SHERPA BILL AND THE ROUND THE WORLD SAILING TRIP

Bill and Hazel Perkes

(Bill and Hazel are amongst those organised people who keep their friends up-to-date with photocopied `newsheets' a couple of times a year. However somehow these have always just missed the Flying Fish deadline and been filed away for future use. Now, with Sherpa Bill about to set off on the second half of her circumnavigation, it occurs to me that she could easily beat me to it. Sherpa Bill, for those who haven't had the good fortune to meet the Perkes, is a 36ft Van der Stadt-designed Excalibur, a vintage GRP vessel which Bill has owned for longer than most of us can remember.)

November 1991, from Tenerife in the Canaries

We left the Islands Sailing Club as planned, at exactly 0930 on Saturday 21st September 1991. The start of our `Round the World Sailing Trip' if all goes well. On board as crew were Pete Knight, Ted Jones and Alex Clothier, Hazel having decided to take the big silver bird and join us in the Canaries in October.

A wise decision as it happened as she does not like gales and we had a humdinger. By Thursday it was blowing up to 50 knots and so it continued, and overnight got even fresher so we hove-to under trysail only for twelve hours. By 0900 Sunday the wind had veered more to the north-west so we made progress south-south-west in a steady 40-45 knots with gusts up to 60 knots. As the wind slowly went round to the north it became difficult to hold a steady course so we lowered the trysail, hoisted the storm jib on its own and under this rig we managed 141 miles noon to noon -- not bad. Of course all this was Pete's fault. He was heard to remark "What a good opportunity to experience a real gale" -- for this we awarded him the accolade of a new pair of knickers!

Ted, although more used to motor-sailing, performed magnificently throughout and especially on the galley front, producing eggs and bacon in the most difficult conditions. For this we awarded him `The Sherpa Bill Chef's Spatula'. And Alex, only eighteen and a very knowledgeable and experienced sailor whose ability on watch was only slight surpassed by his innate skill at sleeping soundly off watch. We awarded him `The Sherpa Bill neatly folded pillow case'. A VERY big thank you to all three for making the first passage so memorable.

Monday 30th September and at last the wind eased off and we had a steady, cloudy sail to Porto Santo, arriving after 11 1/2 days and 1280 miles, an average speed of 4.7 knots. A last word on The Storm was a report that nine yachts were abandoned in the area.

Hazel met us in Lanzarote and we were delighted to encounter William Ker on Assent bound for the far south. We sailed in company up to La Graciosa where we joined up with the two other yachts who are coming with us to New Zealand. George and Roger on Noridiam and Colin and Gil on Kayos II have been our companions on past journeys and, to our great joy, are with us again.

A few days complete relaxation and back to the heady delights of Port Naos with free anchorage, kind marina manager and easy access to Spar supermarket and, of course, the shops. I was taken poorly, but thanks to a superb new hospital, our E111s and loads of pills I was soon better and off we all sailed to the nature reserve on Isla de Lobos. Ashore we found a shallow lagoon and enjoyed swimming in the lunar landscape.

No wind meant a motor to Tenerife -- no way for Sherpa Bill to travel! We hired a car for two days and toured the island, climbing to the top of Teide, the highest mountain in Spain (up in the cable car and then the last 600 feet on foot). Hazel stayed in the caf'! Then after some quiet days and a sail to La Gomera it was back to Los Gigantes to stock up and meet John Grindley and Australian Tom McGuire, our transatlantic crew. We leave for Barbados on Saturday 23rd November, while Hazel returns to keep England going in my absence.

April 1992, from Panama

I was most disappointed to find we had to motor for twenty-four hours to clear the windshadow of the islands. The breeze, when it came, was very light and progress was accompanied by much slatting and banging of sails. This was the pattern for most of the crossing. We have never before suffered so much wear and tear -- splits in the No 2 and No 1 genoas, a tear almost the complete width of the spinnaker (it is twenty-five years old), and a split in the main from luff to leach along the boom, but all easily and quickly mended with the aid of our sewing machine.

We had better trade winds for the last few days, although not as strong as on our previous crossings, and made Barbados in 22 days and 22 hours. The best day's run was the very last day at 163 miles, and average speed for the crossing was 5 knots.

The Atlantic Crossing Awards: to John, `The Sherpa Bill Award for Industry' for his magnificent ability to acquire and bring out the endless items requested, from new a Autohelm to a splendid Kaiser Bill yachting cap. To Tom, `The Navigator's Pencil' for his excellent grasp of astro-navigation and managing to get a running astro fix accurate to half a mile.

