FLEET UPDATE 2023-06-11

 

South Pacifc Posse '23

 

"Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again.."

- Captain James Cook FRS


SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE
FLEET UPDATE

2023-06-11

13 Ensigns

63 Yachts from 13 ensigns are part of a forward scouting fleet looking for opportunities and looking out for threats.

To join follow this link >>

Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre Noumea designe by Renzo Piana Noumea New Caledonai

Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre Noumea designed by Renzo Piano 🇳🇨 NEW CALEDONIA

TOP NEWS

  • L'ÎLOT AMÉDÉE 🇳🇨 NEW CALEDONIA
  • PICTURES OF THE WEEK
  • GET YOUR BURGEE
  • MONSOON'S TAKE
  • SAVE THE DATE
  • OCEAN TACTICS 🌪🌀
  • CYCLONE HOLES 🇫🇯 FIJI
  • RIVERGATE MARINA & SHIPYARD 🇦🇺
  • MANUAL TRACKING WITH PREDICT WIND SWITCH OVER
  • BOLO ALERT
  • HISTORIC PORTSVAVA'U KINGDOM OF 🇹🇴 TONGA

1) L'ÎLOT AMÉDÉE
🇳🇨 NEW CALEDONIA

 Amedee Lighthouse

The Amedee Lighthouse, located near Noumea, New Caledonia has some fascinating facts.

Construction: The Amedee Lighthouse was constructed in France in the late 1860s and was shipped in pieces to New Caledonia. It was designed by French engineer, Henri Becquerel, and stands as a testament to 19th-century engineering.

Tower Height: The lighthouse stands at a height of 56 meters (184 feet). It is one of the tallest lighthouses in the Southern Hemisphere and offers panoramic views of the surrounding ocean and islands surrounded by white sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters with sea turtles nearby.

The lighthouse is made of cast iron plates, which were riveted together to form the cylindrical tower. It features a spiral staircase with 247 steps leading to the lantern room at the top. The lighthouse's distinctive red and white stripes make it easily recognizable.

The Amédée Lighthouse

The Amedee Lighthouse is not just a historical , it is still an active lighthouse. It serves as an essential navigational aid, guiding ships through the coral reefs and marking the entrance to the Noumea harbor.

The lens, the original one fitted, is made up of a series of prismatic segments and known as a Fresnel lens. It was made in Paris in 1862 by the Société des Etablissements Henry-Lepaute. It was brought, dismantled, to New Caledonia and reassembled on top of the Amédée lighthouse in 1865. It was removed in 1985 when the lighthouse was automated, and replaced by a more modern lens.

The original lense was made up of a series of prismatic segments and known as a Fresnel lens. It was made in Paris in 1862 by the Société des Etablissements Henry-Lepaute and was replaced in 1985.

Conservation

Conservation Efforts: Due to its ecological importance, Amedee Island and its surrounding waters have been designated a marine protected area. This designation aims to preserve the diverse marine ecosystem and promote sustainable tourism practices

 Ilot Amadee

⚓ Good Anchorage & Mooring Balls @ 22° 28.55 S 166° 27.93 E Ilot Amadee 🇳🇨 NEW CALEDONIA

2) PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Suwarrow

@ anchor with sharks

At anchor

very good visibility * location withheld ;-)

At Anchor

SY GLADAN 🇵🇱 Giancarlo & Paola - Lagoon 44′

Gladan PaolaGladan Giancarlo
Mt Yasur

Mt Yasur Volcano in Vanuatu with David in all it's glory

On the edge of hell

On the edge of the caldron - phet phet phet is the sound of 2000 degree lava rocks landing all around you as they are launched at 1,000°C / 1,800°F. Estimated to erupt 10-20 times every hour as the volcano is constantly rumbling and causing the ground to shake.

MT YASUR

SY DREAMER 🇺🇸 David & Gerne - Caliber 40lrv’

DREAMER CrewDREAMER GerneDREAMER David
 

Experience in 30 seconds what a volcanic eruption looks like up close !

VANUATU IS IN GOOD NAUTICAL

VANUATU IS IN GOOD NAUTICAL ⚓

Rolling Stones

SY ROLLING STONES 🇺🇸 Geoff, Meghan & crew Leopard 45′

Rolling Stones Rolling Stones Rolling Stones Rolling Stones Rolling Stones
FIRST LIGHT

SKY LIGHT

 A coral bombie off a motu in Tahanea atoll

A coral bommie off a motu in Tahanea atoll FP

UNderwater

The sailing duo of Don Atwood and Julie Dunne will be chronicling their adventures, both land and sea with pictures and stories as they journey across the South Pacific aboard the sailboat First Light.

Coral
At Peace

More shots of the beautiful atolls of French Polynesia.

Floating the anchor chain to avoid coral damage and avoiding getting tangled up our bommies

FIRST LIGHT

SY FIRST LIGHT Don & Julie - Hallberg Rassy 39′

FIRST LIGHT DonFIRST LIGHT Julie
 

Marquesas
Marquesas
NANAI

SY NANAI 🇺🇸 Chris, Kay, Kevin & Mark - Tashing,Taswell 49′

3) GET YOUR BURGEE FROM KEVIN
@ NUKU HIVA YACHT SERVICES

Burgee Back

South Pacific Posse '23 BUrgee Front

Yacht Services Nuku Hiva 🇵🇫 Sponsors the South Pacific Posse

Yacht Services Nuku Hiva 🇵🇫 Sponsors the South Pacific Posse

I look forward to meeting and helping the participants

Cheers, Kevin

BP 301 Taiohae, 98742 Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia

+689 87 22 68 72, YSNukuHiva@hotmail.com

VHF 72, Monday – Friday 0800-1400

4) INTRODUCING THE LATEST
SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE MARINA

MUSKET COVE MARINA 🇫🇯 SPONSORS THE PANAMA POSSE

MUSKET COVE FIJI

We welcome any of the South Pacific Posse to Musket Cove at any time.

We’re pleased to offer a Free Berthing Day for 5 Paid Days to all South Pacific Posse Members.

Wayne Deed Musket ove Fiji

Wayne Deed
Musket Cove Fiji

Musket COve Fiji

Musket Cove in Fiji is a renowned destination that holds a special allure for yachts from all around the world.

Musket Cove is located in the idyllic Mamanuca Islands of Fiji, surrounded by crystal-clear turquoise waters, pristine beaches, and lush tropical landscapes. The natural beauty is breathtaking and provides a perfect backdrop for hanging out a season in the tropics.

Fiji offers excellent sailing conditions and service oriented staff and vendors with consistent trade winds, calm waters, and numerous sheltered anchorages and amazing surf breaks. Musket Cove, in particular, benefits from its strategic location within the Mamanuca Islands, providing easy access to nearby islands, reefs, and marine parks with an easy ferry to get you and your crew and guest back to and from the main island and Nandi airport.

The marina offers a range of services, including berthing, fueling, making it a convenient and well-equipped base for yachts to dock, moor and refuel.

Musket Cove has developed a vibrant yachting community hosting various events, races, regattas, and social gatherings, fostering a sense of camaraderie among cruisers. These events provide opportunities for networking, sharing experiences, and celebrating the joy of exploring via yacht.

It also offers a range of amenities and services that appeal beyond sailors. The Musket Cove Island Resort provides luxurious accommodation, restaurant options spa facilities, and additional recreational activities, allowing you to unwind and indulge in a relaxed setting.

MUSKET COVE MARINA 🇫🇯 SPONSORS THE PANAMA POSSE

5) MORE PICTURES OF THE WEEK

BRAVO ZULU

enjoying some dolphins in the distance, or maybe to get some alone time

Mary Caraway Ewing enjoying some dolphins in the distance, or maybe to get some alone time

More exploration of the dramatic Marquesas. These islands were once the home of tens of thousands of Polynesians

We sail where the coconuts grow

We sail where the coconuts grow and ... FALL!

Local Fruits

Legendary Pampelmousse and local fruits grow among breadfruit plant or 'uru, the coconut, the dozens of varieties of bananas including the incomparable orange plantain banana or fe'i, various root vegetables such as the taro, the tarua, the ufi, and the 'umara make up the basis of island cuisine

