Louisiades Rally - Nimoa

 

This was the sheer size of the jungle as we entered the river.

 

The first full day we were at Nimoa we went on a trip down the Fieori River.  To get there we had to ride in banana boats for a long long way .. to the large neighbouring island of Sudest.    The ride in the B-boats was gruelling!  Over 45 minutes of bone jarring slamming into the waves.  For some reason I thought the river we were going to was only around the bend - so to speak - but it turned out to be way way way down open water before we even looked like turning into an opening in the jungle.



Sometimes the impenetrable jungle opened out to stunning beauty.

 

Sudest is largely unexplored and it was easy to see why when we entered the river from the surrounding sea.  The jungle on all sides seemed to be completely wild and uninhabitable - BUT, as we motored around bends in the river there were people there on the banks to wave at us as we passed.  How do they live there?  I wondered.

The vistas changed around every bend in the river. 
It was so beautiful and wild it looked like something from the set of a film!

Our trip on the river ended with a small waterfall.  All the dim-dims climbed out of their boats and waded in the water and before we knew it we were surrounded by the people from the village upstream.  We visited with them, shared photos and had a terrific day out.

We were looking forward to the Island of Nimoa.  It was to be our last stop on the rally before heading home but it was also the base for the Nimoa clinic and Father Tony's parish.  We felt like we knew a lot about the island because Kevin and Francis Dunn - also members of the RPAYC & they have a boat just like ours - had a special relationship with the people of Nimoa. 

When we first decided to go on the rally - late last year - Kevin and Francis invited us on board their boat and shared all their stories, photos and memories with us of their trip to the Louisiades.  I remember Francis telling me, "our trip there changed our lives".  Now that we have experienced the people there and the work that so many of the local people are doing for their communities I can certainly understand the way our lives can, and will change.

Kevin didn't just talk about helping .. he did something for the people of the Nimoa and surrounding areas.  He repaired, shipped and presented the clinic with the RPAYC's former committee boat so it could be used as transport for the expectant mother's, children and sick of the surrounding islands.

On board 'Southern Belle' along with the rally freight and our trading/sharing freight we also had several bags of groceries and sundry items that Kevin had asked us to purchase on his behalf and take to Father Tony.  One of the items was a pair of shoes for Tony's housekeeper!  Unfortunately Tony was away on the mainland while we were there so we didn't get a chance to meet him.  But Genevieve gave us a wonderful welcome.

Genevieve and the skipper - she's got her new shoes on!  And she loved them. 

Our second day on Nimoa included a visit to the school, Clinic, presentation of the medical goods taken by the rally boats and meeting Sister Sara the head nurse and miracle worker for the local communities.  Guy did the presentation and told stories about the way Sister Sara with the help of the rally and others has been able to stop/slow down the incidences of mother and child death amongst the locals.  I was in tears listening to Guy talk.

The school house with all the dim-dims in their rally shirts - there for the presentation of school gear to the school .. and the students gave us a special greeting on the beach when we arrived.

The clinic and presentation of bags and bags of medical supplies.

The skipper - George - was looking forward to the scheduled football game with the locals!  He wore his special Scotland t-shirt to play and it was looking good for awhile....he scored the first goal!  However - and you've heard this before - by the time for the second goal he had ruptured his Achilles tendon and that was the end of the game for him.  It was a terrific game but the yachties lost because there were way too many of them on the field at any one time!  Following the soccer game the women and girls had a chance to play netball - that game was a tie.

Presentation of prizes to the winning local team.

The netball players.

Next - the way home.

Never say Never! .. Even more Louisiades (getting near the end now!)



The skipper with his foot in a cast sailing along to Little Pioneer Bay on Orpheus Island - on the way south. 

I should know by now that it tends to be a useless exercise to say - with any degree of certainty - something is not going to happen.  That's how I felt about getting back on the boat to head south with just me and the Captain (George) hobbled by the cast on his foot.  I was determined I wasn't going to get back on the boat for awhile and hoped that we could get friends to go with George down to Yeppoon and Roslyn Bay.  But, here I am because all other possibilities ended without any luck.  George is doing well.  We are motoring mostly with just the head sail out so that's easy for me and him on one leg to handle.  Anchoring is difficult and even pulling up the mooring here at LPB was tough because the mooring line is so huge ... we had to rig a bridle up on the front of the yacht to hold the mooring buoy in a better position which needed the two of us.  But everything worked out.