Hazel rejoined on 17th December having spent the night with Trudy and Ian Smythe after a very long flight via New York. Kayos II was in Carlisle Bay but left to have a family Christmas in Martinique. Meanwhile we got our visas for Venezuela and did lots of shopping. It's strange to hear I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas whilst sunbathing! We celebrated Christmas with George and Roger on Noridiam and had a very special day, then sailed on to Bequia on the evening of Boxing Day to meet up with lots of friends including Eve, Michael, Julie and Jack in Gemervescence, Tom and DL Lemm in Le Papillon and Stewart Whiting in Gibbs III. Matthew Power invited us to a marvellous New Year's Day party on Chinita -- not only was the rum punch good and the food outstanding but he managed to include six people from Cowes in his guest list.

After all the parties were over and the harbour emptied we stayed on for a quiet holiday enjoying the company of Eileen and Simon Jeffery on Barefoot, even if our posh dinner party was nearly ruined by yet another foreign boat trying to anchor on top of us! A slow sail through the Grenadines, a glorious week in the Tobago Cays and then as the weather broke we moved to Saline Bay, Mayreau, where we had days of high winds and lots and lots of rain. With so much rain falling we were delighted to find that the rain-catching system worked very well and we were able to keep our tanks topped up, a relief in areas where it is not always easy to obtain water. We use our wide side-decks into which a new drain has been installed, the waterpipe coming out into the cockpit. The first gallons that fall are used to clean the boat, the next for doing the laundry, and only when we're both satisfied that the water is pure do we connect the pipe into the tanks.

We picked up our friends Cate and Michael Goffe in Union Island, who were with us for a month. In Grenada a whole crowd of us hired two minibuses and enjoyed visiting the rain forest and the waterfalls. To see nutmeg, cocoa, plantains, ginger, chillies, cinnamon and pawpaw growing, the mace drying on the trays, the birds and exotic flowers was an experience we shall not forget.

Cate was by this time in great pain in her neck and shoulder. An old whiplash injury was playing up and she sought advice which resulted in her wearing a neck collar, taking lots of pills and not getting much sleep.

A horrid rough and wet night sail brought us to Trinidad where the yacht club provided great facilities except for a complete lack of any means of landing from a dinghy. End result: I tore a nerve in my shoulder and a specialist put me in a neck collar too. A week's rest was ordered but we managed to celebrate Hazel's birthday with the Gems and the Duncans of Tin Lizzie.

On leaving Trinidad we stopped at an old leper colony and awoke in the early hours to find the anchor had dragged and we were VERY close to the remains of a concrete jetty. The sight of the magnificent Goffes working the windlass in the patch dark, pouring rain and no clothes on is a sight I will not forget either. Thank you both. To Michael we awarded `The Gold Badge with Crossed Oars' for doing all the rowing, anchor and sail work, and to Cate `The Sherpa Bill Gold Neck Collar with Sling' for her cheerfulness when in such pain and for her marvellous quick wit.

Our arrival in Venezuela coincided with their Revolution and we were anxious to do everything according to the rules, so sailed to Guiria to sign in. We welcomed customs, immigration, police, translators, agents et al on board and were pleased the paperwork got done in one day. The south side of the Gulf of Paria is mountainous and dry, the north side is mountainous and wet. We did our washing in waterfall pools and dined on fish given to us by kind fishermen. When we got fed up with the humidity we sailed on to Los Testigos with its 150ft high sand dunes and body surfing -- a complete contrast. Here we met up once more with Kayos and Noridiam and a fleet of boats sailed to Margarita Island, where chaos reigned due to a cholera scare, the paperwork took days and finally, at last ... we bought an outboard. I do not have to row any more -- while it works!

We `did' the mangrove swamps, shell beaches and Mocima National Park, and visited Puerto La Cruz for more serious shopping as everything is so cheap. Then we said farewell to everyone and Hazel and I left for Tortuga, where the beaches are so white the sky glows with their reflection, and Los Roques, reef-bound islands with water the colour of aquamarine, pelicans diving for fish beside us, frigate birds, terns, cormorants (Hazel's lucky bird) and shearwaters. Again the fishermen were generous to us. It was so lovely we will return on our way home. In Curacao John Drewery and Dave Binsom joined the crew and Hazel went home to be a Granny to our new grand-daughter Virginia Grace and to enjoy some family life and visits to friends -- she rejoins us in Tahiti in June. We called into Aruba and then it was Panama.

November 1992, in New Zealand

The Panama Canal transit is one of the great experiences of a voyage around the world. First you have two days of hard paperwork at Colon, where you go around in as big a crowd as possible to prevent mugging. The banks have guards inside and out with very visible machine guns. After all that hassle the transit itself was a delight. Our poor little 12 hp Yanmar went at full blast to try and keep to the required schedule but our pilot allowed us to sail a good part of the way.

