Conundrum
At noon yesterday we were buzzed by an Italian navy helicopter, then circled at dusk by a Libyan coast guard patrol boat. After the outpouring of refugee rafts from Libya a fortnight ago…
At noon yesterday we were buzzed by an Italian navy helicopter, then circled at dusk by a Libyan coast guard patrol boat. After the outpouring of refugee rafts from Libya a fortnight ago…
In one 2 day period last month 7,000 people were rescued off the Libyan coast. According to the UNHCR, some 98,000 refugees crossed the Mediterranean in the first 6 months of 2017, most of them…
With easing northerly winds we left Tunisia for the 10 hour trip back to the rescue zone. It is unlikely that boats will be setting off from Libya for another day or two because…
With 25 kt northerlies, forecast increasing to 30 kts, there will be no refugee boats departing Libya in the next 3 days. Golfo Azzurro and the German rescue boat See Fuchs have taken shelter in…
We were at the rescue zone off the Libyan coast, where we understand that some 8,000 refugees were plucked from their little boats in the last 2 days. How appalling is that. It is said…
We are 14 hours from the rescue zone off the Libyan coast, where we understand that some 8,000 refugees have been plucked from their little boats in the last 2 days. How appalling is that.…
Our big CAT diesel has fired up and we depart as soon as spare lube oil is shipped on board. Yesterday I took a last minute visit to the local hospital to scrounge some more…
It is chaotic here in Barcelona tonight – fireworks and street dancing in celebration of summer solstice. I have had a busy day visiting Montserrat, trying to come to terms with Peninsular Wars, Benedictine monasteries,…
Oh, and there’s a minor birthday postscript – as an added celebration of this new decade of mine, I have just put down a deposit on a new yacht! She is a pretty a little…
Halfway between Noumea and Brisbane last year, my wonderful crew Ian and Jochen brought out a bottle of fine wine to celebrate my 70th birthday in Tainui. 2 months later, when I mentioned this celebration back…
Here I am in Moscow, yet again miles from the sea! Last time here it was -26 deg C, but now the days are long, sunny and warm. Fur coats are stashed and bling things strut,…
Like pinta, bejel and syphilis, the culprit is a spirochaete. Those ulcers are caused by treponema pertenue and the disease – yaws – is most common in younger children in tropical countries. Unlike syphilis, spread…
This one is for doctors only A couple of weeks ago at a remote coastal village I saw a sprightly 6 year old lad. His mother gave a 3 week history of mildly tender ulcers…
…I didn’t think I’d ever write that. It feels strange and more than a little unpleasant. But that’s my burden. Such rich memories. As Fitzgerald said, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back…
We cast off mid–morning for our month-long islands circuit. A warm, windless sea. Departure delayed by my first patient – a local bloke with a chronic problem – huge, translucent cystic lesions on his head…
Kula Spirit is a solid 44′ fishing trawler owned by Australian Wendy Stein. She is setting up an outreach floating clinic to visit remote villages without access to adequate medical services. Wendy started off in…
At 6 am, the best time of the day here in Milne Bay, I sit on the jetty and sip rich PNG coffee. Today we load the last of our medical supplies before setting off…
…with old knees and slowly diminishing prose competence. But the spirit of Tainui survives, without shadow of doubt. What began as a summer cruise on 2005 morphed into a 12 year journey. Now that Tainui…
Back in Sydney After deep and pathetically indulgent exploration of my navel I am not at all happy about casting aside Tainui, my wonderful sailing companion over the last 15 years. What will the sale…
Our Tainui Volga presentation at the Chekhov Institute attracted a full house. We spoke informally, in English, with slides. Giving these lectures it is always a challenge deciding what your audience wants to hear and,…
Our paths first crossed in Svalbard and tonight, after a lengthy internet interview we dined with veteran yachtsman Nikolai Litau. He’s one of those sailors who make (or is it “makes”?) you realise how unimportant your…
In St Petersburg we had a rare treat. Over an extended lunch in her kitchen Larisa’s lovely mother recited Pushkin for us. Then her grandson joined in for some Mayakovsky. The video clips are too…
It is good to be back in St Petersburg. Here there is little of the bling and those camel-vulva lip augmentations which are so common in Moscow. People are more open and friendly and the…
Tell me this. What kind of climate is it, when you can come out of bitter cold and into a cosy bar, disrobe and then gratefully warm your hands round a properly chilled chardonnay? It…
