Pastime of Sydney- 2006 Adventures

Charlie left us today. His 'plane was 45mins late but this is of no account as the International flight is not until tomorrow afternoon. We transferred his 910 photos onto a CD and he kindly bough us a parting meal at the Gizo Hotel. We hope he is going to be okay because he has been having tummy troubles for a number of days. So, we sent him off clutching Lomatil and other such potions. Dr Sandy who joined us for lunch gave him a parting gift of some activated charcoal tablets. Charlie has been an excellent companion and crew member and seems to have enjoyed ebery moment of his time. We are sorry to see him go. His tummy seemed a lot better and despite suggestions that he should get back into food slowly, Charlie had two courses for lunch plus a couple of beers. Best Regards, Dave & Penny

We set out for the Rural Training Collage at Vanga on a fine Monday morning. This was to be a 24hr overnight sail, against the wind. We caught a good Kingfish on the way out although it was yet again mangled by a shark. Still, a number of good feeds were still available. Once we got out into the open ocean, the wind built to 25-30kts, far more than expected. The seas were also big. Yuk! In the end, we abandoned the overnight sail and headed off for Choiseul Island at a very fast clip. The seas were big and really strained the self steering- so much that we broke two steel cables that had been in place for eight years. They had corroded just inside the swages in a spot that was invisible to the naked eye. Next time, I will replace them after 5 years. We were able to replace them with pieces of rope for now. Then dark fell and with it, the compass light failed. This does not sound too grim, but in reality with no starlight or moonlight, it soon became a pest when hand steering. We were headed for Moli, where we have fortunately been before- but never in the pitch darkness. Charlie was on one side of the boat gauging the distance from the crashing breakers (50 metres...45 metres... but 40 metres on the other side). Penny was watching us crawl across the electronic chart. David was steering. The scanning sonar showed "brick walls" 90 metres ahead several times and we had to change course appropriately. It was really hard to gauge our direction with no compass light. Anyway, we made it and anchored with relief. Next day, we set out to tack down the coast of Choiseul. This was successful- even where the fringing reef came in really close as we were able to fit the tacks between gaps in te reefs. Finally, on the third day, we had an excellent sail to Vanga Agricultural College. This impressive place trains 132 boys in motor mechanics, farming, woodwork, building etc. It is a two year course, much sought after and the standards are high. There is also a Teacher Trainig College which turns out teachers for all the RTCs in the Solomons (and sometimes other parts of the Pacific). We rested for a couple of days at Vanga and spent some pleasant time with some Queenslanders who arrived in their trimaran- built by Doug 24 years ago. He last sailed to the Solomons 22 years ago. We had a great old natter. Finally, it was off to Gizo which was a pleasant 15NM sail away. The CREW