And to the wide Pacific, which to be honest at that stage did not look much different to any other stretch of water. We were only sorry when ill-health forced John to return home to the UK. Dave and I set off into the Pacific on schedule in the first week of April, heading for Cocos Island 550 miles out. Cocos, noted for its pirate gold estimated to be worth £100 million, is only a few miles square and has only one inhabitant who found us without any delay and, being the Nature Reserve Warden, promptly charged us £7 per day!

We had managed to sail to Cocos in a spasmodic sort of way, but found on the 420 mile passage to Wreck Bay, Galapagos, that the Pacific lived up to its name and we had days of no wind with a mirror-like sea. Regretfully we turned on the engine and motored for fifty hours. We crossed the Equator late on 20th April and toasted Neptune with a stiff rum.

We were allowed three days in the Galapagos as we had no visas, these having been refused to us when we applied to the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. However we joined a tourist trip to the National Park on the island of Espanola and saw the marine iguanas, giant tortoises, albatrosses, boobies, seals and sealions. What surprised us was that the islands are so green. Up at the top of the lake crater above Wreck Bay it looked just like the lush countryside of England.

The winds came back as we left for the 3000 mile trade wind passage to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas, which we made in just twenty days at an average speed of 6 knots. These islands are some 600 miles south of the Equator and are hot, humid and dramatically beautiful, with high spires of rock soaring into the sky, mostly lost in the clouds. The main drawbacks are the infamous `no-nos', nasty vicious little biting bugs that make life very uncomfortable indeed. The population has been decimated by the influence of civilisation, and in one valley we visited there are now just three part-timers where once 3000 people lived.

We had three weeks exploring the islands, and then from Nuku Hiva I set off alone for Tahiti. Dave had to go by ship, after getting a badly infected cut on his leg which the Doctor said needed more medical attention. Having arranged to meet Hazel in Tahiti there was no time to wait, and for the first part of the passage, which was very gentle, I had Noridiam and Kayos II for company and they kept a lookout for me at night when I slept. They stopped in the Tuamotos and I was sorry that shortage of time meant I had to continue. I made Papeete with one day to spare, but only after motoring again for twelve hours.

Hazel joined as planned, and she continues our story

Bill Howitt joined me on the flight from England and we were so pleased to see Bill at the airport at 3.00 am! We sat in Sherpa Bill's cockpit in the moonlight and talked the night away, exchanging news of family and friends.

14th July is THE big day in French Polynesia. The preparations started early and the celebrations spread over a considerable time so our six weeks in the island were full of song and dance. Bill had a very nasty bump on his elbow and we were very fortunate in being able to attend a clinic and get the best medical treatment at no cost. Also, the exhaust pipe manifold was completely perforated and the two men spent many hours getting parts made up and buying spare pipe in case it happened again -- which it did in Tonga, where they were able to replace it in half an hour. We lapped up the joy of fresh milk, meat and vegetables, the lovely shops and market, and took a bus ride on one of the trucks around the island, and dined out on the Quay from one of the mobile vans that provide cheap and marvellous food from every country in the world.

Then over to the peace and quiet of Moorea where we briefly met Allure, also from Cowes. We relaxed and hired a car for a tour of the island and visited the Tiki village where we were lucky to see a traditional wedding, the bride awaiting her groom who arrived by canoe. We renewed our friendships with many crews, some met on our first trip to the Caribbean in 1983, and the social life was a delight. We visited all the islands in turn and were fortunate in meeting very kind locals who welcomed us into their homes and showed us their islands -- Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa and then the long heard of and eagerly awaited Bora Bora.

Here we stopped and entered into the fun and excitement of 14th July (also my mother's 91st birthday). We sat in the stands on the Opening Night and listened to the speeches and prayers, and the songs of the elderly and truly lovely ladies as they performed their greeting. We seemed to be watching the whole island parade around the arena. It was noisy and colourful, the scent of the flowers worn by the men and women overwhelming. There were competitions every evening which drew huge crowds and the dancing was memorable.

We were sorry to say goodbye to Big Bill, who flew home, then sailed off north to Penrhyn, one of the Cook Islands. A dramatic, heart-stopping entrance through a narrow gap in the reef and we came to the village of Omaka. Three hundred people live on the 15 by 8 mile lagoon, surrounded by narrow strips of land they call motus. We were quickly cleared by Agriculture who sprayed us and the boat, and by Customs who arrived with a parcel of children. Then the heavens opened and we filled our tanks and did all the washing, it being Saturday. Sundays are very strictly kept with no work, no laundry, no swimming, fishing, games or sewing, and no long hair for men in Church. All the ladies wear elaborate hats and long sleeves and once a month it is White Sunday and everyone must be dressed ALL in white. The singing is truly amazing, the sound evocative and memorable.