The trip, so far, has been great with calm winds and flat seas.  We left Cairns on Tuesday with a first stop at Dunk Island and tonight we are at Little Pioneer Bay.  Being at both places brings back great memories of the trip up with people from the CC13 crew out of the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.  I must say when I look back on all that we've done, the people we've met, the places we've seen and walked and enjoyed it's amazing to think how much we've crammed into these months.

A friend of mine in Atlanta - Donna - made a comment after reading one of my Louisiades blogs on Facebook.  She said, "Life enrichment - indeed!"  I guess I've thought about this half year sailing trip along those lines in some respect but never with the clarity those 3 words gave me.  This journey has been/is a prodigious adventure in so many many ways.  Not many 63 year old women get a chance to do something so completely out of the ordinary and out of their depth ... and get to enjoy it with their life's partner and so many wonderful new people!  If I sit still for the remainder of my life (which I won't, I promise you) I have, at the very least, added a layer of richness in life experiences that won't leave me ... ever.  Thank you universe!

Tomorrow we hope to be in Horseshoe Bay at Magnetic Island and, with a little luck, we should arrive at the marina in Airlie Beach by Sunday or Monday next week.

More Pictures from the Louisiades Rally

'Southern Belle' inside the lovely lagoon at Sabara.

After the events at Misima the rally fleet spread out for a few free days to different locations.  There are many many islands and villages to visit in the Louisiades and the rally can only realistically take in a few so we were given free days to explore on our own.  A lot of the fleet came straight to the lagoon at Sabara - a picture perfect South Pacific location.   The lagoon is very shallow - only 3 metres deep in most places.  Our keel is 1.99 metres deep - 2 really - so at any time there was only 3 feet left under us.  But the place was beautiful!

The water was crystal clear - unbelievably so.  And the lagoon was surrounded by limestone "floating" islands (islands that had the bottom washed away which made them look like they were floating above the water).

There was a good size village here and Guy + the yachties did a presentation of goods for the community and the school on shore.  One of the banana boats arrived at the back of our boat looking for the yacht 'Desire' because they had a grease gun.  George ended up towing them up the fleet to find the grease gun so they wouldn't have to use their gas.

There were a good many of us from the rally there the last night at Sabara.  We all went ashore and had a beach party complete with Jimmy Buffet and Bob Marley music ... you should have seen the village kids dance!  It was the first time we had all been together at a place to let our hair down since the robbery in Misima and it was a great party.

Late into the night after the beach party the wind came up and it howled all night long.  The next day we were due to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet and move to our last - and biggest inside the Calvados Chain - island ... Nimoa.  The trip there was through a number of passes, reefs, etc. etc. and it was windy.  But we all made it there safe and sound.  It was good to have everyone together again.

Next time I'll tell you about the jungle river trip we took on our first full day in Nimoa, the other goings on and the trip back complete with mid-ocean transfer of our special crew - Calum.

All the best to everyone!

We woke to the sound of GUNFIRE!

"Rally Fleet, Rally Fleet.  There are men on the shore with shotguns and balaclavas.  Do NOT go ashore.  Repeat, Do NOT go ashore."

Those were the words coming from our VHF radio as we woke on Saturday morning October 5. 

The entire rally fleet was anchored in the very small harbour on the island of Misima the Louisiade archipelago's "Big Smoke" .. so to speak.  The town offered several stores where we could get some limited supplies and - hooray! - they had a laundry where we could have clothes washed in fresh water.  But, unlike the peaceful villages we had been visiting, it was a town with many more people and a busy waterfront supporting the area's commerce and connection with the PNG mainland.

The main street of Misima... the harbour is off to the right of the photo and the white building is the store that was robbed and the owner and his family kidnapped.