We spent a pleasant couple of days at Gaomai and half a day at Harapa. Those of our friends and former workmates will recall the "Gomai Radio" which a number of generous people made possible for this remote village at the top of Shortland Island. The villagers told us that they are now "part of the world"...."feel connected to the rest of the world" etc. No more do they paddle for 12hrs for events that were cancelled days ago. No more do the injured and sick lack medical attention. Supplies can be easily solicited. The Primary School is now connected in a number of ways not previously possible. Examinations are now coordinated for Year 6 and critical school supplies (such as books and chalk) can be obtained easily. The list goes on. The radio is being very well cared for and is looked after as a prized possession. So, thanks again to all those who contributed just over three years ago. Your names are all inscribed on top of the radio. The community put on a dinner to say "thanks" and we had a great time chatting to people. Unfortunately, as is the custom, the women who worked so hard to prepare the food sat outside while the guests and men were inside. Harapa was the next village along as we continued to circumnavigate Alu ("Shortland Island"). This is a Kiribati ("Gilbertese") village. Anchoring was easy but getting ashore difficult because of the extensive reef system. A boy came out in a canoe to guide us in and we anchored the dinghy and then waded a couple of hundred metres over reef. Harapa is exceedingly neat, tidy and clean. In fact, we have spent a bit of time with Doctor Sandy who is here for three months from St Vincents Hospital in Sydney. She had also visited Harapa and was really impressed by the level of hygene. Apparently this has been promoted by the Clinic Nurse who awards a prize for the cleanest and tidiest dwelling (she does this from her own meagre wages). Harapa is also unusual because it is a village of United Church, SDA, Catholic and Ba'Hai AND all the dwellings are mixed in together- no lines of demarcation here. The different faiths worship separately but on big occasions all come together. Harapa has gained the commitment of neighbouring villages to build a COmmunity High School (Called "Alu West") at Harapa. This will be built by working bees from all the villages. They have no money, so it will be built from bush materials with some help from a chain saw. They have gained government approval and two teachers will start next year. Lots of energy and enthusiasm, even if there is no money. These are definitely "glass is half full" people. When we were walking back from the existing primary school and location of the High School, Charlie spotted a white carcass in the stream. "Is that a pig or something similar?". No was the reply- it's a crocodile without its skin. It turns out that a few days before, someone had come down from Bougainville and killed four crocodiles with and axe. He then skinned them and took the skins back to Bougainville. No swimming here...... Unfortunately, we left Harapa very late and made it back to Nila (completing our circumnavigation of Alu) in the dark. On Sunday, there was a big celebration of Charlie's 25 years as a priest. There was a big Mass in the Nila CHurch. There were suitable banners on the walls. The church was decorated with flowers everywhere. There was even incense- something extremely rare except on really big occasions and even rarer in the Solomon ISlands. That night, there was a special dinner with a Silver Jubilee cake. The girls put on a singing and dancing display. The visiting medical team (Dr Sandy and Silverio screening for the eye specialist Dr Painter who is about to visit) also came. Despite the overall loss of about 10Kg each (so far), we all ate a little too well in Nila. This was assisted by the generous gifts of mud crabs, lobsters and reef fish! There would be some opportunities for our ENT friend Peter here; one little girl was deaf because of an insect in one ear and wax buildup in the other. Unfortunately, Dr Sandy did not have the appropriate equipment nor did the clinic. Still, they are working on it with gentle and natural solvents. That's it for now. We have been working out how to get back 85NM straight into the wind so we can have Charlie back in Gizo for his return home (via PNG). The CREW

The fishing has improved markedly. We have caught decent fish (Kingfish and Barracuda) 70% of the times we have put out a lure. We only fish when we need more food. We've also continued to catch a few sharks and sometimes sharks have savaged fish as we haul them in, but unlike last time, the sharks have left us a feed this time. We have seen many more dolphins than in 2002. Indeed, we see dolphins and giant sea turtles nearly every day. One of the most amazing sights has been Stingrays leaping out of the water and sometimes doing a full somersault. We've never seen this before- anywhere. The dolphins are different here. They are rarely interested in the bow wave of the boat. Not sure why- perhaps the ones in Australia (and Hawaii plus other spots) have learned this behavior? Regards, Penny, David & Charlie

