CRUISING IN A CLASSIC

AUSTRALIA TO ALASKA IN BOLERO

Andy and Margaret Engwirda

Andy and Margaret joined the OCC in 1995 and since then have circumnavigated via the old Clipper Route, around the five Great Capes of the southern hemisphere. The tale of that passage is promised for a future issue. In the following account we go back to 1993, and an equally ambitious voyage.

Tall mountains and misty spruce bays seemed appealing after cruising the Pacific for some years. Reading the colourful tales in James A Michener's book 'Alaska' while sailing to Tahiti awakened old hankerings to explore the North American Continent. After an extensive refit and sea trials to Bass Strait, we felt ready to take off again. To sail non-stop to Alaska would be a personal achievement for us to try to accomplish, before starting on the fun part of cruising the USA, Canada and Hawaii.

We departed on 23 April 1993 from our home base, the Southport Yacht Club -- a big thank you to family and friends who came to wish us 'bon voyage'. Your kind thoughts, gifts of wine and special treats lifted our spirits. They were put aside for special occasions during the trip. On the other hand, the nifty thermometer we were presented with was simply worn out from over use.

The route to be sailed was basically a huge `S' curve from Australia to North America using the old sailing ship routes. The main aim when following this course is to get as much easting as possible right from the start. This is necessary due to contrary winds and currents anticipated along the way. It is approximately 8000 miles, and we divided this into a series of six destination points or stages on the charts. This cuts down on focusing on the amount of time and distance involved on a long trip, a trick that works for us. We hoped to reach Alaska in seventy days.

For the first two weeks there were consistently steady winds from the southeast -- good weather with fast daily runs. This was trade wind sailing at its best. Under brilliant blue skies and smooth seas the dolphins were pointing the way. Kevin Costner was called `Dances with Wolves' in the movie. My pardner and skipper, Andy, is `Dances with Dolphins'. We always jump for joy when we sight them, and Andy usually sees them first. Even at night he will get me out of the bunk to come on deck to watch their dazzling display. These friendly critters keep us entertained with their ballets of the blue. We are always sad to see them swim away.

We hoped to cross the Equator east of the international date line, but our longitude was not looking good. The wind had veered round to east-northeast and was against us. We ended up crossing the date line twice and the Equator three times. A lot of the easting gained in the trades was lost. It was mighty frustrating.

King Neptune was welcomed on board with a bottle of champagne the first time we crossed the Equator. It had been a farewell gift from the Patron of the Yacht Club, to be kept for this special occasion. A good bottle of wine and a nice meal does wonders for the morale. If on a boat you can magic up a tasty meal with a dash of wine and a few herbs, you will generally get more kudos for this than for sheeting in the last turn on the winch going to windward.

After a few big tacks we were headed in the right direction again, but at around 22N a high pressure system brought six consecutive days with no wind. Only 230 miles were made good on the chart in that time. Severe tropical squalls gathered on the horizon late every afternoon -- one of them usually managed to hit us with 25-35 knots just when we were starting on dinner.

The biggest calamity of the trip must have happened then. The blistering heat below deck melted the seals inside the camera. Totally unaware of this, 90 percent of the photographs taken in Alaska were ruined. So was the camera. Months later we felt crestfallen to see twelve rolls of film and a fair amount of time spent trying to get good shots go down the chute.

We decided to motor to get out of the calm weather pattern, and most of the fuel allowed for the engine was used in this area. The numerous highs in the northern latitudes added at least a week to the trip. Midway Island at the western end of the Hawaiian Group was now 450 miles away and by this time heading for Honolulu was pretty enticing. Swaying palms and hula dancers called to us, but we resisted the temptation and continued on.

We gave daily position reports to Penta Marine Communications, the radio base we always use in Gosford. They covered us all the way to Sitka and throughout the return trip home. Besides giving excellent service, the friendly voices of owners Derek and Jeanine Banard cheer us up when things are tough. Sailing buddies follow our progress through Penta, so we never feel quite alone.

We were now in a region of prevailing westerlies and about to meet our nemesis. In the north Pacific between latitudes 40°N and 50°N the winds come from either northeast or southeast, often 35-40 knots and gusting. It was the worst weather of the passage, with a week of rough seas and a chill in the air which came direct from the Arctic. Out came the longjohns from the locker. 'Bolero'was handling the conditions better than us and we still made good headway.

Now nearing the North American coastline we regularly saw humpback whales. The humpbacks are the gentle giants of the ocean. They were curious about the boat and came quite close. The orca (or killer) whales in the coastal waterways of the Inside Passage had a much more aggressive nature. Between the icy water and the charging orcas, going to shore in the rubber ducky would take on a whole new meaning when we got to Alaska.

Landfall -- the Home Run! The snow-capped peaks of Cape Omaney on Baranof Island glistened majestically in the distance. The first glimpse of land brings a marvellous feeling of satisfaction, and probably the real pleasure of any ocean crossing is found at journey's end.

A landfall of such beauty and isolated grandeur will remain forever in our memories. The effort of the past weeks at sea seemed a small price to pay for this reward. Sixty days and there was Sitka Bay -- what a glorious sight! Finally, and with some relief, we tied up amongst the fishing fleet on the main wharf with the log reading 7600 miles.

We were looking forward to meeting Augie Anderson, customs officer for Sitka. He is one of life's gentlemen and a living legend in Alaska. The US charts for entering Sitka Bay had been lost in the mail and Augie had been kind enough to send over some of his own by express mail to Australia. The one thing missing off our check lists, and he had solved our problem.

By chance James A Michener had written part of his book at the College in Sitka, so this historic old town was the right place to start exploring from. 'Bolero'was in good shape and we were eager to see Glacier Bay and cruise the maze of wonderful waterways that stretch south to Seattle. It was the beginning of the most breathtaking coastal cruising of this magnificent country, and our personal goal had been achieved.

'Bolero'is a 56ft timber yawl, designed by John Alden of Boston in 1959 and constructed in the traditional manner. The hull is carvel planked and built of Huon Pine from Tasmania. Cabin, deck and interior are Burmese Golden Teak. It took several years to acquire the correct sizes of the various timbers used in construction.

Her beam is 13ft 6in and waterline 37ft. She has a bronze backbone of approximately 5 tons and an 8ft bronze centre board. The draft is 6ft with the board up and 11ft 6in with it down. Displacement is 22 tons.

We built 'Bolero'on a block of industrial land near our home at Burleigh Heads over an eleven year period. It was a labour of love and she has rewarded us many times over by helping us realise all our sailing dreams. She has taken us some 90,000 miles over the last twelve years.

She has the classic lines of yachts of the late '50s, is pleasing to the eye and our prize possession. We fitted out the interior to our own requirements and design and have always sailed her two up, with the exception of Andy's 1995 solo sea trials from Southport to New Zealand returning via Norfolk Island, sailing 2300 nautical miles non-stop in seventeen days.

'Bolero' was overall winner in all sections of the Sanctuary Cove Classic Boat and Car Concourse in 1992 and again 1995. In 1993 we participated in the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival in the USA and received one of their Award Certificates. An added pleasure was meeting one of our much admired sailing heroes, John Guzwell. The Southport Yacht Club awarded us a `Blue Waters Achiever' plaque in 1995.