HERE - Polynesian Catamaran Association

Paqe 3R U T H 'S D IA R YThe FijiIslandsRuth Y arram continuesherreporlofthe advenftlres ofSpfritofGaia in theFfj/an and Melanesian IslandsEpiIsland,Vanuatu,16 8 96AfterIsentmy Iast newsletter.about6weeks ago,we finaly visited one ofthe Fijian outer island groups,theYasawas, and had so far our bestswim m ing amongstcoralsand shoalsoffish,withan am azing swathe oftinyfish swim m ing along the beach offanuninhabited island.Then we had to Ieave as anotherfriend wasawaitingforus in Vanuatu,the form er New Hebrides anotherMelaneslan island group.Though wehad to sailbefore the tradewinds hadset in again,w hen they cam e.weenjoyed them at Iastforthree daysand arrived in Vila , the capitalofVanuatu,after5days,Like the Fijian yachtclubs atSuva,MusketCoveand Lautoka in Fiji,theCruising YachtClub ofPortVila ontheisland ofEfate,is the centre of theyachting fraternity with m ailcolectionpossibility,fax,telephone,shower,baretc butitwas notwhatwe had com efor.nam ely,to sailwith ourfriend upth e is Ia n d s .However, one delay folowed theother.W ehad arrivedjustbeforetheIndependence celebrations,which wecouldn'tm isswith the dancing groupsfrom the various Islands Though atthe boatparade and race,which theyachtclub had organised,we missedthe localoutriggercanoes The dinnerdance pady atthe yachtclub in theevening sponsored by a Iocalfirm witha deliciousbu#etwaswonderful.Stom ach upsets caused fudher delays.Then,avisitto the new m useum ,which was betterthan the Suva one,Ilghter,better laid outand with interestingvideo shows.There waseven aconference justgoing on,'TheW esternPacific,5000to2000B? (beforepresent!)Colonisation'sandTransformationsd', dealing mainly with thespread of the 'Lapita'culture,thatspread from the Bism arck Archipelagothrough the Melanesian islands intoPolynesia asfaras TongaThis is whatourfriend , Bob Hobm an ,who had also been a speakerattheW aka M oana Sym posium in Auck-Iand,is trying to trace.This is wlth anew 13 5m long outrigger canoe'ANAK TAGAROA' , as used by theancient race, know n either as'Austronesians'. 'protopolynesians'or,as he caled them 'Tagaroans'Bob Hobman had already m ade ahlstoric voyage onanoutriggercanoe ,the SARIMANO K,which he had sailedfrom Bali to M adagascar 11 yearsago, to follow another expansionroute,used by IndonesiansW ith his new canoe he intends to sail6,500 km from Sangir,Indonesia , toFijiAs we,too , were interested in thesetradlng routes,Jam es and Hannekeattended som e ofthe Iectures attheabove m entioned conferenceThere was stillone fudherdelay theengine. A water intake pipe wasblocked up,and Inspite ofHanneke'sJames with ChiefNo2 from Tikopia