The Chief had told us about a shortcut through his lagoon It did not look possible on the chart, but we trusted him. It would cut quite a few miles off our trip. For once, we had a sparkling clear day so seeing the reefs was easy. The wind was balmy so we could comfortably sail, with the engine running in the tricky spots. We had our two passengers on board. Even though it was calm as could be, one of the girls was seasick again. It must have been the fear. The chief proved correct and we did not encounter any nasty reefs or shallows. Within a few hours we were in Nila. We took the girls ashore and delivered them to school. A couple of weeks earlier, an earthquake (very common here) had destroyed their dormitory. Despite that, they found a couple of spare bunks in the makeshift accommodation and promptly went to sleep! Perhaps they had been sleep deprived at Toumoa or the fear plus seasickness took it out of them. Once at Nila, we renewed old friendships as we had been there in 2004 presenting the "Hey Dad" Workshops as well as Penny doing some Marriage Education. A young fellow (11 years) came out in his canoe & was very shy. Then we noted a piece of paper in his hand. It was from his mother, explaining that he was very shy and did not feel confident talking in English. His mother ( a schoolteacher) had suggested he could talk in pidgin and we would understand (true) but he was still too shy. Mum sent out a whole lot of vegetables and fruit from her garden. So, we invited Charles on board and showed him everything about the boat. His English quickly came back and the shyness receded. We went a note back to his mum. We also fixed up with him to take us into the hills of Poporang the following day to see the WWII guns and other war relics. The kids of the area are expert in all these war relics. That afternoon, we went snorkelling on a massive 4 engined Japanese Betty Bomber, sunk only a few hundred metres away. We also snorkelled and dived on a two seater Zero floatplane which was submerged in about 8 metres of water near the local High School. Charlie also snorkelled over the remains of around 11 other 'planes that we had discovered on previous visits. The following day, Charles turned up as agreed. He had dad's long machete (machetes are as common as clothing here). Charles had also brought his 8 year old brother (Jeffrey) and 9 year old cousin (Douglas). Now, in Australia, you would never think of a group of young kids like this taking a group of adults through the jungle to visit war relics. They did a great job and we saw more this time than previously. We saw three of the huge 150mm guns that the British had installed to defend Singapore. After the Japanese effortlessly captured Singapore, they moved four of the guns to the Solomons. There were several anti-aircraft guns, communications trenches, a bus chassis and three mobile radar installations. We photographed Charlie sitting on the Despatch Rider's motorcycle (with sidecar). There is still some rubber on the wheels- 60 years later. The boys were distressed to find that the one radar installation which still rotated (they called it the merry-go-round) had been locked rigid by older boys (no adults come up here, except visitors). Soon they were thumping away with rocks to try and move the pins. So, David came to the rescue and soon thumped the pins from their seats and away went the merry-g--round. Of course, it was Charlie who made the first revolution! Many photos were taken. When it was time to return, the boys asked us if we would like a coconut to drink. Unthinkingly, we said "yes", but then realised they were going to send the 8 year old up the highest coconut tree around! We did not want to be responsible for his death. But, it was too late! With the big machete in his teeth, he climbed the tree which was at least 70feet high. When he got there, he held on with his legs and chopped away at least 18 coconuts. Being the highest, steepest palm around, it had al l the best coconuts. We breathed a big sigh of relief when Jeffrey descended safely to the ground. Then the boys hacked holes in the tops of enough to give us a couple of litres each of coconut milk. They also gave us unopened ones for the boat (which was already bulging with previous gifts of fruit and veges). Regards, The CREW

We have met our namesakes! We had heard that there were twins, named "David and Penny", in Toumoa. We really wanted to meet them and guessing their age at about 2-3yrs, we brought presents of a doll and a plastic truck, which came to pieces. We asked the Chief and he said, yes, there are twins Penny & David who are living in the next village along. He said he would pass a message for them to come along the next day (which coincidentally was William's birthday which he will celebrate this year in Borneo and celebrated in Toumoa in 2002). Well, the twins were presented to us the next day. They are identical GIRL twins! So, David is a girl! Penny surreptitiously removed the name labels from the presents and gave the presents to both girls to share. It turns out they were born on William's birthday, exactly four years previously. Wow! So, William will be pleased to hear that David and Penny were born on his birthday. The CREW

The story of the Toumoa Bell is on our website, but we repeat some of it here because we have just returned after EXACTLY four years. In 2002, we visited the village of Toumoa, in the Fauro Islands. We were the first yacht to visit there in ten years because of the Bougainville Crisis which caused lots of problems for the Solomon Islanders here. This area was occupied by the Japanese during the war. The Allies bombed Toumoa and destroyed all the dwellings and gardens. The villagers were enslaved and made to work with the little ones attending Japanese school. In 2003, we set about trying to obtain a village bell for them. This proved remarkably difficult as bells are not easy to come by. Then Mike DeBurca of the CCCA came to the rescue and was able to get some friends in the marine industry to cast one. CCCA members pitched in with a big raffle and other fund raising to pay for the materials. The people who made the bell donated their time. John Pennefather (then Commodore) used his connections and had the bell flown by the RAAF to Townsville. There it joined the Manoora, the first troopship to leave with a peacekeeping force destined for Honiara on Guadalcanal. Coincidentally, our son was on the same ship! A couple of months later, the minesweeper, Hawkesbury picked up the bell and delivered it to the village- much to their amazement. The bell is mounted proudly in the village meeting place which is run by the chief. It is used to signal work start, stop, meetings and all manner of timekeeping in the village. They are in the process of building a church up on a hill behind the village and when this is finished in a couple more years, plan to move the bell to their church. They have already (temporarily) taken it up the hill to make sure that everyone can hear it, even when the Tradewinds blow. The village is going well, though poor. The only income is from catching fish, drying it and taking to Bougainville to sell further inland. Regards, The CREW