After the service we were invited home by the harbourmaster for lunch, and then instructed to be back ashore at 6.30 pm as Honoured Guests at the evening's feast. The weather was awful, with rain and a very heavy swell which made landing difficult in suitable clothes for Guests. The singing led us through the darkness to the hall, where the most wonderful spread was laid out -- in view of the fact that the supply ship only visits occasionally and the people live off the sea, we were surprised at the great variety of dishes. After the meal the Skipper and other male guests had to make speeches, and Bill did really well. The ladies then came forward and presented all the guests with gifts of shell necklaces and beautiful, finely woven coconut fans with large mother-of-pearl centres. We were overcome by such generosity and in yet another heavy downpour made our way back to Sherpa Bill.

Next we sailed across the lagoon to Tetautau, where the anchorage was still and quiet and where we were adopted by a fantastic family, the Pepeios. They made their home ours, fed us on fish, and took Bill pearl diving, night fishing, crab and crayfish hunting and to see the sharks. Bill in turn tried to mend their electrical gadgets, from videos to frying pans. The generator is ON from 0600 to 1200, am and pm, but there is no one with the skills or equipment to mend the broken toys. One evening there were actually three yachts at anchor, the most visitors ever seen at one time.

4th August was our 33 1/3 wedding anniversary and also Cook Island Independence Day. There were to be two days of celebrations at Omaka, so all the people from Tetautau crossed over for the sports and song and dance competitions. There were running races on the sharp coral track, volley ball, tug-of-wars and hours of exciting dancing going on late into the night. The kindness of the people made our stay one of the highlights of our Pacific cruise and it was with sadness that we prepared to leave. The evening prior to our departure we discovered that the kicking strap* had broken away its fitting at the foot of the mast and had unpeeled about a quarter of the mast step. Bill mended this by putting a turks' head knot of Kevlar line round the mast step and saturating it with resin, which held perfectly for the 3300 miles to New Zealand.

We sailed on to American Samoa, where it always rains. A dreadful harbour with bad holding, smelly and noisy as the cannery works twenty-four hours a day and the officials have NOT got it right -- after four days tied at the Customs dock awaiting clearance in, we left. We spent one day at the dental clinic in the LBJ Hospital where a very efficient dentist did his best to cure my horrid toothache. An overnight sail brought us to Western Samoa where, after many fruitless visits, we at last found the dentist In and he removed the offending tooth. There were very few yachts at anchor in Apia and while on a bus trip we received an invitation to visit a local preacher's home and family. The houses are amazing, just a concrete or mud floor and a roof held up by poles, with no walls, doors or windows -- only woven mates lowered when it rains, which is often. On a tour of the island we saw our first banyan tree, its branches rooted in the ground and so tall the top was in the clouds.

A wonderful sail south brought us to the northern Tongan island of Niuatoputapu with its quite terrifying entrance through the reef. The sight of green lawns with horses, goats, hens, pigs and children all playing around the neat houses, some of which are set high on stilts and built of woven coconut palms, was delightful. There are three villages and it was a long and very hot walk to the Customs office in the most distant one. Again we were most warmly welcomed by the islanders and after Church on Sunday Ofisi -- his full name means `Officer of the Tin Box Post Office' (all mail used to be floated out in a tin box to passing ships and his grandfather was in charge of the procedure) -- invited six of us to a Tongan feast in his home, which proved to be a room on stilts, 10ft by 10ft with no furniture except a bed. A cloth was spread on the floor with cutlery and china, and mats laid out for us to sit on. The splendid menu included octopus, clams, lobster, crayfish, a variety of other boiled and roasted fish, salad, spinach cooked in coconut milk, and a desert of yams and caramel. All the cooking was done outside over an open fire. We had a great day.

One great shame is that the people have bought big outboards for their boats and have lost the ability to sail. There is a small community on Tafahi, a small island to the north, and all is well whilst the stock of fuel lasts. But again the supply ship's visits are irregular and so a shortage of fuel often exists. Then the villagers beg off the yachties and this causes problems. As they live in the trade winds and could easily commute for free it is a pity to see them relying on fuel which costs money they do not have.

