I’m not sure why – we’d had a lot of rain and the marina manager said she went down pretty fast.
A salvage crew is going to try to get her out of the water tomorrow.
We had a lot of fun on that old boat – sailing many times to Moreton Island, and I’m really sad to see her go like this.
She was built in 1967 and did a circumnavigation of the world in the early 70’s. Pretty amazing for such a small vessel. Ironic that she could go all the way round the world, and still end up under water in a marina after a moderate storm.
Our trip from Port Vila to Brisbane took two and a half days by sea.
One of the many fun activities we had during the long leisurely sea days was a “Scrap Heap Challenge”. Basically the idea was to build a boat out of rubbish found on board the ship, float it across the pool, and have it carry a carton of beer without sinking.
As you can see from the photos below, some of the entries were pretty good. I wonder where they got (or bought) all that junk from!
Our entry was the “S.S. TinnyTanic”. (Below) She looked more like a handbag that a ship, but I can guarantee she was made 100% out of junk.
And you can see from the picture below, she made it safely across the pool, with beer on board, and didn’t sink!
Hey – how did this picture get in here? I wonder how many tinnies this boat can carry? Actually, it’s the “Pacific Sun”, sister ship to “Pacific Star”, which passed as we headed back to Brisbane.
Our trip from Port Vila to Brisbane took two and a half days by sea.
One of the many fun activities we had during the long leisurely sea days was a “Scrap Heap Challenge”. Basically the idea was to build a boat out of rubbish found on board the ship, float it across the pool, and have it carry a carton of beer without sinking.
As you can see from the photos below, some of the entries were pretty good. I wonder where they got (or bought) all that junk from!
Our entry was the “S.S. TinnyTanic”. (Below) She looked more like a handbag that a ship, but I can guarantee she was made 100% out of junk.
And you can see from the picture below, she made it safely across the pool, with beer on board, and didn’t sink!
Hey – how did this picture get in here? I wonder how many tinnies this boat can carry? Actually, it’s the “Pacific Sun”, sister ship to “Pacific Star”, which passed as we headed back to Brisbane.
We spent yesterday in Noumea. Officially it’s part of France, about 700 nautical miles north-east of Brisbane.
The local Kanak people are very friendly. We got to sample some of the French food & wine, as well as see some sights around town and some local dancing and singing.
We woke up this morning in Lifou, a small untouched island to the east of New Calediona’s main island. Once again the people we very friendly. They loved Lilly.
The coral reefs here are impressive, so we took in a bit of snorkelling in Jochin bay.
One thing about this ship – you get a lot of exercise. It’s two hundred meters long, and to go to breakfast we walk up 5 floors from deck 5 to deck 10. Do that a dozen times a day and you have a pretty good workout.
More news tomorrow from Port Vila!
Neil
The local welcoming committee in Noumea. We received a very warm welcome from the locals as we disembarked in Noumea.
A view of Noumea from one of the many high spots in town. If you look carefully you can see our ship in town.
Place de Cocotiers (Coconut Square) in the middle of town. We had a bit of a look around Coconut Square in the middle of town.
Baie des Citrons. The kids had a great time playing by the beach at Baie des Citrons (Lemon Bay) which is a short Taxi ride from the middle of town. There are lots of great cafes here.
Liz enjoys a glass of French wine at a cafe in Baie des Citrons. It’s hard work thinking about how to order things in French so we kept it simple 🙂
Lifou – a beautiful unspoilt village by the sea.
They had to bring us ashore in the ship’s tenders (lifeboats) because there’s no wharf large enough in Lifou (or deep enough water) to bring the ship in to shore.
Jochin Bay – a great snorkelling spot on Lifou.
Harrison and Lilly check out a local grass hut
I wonder what it’s like in a cyclone?
Lilly makes some new friends
These ladies braided Lilly’s hair for her. She felt like a princess. I think they wanted to keep her. 🙂
All of Sunday was at sea, with no land at all in sight. It’s amazing to look in any direction and just see the horizon.
About the only exception to that was when the captain pointed out a whale just before breakfast. We’re all eating too much.
Liz and I love the kids club, and so do Harrison and Lilly most of the time.
Sam and Stephen spend most of the day exploring the ship. Steve won a gold tournament but he’s not alowed to play in the “Australian Open” finals because he’s not over 18. They discovered the teen club last night, so that will add more things for them to do.
I’ll upload some photos of Noumea tomorrow.
Neil
Look Ma, no Land!
The view from the Front Standing up at the pointy end of the ship, looking backwards. Gives you a nice view of some of the life boats and the huge wake trailing us.
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