We were in Misima to do a number of things.  First and foremost to collect the fuel we had pre-ordered before leaving Australia.  Secondly we were all looking forward to the festivities planned for the rally in the town and at the local guesthouse.  Thirdly we were hoping for some ability to connect with the phone or internet here - which, unfortunately, didn't happen.

The harbour is U-shaped with one opening out into the ocean at one end and very small.  Our yachts were jammed in from the very back where the shallow draft catamarans would fit to very nearly the mouth of the bay.  There was no swinging room so each boat had to raft up with 3-4 others using fore and aft anchors to fit.

Some of the fleet in their raft up positions.  Each of us rafted up as we arrived at the harbour .. which meant the exit would have to be orderly with the ones ahead moving on first to free up the way ahead.

So that's the situation we were in that morning....all of us and our boats well locked in - to a certain extent - to the harbour and very near the town.  Guy came over the radio and told us all to be calm and to keep our heads down.  And just as we were doing our best to stay cool there was the sound of gunfire once more!  POP, POP.  It was for real!  They were shooting at something! 

On one of our rally boats there were a couple of Australian Police - off for a nice calming sailing holiday!  It was so good to have them there.  They advised Guy on how we should behave  - which was keep down, don't let the bad guys see you looking at them through binoculars or take pictures - stay inside your boat. We were too happy to do that I can assure you.  The other most important thing is we all decided we were in this as one and we were sticking together as a group.

The most troubling part of being in the middle of something like this is not knowing what the hell is going on.  How many are they?  What are they doing?  What are they after?  Catherine was really shook up and believed they were there for the yachts because we had brought money into the area.  George and I thought that they wouldn't be there for the yachts or they would have attacked us well before running around on the shore shooting.  Then - while the radio warnings, and concerns spread through each boat - we saw a very worrying sight.  A boat was rowing across the mouth of the harbour with a rope!  It looked like the harbour was being closed - no way out even if we could move the boats.  Shit.

More gunshots.  Next the masked men jumped into a fast banana boat with what looked like locals and took off towards the harbour opening.  They hit the rope but managed to not foul their prop, fixed it and away they went out of the harbour and out of sight.  The rope was actually dragged across the harbour by a very brave local man who was trying his best to stop the robbers!

It took awhile to find out what really happened.  Turns out one of the stores was robbed and the owner, his wife, 2 children and 2 housekeepers had been taken hostage.  Then they were gone leaving everyone on shore and on our rally boats stunned and staring out to sea..

Skippers meeting on Clear Horizons to fill all the boats in on what happened and determine what we were going to do as a group next.  Everyone voted unanimously to stick together and go ashore for our planned festivities - which would be cut back a bit.

We watched from our decks as the locals boarded boats and went in pursuit.  The waiting was awful with all of us hoping the family was OK.  Happily a big boat returned within the hour with the housekeepers, children and wife - they had been dumped at sea not far down the coast.  But the shop owner was still held hostage.

The local people were so shocked that this had occurred -  they want and need tourism in this part of the world to help all the people so something like this was so awful.  And, as we had experienced on other islands and villages the people of Misima gave us a great day.  Every person was attentive - and apologetic - saying something like this had never happened in their town before.  We received good news later that evening that the shopkeeper had been released.  As far as I know the bad guys have never been caught to date.

Everyone got over it by the end of the day.  Unsurprisingly, I was less stressed by the robbery than about sailing into 30 knots of wind!  Odd, I know but sailing does scare me a lot sometimes!

Practically the whole town turned out for our reception festivities at the local guesthouse!

We had a Pem-Pawa - which is an exchange of gifts.  The ladies of the town line up with baskets they've made, fruits and other things like mats or woven handbags and we yachties line up on the other with our offering.  Our gifts included an enviro bag with things like clothes, ropes, clothes pins, school books, crayons, ball point pens, etc.

The lady I exchanged gifts with in the Pem-Pawa.

As usual we had a wonderful time.  And ended up staying in Misima for another day because the weather turned nasty.

More to come.

Us - Now update and more Louisiades adventure

I almost forgot!!!  While we were at Panapompom there was a fun race for all the yachts on the rally.  There was only one rule  - that we carry as many of the locals as possible on each yacht.  This is a photo of Catherine driving the boat .. you can see we had a cockpit full.  