We left Sirovanga for Choiseul's Provincial Capital of Taro. You will recall we had called there to drop off our taxi passengers. Because we picked the right tide, we again had the current with us and a good trip to Taro. David got up early the next morning to buy some locally baked buns and bananas from the small market. We weighed anchor under sail and started off for Toumoa (pronounced "Toom-wa". We'd only sailed a few hundred metres when someone came out in a canoe to ask us if we would take a boy to the Vocational Training School at Nila, in the Shortland Islands. Now this was a little mysterious because the training school is for girls who learn sewing, cooking, maintaining market gardens, craft etc. Still, having become the "Pastime water taxi", we said "yes" and sailed back. We did explain we were going via the village of Toumoa but this did not seem to be an issue. Out came an 18 year old girl who had been waiting three weeks to get there! Bad weather had prevented transport across the notorious stretch of water which if full of shallow reefs and adverse currents. The big swells come rolling in from the South Pacific. We had settled Jane-Mary and explained that yachts can lean over a lot but not to be frightened. Of course, she was frightened despite our reassurances. Then, just as we were reaching the reef entrance to the open sea, another motorised canoe rushed up with ANOTHER girl! The driver explained that Jane-Mary was his son and this other girl also needed to get to the school. Could we take Maria as well? Yes, of course! The local language does not have the concept of male and female, which is why the people when using English referred to the girls as "boy" and "son". Well. we were soon underway and true to form, the wind blew right up with big seas. The passage was VERY rough and the girls became more frightened and seasick. Still, they were very brave and hugged each other. We caught a Kingfish which was savaged by a shark as we pulled it in; there was enough left for a few nights of food, so that was good. It probably did not do the girls' stomachs much good watching it being cut up. Possibly the visible evidence of sharks was also discouraging. We had to pull down the mainsail as there was way too much wind. Unfortunately, this increased the rocking motion quite a bit. Eventually, we reached the reef surrounding the Toumoa lagoon and gained respite from the waves. The girls perked up considerably. We sailed past the village and many people came down to the beach to wave and even waded out. We needed to anchor about a kilometre away as that was the closest safe place to anchor. Where we stopped, there was a man fishing and quite a few picaninnies who had run down from the village. These were probably some of the 10 year olds who in 2002 were on the beach for hours calling out "big white bird coming". No children under 10yrs had ever seen a yacht because of the Bougainville crisis. In fact, we discovered later that no other yacht had been since our 2002 visit. With the girls' help, we explained to the fisherman (who had rolled up his line) that they needed to be accommodated for three days/nights & that we knew Chief Chris Muli. The fisherman led us off through the jungle path to the village. We expected him to take us to the Chief's house, but no, he took us straight to his house and said he and his family would care for the girls for the duration, until we were ready to leave for Nila. What a kind act- typical of what happens here all the time. Would it happen in Sydney? No, rather unlikely! Another man took us off in search of the Chief, and we had a great chat. Maria (his wife) had been in their garden, high up on the hill, and saw us coming. She thought it was us, but told here husband that she was puzzled that there were three adults PLUS two Solomon Islanders. Mischievously, she had suggested to Chris that it probably was us and that we had undoubtedly abducted the two girls! Anyway, we had a great time and "Willie Mechanical", one of the villagers, was entrusted to take us around the village as Charlie has not been here before. It was great to see the "Toumoa Bell", donated by the CCCA (Coastal Cruising Club of Australia) mounted in a corner of the meeting house. More on that in the next BLOG. The CREW