…now there’s a word! In preparation for it, Lucy and I took Miss Perfect down to Tasmania to ogle at the eccentricities of MONA and visit Port Arthur before she (Miss Perfect) fled back to…
Last night, at the Royal Australian Naval Sailing Association, I attended friend and sailor John Vallentine’s launch of his new book, “Sailing Through Russia — From the Arctic to the Black Sea”. It is a great read…
With a bone in her teeth Tainui roared down the coast from Camden Haven in 35 knots of wind. Maxine was overjoyed and even the elderly skipper was a bit chuffed. A 9 knot average…
Iluka then Camden Haven river bars were crossed without incident, but we had to wait between sets to enter the latter. In strong onshore winds with ebb tide these river bars can be fearsome, but…
After a 7 month absence, Little Miss Perfect has returned to Tainui. I had been anxious, and with good reason. Her eagle eye rapidly found the flaws in my strenuous preparation for her arrival – she…
We flew to Moscow, ostensibly to spruik our book. For me Russia is becoming less unfamiliar territory now. The more so given my new, rudimentary understanding of Cyrillic. Conquering my fear of the sprawling…
I have found an excellent mechanic here on the Gold Coast – “Irish Pete”, as he is known. He has taken control of our engine issues for us. He knows boats intimately and he’s fast,…
Re denouements, conclusions, epilogues and things, I have found myself reluctant to pen this blog. Posting to this website has become such an ingrained habit that I don’t know how to stop. More importantly, I can’t…
Australian quarantine clearance for yachts is no light-hearted matter. For rather opaque reasons the federal government department (AQIS) deemed Tainui “suspicious”. AQIS was worried about termites aboard, apparently because of the boat’s age, her lengthy…
As they say, the opera is not over until the type 2 diabetic soprano sings. Tainui is at present caught up in the Australian Quarantine Service bureaucratic quagmire in Southport. There are 300 species of…
What next? 40 years old, and after 12 years at sea, any cruising yacht will require a major refit. Tainui is no exception. In Sydney she will be given a new engine (John Deere, probably),…
Yesterday’s headwinds increased spectacularly after sunset. By 9pm we were hove to under deep reefed main with 40-45 knots of westerly over the deck. Not too uncomfortable, but a big ask for our poor mainsail.…
For the technically minded, here is an account of our latest engine issue. Faced with sudden overheating we found that there was no salt water flow. Having checked the inlet and strainer for obstruction, we…
Yesterday we were becalmed on a flat glassy sea, 100 miles out from the south Queensland coast. Perfect for the 6 hour repair job on the Jabsco salt water pump without which we were engineless.…
We leave this morning on what promises to be Tainui’s last ocean passage for a while. Over the last twelve years she has visited 51 countries. She has served us well and has never complained.…
Captain Cook named New Caledonia. At sunset, motoring through Canal Woodin from Baie du Prony I could see the resemblance to Old Caledonia – rolling hills in soft olive green, grey and lilac. What can…
Departure means the beginning of unknown adventure. It is exciting and always tinged with a modicum of apprehension. Some sailors, Like Tony Gooch, like just being at sea best of all. For me, ocean passages…
In Vava’u, perfect 4 part harmonies raised the vault of the church and brought tears to my eyes. The congregation, dressed to the nines, waved rattan fans while children played between the pews. I wondered…
I cannot believe it has been 36 years since I last sailed into Neiafu. I have disappointingly little recollection of the town, although the broad smiles, the laughter of schoolchildren, the warm welcome and the…
…and the years do condemn. My crew are truly excellent travelling companions and competent crew. Jochen is thoughtful, considerate, assiduous and very funny. Melanie cooks well in any weather, is quite at ease on deck…
For the last 4,000 miles Tainui has loped along effortlessly in these extraordinarily constant SE winds. With either twin poled headsails or a reefed main and one pole the sailing has been effortless, our bow…
A fast windy downwind sail saw us doubling the southern point of Niue soon after dawn. A long flat silhouette, with jagged cliffs and spectacular blowholes. The world’s 235th largest nation with a population of…
Who was Beveridge? I knew one curmudgeonly paediatrician by that name but this South Pacific jewel, our destination, is not named after him. We must research this. The charts show Beveridge Reef as a useless…
…and yet there is always tomorrow. Today we have been romping along at 8.5 knots with a steady, fresh ESE breeze of 20-25 knots, with two headsails and Mr Aries steering superbly. Grey, grey skies,…