There were people sitting all over the top and the front of the boat as well!  It was a fun day we decked the boat out in all the flags we had - all the yachts were very colourful.  However, I found it a bit stressful. The thing that worried me were the 2 mothers with very small babies sitting on top of a heeling yacht breastfeeding!!!  They didn't have a care in the world.  I was worried they would get thrown off and finally got them to move into the cabin with their beautiful babies.

US - Now
An update of what we're up to at the current moment....  George is still in his cast (7 weeks is going be a long long time!)  and we're staying at Tim's house to make it easier for him to move around.  We are so lucky to have such a good friend living here in Cairns!  Thank you Tim!

We would very much like to get the boat further south and away from the coming seasonal threat of cyclones.  Storm season officially starts up here in the tropics on Nov 1 - but, they haven't had a cyclone before Feb/March for decades.  The weather isn't good for moving south right now.  Its blowing hard from the Southeast consistently.  We need the north easterlies to make the journey down the coast bearable.  We've looked at options like moving the boat to a sheltered marina up the coast or arranging for a company to move it from Cairns Marlin Marina (where it is now) if a storm comes.  So far they're all options and we haven't decided what to do.  George thinks he and I will take the boat down the coast - with me doing everything and him sitting in his cast telling me what to do.  I don't like that option and can tell you right now that isn't going to happen!  Tim is going away for 5 days next week and we'll stay here to dog sit and then decide on how to move on.

So, for now, we're Cairns bound.

More Louisiades in pictures

We had a few days free after all the activities in Panapompom so we moved to an island called BoboEina along with the yachts Eclipse and Glide.  We became great friends with Robert, Lauri and Dan on Eclipse and Kathy, Geoff, Janine and Mick plus the 5 kids on Glide!  This is the 3 of us at anchor off BoboEina.

There was a large hill looking down on BoboEina and Guy had said if we climbed the hill and took pictures we would wipe off all our rally fines (we never knew when we had earned rally fines but they were brought up towards the end to help raise more money for the local people).  George, Catherine and much of the gang from Glide plus Lauri from Eclipse climbed that hill with the help of Sam and his family of 7 kids that lived there.

It was Catherine's birthday so we all chipped in for a bracelet for her.  The locals make necklaces called 'baggies' out of shells and coral.  We asked Sam to change over a necklace to a bracelet ... this is his house and him working on the change over.

After the bracelet was finished Sam and his family gave us a sing song.  Beautiful.

Birthday party and cake for Catherine aboard Glide.  Great Night.

Next stop with the whole rally back together again was Bagaman Island - a larger community with a school.  Here's the Captain walking down the welcome line with his new lei.  Bagaman Island has master wood carvers and their work is so lovely .. its amazing to see the sometimes primitive tools they use to create beautiful pieces for trade with visitors.

At Bagaman we had a whole program of traditional dancers and songs.  The only downside of the day was the slaughter of a pig for the festivities - pretty much in front of us.  I realise that's how the people have to live - and that it was very special to do that for us - but Catherine and I were very squeamish about it. 

Tug of War on the beach.  After a few busy days at Bagaman we moved to a place called the Blue Lagoon - which had an uninhabited island.  All the yachties enjoyed a party on shore with tug of war games and lagoon cricket.  It was good to have a day off from village life and just let our hair down on our own.  The view and the lagoon was lovely.

Donald - from Silvergull - and Catherine on the beach at the Blue Lagoon.  I loved Donald.  He was our rally elder and he had the best and most cool attitude towards everyone and all the local people. 

There is so much to show and tell about our trip.  Hope I'm not boring any readers! 

Tomorrow I'll tell you about the armed robbery and kidnapping that we found ourselves smack in the middle of in Misima.

Louisiade Trip - Skull Cave, Limestone Cave, Sailau racing

The view from our "banana boat" as we scream along over the reef to the skull cave.

On Friday, September 20 the Louisiades Rally group of "Dim-Dims" (the local word for white people) took off to another island for a hike through the jungle to the skull cave.  Boats that had larger dingys with powerful outboards were told to take their dingys for the trip but those of us with little dingys and not-so-powerful outboards (we only have an 6hp motor) had to ride in what the locals call 'banana boats'.  The banana boats are long open boats with big outboards on the back.  They have zero creature comforts.  Passengers sit on planks across the bottom of the boat and the body bounces and slams with every wave.  Ouch, Ouch, Ouch.

