Itinerary :2009

 

SEPTEMBER NEWS FROM SEAGOON. I am sailing a Danish 50 foot yacht to Sydney the next 2 month. The trip I was planning along the reef wont happended now. 2010 early May I will leave Cairns and cruise PNG and Solomon Islands for 6-7 moth. Been away form the islands for 4 years and that is too long. On this trip we will visit Bougainville Island as it had lots of Japanese ships/plane wrecks , hope to find wrecks to dive and have already good contacts with local divers that lived up here in 1970-80 and have dived there a lot If any are interested in joining Seagoon for this trip you can fly in fly out to = Cairns Australia or Gizo Solomon Islands, Buka PNG. Seagoon is getting a refit while we are staying in Cairns. Oct/Nov 2007 we sandblasted and painted the hull outside, now looking like new again. Installed gas stove/oven May 2009 a big improvement from having used Kerosine for 15 years. In the process of painting the decks. Installed new wind generator to help with all the electronics we are using onboard today. In June 2009 the Nav table and electrical board was striped out on new 12 volt 4WD computer and 12" flat screen installed for navigation, at the same time I rewire every thing and installed LED through out the boat.   Please note: all timings and routes are subject to weather conditions, crew preferences and the discretion of the skipper.  If you're interested in joining us in Australia, check out the rest of the website - there are some links on the last page which have more info and pictures - and don't forget to check the cost - unfortunately, we can't take anybody for free. Email us for more info.

 

Here's some general information about the places we visit...
THE LOUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO, PNG
	Papua New Guinea is a bit of a 'last fontier' and can be a fascinating and rewarding experience. It's amazing that such an undeveloped yet culturally rich country can exist only 500 miles from Australia. Papua New Guineans are some of the friendliest and most hospitable people you'll ever meet, they'll open up their homes and their hearts to you if you're prepared to enjoy what they're willing to share. The Louisiades are a long chain of small islands and reefs enclosing a large lagoon approx 200 miles off the SE tip of mainland PNG. The waters are clear and warm with abundant fish life - great for diving, snorkeling and fishing. The SE trade winds make cruising between the islands easy.

WESTERN PROVINCE OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

The Solomons are similar to PNG, although the country is more developed with outboard engines now out-numbering traditional sailing canoes. There are more trade stores here, and phones and internet are available in Gizo. The impact of WWII was greater here and there are many Japanese and American wrecks to explore, both on land and underwater. Many Solomon Islanders make beautiful inlaid wooden carvings. As the Solomon Islands is closer to the equator the temperatures here can be high and the winds are light. Although recent trouble around Honiara and Guadalcanal Island has been well publicised, we've never had or seen any problems around Western Province and stay well away from known trouble-spots.

 

CAIRNS TO NEW GUINEA CROSSING The trip across the Coral Sea is a 5 day sail, 500 miles from reef to reef. On arrival the first anchorage is a coral atoll at the edge of the Coral Sea with a white sandy beach, palm trees and clear warm water - a perfect setting for the first cold beer after an ocean crossing.

SOLOMON SEA CROSSING This is an easy sail from PNG, with lots of current running NW at the tip of Russel Island. The trip is 250 miles long and should take 2 days in good weather.