In the Solomons (much like Vanuatu), the whole place is 99% Christian. Most of the time, a single village is just one religion with 99% of the villagers belonging. In the Solomons, there are United Church, Church of Melanesia (Anglican), Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) and a few smaller religions. We have been to villages of all these denominations (plus a couple more)! We have been to a small number of villages which are multi-faith. Usually, such villages have a "line" down the middle with (for example) one part being SDA and the other part United. Despite the separation of living space, the people still freely mix except for Church services (which will sometimes be daily). Many villages have a daily church service with wonderful singing and then a bigger celebration on Sunday (or Saturday for SDA). Many times we have enjoyed beautiful singing wafting across the water in the evenings. Most schools here are run by the Government, though they are trying to get the churches to take them back (they were originally started by the churches). As the government is doing this to try and save money, the plan is unlikely to be acceptable to the churches. Often, children walk or paddle an hour and a half to and from Primary School. Sometimes, they are billetted by families as the distances are too great. We have often been in villages where school is abandoned for a week because (a) the teacher is very sick or (b) high seas make travel dangerous or (c) high winds mean there is a high risk of being injured by falling coconuts. High school is beyond the financial capability of many families. Because there are fewer High Schools, the children invariably board. We have worked out that a subsistance family needs to sell thousands of pineapples or banana bunches a year to support a child at school. When they finish school, the prospects of a job are remote. Despite this, the people crave a good education for the children and sacrifice the little they have to make it happen. There has been a big improvement in clinics in the 10yrs we have been coming here. The improvement is due to more aid money (much of it from AUSAID with some from Japan). Now that RAMSI (The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon ISlands) has stabilised the government somewhat, medicines are a little more available. Many clinics have been built out of bush materials by villagers. Many villagers help their clinics with free labour and other donations. Despite the clinics, many people die young. For instance, only a few very fortunate people get airlifted or taken by canoe to a hospital for serious illness or disease. Just last week, we were at a clinic where a mother with Malaria delivered a baby which also was prem. and had malaria. The clinic had requested small catheter needles (I think that's the right word) but they never arrived. So the poor staff had to try and get a drip into the baby using a full size needle. The baby died on the fourth da y. The previous week, a woman died of cerebral malaria (malaria is bad in a number of parts of the Solomons). After this educational BLOG, we'll return to our travels through the Western Province. The CREW

Extract from email to member of Coastal Cruising Club (CCC): Last week, we were at about 6.5 Deg latitude which is North East of the bottom part of Bougainville. In 2002, we visited the village of Toumoa, in the Fauro Islands. We were the first yacht to visit there in ten years because of the Bougainville Crisis which caused lots of problems for the Solomon Islanders here. This area was occupied by the Japanese during the war. The Allies bombed Toumoa and destroyed all the dwellings and gardens. The villagers were enslaved and made to work with the little ones attending Japanese school. In 2003, we set about trying to obtain a village bell for them. This proved remarkably difficult as bells are not easy to come by. Then Mike DeBurca came to the rescue and was able to get some friends in the marine industry to cast one. CCCA members pitched in with a big raffle and other fund raising to pay for the materials. The people who made the bell donated their time. John Pennefather (then Commodore of the CCC) used his connections and had the bell flown by the RAAF to Townsville. There it joined the Manoora, the first troopship to leave with a peacekeeping force destined for Honiara on Guadalcanal. Coincidentally, our son was on the same ship! A couple of months later, the minesweeper, Hawkesbury picked up the bell and delivered it to the village- much to their amazement. We have just visited Toumoa and found that no other yachts have visited in the four years since we were last here. The bell is mounted proudly in the village meeting place which is run by the chief. It is used to signal work start, stop, meetings and all manner of timekeeping in the village. They are in the process of building a church up on a hill behind the village and when this is finished in a few years, plan to move the bell to their church. They have already (temporarily) taken it up the hill to make sure that everyone can hear it, even when the Tradewinds blow. When we sailed into the lagoon, past the village, there were many people waving and calling from the beach. We had to anchor about a kilometre away from the village. Onboard were two 18 year old Solomon Islander girls; we were giving them a lift as they had been waiting for three weeks for transportation back to the training school on another island. We went ashore and were joined by a fisherman and dozens of kids from the village. We formed a long procession, marching towards the village, with increasing numbers of children. We had 60 or more by the time we got there! The fisherman had stopped what he was doing and kindly took the girls to his home, where his family and other villages took care of them until we were ready to sail again three days later. What great generosity! The village is going well, though poor. The only income is from catching fish, drying it and taking to Bougainville to sell further inland. That's all for now- we will be starting to head towards Australia in 4-6 weeks. So far, we've travelled 3,300NM. All the best, David & Penny, Pastime of Sydney