Departing the island for the skull cave - banana boat in the foreground.

The Captain enjoying the view from the b-boat.

After quite a long ride to the island with the Skull Cave we came to a small beach on a very hilly island.  Everyone climbed out of the boats and waited until we were led by guides down the beach to the path.  Everywhere we went there were locals waiting for us.  A first it seemed to me that they were just standing around but then I realised they were there to watch and help us on our way.  All you needed to do was stumble or look hot and lost and there was a lovely person or two there to take your hand and help.  I will be the first to say that I'm  not the most agile person on bush walks.  The Captain has to steady me a lot or just simply pull me up and over or down and around difficult terrain.  It was good to have so many there to help.

This was the trail through the jungle.  It was HOT! and you had to literally walk over sharp rocks the whole way.

Inside the skull cave.  You can just see how steep it was to climb up into the cave....and the wonderful local people that were always there to help you if needed.

The piles of bones and skulls inside the cave - they were dumped in many areas all around the cave.  Supposedly they were the result of tribal disputes from the past that were solved and then the perpetrators eaten. 

It was a great trip - and very very HOT.  As each Dim-Dim made it back to the beach and the end of the track we all walked into the water neck deep clothes and all to cool down!

That night - like so many nights to come - we had drinks on the beach and then a 'bring a plate to share' BBQ.  Guy presented awards for the trip over to the yachties.  Things like, "Grumpiest Skipper", "Best Cook", and "Most Sail Changes" which we won because we would reef down at 5:30 every night.  This day was so good.  So many times over the 4 weeks I found myself just looking at the night sky - with all the millions of stars we don't see in our so called civilized world - and smiling to myself saying "Thank You" to the universe.  I am/we are so grateful to have this experience.

The next day we jumped in our dingys again - this time we didn't have to go to far so we took ours - for a trip around to the other side of Panasia to the limestone cave.  The morning air was misty but it was still very humid.  We were met on the beach by the local chief and some of the women who sang to us and welcomed us with a line up into their village.  Most of the villages we went to did this.  They would meet us at the beach and then line up.  We would walk down the line with the first person presenting a lei of frangipani flowers and then each person shaking our hand.

Welcome by the chief and local women on the beach at South Panasia.

After our beach side welcome we trekked through the jungle behind the village to a steep path that had, in some places, rough made ladders which were really just sticks tied together by palm leaves.  Up and up we went on the path climbing the sharp rocks.   At one point it was necessary to climb up an even bigger and shakier ladder to, what looked like, a hole or crevice in the side of a rocky hill.  At the top of the crevice was a slick bit of mud and rock that, on first glance, looked like it was just too slippery to negotiate and then it was necessary to turn around - inside the crevice - and manoeuvre down the other side backwards!  Whew, it was hot and tough going. 

Once down the inside rickety ladder we found ourselves inside a huge - and I mean huge - limestone cave with a path leading down.  The Captain was ahead of me and he was madly taking photos until we heard the sound of a big SPLASH! from the floor of the cavern.  Enough picture taking.  We walked, slid, climbed down to the bottom of the cavern to find a large freshwater swimming pool with those from our party ahead of us already enjoying!  Needless to say the Captain was off with his clothes and in quick smart.  I wasn't far behind him and Catherine stayed up on the side to take photos.  It was without a single doubt HEAVEN. .. cool and refreshing.

The climb down inside the cave...you can see how deep and steep it was.

The swimming hole at the bottom of the cave.  The photo doesn't do it justice - it was huge.

Me and the Captain in the pool.

After the cave we went back to the village of South Panasia and had a Mumu -  food, mainly root vegs and pork cooked in a fire pit in the ground.  Guy also did a presentation of the rally goods that he and the other boats had brought for the village.

The next day we moved on to Panapompom where we had a great time with the locals with swimming races, canoe races and Sailau races.

Sailau on the beach for the activities of the day.

