From ERIC SHACKLE, in Sydney, Australia.<ericshackleATbigpond.com>
The intrepid band of treasure hunters led by Australian adventurer Don McIntyre in the icebreaker ICE have landed on Rotuma Island, one of the Fiji group. Here is Don's account, copied from his website:
Rotuma island appeared at first light on Wednesday, completing the 900 miles in exactly 6 days and 210 gal. fuel including all the head currents, so happy about that.
This place is heaven…We anchored in crystal clear ‘special’ blue water at 0700, with no sign of civilisation, in a beautiful bleached white super fine sandy bay beside a small outer island,,, coconut palms, black volcanic rocks… just incredible!
At 9am .Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Doctor all turned up from the other end of the mountain's volcanic island that is very spectacular. We were happy about that as Jane and I were about to land and make the 3 hr walk in the sun to visit them.
There is no anchorage by the village they are in…2000 people live here but we have only seen five people in the last two days..and one was a 56-year-old guy who was asking Mark about Jane! He lives with his mum and has never left the island…and there are no available women as they all go to Fiji!
So we have been catching fish, making awesomely spectacular scuba dives, snorkeling and spear fishing , beachcombing, night time crayfish spotting, having barbies etc. all on a place that seems deserted..Very few people come here and they get one supply boat a month…
The plan now is to leave on Saturday..It is just too good here..
Tomorrow we are going to try getting around the island..about a 12-mile circuit on a dirt road/track..There is one car here in this bay and the driver may be able to take us... sort of a trip to town too....not sure what we will find.
We should get to the Yasawas on Monday, stay for a few days there and then head to the marina at Vuda Point..Mel has apparently gone on a holiday and not back till Tuesday, so no problem for us….this is so good after Tarawa!
Will blog again on Saturday night once we are under way..Turtles cruise past every day now instead of oil slicks and rubbish..life is how it should be.
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Don has promised to donate 20 per cent of any treasure he finds to the Sheffield Institute Foundation for research into Motor Neurone Disease and other Neurological disorders.
You can follow Don's adventures or email him by visiting his blog, www.bluetreasure.me
Showing posts with label yachting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yachting. Show all posts
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Treasure Hunters Set to Sail
From ERIC SHACKLE in Sydney, Australia. <ericshackle*bigpond.com>
Now that gold is worth more than $1800 an ounce -- the most it has ever been -- Australian adventurer Don McIntyre could not have chosen a better time to set out on his Blue Treasure expedition.
He is about to sail from Tarawa in a 15.2 metre 40-tonne steel ice-strengthened motor sailor dive support vessel named ICE. Two crew members have already been selected, and McIntyre is looking for others to join them -- and to share the costs.
Tarawa, an island in the central Pacific, was the scene of a fierce battle in WWII, in which thousands of US and Japanese forces lost their lives.
In his latest blog post, McIntyre reports: "After crossing the equator Sunday weather was fantastic. We made a call to Macca [ABC radio host Ian MacNamara] on Australia All Over. We listen to Radio Australia every Sunday which was fun as he has many listeners in Australia and around the \Pacific.
"Then we passed another cruising yacht... going the other way..They left England 20 years ago and are still cruising..They were suprised to see us, as they heard us talking to Macca a few hours before on their radio.
"We cruised past great islands and were settling into another moonlit night with light winds when..silience!.. the engine just stopped dead like someone switched it off. It was 1930hrs.".
You can follow the ICE and contact its crew by visiting its website:
http://www.bluetreasure.me/blog/
and see photos: http://s1091.photobucket.com/albums/i386/Bluetreasure-Ice/
Now that gold is worth more than $1800 an ounce -- the most it has ever been -- Australian adventurer Don McIntyre could not have chosen a better time to set out on his Blue Treasure expedition.
He is about to sail from Tarawa in a 15.2 metre 40-tonne steel ice-strengthened motor sailor dive support vessel named ICE. Two crew members have already been selected, and McIntyre is looking for others to join them -- and to share the costs.
Tarawa, an island in the central Pacific, was the scene of a fierce battle in WWII, in which thousands of US and Japanese forces lost their lives.
In his latest blog post, McIntyre reports: "After crossing the equator Sunday weather was fantastic. We made a call to Macca [ABC radio host Ian MacNamara] on Australia All Over. We listen to Radio Australia every Sunday which was fun as he has many listeners in Australia and around the \Pacific.
"Then we passed another cruising yacht... going the other way..They left England 20 years ago and are still cruising..They were suprised to see us, as they heard us talking to Macca a few hours before on their radio.
"We cruised past great islands and were settling into another moonlit night with light winds when..silience!.. the engine just stopped dead like someone switched it off. It was 1930hrs.".
You can follow the ICE and contact its crew by visiting its website:
http://www.bluetreasure.me/blog/
and see photos: http://s1091.photobucket.com/albums/i386/Bluetreasure-Ice/
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