AROUND THE PORTS

John Maddox, Port Officer Sydney, Australia

This year's sail/barbecue was held on 2nd May at Forty Baskets Beach in Sydney. It was a great encouragement to all of us that the Commodore telephoned from England a few evenings earlier to wish us well. She was nostalgic and envious, knowing Forty Baskets well from staying at a house right on the beach when she lived in Sydney and on other visits to our shores.

Five yachts anchored off the beach: Patsy (Sid Yaffe), Zeehan (Mark Fesq), The Wizzard (Ray Dawkins), Myora (Michael Delaney) and Wairangi (Charles and Tony Davis). Forty Baskets Beach is an excellent place for a barbecue as it has easy access from from the harbour and by land, and next year's event will also be held there, again in May. The time went so quickly that, as with the previous year, people were just getting stuck into friendly discussions when it was time to pack up. Many thanks to Mark Fesq, Club Captain Australia, for his assistance.

By the time this Flying Fish is printed the Australian Annual Dinner will have taken place, at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron on 22nd October. We are all honoured that the Commodore is to be present.

Henry H Anderson, Port Officer Bras d'Or Lakes, Canada

A few notes to update you on the Bras d'Or Lakes, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia:

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1) The post of Port Officer is, of course, highly seasonal -- primarily late June to early September. In fact the ice does not melt in the Lakes until early May.

2) We are located at Boulaceet Farm, the peninsular with a lighthouse on the point which forms Maskell's Harbour between Baddeck and Iona. We hope that any OCC members entering the Harbour will pay a visit to the barn which is visible from the water and accessible via a stairway adjacent to the boathouse.

3) The mooring, which is available when my vessel is not on it (although any OCC vessel is welcome to raft alongside us) bears the name ANNIE B on one side and CCA on the other. Annie B is a 40ft offshore lobster boat with steadying sail, built this year to replace Blue Shadow.

4) If thinking of leaving a boat in our area over the winter, consider the Cape Breton Boatyard at Baddeck. It is owned and operated by CCA member Henry Fuller and Blue Shadow spent several winters there.

Gulshan Rai, Port Officer Bombay, India

During the sailing season of November 1992 to April 1993, when steady north-easterlies prevail in the Arabian sea, several yachts visited the shores of India.

The 70ft, 35 tonne Golden Drum, skippered by professional delivery captain Stephen Courtney, visited Goa on her way to Singapore for major refitting. Stephen had earlier sailed in the Whitbread race and the Swan regattas.

Kahana Duo, a 46ft catamaran, was sailed by Australian skipper Anthony Stretton and Kiwi companion Joanne Cooney. Made of plywood, the light displacement 5 tonner was in the charter business in Malayasian waters. Fond of cruising, the couple had twice sailed to India.

German yachtsman Dieter Lamba's voyages across the `wet lanes' bear testimony to his seamanship and courage. He first sailed in Kattegat from Berlin to Panama and back via the Horn, then to the Arctic via Norway. Later, in the yacht Mahe he sailed the entire Indian ocean. Dieter was at Beypore on the Malabar coast, completing a 20m, 40 tonne, lateen rigged sailing yacht named Sur (after the Omanese port town). Her hull is of teak, with ribs of jackfruit, crossbeams of kangar, keel of karimaddai (so hard and dense that it sinks) and the mast of poona wood. The 100 hp engine and the sails were all Indian-made. In his search for total self-reliance Dieter has an Indian sewing machine aboard for sail repairs and uses a dugout canoe as a tender.

Rita Hayman, Port Officer Auckland, New Zealand

Before joining Peter and Paddy Oglivy-Stuart aboard Cougar in Cyprus, to cruise the Turkish coast as far as Rhodes and visit some of the delightful Greek Islands*, I spent some time sailing aboard Neil Coleman's Cavalier in the Caribbean. After months of happy companionship and good sailing I am now back in Auckland catching up on the local scene and meeting my new granddaughter! I hope that some of you OCC members will be calling in and contacting me this summer -- you will be made very welcome.

Marjorie Bancroft, Port Officer Maine, USA

Nineteen boats sailed into Smith's Cove on 18th July and a few cars made their way down onto the peninsula, totalling sixty-six OCC members and guests, more than any such gathering in the past. Added to that was a kitchen crew of five consisting of my daughter's family.

We had a perfect sunny day with a two minute shower that became a visual delight, producing the most intense rainbow I've ever seen. Instead of taking cover, people watched in awe. After GRIP (rum punch), GORP and steamed mussels on the point in sight of the nineteen OCC boats, the group walked a few hundred yards up the hill to the newest addition to the Bancroft compound where a sit-down lobster dinner awaited them. The evening entertainment was given by sailor/musician Irving Forbes and consisted of a program of Sea Chanteys, origins and original words, with everyone joining in on the choruses. Great fun was had by all.

Messages from our Commodore, Mary Barton, and Rear Commodore USA East, Charles Dennis, were announced and two new members were welcomed: Whit Dickey and Bob Cassatt; also two new Associate members, Ed Kendrick and Ernie Burt.

Present were: Forbes and Emily Morse and two guests in Blythe Spirit, Toby and Polly Baker in Torch, Nick and Joan Baker in Dolphin, Guy Cosby and Karen Houston in Whaleback, Stephen and Ann Heartt in Arcturus, Brian and Lise Dalton and two guests in Boru, John Blatchford and Christy Coombs in Navigatrix, Harvey and Pam Geiger in Grammy, Toby and Kit Tobin in Elizabeth, Whit Dickey in Wendelen, Fred and Sidney Clemens in Good News, Ernie and Alice Burt in Gitana, Cy and Bobbie Sweet in Sayonara, Frank and Nancy Wheelock in Jessica, Mike Tyson in Augustina, Bob Cassatt and Carol Stone in Querencia, Tom Miller and three guests in Alegro, Tom Plumber and two guests in Amethyst, Bill and Mary Hartman in Little Bear. The following members arrived by car: Bill and Alice Caldwell, Steve and Lea Parson, Phil and Claire Brooks, Bob Ayer Jr, Ed and Otsie Kendrick, Irving and Marjorie Forbes.

Since numbers of participants are escalating yearly, we decided to hold next year's rally on Saturday, 16th July at a restaurant in North Haven and make a two day event out of it for those who can stay through Sunday. This will be arranged by Harvey and Pam Geiger whose summer cottage is at nearby Seal Cove on Vinal Haven. Address: PO Box 330, North Haven, ME 04853. Tel: 863-2222.

We welcome foreign boats and would be happy to plan a week's Penobscot Bay cruise after the rally if owners could let me know in advance.

* See Beware the Helpful Turk..., this issue