Canoe racing with the dim-dims.

Racing Sailaus.

We had a terrific time on this island.  George (The Captain) and Catherine went out twice for a ride on a sailau and even took a trip to another island.  I had some quiet time off to hang around our boat and read a book.  All 3 of us had a lot fun over the days we spent here.


Tomorrow.... the island of BoboEina, Catherine's birthday and the island of Bagaman.

More about the Louisiade trip....

An early night time view of some of the yachts in the rally fleet.  We were lucky with the moon in both our Coral Sea crossings ... we had an almost full moon both times.  The moon became full during the first week of the rally so the nights were even more beautiful than we expected.

We entered the Louisiade Archipelago through the Jomard passage on the 5th day out from Yorkey's Knob marina in Cairns.  The Jomard Passage or Channel is a narrow strait that connects the Solomon Sea with the Coral Sea.  It is also the route that many many huge ships take in their journey from China & Japan to Australia and the rest of the Southern Hemisphere.

As we approached the channel the AIS - a great piece of marine kit that sends and receives signals from ships and other vessels equipped with the same - was showing us ships coming through about every 30-40 minutes.  From the vantage point of our little boat it seemed like we were headed for a super highway of marine leviathans!  On several occasions the AIS was flashing up the message COLLISION WARNING!.  And it looks just like that!  All capital letters and exclamation point flashing off and on.  Scares the hell out of you.  But in reality its just the track of the ships as they navigate the narrow channel and then they quickly steer away towards their destination.  We had to cross the channel between ships and then go up one side of it to an entrance that would lead us toward the Duchateau Islands free of reefs.  We motored like crazy to try and get there before dark and arrived just after the sun had set.  That night we missed the big welcoming crayfish BBQ on the beach.  It was blowing hard, we couldn't see anything much on arrival and I must say after 5 days at sea we all looked and felt a little tired and disappointed.

But, as usually happens, after a great night's sleep we woke up to this view (above pictures).  A beautiful calm day welcomed us and - you can't see it because the picture doesn't do the scene justice - a vista of turquoise water, islands and reef fringes as far as you can see.

Our first sighting of a Sailau - the traditional sailing vessels, and in most cases the only transportation, in the Louisiades Islands.

As the three of us - me, George and Catherine - stood on the deck "Ohhing" and "Aaaing" at the view we sighted our first Sailau sailing vessel as it passed near by.  These sailing boats are made of dugout canoe and outrigger tied together with whatever remnant of fabric can be stitched together to make a sail.  And they go FAST!

We were only there for a few minutes before the 7:30 radio sked came on with the now familiar and welcome words, "Louisiades Rally Fleet, Louisiades Rally Fleet".  Guy Chester, the creator and organiser of the Rally, made contact with everyone at 0730 every morning and 1830 every afternoon - regardless if you were at sea or sitting next to him at an anchorage.

I can't say enough good and wonderful things about Guy and his partner Narelle.  They ran a great program and worked their butts off for all the participating yachts as well as the locals on shore.  We were welcomed with open arms by so many and treated to events they must have planned for months.  The local people shared their food and families with us and the reason it all went so smoothly was Guy's dedication and professionalism.

So with the first morning's radio sked came instructions on how to move to the next anchorage....no rest now for us.  We were moving to Panasia Lagoon not too far away but it would be tricky going in through the reef to the lagoon.  Everyone was told to up anchor at 10:30 and move quick smart to be ready to move into the lagoon when called on.  Guy arranged for two boats that had participated in the rally the year before to go in with him and then get in their dingys and act as pivot points on the trip in through the reefs for the uninitiated.

All the yachts lining up to start to make the passage in through the reef to Panasia.

We needed the sun to see the reefs well and, of course, a rain cloud came up as it was getting nearer our turn to make the turn and run the gauntlet of the entrance.

We made it in safe and sound and the view from our boat was just what we came for - breathtaking!

The people in the little village of Panasia were so welcoming ... we had a great time over 3 days here.

While in Panasia we got to know the other people on the rally so much more and did some exciting adventures!  Tomorrow I'll tell you about the skull cave, the limestone cave and the sailau races on Panapompom.