 Tiki: Anthropomorphic Sculptures, Sacred Structures and Powerful Places in Marquesas Islands Tiki : Sculptures anthropomorphiques, structures et localités sacrées des îles Marquises Sidsel Millerstrom p. 1828-1846 Abstract Index Text Bibliography Notes AuthorIllustrations Abstract English Français The ancient Marquesan anthropomorphic stone and wood sculptures or tiki have received wide attention since they were first noted in 1595. However, they have not been systematically and scientifically studied until the Marquesas Rock Art Project was created in 1984. Over several years eighty‑four anthropomorphic sculptures were located through intensive field survey and interviews with local Marquesan. Information gathered at each site included metric data, archaeological, social, architectural and environmental context. Stylistically the Marquesan stone tiki are remarkably similar and followed certain social rules. The similar characteristics also seen in Marquesan rock art, tattoo, and material objects suggest that the fundamental principles regarding the symbolic order remained unchanged for a long time. Moreover, the homogeneous decorative system demonstrates that the Marquesan adhered to a common ideology and belief system. Index terms Mots clés : Océanie, Polynésie française, Îles Marquises, Tiki, pierres anthropomorphiques, archéologie, sculpture sur bois, art rupestre, lieux sacrés, tatouage Keywords : Oceania, Marquesas Island, Tiki, anthropomorphic stone, archaeology, wood Sculptures, rock art, sacred place, tattoo Full text Acknowledgement The Marquesan Rock Art Project was a team effort and several archaeologists and local volunteers worked with us. While they are too numerous to mention here I am grateful for their enthusiasm, help and their friendship. I wish to acknowledge Maeva Navarro, former director of C.P.S.H., Tahiti, for initiating the Marquesan Rock Art Project, and for allowing my team and me to conduct research in the Marquesas. I thank her for her support and encouragement. Thank you to Edmundo Edwards, with whom I was fortunate to be able to work; he headed the project and became my working partner from the beginning. His knowledge of Polynesia and his overwhelming generosity and kindness touched everybody. Heidy Baumgartner Lesage, a long‑time friend and team mate, and I spent much time together in the Marquesas surveying, recording the petroglyphs, tiki, and associated architecture. I will always be indebted to Heidy for her sound advice and companionship. I thank the government of French Polynesia for allowing me to do archaeological research in the islands and for the many Marquesan that housed and fed us, showed us archaeological sites and became our friends. Introduction 1 A publication about a tiki exhibit in 2016, Tahiti, just become available. Tik (...) 1Since the 1590s, with the arrival of the first Europeans to the Marquesan Archipelago, stone and wood sculptures have been described, exhibited, photographed, sketched, painted and admired. However, the sculptures have never been systematically surveyed, documented and analysed. I present here a summary of metric information and empirical observation generated from data collected on the stone sculptures during several archaeological field seasons to the Marquesas Islands.1 2In 1984, Maeva Navarro, then Director of Département d’Archéologie, Centre Polynésien des Sciences Humaines, Te Anavaharau, Tahiti (C.P.S.H), initiated the Marquesas Island Rock Art Project. This government organization is presently known as Service de la Culture et du Patrimoine (S.C.P). Edmundo Edwards, then chief archaeologist with the department, directed the project. I was part of the venture from the beginning. During the Marquesan Rock Art Project, from 1984 to 1989, eighty‑four stone statues or tiki were documented in seventeen valleys on the presently six inhabited islands. Figure 1. The Marquesas Archipelago, French Polynesia Figure 1. The Marquesas Archipelago, French Polynesia Zoom in Original (png, 48k) © Map courtesy Melinda Allen 2016 2 Their work was published in 2007 by Service de la Culture et du Patrimoine, Mi (...) 3Since 1998, additional sculptures have been found and documented by others. For instance, the French couple Catherine Chavaillon and Eric Olivier, while living on Hiva Oa, recorded several previously undocumented statues2. 3 In the 1890s a large anthropomorphic head was taken from Me’ae Iipona, Puamau, Valley, (...) 4In 1997, the American archaeologist Barry Rolett, with University of Hawaii, Manoa, discovered four tiki heads on the surface of a shrine (me’ae) in Vaitahu, Tahuata. Several sculptures are located in Musée de Tahiti et des îles, Punaauia in numerous museums worldwide as well as in private collections. None of these anthropomorphic figures are included in this study. Some statues have been carried away by foreigners or they were hidden by Marquesan when Christianity became established in the archipelago.3 4 A stone monument in Vaitahu, Tahuata, raised in 1995 in commemoration of the discovery o (...) 5The first encounter between Europeans and Te Enana, as the Marquesan people now wish to be called, was brief and brutal.4 In July 1595, the Spanish commander Alvaro de Mendaña and his pilot Portuguese Pedro Fernández de Quiros came upon Fatu Hiva, Tahuata, Hiva Oa, and Montane islands in the southern group, on their way from Peru to form a colony in the Solomon Islands. Te Enana then became the first Polynesian island society to be discovered by the Europeans. During their visit to Vaitahu, Tahuata, Mendaña and his crew held a Mass, raised three wooden crosses, planted a few corn seeds, and took possession of the island in the name of Spain. Due to misunderstandings between Te Enana and the Spanish some two hundred islanders were massacred. Only Quiros left a record of what they saw during their sojourn in the islands. His account contained the first description of anthropomorphic sculptures and a sacred structure: 5 Markham, 1904, p. 27‑28. Apart from the village there was an oracle surrounded by palisades, with the entrance on the west side. Within there was a house, almost in the middle, in which were wooden figures badly carved; and here were offerings of food and a pig, which the soldiers took. When the Spanish soldiers attempted to take some of the objects, they were made to understand by the Enana that they had great respect for the place.5 6As far as the written record is concerned, no Europeans visited the islands during the following 179 years. Western influence first spread after Captain James Cook’s three‑day visit in 1774. Cook, commander of the Resolution and the Discovery, also anchored in Vaitahu Bay, Tahuata. 7He renamed it Resolution Bay. From then on numerous explorers, missionaries, traders and a few beachcombers arrived in the archipelago. Thus, the Marquesan social fabric dramatically changed forever. Anthropomorphic Sculptures (Tiki) Characteristics 8All representations of human like figures such as the statues, anthropomorphs seen in the petroglyphs, pictographs and tattoo repertoire, carved figures on bones, wood and shells are collectively referred to as tiki. This, however, does not mean that they represent the god Tiki, an important figure in Marquesan mythology. In general, the anthropomorphic statues represent deified ancestors such as important chiefs and priests, people that were considered sacred or tapu. For instance, Takai’i, at Me’ae Iipona, Puamu, Hiva Oa, the largest tiki in the Marquesas, was a powerful chief and warrior. Figure 2. Me'ae Iipona, Puamau, Hiva Oa. Takai’i and a sitting tiki Figure 2. Me'ae Iipona, Puamau, Hiva Oa. Takai’i and a sitting tiki Zoom in Original (jpeg, 1,1M) © Millerstrom Location 9Of the 84 stone anthropomorphic sculptures that we documented, the majority, 53 tiki (63,1 percent), were found on Hiva Oa (Table 1). At Me’ae Iipona, there are 18 tiki (5 statues, 10 heads, and three sculpture fragments), as well as numerous boulders with petroglyphs. Several of the heads were uncovered in 1991 when the French archaeologist Pierre Ottino and his crew restored the site for the Third Marquesas Islands Festival. The only sitting tiki recorded by us is located at this site (see figure 2). The sitting tiki, named Te aua ehu ehu or Fau poe, is believed to represent the wife of Takai’i, the tallest tiki in the Marquesas. Island Valley Frequency of tiki Percentage Hiva Oa Puamau 30 ‘Atu’ona 9 Hanaiapa 3 Eiaone 3 Ta’a Oa 2 Tahauku 2 Mutu Ua 2 Hanapa’ao’a 1 Punaei 1 Subtotal 53 63.1 Nuku Hiva Taipivai 12 Hatiheu 4 Anaho 1 Taiohae 4 Subtotal 21 25.0 Ua Huka Hane 4 Vaipaee 1 Hokatu 1 Subtotal 6 7.1 Tahuata Vaitahu 1 Subtotal 1 1.2 Ua Pu Hakamoui 1 Hakatehau 1 Subtotal 2 2.4 Fatu Hiva Omoa 1 Subtotal 1 1.2 Total 84 100 6 One of the “horizontally placed” tiki is located at Me’ae Iipona. In the 1 (...) 10A total of 48 tiki were documented in situ; the remaining 36 sculptures had been relocated, and their exact original location and archaeological contexts are uncertain. Based on morphology, five main categories are distinguished: 1) statue carved in the round; 2) modified boulder; 3) rectangular block with tiki figure in deep bas‑relief; 4) double figure; and 5) exotic figure. The last category includes two separate horizontally placed tiki resting on blocks and one seated figure (mentioned above).6 The most common visual characteristics are large circular eyes, wide nose, mouth, slightly flexed legs, and arms placed on a protruding stomach. It may include intricate facial features, tattoos, and headbands, while the rest of the body is only roughly outlined. 7 Millerstrom, 2003a, p. 103‑110. 11Tiki are associated with shrines (me’ae), chief’s household units, or ritual places located within the tribal communal complexes (tohua). Tiki may also be linked to fishing shrines (Figure 3). We found a small tiki on the surface of a fishing shrine in Anaho, Nuku Hiva.7 At Paepae Paeke, Nuku Hiva, another site with several tiki, the statues are fully carved and placed on or in the walls of platforms. Figure 3. Anaho, Nuku Hiva. Tioka Puhetini with a tiki discovered on Me’ae Atatai, a fisherman's shrine (331ANA T‑1) Figure 3. Anaho, Nuku Hiva. Tioka Puhetini with a tiki discovered on Me’ae Atatai, a fisherman's shrine (331ANA T‑1) Zoom in Original (jpeg, 408k) ©Millerstrom 12Regarding the Paepae Paeke site, when German ethnographer von den Steinen visited in the 1890s, he was told that each of the 12 tiki present at the site was named after a district in Taipi Valley. The name of one of the tiki was Puamamau Etua. Furthermore, the Paepae Paeke was protected by a tapu (a spiritual protection). The sacredness of the place, the location on top of a peak, and the name of one tiki indicate that this was a me’ae and that one tiki may represent a deified inspirational priest. When the American archaeologist Ralph Linton examined the site in 1920, his guide claimed that the site was neither sacred nor a shrine and the people of Taipi did not know of any names. 13Sometimes statues are directly associated with a chief’s domestic complex. A chief’s house is sometimes referred to as a me’ae in the historic literature. It is possible that an important chief’s house became so infused with supernatural power after his death that the site became sacred and thus became become a shrine as. This is what might have taken place at Paepae Paeke. Structure 14Typically, the size of the head is one third or more of the body’s height. Because the head was considered sacred and the seat of supernatural power (mana), it was the most important part of the statue. Thus, it was carved with careful attention to the smallest details. It is usually resting directly on square shoulders lacking a neck. A tiki at Me’ae Iipona is unusual because of the small size of the head in relation to the body (Figure 4). It is possible that the original head broke off, and the statue and the head were re‑carved to fit into a smooth groove in the upper torso. Round, large, and bulging eyes are usually encircled with a 1‑2‑cm‑wide raised rim under high‑arched eyebrows. Sometimes the eyes have a raised or incised curved line that bisects them from the outer part of the eye to the inner corner of each eye. Some tiki have circular indented pits indicating the pupils. Figure 4. Me'ae Iipona, Puamau, Hiva Oa Figure 4. Me'ae Iipona, Puamau, Hiva Oa Zoom in Original (jpeg, 418k) © Millerstrom 15A broad nose with wide nostrils fills out most of the centre of the face. The outline of the nose goes upward and connects with the eyebrow. High eyebrows reach down on the outer side of the head and link with the ears, resembling the stems of eyeglasses. A long, wide mouth, sometimes with a protruding tongue or even teeth with great canines, covers the lower part of the face. When tattoo occur, they depict anthropomorphic figures, dogs, and geometric motifs. Tattoo are usually placed on the side of the mouth chest or on the thighs. 8 Linton, 1925, p. 74. 16Carved headdresses (hei) are the most common form of decoration, but wreath around the neck, tattoo, short mantles, and hair‑knots on each side of the head occur. Some tiki have drilled circular perforation in the earlobes for placement of earplugs. Takai’i at Me’ae Iipona, has tattoo on the chest and legs, what appears to be a hair knot at the back, and we noted several vertical grooves in each eye, perhaps this was to emphasize their size and the direction of the gaze. The American archaeologist Ralph Linton8 mentions ornamental grooves, circles and chevron patterns on the abdomen and buttocks on some images, but these tattoo design are no longer visible on the tiki we recorded. We do not know if the neck ornaments represent plants or marine material. Perforated shell tabs, pearl pendants, fish, porpoise and whale teeth are found in archaeological deposits. In fact, whale teeth were so treasured that towards the beginning of the Classical Period (1600‑1790) and onwards imitation whale teeth were carved from the lips of Cassi shell. Wreaths of perishable plant material are difficult to ascertain archaeologically. Paul Pétard (1912‑1980), a French ethnobotanist, reported that garlands were strung from the keys of Pandanus (Pandanus tectorius), also referred to as Screw Pine, to decorate the body during feasts. Several varieties of the Pandanus were recognized by the Polynesian according to the various parts of the tree, and the changing colour of the ripening fruit. Garlands strung from the Pandanus keys, especially the red type (ha’a kua), was reserved for garlands to decorate the tiki during feasts and hence tapu or forbidden to commoners. 17Wide, rounded hips and short, stubby extend legs rest on a pedestal. Some tiki have a peg base to secure them in the ground. Legs were considered less important and many images have the legs only indicated, while other sculptures are cut off below the waist. Ankles may be indicated by raised circular knobs. Only a few images depict toes. The back is often carved with spines and buttocks even when the statues are fitted into a stone platform. The tiki recorded by our team vary in height from 32.7 to 250 cm above the ground. The majority of the statues measure between 50 and 100 cm. 18During some ceremonies, the tiki was girdled in tapa or bark clothes. While tapa beating was usually done by women, the loincloth for the tiki were ceremonially beaten by the priest. Early explorers describe old inspirational priests (tuhuna/tuhuka) beating loincloth for the gods. The act was so sacred that the priest could only eat in the evening. Offerings of human victims, animals, fruit, and vegetables were placed in front of the statue or hung in nearby trees. Contributions were placed near the tiki and priest were seen presenting food to the mouth of the statues. Robarts, an English beachcomber that lived eight years in the islands noted that during the memorial feast, food was always sent to the priests at the me’ae. A small portion of the food was placed on the head of the image. Edward Robarts wrote: “This no one eats, being held sacred” (1974). Several of the images we documented have a flat surface on top of the head which may have been a space to place decoration such as a crown of shell, teeth, bones, or plant material as well as offerings to the ancestors. 9 Quoted from E. S. Handy (1923, p. 224) in The Native Culture in the Marquesas: Bernice (...) 19Hands with fingers are most often resting on a protruding abdomen. As ritual knowledge, genealogy and oral tradition were believed to be held in the stomach, hands placed on a protruding belly may have been a way to protect these memories. A tiki, part of Tohua Pehe Kua, Puamau, have the left hand touching the mouth (Figure 5). The reason for this is unknown. At Me’ae Iipona, a headless tiki placed on a terrace below Takai’i has 6 fingers on each hand also resting on a protruding stomach. A circular tattoo on the left ankle indicates that it is a high raking person. A tribal inspirational priest or shaman was called tau’a. Sometimes they would also be called atua (called etua in the Southern group), which means literally god. A shaman could be a male or female. He or she was thought to be persons who could be possessed by spirits or gods and their position were demonstrated by some type of phenomenon or “distinguished by remarkable physical deformity of some kind”.9 This statue is the only one we recorded that showed deformity, although a tiki located at Paepae Paeke, Nuku Hiva, has two heads. However, double‑headed tiki or the Janus figure phenomena seen elsewhere in Polynesian carvings may have different connotations. Figure 5. Tohua Pehe Kua, Puamau, Hiva Oa. The tiki, one of a pair, is presently located at chief Te Hau Moe’s tomb Figure 5. Tohua Pehe Kua, Puamau, Hiva Oa. The tiki, one of a pair, is presently located at chief Te Hau Moe’s tomb Zoom in Original (jpeg, 40M) © Millerstrom 20It is generally assumed that all the tiki represented men. This may not be the case. Leaving out sculptured heads from the calculation, there are 61 torsos and fully carved tiki. Of these 39 sculptures (64.0 percent) have no sex depicted. While 16 sculptures (26.2 percent) represent males, 6 tiki (9.8 percent) represent females. At Paepae Paeke, Taipivai (Nuku Hiva), 4 of the 12 tiki represent females and 4 are males (Figure 6). In the past all tiki had a name, but most of them are forgotten today. According to legends and local informants the tiki with 6 fingers on with both hands at Me’ae Iipona carries names that are both male and female; Te torae e nohu ua, or Maiauto, or Pete ta mu imui are masculine and feminine names. Thus, the male/female distinctions in carved ancestral figures may or may not have been meaningful to the Marquesan in the past. Figure 6. Paepae Paeke, Taipivai, Nuku Hiva. A female tiki carved in red volcanic tuff Figure 6. Paepae Paeke, Taipivai, Nuku Hiva. A female tiki carved in red volcanic tuff Zoom in Original (jpeg, 2,5M) © Millerstrom Material 10 Millerstrom & Edwards, 1998. 11 Linton, 1925, p. 162. 21A total of 31 tiki (37.0 percent) were carved from sacred red volcanic tuff, but some basaltic tiki were once painted red10. When we used artificial light at night to checked on an image at Me’ae Utukua, Punaei Valley, Hiva Oa, we discovered traces of red pigment around the eyes (Figure 7). Ralph Linton11 saw traces of red pigment in protected parts of a statue at Me’ae Iipona, Hiva Oa. Some of the sculptures, 16 (19.0 percent) in total, were carved in a gray or yellow tuff. The remaining 37 sculptures (44.0 percent) were crafted in basalt. Figure 7. Me’ae Utukua, Punaei Valley, Hiva Oa. Figure 7. Me’ae Utukua, Punaei Valley, Hiva Oa. Zoom in Original (jpeg, 433k) ©Photo courtesy C. Chavaillon and E. Oliver 12 Ibid., p. 8‑9, 164‑165. 13 Ibid., p. 8. 22There are numerous quarries in the Marquesas, but none of them have been investigated. Ralph Linton12 writes that all the “great tiki” at Me’ae Iipona were sculptures with material from the quarry of Teohopuapu, located in a small valley in the stream bed on the south‑western side of Teohovevau, Puamau Valley. Both red and gray tuff are found in the quarry. In the same area there is a 10 feet stratum of gray tuff deposit. The outline of a large block, also called ke’etu, has been removed and an unfinished tiki head is still visible. Linton13 mentioned another quarry in Puamau that were quarried for stones for secular structures and a quarry at Hakahetau, Ua Pou. None of these quarries have been visited by our team. 14 Ibid., p. 74‑75. 