Brisbane To Gizo Yachting Event To Take Place In 2006

Created by doina. Last modified on 2005-11-03 18:03:40
Topic: Rallies
Countries: Australia, Solomon Islands

The improving security situation in the Solomon Islands in the last two years has seen the country keen to welcome back visitors and tourists. In September 2005 the Gizo Yacht Club was reconstituted with plans to hold a yachting rally from Brisbane to Gizo in May 2006. Gizo is the second largest town in the Solomons, and the capital of the Western Province.

The plan for the event is simple; yachts make their own preparations for departure from Australia but will aim to leave Brisbane on or about the 6th of May. The full moon at that time will make the night passages a bit easier. Two stops have been arranged, allowing the fleet to re-gather first at Frederick Reef and then at Mellish Reef. These are superb ocean stopovers, with excellent diving and snorkelling possibilities, after which the boats will carry on to Gizo, aiming to arrive on May 15th. The organisers are trying to make arrival as painless as possible; there will be boats to guide crews through the reef entrances and each boat will get a customs/immigration clearance kit before departing Australia.

As well as formal and informal events to welcome the yachts to Gizo, arrival is timed to coincide with the start of the Vaka Tepe/Festival of the Sea, a local three-day cultural event which this year should culminate in the impressive sight of up to 17 tomoko (war canoes dating back to the head-hunting days) racing on Gizo harbour. After the events following their arrival in Gizo, yachts are expected to scatter in groups around the famous cruising spots of the Solomon Islands. Munda, Marovo and Vonavona Lagoons are sure to feature in many itineraries, along with the countless habited and uninhabited coral islands and anchorages between Shortlands and Santa Cruse.

As a special feature of the event, the Brisbane organisers, under the leadership of Dr Alan Profke and his wife, are working with the Rotary Club of Gizo, to organise for the yachts to bring over donations of supplies that are needed to support the town’s infrastructure.

More information can be obtained from the club’s website, currently under construction but it will be at www.gizoyachtclub.com.sb