 births a year. A woman in obstructed labour has to endure this trip across choppy seas without pain relief.
The birth rate is huge. One youngish woman, called Mary Magdalene, had eight children in spite of the best efforts of the Catholic family planning clinic and the local herbalist. Clear signs of hunger in some of the children, especially since their gardens were trashed by the cyclone.
Monday Sept 22nd.
A big walk over Nimoa Island hill. We were accompanied by a tribe of charming kids. 'Dim Dim' is the local word for 'white person'.
Dim Dim George and her entourage
Dim Dim George teaching the alphabet
Louis
Louis at the summit
Monday Sept 22nd
We sailed from Nimoa to Hati Lawa harbour.
Tuesday Sept 23rd
There had been much talk of 'The Tournament', a Louisiades-wide soccer cup, to be held at the Hobuk School.
We walked round to see the tournament.
Spectators
One of the Nimoa Island team about to go on
Another
Father of one of the team with his grandson
Laundry station on the walk back to the boat
Wednesday Sept 24th
Yachties
It's been my experience in life that when I push off into some area that is aligned with my passions, but off the beaten track, I bump into like-minded people.
The pattern held true here.
Chris, from 'West Wind', an old Tasmanian wooden boat. He is very experienced.
Gilli, his wife, a German teacher.
Brian, a Tasmanian economist with a 43 foot catamaran. He manages the finances of a Tasmanian eccentric gambling squillionaire with the MOMA modern art gallery in Hobart.
Jono, crew on the cat, senior public servant in the Antarctic Dept.
Pierre, retired judge in Australia and Samoa, with a tattoo to prove it.
Thursday Sept 25th
We motored from Hessassia Bay to Grass Island.
Friday Sept 26th
A pleasant sail from Grass Island to Sabara Island.
Sabara Island, inside some lovely limestone islets.
Sailaus are not just men's work. Rosalind is skipper of this one.
Rosalind
George, the 'big man', not feeling well. In his village on the north side of the island.
Saturday 27th Sept
We visited a different village on Sabara, as guest of James the teacher.
James in his classroom
We traded six painted crayfish today and a sail in a sailau.
Sunday 28th Sept
Sailau sailing (Click this to play in Vimeo)
Sailed from Sabara Island to Robinson's Harbour on Abaga Gaheia Island. Met Rex and Louise on 'Six Pack'.
Monday 29th Sept.
Dinghy ride to Gigila Island. Met an Aussie yachtie called Joe who had helped to build the islanders a school.
Later a dinghy ride with Rex and Louise to Taipwa Islet where we went for a walk with some villagers. George checked out a kid with a rash.
Some of the kids have such dignified faces.
Tues 30th Sept.
We sailed to Blue Lagoon, but it was too inclement to stop, so we went over to Hoba Bay on Pana Numara Island.
Blue Lagoon
Carolyn cooking pipis
Careful of that machete, Eugene!
Jocelyn, the bagi-maker
School at Hoba Bay
Wed Oct 1st
Easy sail through the Wuri Wuri Passage to Misima. Anchored in Bwagoia Harbour and found John Metu, the quarantine officer.
Is that George haggling for betel-nuts in Bwagoia market on Misima Island?
Thurs 2nd Oct
We left Misima in pouring rain and sailed along the coast to Panapompom Island in the the Deboyne Group.
Snorkelling over a Japanese Zero fighter on Nivani Island. The Japanese briefly had a sea-plane base here in 1942.
The anchorage was pretty rolly, so we went round the north-west side of Panapompom Island.
Friday Oct 3rd
Panapompom is an island in the Deboyne Group, outside the main Calvados Chain lagoon, and famous for the boat-building that occurs there and on neighbouring Paniete Island. We were keen to see the carvers and boat-builders in action.
We met Nono and his mates building a couple of sailing canoes on the shore.
Nono the canoe-builder
This shows the carved headboard, called a Tumwitumwi
We negotiated to trade for this one.
Nono teaching his son
Some the stuff we gave them. We felt more sympathetic to people like these who were actually making things, and keeping a traditional craft alive and passing it on. Some islands seemed to be basically hanging around hoping for hand-outs from yachties.
Showing the crowd a video of sailau sailing on an iPad
Elizabeth, Rose and Rita
Proud of his new hat!
Schoolkids
A type of puffer-fish
Fishermen in canoes
Saturday Oct 4th
We left Panapompom and the Deboyne lagoon, and entered the Cormorant Passage into the main Louisiades lagoon, en route for Panasia.
On the way, George was phoned by Amy McDonald of the ABC and they did an interview on Coast FM.
You can hear it here.
Nimrod under the cliffs at Panasia
Monday Oct 6th
Severe wind bullets in the night, and the chain wrapped around a coral head made for an uncomfortable anchorage. One half of the anchor bridle broke. It was hard to get the anchor up.
We sailed off to Bramble Haven, a large lagoon with few people living there, but a good spot to leave from to cross back to Australia.
We caught up with our friends Rex and Louise from the yacht 'Six Pack', and spent three nights there with them, socialising and snorkelling.
Six Pack
Rex
Louise
Cecily from Punawan Island at Bramble Haven
Cecily in her hut making a mat
Louise and George
George snorkelling
A school of giant parrot fish
A feather-star
George and Louise haggled a spin in a sailau in return for a mountain of trading booty we were keen to dispose of.
Sam, the one-armed helmsman. He lost his arm to a shark.
Thursday Oct 9th
Good weather outlook to sail for Cairns. Lets go!
Rex up the mast spotting coral as we leave Bramble Haven.
We caught a 10 kg Trevally as we left the entrance. Then a pretty good sail for the next three days and nights, mostly reaching at 7 - 8 knots.
Sunday 12th October
Tired and happy we pulled into Mission Bay, just outside Cairns. Customs and Quarantine happen best on weekdays, so we got approval to anchor and wait until Monday to check in the Marlin Marina in Cairns for clearance and pratique. They took a while, but all went well.
Good to be back in the world of reliable charts, no begging and post-industrial facilities like phones, email, and the internet!
Confusing to go from one of the poorest places on the planet, to a marina full of super-yachts.
Here is a YouTube video/slideshow by the Resolute team about their trip.