23Ralph Linton14 claims that the tuff on Nuku Hiva is coarser than the tuff elsewhere and that the sculptures are “technically inferior to those of Hiva Oa”. This has yet to be confirmed. On the beach of the isolated Ha’ata’ive’a Valley, located on the north coast of Nuku Hiva, there are two quarries one on each side of the bay. On the east side, a 2‑3 m wide, red tuff band is exposed in a cliff, and a cave is situated above. In the cave, approximately 5 m above the ground, two anthropomorphic faces are pecked on the floor (Figure 8ab). Rectangular outlines, the results of removing blocks of red tuff, are visible on the north side of the 2‑3 m tuff deposit. At high tide the area is partly submerged, a rough outlined tiki is still in place. A basalt adze quarry with the remains of a white beach rock pavement is situated across the bay. Figure 8. Ha’atai’ve’a, Nuku Hiva. Two petroglyph faces placed on the floor of a rock shelter (331haa 1) Figure 8. Ha’atai’ve’a, Nuku Hiva. Two petroglyph faces placed on the floor of a rock shelter (331haa 1) Zoom in Original (jpeg, 9,2M) © Millerstrom 15 Linton, 1925, p. 165. 24Numerous rituals took place before cutting trees for canoes or quarry stones for tiki. Most of these are now forgotten. In the Polynesian past, all boulders and stones were embodied with supernatural power, but some were thought to be more powerful or sacred than others. Boulders, like all things in nature, were believed to grow in the same manner as people and plants. Te Enana believed that ke’etu “grows slowly but constantly ‑a quality peculiar to it”.15 In fact, carving of stone was so important that certain rituals were observed while quarrying. Workers had to render themselves tapu and has to avoid women prior to working with stones or their tools would break. Conservation Issues 25The stone sculptures, especially those carved in the coarse and soft red and yellow volcanic tuff, are friable. Deterioration of the sculptures due to the exposure of the environment continuous to be a serious threat to the Marquesan cultural remains. Over the years many discussions considering the best way to preserve the sculptures have taken place, e.g., chemical treatment, replace the original with copies, or cover them with roofs. In 2016, conservation efforts have been implemented at Me’ae Iipona, Puamau, a site that receives a relatively large number of tourists. Thatched roofs have been built over each of the most fragile tiki. This certainly will help to slow the deterioration, but in many respects, it may be too late. Since the early 1980s my team and I have noticed slow deterioration of the tiki especially at Me’ae Iipona and Paepae Paeke. In the 1920‑21, Ralph Linton noticed tattoo patterns on the upper and lower legs of Takai’i, such as herringbone patters on the thigh and horizontal grooves on the lower legs. These figures are no longer visible. When our team recorded Takai’i in 1985, we noted 4 vertical grooves in his right eye and 27 vertical grooves in his left eye. These grooves are now difficult to distinguish. 16 Heyerdahl & Ferdon, 1965, p. 127, plate 40c. 26When the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition excavated at Me’ae Iipona in 1956, they made a complete plaster mold, a total of fifty‑nine parts, of Takai’i16. An identical copy was then made for the Kon‑Tiki Museum, Oslo, Norway. In the 1990s, I contacted Arne Sjølsvold at the Kon‑Tiki Museum and asked him if they still had the plaster mold. The plaster cast was made by archaeologists Sjølsvold and Figueroa, members of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition. Sjølsvold also excavated Me’ae Iipona. While they searched the museum, no mold was found. Sjølsvold speculated that the pieces were thrown away after the copy for the museum was completed. Discussions Age Determination 17 Heyerdahl, 1965, p. 123‑150. 18 Ferdon, 1965, p. 117‑121. 19 The radio carbon age determination for Paeke is 1516 plus or minus 80 year (...) 27To determine the age of the sculptures is challenging. It appears that the conventional image face was first developed in the petroglyphs system and later became part of the tiki face in the sculptures (Figure 9). According to informants in 1890s who could recite approximately 25 generations, Karl von den Steinen, calculated that Me’ae Iipona was constructed circa 1700‑1750. Excavation in 1956 by members of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific, financed and directed by Thor Heyerdahl, yielded three significantly earlier radiocarbon dated from about 1300 to 1700 (uncalibrated) for the site17. At Paepae Paeke, Taipivai, Edwin Ferdon18, also a member of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition, collected an early radiocarbon date, approximately from 1500‑1600. While these dates indicate the occupation of the sites, it is uncertain if the age determinations reflect the age of the associated sculptures19. Suggs (1961), based on his excavations on Nuku Hiva, suggests that the sculptures were first made around 1600‑1700. Rolett noted that the tiki uncovered in Vaitahu (Tahuata) probably dated to the late prehistoric or early historic period, 1700‑1850. Figure 9: Vaitahu, Taipivai, Nuku Hiva. Two mata or tiki faces (333vai 1) Figure 9: Vaitahu, Taipivai, Nuku Hiva. Two mata or tiki faces (333vai 1) Zoom in Original (png, 30k) © Millerstrom 20 Linton, 1925, p. 167. 28The statues at Paepae Poevau, Puamau Valley, were, according to Ralph Linton20 “among the last products of the Marquesan sculptures tradition and prove conclusively that the art of stone carvings was alive and vigorous at the time of the French conquest”. A pervasive art system 21 Linton, 1923, p. 269. 22 It is assumed that human figures are the most numerous Marquesan design element. This (...) 29Polynesian decorative systems e.g., tiki, petroglyphs, pictographs and tattoo, are pervasive. Ralph Linton21 stated that the Marquesan material culture was homogeneous. For example, human images were more often depicted on all Marquesan media (e.g., houses, canoes, implements, and ornaments) than on the same media in the other Polynesian islands or island groups22. Ruth Greiner (1923) numerically demonstrated that the distributions of design elements and motifs used in carving occurred in more Marquesan media than in the islands on Hawaii, Tahiti, Austral, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, the Cooks, and New Zealand. Unfortunately, Greiner did not have the opportunity to examine Karl von den Steinen’s (1969(I), 1969(II), 1969(III)) seminal work on Marquesan material art. Von den Steinen’s work would have bolstered Greiner’s argument. 23 Walsh & Biggs, 1966. 24 Millerstrom & Allen, 2006. 25 DeBoer, 1991, p. 157. 26 Crook William, 2007 [1797‑1799]. 30A great number of petroglyph faces, stylistically similar to the faces of the sculptures, are often referred to mata both by the local people and in the literature. Mata is also a word linked to numerous tattoo motifs given to von den Steinen in 1897. Mata, a Proto‑Polynesian taxeme refers to eye and face.23 The word has the same meaning in Tonga, Samoa, the Cooks, Easter Islands and among the Maori. Maka is a Hawaiian cognate. Other glosses for mata include genealogy, clan, tribe, or status lineage. This word is still retained in Polynesian dialects indicate that the face motif is connected with important concepts that go far back in Oceanic history. The pervasive mata motif seen in tiki and petroglyphs is also expressed on the surface of, for instance, stilt holders, calabashes, ear plugs, hair ornaments, bark cloth masks, wooden clubs ivory fan handles and so on, collected in the early historic period. There is also a connection between the decoration on tiki, petroglyphs and tattoo.24 They all show remarkable similarities in their decorative systems. This homogeneous decorative system probably identified and intensified the ideology of a group of people. A pervasive art system, furthermore, promotes and reinforces social solidarity in order to maintain belief systems that bolster the political position of the hereditary chief, priests or warriors. Pervasive decorative organization experience much less rate of change that for example an opposing partitive art system.25 These theoretical perspectives have important implications regarding changes in the Marquesan art system and how these changes reflect social transformation. The emphasis on the mata may also have been a way to memorialize, honour, and venerate ancestors. Concern with genealogy was strong in Polynesia. Genealogy linked people with their ancestors and defined their social position to their chiefs. Genealogies were chanted in rites of adoption, birth of a firstborn, marriages, funerals, and so on. Because the head was considered the seat of mana, ancestral skulls were frequently removed from burials and treated as sacred relics. The similarity of much of the archaeological art may be, in part, because the craft specialist (tohuna), despite unrest and warfare, could safely travel between islands.26 Conclusion 27 A version of this essay was presented at the Fourth International Conference on Easter I (...) 31This brief essay on the Marquesan statues presents metric data and some discussion on the statues linked to sacred structures.27 The similarities seen in Marquesan rock art, tattoo, and material objects suggest that the fundamental principles regarding the symbolic order remained unchanged for a long time. Moreover, the homogeneous decorative system demonstrates that the Marquesan adhered to a common ideology and belief system. Stylistically the Marquesan stone tiki are remarkably similar, obviously following certain social rules. However, numerous variations exist suggesting that each tiki not only symbolized important deceased ancestor but in fact represented a specific ancestor. 32The research discussed above is but a small part of the potential wealth of information still to be gleamed from investigating the tiki. Several issues remain to be examined. For example, although the Marquesan tiki are remarkably homogeneous, attribute variations occur. While I speculate that these variations reflect the individual deified ancestor, the stylistic variations could be due to the individual craft‑person, regional or chronological differences, or perhaps associated with the type of material used. Furthermore, is it possible to identify the sex of the 72.8 percent genderless statues by isolating specific male and female characteristics? Futures tiki studies may involve the examination of quarries, as well as to investigate the source of the tiki. To be able to link the source of the statues to the various quarries may reveal information on, for instance, exchange systems, the distance the statues were transported across a challenging landscape, time and efforts of both manufacturing and transportation, division of labour, the limitation of natural resources, social structure or status involved in the quarrying and the carving of the statues, technology and quality of the material, and, in general, social context. Future projects may, furthermore, include the documentation of the anthropomorphic sculptures in museums worldwide and those that are accessible in private collections. Together with the 84 sculptures recorded by my team it will further our knowledge of the Marquesan cultural heritage. Without a doubt, additional tiki will be discovered in the future during archaeological survey, excavation as well as during road and house constructions. Bibliography Books Crook William P., 2007 [1797‑1799], An Account of the Marquesas Islands 1797‑1799, Haere Po, Tahiti, 215 p. Markham Clements, 1904, The Voyages of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, 1595 to 1606, 2 vol., The Hakluyt Society, London. Millerstrom Sidsel, 2017, Te Henua Enana; Images and Settlement Patterns in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia, 67, Contributions of the Archaeological Research Facility, University of California, Berkeley eScholarship, DOI: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9v38f0zt. [97809890022-5-7] Robart Edward, 1974, The Marquesan Journal of Edward Robarts 1797‑1824, edited by Dening Greg, University Press of Hawai'I, Honolulu, 360 p. [0708106358] Walsh D. S. & Biggs Bruce, 1966, Proto‑Polynesian Word List i, Linguistic Society of New Zealand, Auckland, 133 p. Papers and contributions to books DeBoer Waren R., 1991, “The Decorative Burden: Design, Medium, and Change”, in Longacre William A. (ed.), 2016, Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology, The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 318 p. [9780816534791] Ferdon Edwin N., 1965, “Surface Architecture of the Site of Paeke, Taipi Valley, Nuku Hiva”, in Heyerdahl Thor & Ferdon Edwin N. (eds.), Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific, vol. ii, School of American Research and Kon‑Tiki Museum, Monograph 24, part. 2. Santa Fe, p. 117‑122. Greiner Ruth H., 1923, Polynesian Decorative Designs, B. P. Bishop Museum, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Bulletin 7, Honolulu, 358 p. Heyerdahl Thor, 1965, “The Statues of the Oipona Me’ae, with a Comparative Analysis of Possibly Related Stone Monuments”, in Heyerdahl Thor & Ferdon Edwin N. (eds.), Reports of the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition to Easter Island and the East Pacific, School of American Research and Kon‑Tiki Museum, Monograph 24, Vol. ii, part. 2, Santa Fe, p. 123‑151. Linton Ralph, 1925, Archaeology of the Marquesas Islands, B. P. Bishop Museum, Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 23, Honolulu. Millerstrom Sidsel, 1997, “Carved and painted rock images in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia”, Archaeology of Oceania, vol. 32, no 3, p. 181‑196. Millerstrom Sidsel & Edwards Edmundo, 1998, “Stone Sculptures of the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia)”, in Stevenson Christopher M., Lee Georgia & Morin F. J. (eds.), Easter Island in Pacific Context, South Seas Symposium, University of New Mexico, Easter Island Foundation, Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Easter Island and East Polynesia, Albuquerque, p. 55‑62, 402 p. [1880636131] Millerstrom Sidsel, 2006, “Ritual and Domestic Architecture, Sacred Places, and Images in the Marquesas Archipelago, French Polynesia”, in Lilley Ian (ed.), Archaeology of Oceania: Australia and the Pacific Islands, Blackwell Publishing, Malden (Mass.), p. 284‑301, 416 p. [9780631230823] Millerstrom Sidsel & Allen Tricia., 2006, “Carved Images and Punctured Skins: Rock Carvings and Tattoos in the Marquesas Islands”, American Indian Rock Art, IRAC Proceedings, Rock Art World Heritage, American Rock Art Association, vol. 21, p. 131‑138. Notes 1 A publication about a tiki exhibit in 2016, Tahiti, just become available. Tiki. Co‑édition Musée de Tahiti et des Iles et Éditions Au Vent des iles. Polynésie Française, 2017. I did not have an opportunity to examine this publication. 2 Their work was published in 2007 by Service de la Culture et du Patrimoine, Ministère de la Cuture de Polynésie Française, Tahiti, called Le patrimoine archéologique de l’île de Hiva Oa (archipel des Marquises). 3 In the 1890s a large anthropomorphic head was taken from Me’ae Iipona, Puamau, Valley, Hiva Oa, by von den Steinen and his crew. It was brought to Germany and is housed in the Ethnographic Museum, Dahlem. The collection will eventually be relocated to the center of Berlin. In 2019, the Ethnographic Museum and Museum of Asian Art are scheduled to reopen in the Humboldt Forum in the reconstructed Berlin City Palace (Berliner Stadtschloss). 4 A stone monument in Vaitahu, Tahuata, raised in 1995 in commemoration of the discovery of the Marquesas Islands by Europeans has the following inscriptions: “FENUA ENATA TERRES DES HOMMES. En 1595, elle fut appelée Îles Marquises, nom qui la fit connaître au reste du monde. Qu’aujourd’hui le monde connaisse son nom d’origine. VATAHU, Le 29 Juillet 1995”. (Fenua Enata, the land of men. In 1595 she was called the Marquesas Islands, a name that become known to the rest of the world. Today the world knows the original name. Vaitahu, July 29, 1995). Because most of my archaeological field research took place in Nuku Hiva, I use the term Te Enana, the men/people rather than Te Enata, the term used in the southern group. 5 Markham, 1904, p. 27‑28. 6 One of the “horizontally placed” tiki is located at Me’ae Iipona. In the 1990s, to everybody’s surprise, a smaller but similar tiki was found below the site Meaiaute. Meaiaute is a small me’ae located on a peak in Hane Valley, Ua Huka. Three tiki and one slab with petroglyph are placed at the edge of a pavement. It is unknown where on the site the “horizontally placed” tiki was originally placed. 7 Millerstrom, 2003a, p. 103‑110. 8 Linton, 1925, p. 74. 9 Quoted from E. S. Handy (1923, p. 224) in The Native Culture in the Marquesas: Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 9. Honolulu. 10 Millerstrom & Edwards, 1998. 11 Linton, 1925, p. 162. 12 Ibid., p. 8‑9, 164‑165. 13 Ibid., p. 8. 14 Ibid., p. 74‑75. 15 Linton, 1925, p. 165. 16 Heyerdahl & Ferdon, 1965, p. 127, plate 40c. 17 Heyerdahl, 1965, p. 123‑150. 18 Ferdon, 1965, p. 117‑121. 19 The radio carbon age determination for Paeke is 1516 plus or minus 80 years. The following three dates from Me’ae Iipona are: 1) 1316 plus or minus 100 years; 2) 1497 plus or minus 200 years; 3) 1487 plus or minus 150 years. It should be noted that these dates are uncalibrated and the charcoal samples has not been identified. Furthermore, the dates do not necessary represent the first use of the site nor can we be sure that the dates correspond to the time the tiki were made. 20 Linton, 1925, p. 167. 21 Linton, 1923, p. 269. 22 It is assumed that human figures are the most numerous Marquesan design element. This may be solely due to the fact that human figures are more recognizable. Quantitative analysis of the 3 379 petroglyphs recorded in Hatiheu Valley, Nuku Hiva, demonstrates that abstract geometric figures prevail. As a whole, 998 anthropomorphic figures account for 29,5 percent whereas 2121 petroglyphs or 62,8 percent depict abstract geometric motifs. The situation in the western section, the research area of Hatiheu Valley, show a similar pattern, Millerstrom, 2017. In the painted rock shelters of Eiaone Valley, Hiva Oa, anthropomorphs are represented by 20 figures (18,2 percent), while 50 (45.5 percent) are geometric figures. 23 Walsh & Biggs, 1966. 24 Millerstrom & Allen, 2006. 25 DeBoer, 1991, p. 157. 26 Crook William, 2007 [1797‑1799]. 27 A version of this essay was presented at the Fourth International Conference on Easter Island and East Polynesia. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA, 5‑10 August 1997. It was subsequently published with my colleague Edmundo Edwards in 1998. Millerstrom & Edwards, 1998. List of illustrations Title Figure 1. The Marquesas Archipelago, French Polynesia Credits © Map courtesy Melinda Allen 2016 URL http://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/docannexe/image/33727/img-1.png File image/png, 48k Title Figure 2. Me'ae Iipona, Puamau, Hiva Oa. Takai’i and a sitting tiki Credits © Millerstrom URL http://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/docannexe/image/33727/img-2.jpg File image/jpeg, 1,1M Title Figure 3. Anaho, Nuku Hiva. Tioka Puhetini with a tiki discovered on Me’ae Atatai, a fisherman's shrine (331ANA T‑1) Credits ©Millerstrom URL http://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/docannexe/image/33727/img-3.jpg File image/jpeg, 408k Title Figure 4. Me'ae Iipona, Puamau, Hiva Oa Credits © Millerstrom URL http://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/docannexe/image/33727/img-4.jpg File image/jpeg, 418k Title Figure 5. Tohua Pehe Kua, Puamau, Hiva Oa. The tiki, one of a pair, is presently located at chief Te Hau Moe’s tomb Credits © Millerstrom URL http://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/docannexe/image/33727/img-5.jpg File image/jpeg, 40M Title Figure 6. Paepae Paeke, Taipivai, Nuku Hiva. A female tiki carved in red volcanic tuff Credits © Millerstrom URL http://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/docannexe/image/33727/img-6.jpg File image/jpeg, 2,5M Title Figure 7. Me’ae Utukua, Punaei Valley, Hiva Oa. Credits ©Photo courtesy C. Chavaillon and E. Oliver URL http://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/docannexe/image/33727/img-7.jpg File image/jpeg, 433k Title Figure 8. Ha’atai’ve’a, Nuku Hiva. Two petroglyph faces placed on the floor of a rock shelter (331haa 1) Credits © Millerstrom URL http://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/docannexe/image/33727/img-8.jpg File image/jpeg, 9,2M Title Figure 9: Vaitahu, Taipivai, Nuku Hiva. Two mata or tiki faces (333vai 1) Credits © Millerstrom URL http://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/docannexe/image/33727/img-9.png File image/png, 30k Author Sidsel Millerstrom University of California, Berkeley, Oceanic Archaeology Lab, Archaeological Research Facilities (ARF) By the same author Petroglyphs of the Society Islands within the Polynesian Rock Art Repertoire in Encyclopédie des historiographies : Afriques, Amériques, Asies, Presses de l’Inalco, 2020 © Presses de l’Inalco, 2020 OpenEdition Books License Textes de stèles de grands moines (Corée) Titres Primordiaux (Amérique latine post‑colombienne)