We had a good run to Moli, with strong winds but no squalls. It started to really pour with rain when we were about an hour out. All land (and reefs) disappeared in the whiteout so we were pleased to have the GPS and scanning sonar as there were many (charted) reefs in the area. Moli is about 100acres in size and separated from Choiseul by a 75metre channel. The tide runs at up to 3kts in this channel. The island is owned by the Catholic Mission here and has a Church, dwellings, sports ground (rougher than anything you will find in Australia!) and places for training and meetings. We ran some of the "Hey Dad" training here in 2004 and really enjoyed meeting locals and people from villages all around Choiseul. While we were at Moli, the wind howled for many days and we had torrential rain. The rain was so heavy that we pumped dry one of our 200L water tanks and then refilled in with fresh rainwater in a matter of hours. The rubber ducky (aka "washing machine") filled with enough water to do all our clothing. Of course, drying it was a bit of a problem, solved when the rain eased off and the howling wind blew the water out of the clothes. The locals kept asking us if this was a cyclone and seemed surprised when we said it wasn't even a gale. While at Moli, we celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. Charlie said a private Mass for us and also cooked a gourmet meal in the evening. Thanks Charlie! While at Moli, David drafted a paper on correct use of solar panels in the Solomon Islands and did some practical training in battery maintenance. The locals were celebrating St Dominic's Day (they are Dominicans) and they kindly invited us to the feasting and celebrations. We walked around to the windward side of the island and marvelled at the big seas and howling winds. We wanted to sail up to the top of Choiseul and part way down the other side to Sirovanga. No motorised canoes were leaving or arriving. In the end, we decided to leave. After all, the winds and the seas were not too big for Pastime, which has endured worse. We planned to set off on Tuesday 8th August for Sirovanga (a place we have not previously visited). The Sisters from Moli asked if we could take them to Taro, the Provincial Capital, which is located at the top of the Island. We agreed to do this once we ascertained that a yacht should be able to get in. So, we ended up with four extra passengers- two for Taro and two for Sirovanga. Unfortunately, it was a little rough getting to Taro. On the good-news front, we had 2.5kts of current with us, so we sped along and were soon inside the reef leading to the small island of Taro. No-one can work out why they put a Provincial Capital in this spot (it is from the British Colonial days). Anyway, we were delighted to find an easy anchorage off the main part of Taro. There had been nothing in the cruising guide and the US Sailing Directions urged "Caution and Local Knowledge". We must have been the first yacht there for quite a time because there was a really big crowd on the jetty. We anchored with 32kt winds but the waves were okay because of the protecting reef. It took a while, but the two sisters were taken off by aluminium canoe (landing the rubber ducky at Taro was a no-no at low tide because of coral reef everywhere on shore). One of them had been quite seasick and was pleased to reach terra-firma. We set off again for Sirovanga. Amazingly, we had the same strong current down the other side of the island! Quite remarkable to score twice with current in completely different directions. The seas were rough at the start and we were pleased we were running downwind/ A while later, we had the protection of Choiseul and raced along in strong winds and no swell/sea. Sirovanga is not mentioned in the cruising guides but one of the sisters came from the village, so we had local knowledge on board. We found the excellent reef entrance and very deep access to a really good anchorage in mud, near the mouth of a river. Okay Charlie- there are no crocodiles in this one so swimming is okay! The people had seen us coming and George, a local boat driver, was sitting inside the reef to make sure we got to the anchorage okay. He also took off the two sisters. The only thing wrong with Sirovanga was the difficult dinghy anchorage. This was a long "jetty" laboriously built out of coral chunks, piled up over many years. We would throw out a dinghy anchor 10 metres from the coral rocks, then wade to the rocks with the dinghy painter. This kept the dinghy anchored in deep water but still accessible. While at Sirovanga, David saw a big (over 1 metre) Kingfish leap 10 metres into the air! It was chasing a smaller fish, which only got about 3 metres up. The Kingfish was airborne for seconds. Casting a lure around the same spot failed to catch anything. Fr. Simon who lives at Sirovanga has a house 150 steps up the side of a steep cliff. The views are absolutely fantastic- across the lagoon, the reef and then the ocean. Due North, there is no land until you hit Siberia! Simon has a keen interest in the local mariners; he keeps the beacons in the lagoon (a government responsibility) in good order and has a beacon light on his house for those navigating in the dark. It is the only working navigation light we have found anywhere in the Solomon Islands ou tside of Honiara. The local people have been building the church (also in a spectacular location) over the past few years. They have carried the timber, cement, coral and other materials up those 150 steps. Quite a feat. The sisters live nearby, but their house has been devoured by white ants and is being rebuilt. The local clinic is falling down around their ears (white ants and the environment) but handles an amazing 1,000 cases per month. When we arrived, the clinic had lost it's fiberglass canoe which apparently drifted away in the very strong winds (which also brought down huge trees in the vicinity). We hope they find their canoe, but this seems very unlikely as the next land in the prevailing downwind direction is New Ireland in PNG. Perhaps someone will have a windfall canoe wash up on their beach? Fortunately, the clinic outboard was not on the boat when it blew away. However, it is going to be very difficult for the medical staff to get to other villages or evacuate urgent cases. The water was murky in the lagoon because of heavy rain and the river, so again we caught no fish (but still had some left). We were pleased and surprised to find a small community-run store owned by the local people. We were big spenders on some Solomon tinned tuna (just in case the Kingfish runs out...), dry biscuits, baking powder, a fishing lure and other bits and pieces. On our final day, Simon and the Sisters kindly had a farewell lunch for us and loaded us up with giant paw-paws and vegetables to keep us alive on the boat. The timing was excellent as we hoped for current with us again and planned to overnight in Taro before heading off to the village of Toumoa (home of the Toumoa Bell). We had an excellent run around to Taro and were able to buy buns and some more bananas at the Market on Taro the next morning. Well, Toumoa- getting there and being there- will be the subject of another blow. We are now at about 3,200NM (getting towards 6,000Km) since we left Sydney. The CREW

