Changes, Tradewinds Rally

Part of The Underway Gourmet by Suzy O'Keefe

from the Changes in Latitudes section, Latitude 38, December 1996

Malmac
Suzy O'Keefe
The Tradewinds Rally
(Southern California)

Most of the Tradewinds fleet stopped at Vanuatu - where the native culture remains strong.

...More on the Tradewinds Rally. So much has happened since I reported last from Fiji in June. Noumea, New Caledonia was the next stop for my ride, the British Moody 42 Sault-Itaire of Wight. Strong currents at Havana Pass and reefs greeted us in the late afternoon after a splendid 4 and 1/2 day sail from Fiji. Only three other "Tradewinders" joined us in New Caledonia. One went directly to Darwin, but all the rest'did'Vanuatu instead. The folks who went to Vanuatu said the diving alone was enough to make the trip worthwhile, but the active volcanos were the real thrill.

I'm envious because New Caledonia was rainy and dreary almost the entire time we were there. Although such conditions were not conducive to diving or sightseeing, the landscape was nevertheless spectacular. There were huge pine trees that look like gigantic versions of the ornamentals you buy in a nursery. These are interspersed with the palms and other tropical vegetation, all growing from the rich, RED soil. New Caledonia hardly resembles the other French islands in the Pacific. They even have their own coins with "Nouvelle Caledonia" stamped on the face. Surprisingly (to me anyway) there are lots of expensive Mercedes on the roads and plenty of fancy French restaurants in the city of Noumea. Everything else, however, is reasonably priced and readily available. A local Ford dealer even had a little part we'd been trying to find for the Thornycroft diesel.

The yacht club has refreshing draft beer at a decent price. They also have a pool table, but there isn't much else going on. We were berthed in Noumea's other bay in the Port Moselle Marina - right in the heart of Noumea for the Bastille Day celebrations!

Local cruisers told us that the weather patterns between New Caledonia and Australia occur in 10 day cycles. You can start in either calm conditions or rough seas, and you'll be sure to get just the opposite before you finish the trip. Saull-Itaire motored for the first seven days of our 12 day trip, and ended up changing our landfall more times than I can count. We finally got plenty of wind and decided to make for Cairns.

It was about 0500 when we tied up at the Cairns quarantine dock. The first thing that impressed us was the sound of the birds; there were so many of them and they made such unique sounds that it was mesmerizing. But we truly knew we'd arrived at a strange and wonderful land when the first bloke said, "Good 'ay Mate". They really do talk like that, you know!

Here are some other terms: Junkies = junk mail. Affy = Afternoon. Brecky = Breakfast. In fact, just take any word, shorten it, and add a 'y', and you'll be speaking Aussie. Some others expressions of interest: Variable spanner = Crescent wrench. Flat white = Coffee with milk. Ab jumping = Repelling down a rock face. The list goes on. I'm thinking about doing an Aussie/Brit/Yank dictionary.

Cairns is a fairly big city with lots of nightlife, so a car is needed to appreciate it all.

The marina at Yorkey's Knob, which is owned and operated by the yacht club, was the Rally's base of operations while in Cairns. They've got a bar, bistro and gaming room, and let me tell you, we got the royal treatment. You'll very likely get the same treatment if you stop by. The staff and club members are just super.

Cairns has another great yacht club on the other side of town, the "Cairns Cruising Yacht Squadron". They operate their own marina with boatyard, bar and restaurant. Many of the Tradewinds fleet hauled out while there, and to my knowledge all were quite satisfied.

I changed boats - or shall I say "moved up" - because I became the third crew aboard Malmac, a Moody Grenadier 44 ketch with an experimental downwind rig that the skipper designed. He (the skipper) is Dr. Malcolm McLaren, who is also the Fleet Commodore and Rally Organizer. The other crewmember is Chris Hewins, a veteran of the '94-'95 "Europa Around-the-World-Rally". Malmac had come up shorthanded in Cairns, but had long-term crew flying into Darwin. I was happy to join the boat even for a short time. We had a great passage to Darwin, also stopping at Port Douglas, Cape Flattery, the Flinders Group, Morris Island, Margaret Bay, Escape River, Possession Island, and Gove (noted mining operation in the heart of Aboriginal land).

For anyone expecting to do this leg, expect strong southeast trades between 20 and 35 knots. The "passes" are sometimes narrow and are often busy with large shipping traffic, but these narrows all well marked and everyone is happy to speak with you on the radio. After Gove, the "Gugari Rip", otherwise known as the Hole In The Wall, awaited us. The strong current can propel the average sailboat through at a speed of as much as 16 knots. One of the rally boats chose to go through that fast, but we followed the advice of the folks at the Gove YC and transited at a more sane pace. You'll find Gugari Rip to be another one of those places where boat names are painted on the "walls", rock walls that is! Obviously, there's no stopping inside so once transited, crew hike back and add their record of passage. Though technically graffiti, they almost fall into the same category as cave paintings with some dating back over 100 years.

Once in Darwin, we "parked" at the Cullen Bay Marina. It's on the inside of a lock because of the 18-foot tides! This marina is NOT run by a yacht club, and the difference was enormous. The office personnel and the lock masters were great, but the marina itself didn't even have a laundry. If you're willing to anchor out, the folks at the Darwin Sailing Club and the Diana Beach YC may be a better bet. They will treat you well. Both have excellent facilities. Anchoring out, of course, means you have to either live by the tremendous tides or be prepared to carry your dinghy over great distances of rock and coral.

Darwin, I discovered, might just be the backpacking capital of the world. Darwin is small town in many respects, and not at all like the 'big city' of Cairns. According to some locals, the "N.T." in Northern Territories stands for "Not Today and Not Tomorrow". Those used to the maņana lifestyle of Mexico will be well prepared.

You've probably noticed that we've come all the way from Cairns to Darwin and I haven't once mentioned snorkeling or diving. Sharks and crocodiles kept lots of folks out of the water, and the fleet was cautioned that most of the anchorages along the way are rolley. Not much time was alloted for watersports, thus the emphasis on land excursions during the two to four week stops.

While in Darwin, I had some serious decisions to make. Either I continue on with the rally to Indonesia or fly back to the States to meet some of the fellows who responded to my ad in Latitude 38. My mind was made up for me by the man who offered me a round trip ticket if he turned out NOT to be Mr. Boatright... so here I am in California with a ticket back to Phuket in December! I regret missing this leg of the rally through Indonesia, but I know that I can return to Phuket in December if I choose. And a hard choice it is.

As I mentioned before, the rally isn't cruising, but it is something very special. I've gained 150 new friends - good friends - with that bunch of folks. I enjoyed my time aboard Malmac the most of all. Malcolm had a dream to sail around the world, and he is helping make it happen for a lot of other folks, too. There's been talk of making the Tradewinds Rally an annual event so that people can stop off for a season somewhere they really like and rejoin the Rally when the next fleet comes through the following year. The Australian yacht Bagheera joined the Tradewinds Rally in Cairns with the intention of cruising in the Med for a while. Hopefully a "next rally" will bring them the rest of the way around and back home. Since this is the first Tradewinds Rally, we'll just have to wait and see.

So, maybe there will be another Tradewinds Rally update from me, or maybe I'll be up to my old tricks in Mexico, or maybe none of the above. A good friend of mine says "Cruising is a lifestyle while sailing is only an activity." I'd rather be cruising, but if I can't do that, I'll be sailing.

Photo Spread: Suzy O'Keefe flaming the fires on a beach in Darwin. Inset: An uninhabited coral island. There's lot of space out here.
suzy 10-3-96