The ancient Marquesan anthropomorphic sculptures or tiki have received wide attention since they were first noted in 1595. However, they have not been systematically and scientifically studied until 1984. Stylistically the Marquesan stone tiki followed certain social rules with similar characteristics to tattoos and material objects.

More exploration of the dramatic Marquesas. These islands were once the home of tens of thousands of Polynesians, with stone temples and a vibrant culture. Now one finds small, well kempt villages with friendly

SY PISCES 🇺🇸 Mary & Kevin - Antares 44e’

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SY CATWEAZLE 🇬🇧 Harriet & Russell - Allures 45′

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SY SEAGLUB Chris - Hylas 46′

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Jackiron

Jackiron at anchor in Atuona, Marquesas, French Polynesia

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SY JACK IRON Kent & Michele -Valiant 42′

JACK IRON KentJACK IRON Michelle
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5) MONSOON'S TAKE

sandspit and sky

palmfringe and beach

palm fringe and beach

walk about

walkabout

Sunset

SY MONSOON Travis, Yeen Yee, Rowan , Everyn - Fuji 32'

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6) SAVE THE DATE

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8) CYCLONE HOLES 🇫🇯 FIJI

Tied up in Mangrroves

From sailingtoday.co.uk

"Winston, a category 5 storm traveling with winds at its center of 163 knots was closer than we wanted, but once communications were lost we didn’t know how close.

By 1800hrs the wind was 40 knots and rising steadily. The sound from the exposed top half of the rigging intensified to a piercing shriek. The dull groan from the hull swelled to a pulsing throb as the gale ripped over us at 100 knots. Il Silenzio was being thrown about in the dark like a drunken cork, but we trusted her steel hull and the preparations we had made.

ZAZOO

Zazoo's João up on the mast in the cyclone hole

Then we waited. More anchor checking. More rope adjustments.

More was to come in the form of an onslaught of rain in dense sheets, with flashes of lightning and crashing thunder. The initial wind direction created a tide surge and this surge, combined with the low spring tide, drained the river. Il Silenzio touched the bottom in the early hours of the morning and at low water was lying on her hull at about 40˚ on a cushion of mud. Even less windage in this position meant greater stability. Sleep was impossible at this angle, so we sat and listened to the drama playing out above us.

As the storm eased towards morning, the tide came in and Il Silenzio popped up. Our fitful dozing drifted into a restless sleep, difficult in 34-degree heat, but possible after a sleepless night. With the worst winds abated by late morning we assessed the damage. No boats had broken free and damage was minimal. Il Silenzio was in good shape, apart from a lawn of shredded mangrove leaves enveloping the deck. Our bolthole had been a good one."

A matrix of ropes reminiscent of spaghetti was the result. With a muddy bottom for good anchoring and a small catchment with not too much runoff, this was an excellent refuge. We filled the dinghy with water for stabilising weight, everything was taken off the deck, the headsail was removed and the mainsail tightly lashed. Then we waited. More anchor checking. More rope adjustments.