We left for the Nggossele Passage in misty rain and with a rising tide. We only had 2.5kts of current with us this time, so the adrenaline rush was much smaller. We also somehow missed the reef in the middle of the channel (perhaps the higher tide was covering it). Anyway, we were through almost before we realised it and on our way up the West Coast of Choiseul Island. Choiseul, extends further North than Bougainville and is about 180Km long. Last time, when we came down Choiseul in the reverse direction, we lost several lures to some VERY large sharks. Any shark that can break a 300lb breaking strain line (as if it were cotton) is a large shark indeed! This time, we caught one shark (released) and two Kingfish, one of which escaped by breaking off one set of hooks from our lure. This is the same lure we have had for the whole trip and it is becoming quite battered and covered in tooth marks. We sailed mainly due to the frequent squalls that drifted past every half hour or so. The wind direction and strength changed constantly and really kept us on our toes. We over-nighted in the well protected Luti Bay, about 45NM from our starting point. It was not long before we were surrounded by nine canoes filled with piccaninnies. We gave them balloons. One cute boy insisted on giving us all his Ngali nuts and would not take "no" for an answer when we indicated one each would be fine. This is a United Church area and it was not long before beautiful singing wafted to us from one of the nearby villages. A couple of the locals told us this was an evening service but that those out fishing & talking with us did not find it very interesting. We learned that there was a resident crocodile, so Charlie decided to forgo his afternoon swim. As in some other bays, we were treated to Dolphins and a Kingfish leaping many metres into the air. Next day, we pressed on to the island of Moli. The CREW

We left Wagina in gentle, warm weather. We travelled through spectacular scenery (small islands and reefs) to arrive at a beautiful bay called "Bonsai Bay". There were no people living there and we had no visitors. The beach was gorgeous sand with only our footprints on it. David lost three lures trolling around the reefs in the rubber ducky and caught no fish. So, it was back to our standby meal of more giant clams. These were in abundance, though we left the really big ones that weighed a couple of hundred kilos and were about a metre across. Indeed, we decided that clams are "okay" but not as good as Kingfish. Plus, they take years (60yrs for a big one) to grow so it is a pity to gather them. The local people in this area are Seventh Day Adventists who do not eat shellfish- so the only predators are us! The snorkelling was excellent in Bonsai Bay. After a day and a half in the beautiful Bonsai Bay we then moved to Laina Bay, which is at the head of Nggossele Passage- one of our favourites. Fortunately, we caught a Kingfish along the way. The passage is about 10 miles long, quite narrow (down to 70metres) and separates Choiseul and Rob Roy Islands. Last time we came down it, we had up to 6knots of current with us. At one point, we rounded a bend to find a reef right in the middle of the channel/bend! This time, we needed to await the correct tide for a passage in the reverse direction. We anchored in a delightful spot and then made contact with the locals. We met Chief Willie and various relatives. The Chief is the Paramount chief of the area (so other village chiefs "report" to him). Willie is quite elderly and has numerous grandchildren and quite a few great grand children (one of whom visited us with his father). We learned from his son-in law that the previous week, Willie had floated all the way down the Nggossele Passage (without his canoe)! Many concerned people (in canoes) tried to rescue him, but were waved away. It will be impressive if we can manage such a feat when we have great grandchildren. We mentioned to Willie that we were out of vegetables and fruit and he said we would be looked after. Later he returned with some drinking coconuts and we were able to fix him up with reading glasses (we brought a considerable stock of reading glasses and they have gone to many worthy causes). Charlie and Dave went snorkelling on a nearby island. When they returned, Penny had lots of interesting information about the goings-on in the region and had started to amass vegetables and fruit. Indeed, within another hour, we had large quantities of fruit and vegetables. We have done so well for food on this voyage. We have also been more adventurous than last time, and thus had a greater variety. The Solomons Aelens Kuk Buk helps a lot. We'll leave the Nggossele Passage for another Blog...... The CREW

