Henk Meuzelaar of Port Vila (Vanuatu)
- Thread starter Rick D
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Thanks for asking, Rick
Yes, Nelleke and I have left Vanuatu for the 2003 season and are back in the Utah Rocky Mountains. However, Rivendel is still in Port Vila (getting a new offshore makeover). So, what does a land-locked Rocky Mountain hillbilly like me list as "home port"? I kind of feel it should be were the boat is.... OTOH we have always had "Park City, Utah" written on the transom, if not for any other reason than to avoid California property taxes when we were still in the Santa Barbara area in the early 90's. It may also have helped us get more swinging room in crowded Channel Island anchorages such as Pellican Bay. Rumor had it that Californian cruisers shied away from anchoring close to vessels with Arizona and Utah homeports
) Amazingly, people DO study these transom graphics, even here in the South Pacific. On average one cruiser or passerby in the harbor walks up to us every season to say that they know Park City or have seen another cruising vessel from there! With regard to future plans: we are in the process of establishing a new 5-year memorandum of understanding with the Vanuatu government to continue Project MARC because of its demonstrated success in the outer islands here (anyone interested, please use the link to our website for trip reports, etc.). Meanwhile, however, we are also thinking of bringing Rivendel II home before Nelleke and I are getting too old to undertake the long sail home against the South- and North-Pacific Trades. The truth of the matter is that Rivendel is simply too small to remain needed for Project MARC here, as most of the logistic support is now being given by vessels in the 70+ foot range. In fact, we were kind of planning to sail her to Pago Pago (American Samoa) at the end of the 2004 season in Vanuatu, to Hawaii in 2005 and to the West Coast in 2006. Unfortunately, we have already run into 2 little obstacles with regard to next year's planned passage to Samoa. First of all, there is apparently not yet any decent haul-out facility for small cruising vessels in Pago Pago. Secondly, as I wrote last week on this board (in the "Season's End" thread) Rivendel II gave us such a fabulous last sail back to Port Vila that Nelleke and I are both having second thoughts about forcing her to leave these waters next year. If we do decide to leave Vanuatu, though, we may well end up shopping for crew members here on the HOW site.... So, anyone with a South or North Pacific passagemaking itch that needs scratching, please stay tuned! Flying Dutchman
Yes, Nelleke and I have left Vanuatu for the 2003 season and are back in the Utah Rocky Mountains. However, Rivendel is still in Port Vila (getting a new offshore makeover). So, what does a land-locked Rocky Mountain hillbilly like me list as "home port"? I kind of feel it should be were the boat is.... OTOH we have always had "Park City, Utah" written on the transom, if not for any other reason than to avoid California property taxes when we were still in the Santa Barbara area in the early 90's. It may also have helped us get more swinging room in crowded Channel Island anchorages such as Pellican Bay. Rumor had it that Californian cruisers shied away from anchoring close to vessels with Arizona and Utah homeports
) Amazingly, people DO study these transom graphics, even here in the South Pacific. On average one cruiser or passerby in the harbor walks up to us every season to say that they know Park City or have seen another cruising vessel from there! With regard to future plans: we are in the process of establishing a new 5-year memorandum of understanding with the Vanuatu government to continue Project MARC because of its demonstrated success in the outer islands here (anyone interested, please use the link to our website for trip reports, etc.). Meanwhile, however, we are also thinking of bringing Rivendel II home before Nelleke and I are getting too old to undertake the long sail home against the South- and North-Pacific Trades. The truth of the matter is that Rivendel is simply too small to remain needed for Project MARC here, as most of the logistic support is now being given by vessels in the 70+ foot range. In fact, we were kind of planning to sail her to Pago Pago (American Samoa) at the end of the 2004 season in Vanuatu, to Hawaii in 2005 and to the West Coast in 2006. Unfortunately, we have already run into 2 little obstacles with regard to next year's planned passage to Samoa. First of all, there is apparently not yet any decent haul-out facility for small cruising vessels in Pago Pago. Secondly, as I wrote last week on this board (in the "Season's End" thread) Rivendel II gave us such a fabulous last sail back to Port Vila that Nelleke and I are both having second thoughts about forcing her to leave these waters next year. If we do decide to leave Vanuatu, though, we may well end up shopping for crew members here on the HOW site.... So, anyone with a South or North Pacific passagemaking itch that needs scratching, please stay tuned! Flying Dutchman
Hard Dodger Project
Henk - if I recall, a while back you mentioned something about puting on a hard dodger. Attached (hopefully) is a picture of someone who put one on their boat that coordinates well with the boat design. Picture was taken in Olympia WA earlier this summer. I don't know anything about the owner but maybe someone on this board might know.
Henk - if I recall, a while back you mentioned something about puting on a hard dodger. Attached (hopefully) is a picture of someone who put one on their boat that coordinates well with the boat design. Picture was taken in Olympia WA earlier this summer. I don't know anything about the owner but maybe someone on this board might know.
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Ya gotta luv this board !
Thanks, John, That is indeed a great-looking hard dodger. I will try to send a copy of that image to Laurent (the boat yard manager/owner in Port Vila who is going to make our dodger) so he may perhaps find additional inspiration. Two design hurdles he faces with our Legend 43 are: (1) the high bridge deck area between cockpit and companionway; and (2) the fact that the companionway is displaced from the centerline to starboard. This limits his construction options a bit. Flying Dutchman BTW, it feels good to be among friends who are really trying to help each other. Although all the major sailing boards on the web appear to have become more civil and user-friendly (even alt.sailing.asa has quite a few sailing-related threads these days) HOW still tops my personal ratings! HM
Thanks, John, That is indeed a great-looking hard dodger. I will try to send a copy of that image to Laurent (the boat yard manager/owner in Port Vila who is going to make our dodger) so he may perhaps find additional inspiration. Two design hurdles he faces with our Legend 43 are: (1) the high bridge deck area between cockpit and companionway; and (2) the fact that the companionway is displaced from the centerline to starboard. This limits his construction options a bit. Flying Dutchman BTW, it feels good to be among friends who are really trying to help each other. Although all the major sailing boards on the web appear to have become more civil and user-friendly (even alt.sailing.asa has quite a few sailing-related threads these days) HOW still tops my personal ratings! HM
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