A matrix of ropes reminiscent of spaghetti was the result. With a muddy bottom for good anchoring and a small catchment with not too much runoff, this was an excellent refuge. We filled the dinghy with water for stabilising weight, everything was taken off the deck, the headsail was removed and the mainsail tightly lashed.

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11) MANUAL TRACKING WITH PREDICT WIND

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VIA THE OFFSHORE APP

DEADLINE JULY 1 2023

How to use GPS Manual Tracking in the Offshore App.

GPS Manual Tracking using the Offshore App can be achieved on PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices. The screenshots below are taken using a PC computer, the general principle is the same across all devices, but the look of the App may differ slightly to the screenshots below if you are using Mac, iOS or Android

NOTE ; If you have automated GPS tracking set up via a satellite device you cannot manual track as well. You will need to contact our Support Team if you would like to switch from automated to manual tracking.

Predict WInd

Log in to your Offshore App and go to the GPS tracking tab on the left. It should look like this.

green

2. Select the Green Download button on the left. Make sure you have selected GPS tracking. Nothing else needs to be ticked for now.

DOWNLOAD ALL

3. Click through to Next > Download All

DOWNLOAD

4. You should now see yourself off the coast of Africa at 0lat0long in the Default position set for tracking pages. However, you will now be able to see this icon that lets you add a manual GPS location.

 5. Click on it to add your current GPS coordinates and time. Select NOW for the current time. Then select Save Point.

5. Click on it to add your current GPS coordinates and time. Select NOW for the current time. Then select Save Point.

Manual position

6. It will then notify that you have a Tracking Point pending upload/download.

DOWNLOAD

7. Do another Download the same as last time, and your Tracking point will be uploaded and synchronized with the server. Your tracking page will now reflect your updated position for friends, family and fleet to see.

TRACKING

12) SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE
FLEET TRACKING

Tracking

13) BOLO ALERT
⚠️

BOLO NE of Marquesas, French Polynesia:

BOLO NE of Marquesas, French Polynesia:

Vessel: "SMILES ROWBOAT", MMSI 338399051, U.S. flag

Aaron Carotta on "Smiles* has lost all power and charging capability. He has no comms nor functional navigation equipment. He is also low on food. He therefore set off his PLB on May 28 at 05°15S 119°00W. It pinged only briefly. There was a second ping received on May 31 with new coordinates of 5° 30.00' S 122° 00.00' W.

The coordinates of the two beacons showed movement of 180 miles @ 266°.

Based on the assumption that Aaron is still rowing, his estimated location could be as far out, on June 7, 2023, 20:56 UTC, as

5° 45.360' S

126° 37.547' W

Aaron's destination is the Marquesas. At the time of last social media update, Aaron communicated his desire to make more southerly and was being hindered by wind and ocean conditions. The bearing from the second ping to the northernmost Marquesas anchorage is 259°. He has a compass to steer by, but no way to know his position.

Please be on the lookout when approaching that area and report any sightings. Anybody who can help search or BOLO for Aaron should FIRST be in touch with JRCC Tahiti AND ALSO with our FB group to ensure good communication/coordination.

Contact info for Tahiti JRCC:

Email: contact@jrcc.pf

Phone: 0068 940 541 616

FB Group to contact: In Search of Adventure Aaron Carotta

https://www.facebook.com/groups/186285441048310/

If you have means to contact other vessels which may be in the area, please send them the above info, or post on the Facebook page above so one of Aaron's team can try to reach them.

BOLO

Those are all the boats in the area, their registration names and radio IDs and which direction and speed they are heading etc. if they all worked together and honed into a predicted location, they could find SMILES hopefully. Difficulty is knowing if he’s rowing or not. Personally Id conserve energy and water and just float as this also means he would be closer to his last known position

BOLO

14) FREE ACCESS TO GOOD NAUTICAL

IF YOU ARE SIGNED UP FOR THE '23 SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE you will be assigned access credentials to GOODNAUTICAL South Pacific regions

 

Good Nautical

CONSIDER MAKING A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO GOOD NAUTICAL

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New Caledonia 🇳🇨 in Good Nautical

15) HISTORIC PORTS ⚓ OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC

VAVA'U 🇹🇴 TONGA

VAVUA

When Captain James Cook arrived in Tonga in 1773, the local king, or Tu'i Tonga, did not intentionally lie to him. However, there might be some confusion or miscommunication that led to misunderstandings between the two parties.

During Cook's visit, he encountered Fatafehi Paulaho, who claimed to be the Tu'i Tonga, the ruling chief of Tonga. However, Fatafehi Paulaho was not the legitimate Tu'i Tonga but rather a local chief who assumed the title. It is believed that he used the opportunity of Cook's visit to elevate his status and gain recognition.

It's important to note that Tonga had a complex social and political structure at the time, with multiple chiefs and sub-chiefs. The concept of a single, central ruler, like the Tu'i Tonga, held different meanings and roles depending on the period and context.

So, while Fatafehi Paulaho may have presented himself as the Tu'i Tonga and Cook might have believed him initially, it wasn't a deliberate act of deception by the king. It was more likely a result of the complexities of Tonga's social structure and the differences in understanding between the two cultures.

Double-hulled canoes, Tonga

Tonga's ability to resist colonization can be attributed to several factors:

Geographic Isolation
Tonga is located in the South Pacific, which made it relatively isolated from major colonial powers during the era of European colonization. The distance and lack of easily accessible resources reduced the incentive for colonizers to establish a permanent presence in Tonga.

Strong Monarch
Tonga had a well-established and centralized monarchy, with a long history of rule by the Tu'i Tonga and later the Tu'i Kanokupolu. The monarchy provided a source of stability and authority, allowing the Tongans to maintain a unified front against potential colonizers.

Skilled Navigators
Tongans had a strong tradition of navigation and seafaring. They were adept sailors and had developed sophisticated navigation techniques, allowing them to explore and interact with other Pacific islands. This expertise and knowledge of the seas might have made potential colonizers wary of engaging with Tonga.

Diplomacy & Negotiation
Tonga had a tradition of diplomatic relationships with foreign powers. Tongan leaders, such as King George Tupou I, engaged in diplomatic negotiations with European powers, establishing treaties that recognized Tonga's independence and sovereignty. These treaties, along with Tonga's diplomatic efforts, helped protect the kingdom from colonization.

Internal Unity & Resistance
The Tongan people had a strong sense of cultural identity and unity, which contributed to their ability to resist colonization. There were instances where Tongans actively resisted attempts at colonization, demonstrating their commitment to preserving their way of life and sovereignty.

Tonga was never formally colonized
it did enter into a treaty relationship with Britain in 1900, known as the Treaty of Friendship. Under this treaty, Tonga maintained its independence but recognized Britain's influence in matters of foreign policy and defense. Tonga remains the only Pacific island nation to never have been fully colonized.

Tonga Sailing

Captain Cook and the ‘Friendly Islands’?

Captain Cook first landed in the Tongan islands on 2 October 1773, during his second Pacific voyage. In 1774 he returned for four days and received such a warm welcome that he named Tonga the “Friendly Islands”. However, it is now widely thought that the Tongan chiefs had planned to attack Cook and his crew and seize the Resolution and Adventure.

CAPTAIN COOK

The first account of the supposed plot against the Resolution was given by William Mariner, a young man serving on the British privateer Port au Prince when it was attacked in Lifuka in 1806. Twenty-six of the crew survived. Mariner was adopted by the chief Finau ‘Ulukalala-‘i-Ma‘ofanga and lived in Tonga for four years. |

Finau told Mariner that the “Feenow” Cook had known was his father, who had been instrumental in planning an attack on Cook. The plan was called off when the chiefs disagreed about whether to attack under cover of darkness or during the day.

Fīnau ʻUlukālala I (or his brother) on Vavaʻu in 1793, in Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardiere, Voyage in Search of La Perous

Fīnau ʻUlukālala I (or his brother) on Vavaʻu in 1793, in Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardiere,

When Mariner returned to London, he was contacted by John Martin, an ethnographically-minded doctor. Together they authored An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands (1817), one of the most accurate accounts of Tongan life in the early 19th century. In the opinion of most scholars, Mariner’s account is accurate. So was the plot to kill Cook in Tonga real, and was Cook so naïve as to be oblivious to the danger? There are some factors to take into account.

When the Port au Prince was attacked in 1806, Tonga had been in the grip of civil war for seven years. The prosperous and scattered people Cook had observed were corralled inside guarded fortresses and slowly starving as harvest after harvest was destroyed by neglect and attacking armies. The different island groups were controlled by warring chiefs, each aware of the advantage which possession of European firearms and iron goods would afford them in their political and economic struggles.

The outbreak of the civil war had very little to do with European arrivals. Tensions between the three chiefly lineages holding spiritual, administrative and political authority had been mounting for nearly two decades, and came to a head with the assassination of chief Tuku‘aho in 1799. By the time Mariner was living with Finau ‘Ulukalala-‘i-Ma‘ofanga, it was deemed expedient to have a European or two to assist in battles, and as a kind of status symbol.

Tonga. Natche, Ceremony in Honour of King's Son. Cook c1784 by Cook, Captain James The Natche, a Ceremony in Honour of the King's Son, in Tongataboo - a grand and reverent ceremony.

Original copperplate engraving after the drawing by the Admiralty-appointed official artist on the voyage, John Webber (1751-1793). This engraving is part of a series of 78 plates, based on Webber's drawings to include indigenous people, artifacts and views. It was published for Anderson’s “Complete History of Captain Cook's First, Second and Third Voyages” published in London published by Alexander Hogg circa 1784.

HIS MAJESTY KING TUPOU VI OF TONGA Born ‘Aho‘eitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho, on 12 July 1959 in Nuku’alofa, he is the 3rd son and youngest of four children of Their late Majesties King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV and Queen Halaevalu Mata’aho.

HIS MAJESTY KING TUPOU VI OF TONGA

Born ‘Aho‘eitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho, on 12 July 1959 in Nuku’alofa, he is the 3rd son and youngest of four children of Their late Majesties King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV and Queen Halaevalu Mata’aho.

‘Aho’eitu ‘Unuaki ‘o Tonga Tuku’aho received three chiefly titles as is customary in the Tongan tradition, He commonly used these titles Prince ‘Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, until he became Crown Prince.

Prince ‘Ulukalala Lavaka Ata was educated at The Leys School, Cambridge then attended the University of East Anglia in 1980 where he graduated with a degree in Development Studies.

Upon returning to Tonga in 1982, the young prince joined the Navy at the Tonga Defence Services and gaining promotion to Lieutenant-Commander in 1987.

He graduated from the US Naval War College in 1988 and from 1990 to 1995 he took command of the Pacific-class patrol boat VOEA Pangai and led peace keeping missions in Bougainville.

In 1997, he graduated with a Masters in Defence Studies from the University of New South Wales and in 1999 he earned a MA in International Relations from Bond University, Australia.

Prince ‘Ulukalala Lavaka Ata joined the civil service in 1998 occupying two portfolios, Minister for Defence and Minister for Foreign Affairs. He was appointed Prime Minister from January 2000 to February 2006. Later that year he received the title Crown Prince Tupouto’a Lavaka when his elder brother became King George Tupou V.

In 2008, the Crown Prince was appointed Tonga’s first High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to Japan until his succession to the Throne in 2012, when his brother King George Tupou V passed away and immediately became King and Head of State.

His Majesty Tupou VI was formally crowned King in July 2015 in a series of ancient private and public ceremonies and religious services attended by both regional and global leaders who travelled to Tonga for this special occasion.

His Majesty married Nanasipauʻu Vaea on 11 December 1982 who his accession to the Throne became Her Majesty Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho of Tonga.

16) MEET OUR SPONSORS

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South Pacific Posse

 

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@ 9811 w charleston blvd 2262 89117 Las Vegas USA

 

 


Catweazle

FLEET UPDATE 2022-07-25

South Pacific Posse

SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE 
FLEET UPDATE 

July 25, 2022

TOP NEWS THIS WEEK

1) TONGA OPENS  
2) FIJI TRACKS ARE LIVE 

South Pacific Posse 13 Particpant Flag States

1) TONGA 🇹🇴  OPENS UP with 170 Islands

VAVA'U

Nuku’alofa – Cabinet has today approved the progressive opening of the country’s
borders, with conditions and subject to review, from August 1, 2022.