We have been so busy having fun that there has been little time for BLOG updates! We spent a couple of weeks in the greater Gizo area, mainly to visit with our friend Bishop Bernard who was about to depart to Australia for further cancer treatment..

We spent several nights at Kongulavata Bay where we snorkelled over the wreck of the Toa Maru. Bernadette, David & Will dived on this wreck in 2002 and swam through the holds as the ship is lying on its side. This time we did not go down 41metres but still had an excellent view of the side of the ship.

Sagheraghi was just as beautiful as previously and it was even better being there by boat this time. There were a few anxious moments getting through some uncharted reefs & again the scanning sonar was a huge help. We bought Tuna in the market before leaving as the fishing has been poorer than previously. On the way, we caught a Kingfish that was just over a metre long. We gave it away to Rose, wife of the former chief who died of asthma in 2004. We had met him in 1996 when we took our epic, exhausting walk.

Rose and her boys were very kind to us and we had an excellent time snorkelling and swimming in the lagoon. Swims were frequent as the temperature was 34deg each day. Even the lagoon was 28.6degrees. Rose looked very fit as she sweeps the beach most mornings, works in the garden every second day and paddles 1.5hrs each way to the Gizo market three days a week. On market days, she leaves at 3.00AM and returns in the dark.

We spent a pleasant day at Olasanna Island with Bishop Bernard plus friends, helpers and volunteers. We were pelted with rain on the return but the 25kt winds meant a brisk sail!

After Gizo, we commenced a trek around the large Western Province. This will take us about five weeks. We overnighted at Ringgi Cove, a Forestry Settlement on Kolambangara Island & then proceeded to the beautiful Vona Vona (pronounced "Wana Wana") Lagoon. There, we rested, snorkelled, fished and had a couple of excellent meals at a nearby resort.

We spent a half day at the Kiribati village of Canaan visiting friends. Then it was off to Bat Harbour on Kolambangara Island to visit our friends Ellen and Solomon Ngana. We were disappointed to find they have moved to Ringgi Cove where Solomon now has a job with the logging company.

We did manage to speak with Ellen who was there briefly to pick up produce from her garden, which is now sadly being overgrown by jungle. They are extremely hard working people who were always quite poor financially, so we hope this change will assist them. Ellen owns the land so they might return to Bat Harbour eventually. We were assured that the crocodiles have departed Bat Harbour, so Charlie got his swimming done.

From Bat Harbour, we moved up the coast of Kolambangara to Poitete Bay, which has a small logging facility. The snorkelling there was absolutely first class and David managed to hook a Kingfish for dinner while trolling the Bay in the rain.

From Poitete, we travelled to Wagina Island which is at the bottom end of Choiseul Island. We are now at latitude 7degrees, so are getting closer to the equator. On the way, we had strong wind/rain squalls, saw a pod of whales close by and giant sea turtles. The wind strengthened and was from the wrong (and unforecast direction) so we had to tack most of the way. Indeed, we got through a gap in a reef after sunset and were soon engulfed in total blackness, with zero visibility.

We were fortunate in finding a shallow & protected patch to anchor. Next morning we did the last few miles and anchored in a magic lagoon with barely enough room for one yacht (us!) There, we collected giant clams for dinner (a new taste sensation) and Penny did a load of washing ashore where there is a village fishing co-op with large rainwater tanks which the villagers said we could use.

On Sunday, Charlie said Mass in the large Kiribati Church at Wagina. The singing was fantastic, with tremendous music from Pan Pipes of all shapes and sizes.

Even though the fishing has been poor (perhaps because of the weather), we have collected enough calamari for a couple of meals and picked up a few fish from time to time. Perhaps the fishing will improve further from the larger population areas.

The Crew