The children too now pester all visitors for `lolly', by which they mean sweets, after being given packets of the offending item by some Americans. We do well to think before handing out such things as we sail through. The ladies too request perfume and are quite fussy as to the brand or name. In return most people are generous and give tapa cloth to the visitors. This is decorated cloth made from the bark of the mulberry tree and very beautiful. Not all `exchanges' work, and on giving the schoolmaster our new dictionary and leaving it to him to give us a fair deal in `trade' we were surprised to be given two items of fruit!

And so south again to Vava'u, Tonga, with its hundreds of small islands and numerous anchorages. The cooler weather suited us, and with the lovely clear water in which to swim and snorkel, the coral and fish making it an underwater garden to explore, and the social life being so good, we stayed on and on. The fruit and vegetable market was great and we took full advantage of all the fresh produce after so long living on tinned food. We attended a Tongan feast at Lisa Beach where a sucking pig and lamb, chicken, fish, vegetables and fruits were all cooked in a deep pit. They served lobster and crayfish, and fish cooked in coconut milk and wrapped in green leaves as parcels. Fresh coconut milk to drink and as the sun set it was to the sound of music. The local ladies brought along all their handicrafts to sell -- jewellery, mats, baskets, trays and large tapa cloth pieces. The girls danced for us, Tongan style, standing on one spot and using their arms and hands to the sound of guitars. Another day the yachties got together to raise money for the Water Ambulance run by the Italian Clinic. A day of watersports started with a challenge from Bill to sail around the island of Tapana in dinghies, and although last across the starting line Bill managed to be first over the finishing line. Then there was a paddling race in which Bill and his partner came third. After suitable liquid refreshments sixty of us attended a splendid barbecue where $500 was collected.

A fast sail to Suva, Fiji, where after the usual full day taken up with the formalities of clearing in -- so many forms to fill in and so many different departments to visit: Customs, Medical, Agriculture, Security and Immigration -- we had ten days of dry sunny weather, a rare occurrence. We spent one glorious day walking in the Colisuva Forest, following the river down from the High Falls to the Lower Pools, across narrow rickety bridges, down steep banks, over slippery stepping stones, by the waterfalls and through the vast variety of trees and ferns, only disappointed not to see or hear more birds. I had a swim in one of the pools with its own small waterfall and had to pinch myself to believe I was really there. The Royal Suva Yacht Club was home to us and all the yachties going south to avoid the cyclone season, and Bill treated me to dinner there each evening. A splendid menu and the most expensive item, sirloin steak with all the trimmings, was £3. It was a good time and made a change from corned beef.

We set off for New Zealand in pouring rain and heavy winds though the weather forecast was very good. The first three days were fast -- 165 miles each day -- very wet and extremely windy. Then the ocean went flat and we ghosted along at 4 knots under a warm sun by day and a nearly full moon by night, really enjoying ourselves. We arrived off the entrance to the river at 1615 on 8th November, just as the tide was right, and flew the 16 miles to Whangarei where the Agriculture and Customs people cleared us speedily. There also was our old friend Nis, to welcome us with a large parcel of fresh food and the offer of a hot bath. He and Heather have a house close to the yard where Sherpa Bill will soon be coming out of the water for a period of TLC.

A few facts and figures

Miles sailed from England: 15,066. Days at sea: 107 days at a speed (over the long legs of the cruise) of 4.9 knots. Islands visited: 60. Anchorages: 104. Breakages: Autohelm, rotor for the towing generator lost, mast step, wind speed indicator struck by lightning, exhaust pipe.

And a final Update from Hazel, March 1993

Bill has had both eyes operated on successfully in Whangarei and corrective lenses inserted. This has enabled him to drive all around the South Island with NO glasses at all and, after thirty-four years of marriage, it's like having a new man at one's side and oh so handsome too!

We've thoroughly enjoyed our holiday in New Zealand. We bought a car as soon as we arrived and made the most of our time here, covering as much as possible of the two islands. Whangerai has proved a superb base with every facility close at hand, so all gear has been overhauled, new spinnaker poles constructed to make life easier for Bill on the foredeck, the boat repainted, and we've also had lots of time for a great social life. The yard gave a great Christmas Party with roast lamb and all the trimmings, and next Saturday the harbour people are giving a Going Away Party for us all.

Most of the yachts are heading back to the Pacific, to Indonesia, Japan and Alaska, and we feel quite shy of saying we are off to Australia, the Indian Ocean and home in 1994. But then we have family at home and most of the others are more footloose. We wish all OCC members well in their travels around the world and hope El Nino, still with us after two years and reputed to be getting stronger, is of no concern to us all. We will be in Darwin for a short while after sailing up the Great Barrier Reef, then plan to depart on 25th August 1993 across the Indian Ocean.

* The boom vang, to those across the Pond