The Prime Minister, Honourable Hu’akavameiliku, and Cabinet met earlier
this afternoon and approved recommendations from the National Emergency
Management Committee (NEMC) on the ‘Open Border Policy Framework for
Tonga’.

“All travelers entering Tonga must comply with all requirements and
conditions that have been approved,” Hon Hu’akavameiliku said.

“While we are progressively opening the borders we must emphasize that
compliance with the conditions is important to ensuring the safety of
all travelers and our people.”

Flights

Flights from and to Fua’amotu International Airport from New Zealand will
increase to two (2) flights per week between August 1 to August 28,
2022. That will increase to three (3) flights per week from August 29 to
October 31 and further increase to six (6) flights per week after that.

Flights from Fiji will be increased to two (2) from August 1 until October 31
while flights from Australia will continue with one per week.

Review of the number of flights and ships, including cruiseliners, will be at the discretion of the NEMC.

Travelers

All travelers aged 12 years old and above must have been vaccinated twice before they will be allowed to travel to Tonga.

All foreign travelers will need to have travel insurance, which can be
bought when purchasing tickets. Confirmation of hotel booking or
accommodation in Tonga must be sent to the email address
travel@health.gov.to 48 hours before flight.

All travelers will also need to have a legitimate vaccine certificate sent
to the email address and have a copy of the same for check in purposes
and on arrival in Tonga.

Passengers who have medical conditions that stops them from having vaccination
will need to provide proof with a written medical report sent by email
to travel@health.gov.to. But the Ministry of Health has the right to
deny boarding of flight to Tonga if they are not satisfied with the
medical report provided.

Tests

All incoming passengers will need to have a negative Supervised Rapid
Antigen Test (RAT) result within 24 hours of departure, including all
those in transit over 24 hours at any airport on the way to Tonga.

Those who do not present the RAT test result will not be allowed to board flights to Tonga.

Citizens who have not completed their vaccination but wish to return to Tonga
must pay for five-days of quarantine at a government approved facility.
This must be communicated via email to travel@health.gov.to prior to
booking. This is subject to review in October.

Tonga Vava'u

Arrivals

Arriving passengers will need to wear face masks at all times when they arrive
at the airport and follow National COVID-19 Restrictions Directions in
place.

All passengers must fill in the Health Arrival Declaration Form and will
also be encouraged to download the Tonga ‘Atautolu contact tracing app.

A supervised PCR test will be required between Day 3 to Day 5 of
quarantine for quarantined passengers, and results need to be sent to
the Ministry of Health.

Passengers who return positive results will need to self-isolate at home for five days from the date of being tested positive.

Tonga is currently Orange under the Tonga COVID-19 Traffic Light Framework.
This is the second highest level. You need to quarantine for 5 days when
entering Tonga. A curfew is in place from 12am to 5am. Tonga has
extended its COVID-19 restrictions nationwide until at least 4 June.
Facemasks and social distancing are required in public, including at
hospitality venues and on public transport. All businesses are open
except for night clubs. Mobile phone and internet connectivity has been
restored within Tongatapu, following the eruption of the Hunga
Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano on 15 January, and work continues to improve
communications in the outer islands including the Vava’u and Ha’apai
groups. Monitor media for the latest developments and follow the
instructions of local authorities. A state of emergency remains in place
due to COVID-19.

https://www.gov.to/press-release/travel-advisory-no-6-for-travelers-arriving-in-or-intending-to-travel-to-tonga/ 

SOUTH PACIFIC FLEET UPDATE LOCATION 2022-07-01

Tonga's Anchorages are in Good Nautical 

2) FIJI  🇫🇯   GPS TRACKS ARE READY FOR USE

Thanks to Chris on Lead vessel SEAGLUB and
several other local yachts we have 38 saved GPS track to explore the
over 370 islands in Fiji avoiding the many uncharted reefs 

Just login to Good Nautical / Fiji and look them on Route Listings links.

If you sail in Fiji please save yoru tracks and send them to us.

You
can also download them in GPX form right into OPENCP  this is an
invaluable aid to navigation in addition to the sat carts - overhead
sunny skies and your  depth sounder .

Good Nautical

SY SEAGLUB 🇺🇸 Chris - Hylas 46′

Chris

3)  THE NEW "COURAGE AWARD 

Indigo Moon

we are adding a new award this season based on the feedback of SY INDIGO MOON

Sharks

touching live sharks in the Tuamotus 

Touching Sharks

at any age this is an unforgettable moment which takes COURAGE 

INdigo Moon

A very calm anchorage

Anchor floats deployed

Floating the anchor chain to avoid coral damage

SY INDIGO MOON 🇩🇪  Kay, Beata & Crew of courage -   Lagoon 42′

4) ENTRY INTO HIGHEST WIND RECORDED AWARD

Blue Heeler

Ibex's Entry

Squalls

Squall on Radar 

Ibex

Florian in his Foul Weather Gear

Ibex in Pago Pago

Arrival in American Samoa 🇦🇸  Pago Pago harbor !

SY IBEX  🇦🇹  Florian & Vicky  - Sunbeam 42′

IBEX VickyIBEX Florian

5) SY SEAGLUB VISITING THE  LAU GROUP  🇫🇯  FIJI 

Lau Group

Exceptional anchorages and visually stunning anchorages in the Lau Group 

Kadavu

In the  route back from  the Lau Group you can visit Kadavu

Kadavu
still has 75% of its original rainforest cover and a rich bird
diversity, including four species endemic to the island, the velvet
dove, the crimson shining-parrot, the Kadavu honeyeater and the Kadavu
fantaill. Offshore, stringing around the south, east and then away to
the north, is the Great Astrolabe Reef, a large barrier reef that is one
of Fiji's premier scuba diving resorts.

A
7,800 hectares (19,000 acres) area covering the interior of the eastern
part of the island is the East Kadavu Important Bird Area. It contains
populations of the vulnerable Shy Ground-dove, Crimson Shining-parrot
and Collared Petrel.[

LAU GROUP FIJI IS IN GOOD NAUTCIAL

LAU GROUP FIJI IS IN GOOD  NAUTICAL  in GOOD  NAUTICAL 

This
is also a hot spot for bigger species of marine life, with plenty of
schooling fish, sharks and manta rays during the season.

Fruit Bats

flying fruit bats

Shore party in Vanua Balavu

Shore party in Vanua Balavu

 

At anchor in Vanua Balavu

The good crew -  Vicky Power

SY  SEAGLUB 🇺🇸 Chris - Hylas 46′

6) IBEX' LEAVING 🇵🇫 FRENCH POLYNESIA 

IBEX

SY IBEX 🇦🇹  Florian & Vicky- Sunbeam 42′

IBEX VickyIBEX Florian

7) PICTURE OF THE WEEK 

CATWEAZLE

Picture of the Week

 SY CATWEAZLE 🇬🇧 Harriet & Russell Allures 45′

Catweazle Harriet

8) SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE 
AWARDS CATEGORIES 

 

HERE ARE THE  CATEGORIES 

    BIGGEST FISH CAUGHT* ✔ 

    PICTURE OF THE YEAR ✔  

    SPEEDY AWARD – SEVENSTAR AWARD ✔  

    THE CAPTAIN RON AWARD ✔ 

    MOST UNWELCOME VISITOR ONBOARD ✔ 

    HIGHEST WIND RECORDED ✔ 

    SPIRIT OF EXPLORATION ✔ 

    GALLEY GOD(ESS) ✔ 

    GOOD SAMARITAN OF THE YEAR ✔  

    NEWLY ADDED – BOAT YOGA POSE OF THE YEAR ✔

COURAGE AWARD  ✔

*no bill-fish

9)  VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Swimming with Giants WE SAIL’s

WE SAIL's YOUTUBE channel  https://www.youtube.com/c/WEsail/  

SY VA 🇵🇦  Erica & Warren -  Fountaine Pajot 44′

VAVA

9) SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE WEATHER ROUTING 

 

Weather Routing

South Pacific cyclone tracks 1980-2005 

For weather routing  through the dangerous middle toward s New Zealand or Australia please visit our sponsors 
https://pacificposse.com/ocean-tactics

Contact John Martin 
 admin@coastalandoffshorecruising.com

WhatsApp / Tel  +64 27 242 1088

John Martin

John Martin principal
of Ocean Tactics has been assisting skippers with weather and passage
planning in the Pacific  for many years is now an official sponsor
of the South Pacific Posse.

10) SHIP WRECKS OF WWII 🇻🇺 VANUATU  

Dive

The SS President Coolidge Wreck one of the top 10 dive sites in the world 
Vanuatu
is up there with one of the biggest accessible shipwrecks in the world
sitting at 198m long and 22,000 tons in weight. Situated a short
distance offshore, all the dives are shore based, with the front of the
boat in just 18 met
ers of water.

The SS President Coolidge Wreck one of the top 10 dive sites in the world Vanuatu

A
large military base and harbor had been established on Espiritu Santo
and the harbor was heavily protected by mines. Information about safe
entry into the harbor had been accidentally omitted from President
Coolidge's sailing orders, and on her approach to Santo on 26 October
1942, President Coolidge, fearing Japanese submarines and unaware of the
mine fields, tried to enter the harbor through the largest and most
obvious channel. A mine struck the ship in the engine room, and moments
later a second mine hit her near her stern.

Captain
Henry Nelson, knowing that he was going to lose the ship, ran her
aground and ordered troops to abandon ship. Not believing the ship would
sink, troops were told to leave all of their belongings behind, under
the impression that they would conduct salvage operations over the next
few days.

Navajo (AT-64) during rescue operations

Over
the next 90 minutes, 5,340 men from the ship got safely ashore. There
was no panic as they disembarked; many even walked ashore. However, the
captain's attempts to beach the ship were thwarted by a coral reef.
President Coolidge listed heavily on her side, sank stern first, and
slid down the slope into the channel.

Sinking

USS Tucker  was one of 18 Mahan-class destroyers built for the United States Navy.

First
assigned to the United States Battle Fleet in San Diego, California,
Tucker operated along the West Coast and in the Hawaiian Islands.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Tucker
was undergoing an overhaul and was not attacked. 

Tucker

 
Soon
afterward, she began escorting convoys between the West Coast and
Hawaii. Tucker was then tasked with escort duty to islands in the South
Pacific.

Tucker
steamed out of port on 1 August 1942, escorting a cargo ship to
Espiritu Santo. They entered its harbor three days later, where the
destroyer unknowingly entered a defensive minefield laid by the US Navy.
Tucker struck at least one mine that tore her almost in two, sinking
her and killing three sailors; the rest of the crew survived. 

SS TUCKER

Captain Dietmar @ Wreckdive of USS Tucker near Luganville / Espirito Santo / Vanuatu

Schools
of snapper and jacks circle the exterior, and under the wreckage you’ll
find huge gatherings of tiny glassfish in the smaller cavities.
Batfish, angelfish and coral trout populate the larger overhangs.

Purple
soft corals cling to parts of the engine, winches and superstructure,
while sea fans brighten up the darker parts of the deck and hull.

https://scubadiverlife.com/five-fantastic-vanuatu-wreck-dives/ 

under water Tank

Million Dollar Point
Located off the southern end of Santo, just 6 kilometres from Luganville, is Million Dollar Point

The New Hebrides
archipelago had been a British-French condominium since 1906. In the
spring of 1942, Japanese troops reached the nearby Solomon Islands . As a
result, American troops landed on the New Hebrides in May 1942 to
prevent a conquest by the advancing Japanese.

Since
nothing had been prepared by the British and French to defend the
islands, the Americans set up two military bases on the islands. The
larger of the two, Buttons on Espiritu Santo, was built by 100,000
soldiers in a short time, which doubled the island's population. Then
large amounts of material were brought to the island in order to supply
the South Pacific forces from there.

In
fact, the quantities required for the war in this region were
calculated too generously, since the New Hebrides were already far from
the front six months later. The airfield, the southernmost of the
American troops in the Pacific, served mainly as a target for flights
with the wounded and as a trans shipment point for combat material.

At
the end of the war there were about nine million tons of material
valued at nearly four billion dollars on the island. [ Because shipping
back to America would have been expensive, there were only a few
soldiers on the island and the material had been damaged after years in
the tropical climate, it should not be transported back. An offer by the
Americans to the condominium administration to buy the vehicles,
construction machinery and other work materials for a fraction of their
real value (ten US cents per kilogram) was rejected because it was
speculated that once the Americans had left, they would be sold Possess
items left behind without paying.  Instead, the Americans destroyed
the devices and sank them into the sea between August 1945 and December
1947. The local population could only watch as the Seabees , the
construction troops of the US Navy , poured material over a ramp into
the sea, an estimated 90% of which consisted of non-military objects and
could have been used by the residents. 

Million Dollar Point

11) YACHTING WORLD MARINA 🇻🇺 VANUATU
SPONSORS THE SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE

Yachting World

 Half price for all moorings for a period of up to 15 days during Yacht season 

Marina is closed Jan - Feb - March * cyclone season

Monohull - vt 2,800 /day

Catamaran - vt 3,000 /day  

117.74 VT = 1 USD ( Jul 22) 

 

Yachting World offers cruising and super yachts a warm welcome to Port Vila Vanuatu. You and your crew will be welcome here and we look forward to seeing you on arrival.

CONTACT

Elsie 

Yachting World

PO Box 1507

Port Vila

Vanuatu

Phone/Fax: International + 678 23273

(if a phone call, ask for Lemara, the office manager)

VHF Ch. 16

email: welcome@yachtingworld-vanuatu.com

Efate Port Vila

12)  MARINA SPONSORS OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC  POSSE 

🇺🇸  Safe Harbor South Bay – Chula Vista - USA

🇲🇽  Marina Chiapas – Mexico   

🇨🇷  Marina Papagayo – Costa Rica   

🇵🇦  Shelter Bay Marina – Panama  

🇪🇨  Marina Puerto Amistad – Ecuador  

🇫🇯  Vuda Point Marina - Fiji 

🇻🇺  Yachting World Marina - Port Vila - Vanuatu

🇳🇿  Marsden Cove Marina - New Zealand 

🇦🇺  Rivergate Marina  - Brisbane  - Australia 

🇫🇯  Denarau Marina - Fiji 

🇫🇯  Royal Suva Yacht Club  - Fiji 

🇫🇯  Savu Savu Marina  - Fiji 

Royal Suva Yacht Club

Royal Suva Yacht Club in Suva Fiji 

13) TRACKING THE 22' PACIFIC POSSE  FLEET 
BROUGHT TO YOU BY PREDICT WIND

Tracking

Visit https://pacificposse.com/tracking to view the progress of the 22 South Pacific Posse Fleet. 
To be added visit https://pacificposse.com/add-to-tracking

Tracking

14) SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE SPONSORS 

  • PREDICT WIND
  • SEVENSTAR YACHT TRANSPORT
  • CENTENARIO PANAMA CANAL AGENTS
  • YACHT AGENTS GALAPAGOS 
  • YACHT SERVICES NUKU HIVA 
  • NOUMEA YACHT SERVICES
  • SAFE HARBOR SOUTH BAY MARINA EVENT CENTER
  • WESTMARINE PRO
  • SAILMAIL 
  • OCEAN TACTICS WEATHER ROUTING
  • CLOUD 9  FIJI
Banana Sap

ripened banana sap is difficult to clean from wgel coat 

15) SEVENSTAR YACHT TRANSPORT

 SPONSORS THE SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE

More info on Sevenstar™s services can be found on https://www.sevenstar-yacht-transport.com/

Sevenstar

SEVENSTAR YACHT TRANSPORT | JULY 01 2022

🛥️ ⛵ SPONSORS THE SOUTH PACIFIC  POSSE

Sevenstar
Yacht Transport is proud to continue as a sponsor of the Panama Posse.
True sailing communities with real world cruising experience, such as
the Panama Posse, always inspire us and drives us to provide regular
sailings on established routes as well as expanding into new markets and
ports. Providing professional logistics solutions for sailors and
cruisers all over the world is our core business and the Posse sailing
communities are a true example of what can be possible this day in age
when it comes to flexibility and connectivity. We thank you for the
privilege to be your logistics supplier.

Seven Star

16) PANAMA 🇵🇦 CANAL AGENT 
CENTENARIO CONSULTING ERICK GALVEZ

To
arrange for transit with the Panama Canal Authority please contact Eric
Galvez our dedicated Panama Canal agent and sponsor of the Panama Posse
and the Pacific Posse

Erick Gálvez

info@centenarioconsulting.com

www.centenarioconsulting.com

Cellphone +507 6676-1376

WhatsApp +507 6676-1376

Erick
https://panamaposse.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/new-panama-canal-graphic.jpg

17) STRATEGIC PARTNERS
 

SEVEN SEAS CRUISING ASSOCIATION

Abernathy – Chandlery – Panama

Panama Posse 

Atlantic Posse

Advertising Partners – Las Vegas

Safe-Esteem.com – Delaware

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THE SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE  
New Zealand

New Zealand North Island is in Good Nautical 

WE OPERATE UNDER INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW

YOUR VESSEL · YOUR CREW · YOUR RESPONSIBILITY 

Vava'u TOnga

A maze of islands in the Vava'u group in Tonga
 

Anchorages in the Vava'u group are numbered
South Pacific Posse

south pacific posse communications 
 @ 9811 w charleston blvd 2262 89117 Summerlin USA

 

© 2022 South Pacific Posse / Ocean Posse LLC

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ua pao french polynesia harbor anchorage

FLEET UPDATE 2022-04-09

South Pacific Posse

April 9, 2022

SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE 
FLEET UPDATE 

TOP NEWS THIS WEEK

1)  GARGOYLE ARRIVES IN NUKU HIVA

2) VANUATU 'S SOFT OPENING 

3) VUDA MARINA INTEL

South Pacific Posse 13 Particpant Flag States

THE HEART OF VOH 🇳🇨 NEW CALEDONIA

The Heart of Voh

The Heart of Voh is a natural clearing formed by mangroves.  
Vook” in the local Kanak language is found on the west coast of Grande  Terre, 300km from Nouméa, in New Caledonia.
In
1999, the photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand made it the cover photo for
his book, Earth from Above, a UNESCO-sponsored inventory of the world’s
most beautiful landscapes. 

1) SY GARGOLYE 4,000 nm, 30 DAYS
DIRECT FROM COSTA RICA TO  🇵🇫  FRENCH POLYNESIA 

Kevin and Carla Arrived

Arrived in Huku Niva. 30 days! Thanks for all of the support and information, as always! 

SY GARGOYLE 🇺🇸  Kevin  Carla & Ron  - Beneteau 50′ arrived Sat Apr 02 2022 0800 Local Time

4,000
miles and 30 days later, we’re here. We dropped the hook at 0800 local
time and we are just adopting to the feeling of stillness. A lovely
island though a busy anchorage with a portion of the Oyster World Rally
at anchor as well as a large number of other cruising boats. And of
course a sign that civilization has returned post covid, a cruise ship
is in as well.

So
for now we’ll enjoy the calm of the anchorage and get some rest before
we head out to explore. With a chilled glass of champagne in our hands,
this is Gargoyle signing off for this passage.

Cheers,

Kevin, Carla and Ron

Kevin
Carla

A FEW EXERTS FROM GARGOYLE'S SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE CROSSING 
LOG ENTRIES 
Under a Forever Sky

Sun Mar 20 2022

Tonight
we are once again motoring at our most fuel efficient rpm as we
continue to hunt for wind. Our forecast and weather router all told us
today we have wind that would allow us to sail in the general direction
of Nuka Hiva. Sadly all were wrong as our winds were 100° west northwest
of predicted. Not that big a deal really, if our destination was say,
Tokyo.

So
we spent the day sailing slowly in the wrong direction, all the while
hoping for a wind shift that never materialized. After dinner we tossed
that plan overboard with the leftovers and decided to again use our
precious remaining diesel to forge further southwest in hopes of finding
the elusive trade winds.

Now
we motor slowly under a spectacular sky awash in stars. The sky here is
different from anything I’ve seen elsewhere. Everything from the sheer
horizon to horizon span to the towering clouds to the brilliant
constellations seem to dwarf what we’re used to seeing. Add in the still
brilliant light of the waning moon on a calm sea and its pure magic.

I wait in this fairy tale
setting for a wind to fill in from the east while the engine sips
gently and Gargoyle rumbles through the night, searching. The crew is
asleep. I am alone, waiting.

Nuku Hiva

A Symphony at Sea

Wed Mar 16 2022

As we close our 2nd week at passage I wanted to invite you to join me at the helm

A
spectacular sunset has finally faded just off our starboard bow as we
make a course of 260°. The wind is ten to fifteen knots with gusts to
twenty and we are sailing downwind under a poled out
Genoa at 145° apparent. Speed is consistently over five knots with surges to seven when the gusts kick things up.

Sitting
to starboard, having enjoyed the sun’s last display of color, the first
thing you notice is the rolling motion. As is their tendency, sailboats
will roll when generating power from a large sail poled out to one
side. To counteract the roll I have a small amount of mainsail rolled
out. Not enough to block or cover the front sail but enough to add a
touch of stability. Does it stop the roll, no. But as a friend just
pointed put, imagine beating into these same twenty knot gusts and the
roll becomes much more tolerable.

The
cockpit is lit in red from our instruments on the port and starboard
helms. In addition, both helms have compasses that glow red at night as
well. It’s time to log our hourly readings and I don my trusty headlamp
to light the log book and record our position, heading, speed, wind
single/speed and barometric pressure. I then walk the cockpit and spend a
few minutes scanning the horizon on all sides and to stern for shops
lights. Then a scan of our instruments for AIS targets or the sharp
silver line of a ship on radar. All clear as expected so far from land.

With
the hourly work completed its time to settle back and enjoy the
symphony of a sailing vessel running across the ocean at night. The air
is cool and the breeze over my left shoulder brings the low hum of our
hydrogenator at work punctuated every 12 to 18 seconds by the two meter
southerly swell slapping our ass with a gentle push before rolling under
our keel. The sea state remains a bit confused so I’m surrounded by the
sound of water but it’s a welcome sound reminding me of where am I am
in the moment.

The
genoa up front pulls us forward with only an occasional ripple as the
wind and roll get out of sync for a moment, then with a snap of dacron
the rhythm is back and we resume our graceful glide. There’s also the
accompanying creaks of taut sheets, topping lift and vang all adding
their own notes to this wonderful harmony.

I’m
often asked what music I listen to for different sea states and tonight
its Diana Krall and the lush sounds of Live in Paris. The moon is
nearly full and hangs ripe over our stern, lighting the sea and a
distant line of clouds that surround on all horizons. There’s always a
chance of a squall but that just changes the key of this magic ocean
symphony. Night watch on the Pacific. A study in sensory perfection.

Made it
BRAVO ZULU
Track from Costa Rica

For more info videos and log entries visit https://www.svgargoyle.com/

2) VANUATU 'S 🇻🇺 SOFT OPENING 

MAEWO VANUATU

MAEVO ISLAND - VANUATU 

Vanuatu will begin reopening its border starting next month.

The
Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Russell Tamata, said this
is possible because high vaccination rates have been achieved on Efate
and the outer islands.

Tamata also says hospitalization rates and deaths have remained low.

Vanuatu's vaccination program, access to rapid testing, social distancing, and mask-wearing are paving a way forward.

From
May 1 to the end of June there will be a soft opening  for over
5,000 Vanuatu nationals and residents who are stranded overseas to
return home.

OPening

Tamata
says reducing restrictions on travel to Vanuatu will provide a stimulus
for economic recovery and free up health resources to focus on
vaccination and future planning.07 April 2022  20,400 Moderna
COVID-19 vaccine arrive through COVAX for booster doses

Vanuatu welcomes the arrival of 20,400 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine supplied through the COVAX Facility .

This
is the first lot of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines received by the country.
Moderna would be the fourth vaccine to be used in Vanuatu, apart from
AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and the single-shot Johnson and Johnson (J&J)
vaccines.

Efate Island, Vanuatu

Efate Island, Vanuatu 

VANUATU

VANUATU IS IN GOOD NAUTICAL - 83 Islands and hundreds of  anchorages 

Vanuatu

3) VUDA MARINA, FIJI  🇫🇯 CYCLONE HAUL-OUT INTEL 

Gathering
intel and living aboard here in Vuda. Great owners and staff, you can
get just about anything you need done to your boat here, there's a yacht
shop, cafe, mini market, and excellent restaurant.

VUDA MARINA

Vuda Marina tucked  in Cyclone Hole

VUDA MARINA

Zazoo and Seaglub next to each other 

Placed in mudholes in VUDA MARINA

Cyclone storage in the tire lined pits at Vuda Marina

It's a location for your yacht

So
after several days of being here in the Vuda Marina, getting to live a
little here, meet with the owner / operator and walk around to get a
good view of the place, I have a VERY HIGH opinion of this place for
storing your boat. I've included several pictures. There are 60 pits but
they go fast so call or email NOW to make a reservation. I only
see one open right now. Monohulls can also sit on jack stands and
catamarans sit comfortably almost directly on the ground then tied down
to buried cement blocks. The entrance is straight forward. I came in at
extreme low tide (5' tide swing) during a new moon and had just 1 foot
beneath the keel but I probably could've timed it better. I draw just
over 6' or 190cm. There's a new basin being added with docks but you'll
likely med moor to them with help from the staff. In the circle you will
definitely get help from the fantastic staff as they get you tied off.
The downside in the circle is getting on and off the boat requires a bit
of gymnastics. There's a marine store, a cafe, market, and restaurant
as well bathrooms, showers, washing machines. 220 power is available, I
use a step down and works great. I believe power is available at some of
the pits as well.

SV SEAGLUB 🇺🇸 Chris - Hylas 46′

Chris on Seaglub
https://pacificposse.com/vuda-marina

4) MARQUESAS, FRENCH POLYNESIA 
  🇵🇫 REPORT FROM SKY POND

Marquesas

The
unofficial flag of the Marquesas Islands was first raised on December
14, 1980, upon the opening of the airport on Nuku Hiva, and has been
regularly used since 1994. A simplified version, without the tiki
design, is sometimes flown. 

All is well here. 

Kevin,
the agent here on Nuku Hiva is excellent and we would recommend him to
everyone .  He’s not only an agent, but a “fixer” ..meaning either
he will get what you need done or knows someone who can.  

We three got our shell back tattoos in the style of French Polynesian tattoo designs. 

We
have a great photo album documenting our trip, including the Pollywog
ceremony, but haven’t had the bandwidth to publish it publicly via
iCloud. 

Setting
sail from Nuku Hiva tonight for one of the most southern Marquesses
islands then crossing to the Tuamotus a few days later.  

Rainy season starts here in a month according to the locals.  

I
also recommend provisioning dried eggs.  It can be a week or more
between egg availability here.  Eggs were a rare find the first
time we sailed south pac six years ago so this time I brought a big bag
of dried eggs.  Glad I did.  The main veggie market in Nuku
Hiva is pretty well stocked daily and what they don’t carry the 4
magazines do..but it requires diligence to find fruits and vegetables.

The
Oyster rally arrived this week.  I spoke to the advance team and
they said that they all used the provisioning delivery service out of
Tahiti to get re provisioned.  I don’t know how they delivered
those provisions to the island to coincide with the 34 boats’ arrivals.

Thanks for the email response.  Hope all is going well for you.  

Roxy 

Sky Pond

toasting the arrival in Nuku Hiva 

SKY POND'S ENTRY INTO BOAT YOGA POSE

Boat Yohga

SKY POND'S 3 ENTRIES GALLEY GOD(DESS) AWARD

galley goddess
SKY POND'S ENTRY INTO GALLEY GOD(DESS)
SKY POND'S ENTRY INTO GALLEY GOD(DESS)

SY SKY POND 🇨🇰  Carl & Roxy - Seawind 1160 38′

Carl
Roxy

5) GOOD NAUTICAL NEEDS YOU 🇹🇴

Over the last 12 years we have added over 7,000
anchorages into Good Nautical - and   are looking to enhance this
information with first hand accounts from you - please add pictures,
details and updates as you see them.
 

Anchorage @

Tonga 🇹🇴  is in there and most important we will collect and display tracks. Including the infamous Niuatoputapu reef
passage. To safeguard them for those who will attempt them after you
please email your tracks ( any format )   to
registration@pacificposse.com 

TONGA IS IN GOOD NAUTICAL

Anchorage @  Niuatoputapu 15° 56.436 S  173° 46.077 W 

Track

The snaking path to go through the reef in Niuatoputapu, Tonga 🇹🇴 

6) SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE 
AWARDS CATEGORIES 

 

HERE ARE THE  CATEGORIES 

    BIGGEST FISH CAUGHT* ✔ 

    PICTURE OF THE YEAR ✔  

    SPEEDY AWARD – SEVENSTAR AWARD ✔  

    THE CAPTAIN RON AWARD ✔ 

    MOST UNWELCOME VISITOR ONBOARD ✔ 

    HIGHEST WIND RECORDED ✔ 

    SPIRIT OF EXPLORATION ✔ 

    GALLEY GOD(ESS) ✔ 

    GOOD SAMARITAN OF THE YEAR ✔  

    NEWLY ADDED – BOAT YOGA POSE OF THE YEAR ✔

*no bill-fish

7) THE  BARS IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC 

Danny Doolans Auckland

Danny Doolan’s Auckland Harbour 🇳🇿   NZ

 36° 50.56' S 174° 45.8233' E 

Danny Doolans

One of the top sailing bars in the South Pacific  
Maybe a suitable setting for a South Pacific Posse Rum Party ? 

8)  MARINA SPONSORS OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC  POSSE 

🇺🇸  Safe Harbor South Bay – Chula Vista - USA

🇲🇽  Marina Chiapas – Mexico   

🇨🇷  Marina Papagayo – Costa Rica   

🇵🇦  Shelter Bay Marina – Panama  

🇪🇨  Marina Puerto Amistad – Ecuador  

🇫🇯  Vuda Point Marina - Fiji 

🇻🇺  Yachting World Marina - Port Vila - Vanuatu

🇳🇿  Marsden Cove Marina - New Zealand 

🇦🇺  Rivergate Marina  - Brisbane  - Australia 

Hauled Out The Boat Yard / Vava’u, Tonga

Haul Out in TONGA 🇹🇴 The BoatYard Vava’u 
From @ https://www.sailingcalypso.com/the-boatyard-vavau-tonga/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=external&v=1483391155030863

9) SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE SPONSORS 

  • PREDICT WIND
  • SEVENSTAR YACHT TRANSPORT
  • CENTENARIO PANAMA CANAL AGENTS
  • YACHT AGENTS GALAPAGOS 
  • YACHT SERVICES NUKU HIVA 
  • NOUMEA YACHT SERVICES
  • SAFE HARBOR SOUTH BAY MARINA EVENT CENTER
  • WESTMARINE PRO
  • SAILMAIL 
  • OCEAN TACTICS WEATHER ROUTING

10) PICTURE OF THE WEEK 

Entry

UA PAO - MARQUESAS 🇵🇫 FRENCH POLYNESIA 

 SY KISMET 🇺🇸  Kevin - Passport 41′

Kevin

11) THE ORIGINAL GUNK HOLES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC

LEVUKA 🇫🇯  FIJI

Levuka

Levuka Signpost and town entrance

Levuka

Levuka is a town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau. 
Up until 1877, it was the capital of Fiji. 

Currently
this strangly haunted town has a population of about 5,000. It is the
economic hub and the largest of 24 settlements on the island.
Levuka was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2013,
in recognition of the port town's exceptional testimony to the late
colonial port towns in the Pacific 

Levuka view from the Anchorage

The
modern town of Levuka was founded around 1820 by European settlers and
traders as the first modern town in the Fiji Islands, and became an
important port and trading post. A disparate band of settlers made up
Levuka's population – traders, missionaries, shipwrights, speculators,
and vagabonds, as well as respectable businessmen

LEVUKA Historic streets

Much of Levuka's unique heritage is in its wooden architecture (highly vulnerable to fire).

Levuka

The South Pacific's first Masonic Lodge is Levuka's only Romanesque building. 

It was built in 1913 and housed the Freemasons that were established in Levuka by Alexander Barrack in 1875.  

The South Pacific's first Masonic Lodge is Levuka's only Romanesque building. It was built in 1913 and housed the Freemasons that were established in Levuka by Alexander Barrack in 1875. Plenty of myths are surrounding the Freemasons and the building.

There
is much controversy about the Masonic fraternity in Fiji, the dominant
traditional Christian faiths consider Masons to be
devil-worshipers. 

 It was burned down in the 2000 Fiji coup d'état

 The Lodge contained priceless historical artifacts and records of Levuka's history dating back to 1875. 

The arsonists have yet to be identified and prosecuted.

Levuka Anchorage

A stunning anchorage behind the reef 

Admiralty Chart No 905 Suva Harbour to Levuka, Published 1960

Admiralty Chart No 905 Suva Harbour to Levuka, Published 1960
Nautical
chart of Suva Harbour to Levuka, Fiji Islands. From surveys by Captain
H.M. Denham 1855-6; Lieutenants L.S. Dawson and W.U. Moore 1875-7;
Lieutenant G.E. Richards 1881-2; and by Comdr. J.S.N. Pryor, 1959. 

Not current - not to be used for navigation!

12) TRACKING THE 22' PACIFIC POSSE  FLEET 
BROUGHT TO YOU BY PREDICT WIND

Tracking

Visit https://pacificposse.com/tracking to view the progress of the 22 South Pacific Posse Fleet. 
To be added visit https://pacificposse.com/add-to-tracking

13) SEVENSTAR YACHT TRANSPORT

 SPONSORS THE PANAMA POSSE

More info on Sevenstar™s services can be found on https://www.sevenstar-yacht-transport.com/

Sevenstar

Who is Sevenstar Yacht Transport?

Sevenstar
is the world’s leading provider of yacht shipping services on a
lift-on, lift-off basis. Sevenstar has access to the Spliethoff fleet of
over 120 company owned vessels. With an impressive 1,500+ transports
per year, they are calling over 100 ports in more than 40 countries
worldwide.

For a quote with the Panama Posse discount please contact 
Kris Caren

email: kris@sevenstar-usa.com

web: sevenstar-usa.com

https://panamaposse.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/new-panama-canal-graphic.jpg

14) PANAMA CANAL AGENT 
CENTENARIO CONSULTING ERICK GALVEZ

To
arrange for transit with the Panama Canal Authority please contact Eric
Galvez our dedicated Panama Canal agent and sponsor of the Panama Posse
and the Pacific Posse

Erick Gálvez

info@centenarioconsulting.com

www.centenarioconsulting.com

Cellphone +507 6676-1376

WhatsApp +507 6676-1376

Erick

15) STRATEGIC PARTNERS
 

SEVEN SEAS CRUISING ASSOCIATION

Abernathy – Chandlery – Panama

Panama Posse 

Advertising Partners – Las Vegas

Safe-Esteem.com – Delaware

SIGN UP FOR THE '22 SOUTH PACIFIC POSSE  

WE OPERATE UNDER INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW

YOUR VESSEL YOUR CREW YOUR RESPONSIBILITY 

Locals

In the Emae, Vanuatu local residents will visit your yachts and insist on flying your drone

South Pacific Posse

panama posse communications 
 @ 9811 w charleston blvd 2262 89117 Summerlin USA

© 2022 South Pacific Posse / Ocean Posse LLC

 


VANUATU PORT VILA

🇻🇺 VANUATU 🏝 83

VANUATU

CHILE PICAIRN ISLANDS ECUADOR GALAPAGOS FRENCH POLYNESIA COOK ISLANDS AMERICAN SAMOA HAWAII KIRIBATI NIUE SAMOA TONGA WALLIS AND FUTUNA FIJI VANUATU NEW CALEDONIA SOLOMON ISLANDS NEW ZEALAND NORFOLK ISLAND AUSTRALIA

VANUATU NEW HEBRIDES

SEVERE WEATHER

SEVERE WEATHER VANUATU

PORTS OF ENTRY

Banks Islands
Sola

Espiritu Santo
Luganville

Efate
Port Vila

Tanna
Lenakel
Port Resolution (extra fee)

Anatom Island
Aneityum

ENTRY EXIT REQUIREMENTS

DOCUMENTATION
Passport Valid for at least _ months; requires one blank page
Boat Documentation Coast Guard Doc (Original)
Insurance
Crewlist Required at checkin/out
Zarpe Required at checkin/out
Fishing License
Official Procedures https://customsinlandrevenue.gov.vu/index.php/travellers/yacht-clearance
Official Country Visa
Immigration Visa
Required Permits Proof of Covid Vaccination
Upon Arrival Visit: Immigration; Customs; Port Captain/Authority
Upon Departure Visit: Immigration; Customs; Port Captain
Total Entry & Exit Fees: 5000 VAT biosecurity
4800 VAT Immigration
3000 VAT Rubbish
Notes:
Recommended Agent:
Other:
Required Vaccinations None
Pets
Currency:Vanuatu Vatu

WEATHER

PILOT CHARTS VANUATU CLIMATOLOGY

VANUATU CHARTS

Vanuatu Entry Formalities and<br /> Ports of Entry for Vanuatu