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OWNER REPORT 44 www.oystermarine.com One Amazing Day continued The local ladies were enormously proud of their donations and danced with joy as they returned from the Chief’s table, some taking pleasure in getting David dancing, to howls of laughter from all. What a colourful and fun occasion. All the while George, our guide, provided a ‘David Dimbleby’ style commentary on the proceedings, kindly leaving every two hours to check and re-anchor our dinghy as the tides were quite big. All of the other elders were keen to talk to us and swap stories of life and adventures. We also toured the makeshift outdoor kitchen, where whole pigs were being cooked in a pit and huge pots of food had been prepared. The barbecue consisted of two railway line like steels, with the logs burning underneath for a length of 10 metres. While all of the ceremony was in Fijian, the Island chief welcomed us in English and gave David about 15 seconds to think of a suitable response to the assembled audience, which, as such an experienced public speaker, he managed flawlessly! Then to lunch with the ladies and honoured guests (us) heading into the partly completed village hall for a feast of all things Fijian. David was seated on the head table, along with 25 of the female village elders. Having sat crossed legged on the floor for three hours, we were grateful to be found some chairs and invited to take food from the head table as well as the buffet. Forget your hotel and tourist events, this was a real feast, complete with young men fanning our food to keep away the flies! What did lunch consist of? Yams, five types of fish, pork, chicken in palm leaves cooked in the earth oven, rice, curried vegetables, local spaghetti with mixed vegetables and limpets which were huge, just to name a few, all piled high and eaten with our fingers. We were served fruit juice to drink. And so back to the ceremony where it was the turn of all the village men to pay homage to the Chief. We moved to sit in the shade with George, who was excused from duties to look after us, and continued to explain the proceedings as various gifts from the village were presented to the Chief. A mix of very serious tradition, formal Kava offerings (unfiltered – ugh!) and much hilarity at some of the local war dancing as the women sought to disrupt the men. But it was great to hear that overall the village had raised more than Fijian $11,000, $6000 of which was donated by the Chief! With the formal ceremonies over, after a mere six hours of tribal events, we returned briefly to George’s house for late afternoon tea with his family, where they presented us with gifts of Kava cups for myself and David and a traditional dress for Rosie. Before heading back to the boat, as we walked the beach with our guide, George paid us an enormous compliment, telling us we were “Very good tourists”. Meeting the Chiefs of each village we visited (along with presenting Kava root), asking permission to snorkel and take photographs, bringing gifts for the local school and villagers of tee-shirts and tinned food and donating money towards the village hall. Apparently not all yachtsmen are as considerate. So forget the National Geographic - this is real life Fijian culture, bought to you by Oyster and the team on board Kealoha 8. David Holliday and his crew are sailing around the world as part of the World ARC 2007/2008 on his Oyster 72, Kealoha 8. The fleet which includes the Oyster 82 Tillymint and Oyster 56 Into the Blue are currently in Australia. Further information about the World ARC can be found at: www.worldcruising.com/worldarc
Bermuda Oyster wins cruiser Division in 2008 Newport to Bermuda Race By Barry Pickthall Paul Hubbard and his crew on the veteran Oyster 435, Bermuda Oyster, returned to their home port with something to celebrate in June after winning the 43-boat Cruiser Division and the famous Carleton Mitchell Finisterre Trophy in this year's Newport Bermuda Race. The champagne and bacon sandwiches that greeted this crew at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club dock was part of a tradition that dates back at least eight years when fellow Bermudian, Neil Redburn, started sailing with Hubbard, but several others on board for this year’s race had competed in this biennial classic on this venerable Oyster 435 for the past 18 years. Asked to describe his yacht to Bermuda's Governor General Sir Richard Gozney, Hubbard responded. "Well, compared to most other boats around, this is a caravan with a stick. We were docked next to one racer in Newport before the start and their crew was offloading provisions and liquor while we were stowing ours below. We have an extensive wine list onboard" he joked, adding, "This was the roughest trip on the boat. The wind was on the nose the entire way, but she is a heavy boat that sails well upwind and we dine well all the way!" The Newport to Bermuda Race was founded by Thomas Fleming Day and the Rudder magazine in 1906 and is the oldest ocean race in normal boats for amateur sailors. After a period of inactivity from 1911-12, it was revived in 1923 by Herbert Stone and Yachting magazine. Since 1926 it has been run by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. For more information on the Newport to Bermuda Race see: www.bermudarace.com The crossed flag lighthouse logo is a registered mark of the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. BERMUDA OYSTER WINS www.oystermarine.com 45
Page 1 and 2: NEWS O YSTER® NEWS FROM THE WORLD
Page 3 and 4: 46 FIJI, LAND OF FRIENDLY PEOPLE Do
Page 5 and 6: SUPERSHOAL 82 ON TRIALS The supersh
Page 7 and 8: New Directors at Oyster Two long-st
Page 9 and 10: Fast and Bonnie the 2008 Fife Regat
Page 11 and 12: Photos: Tim Wright/photoaction.com
Page 13 and 14: Twenty-six Oysters entered this, th
Page 15 and 16: www.oystermarine.com 15
Page 17 and 18: Sunshine in the Solent... continued
Page 21 and 22: RACE 5 SPONSORED BY PANTAENIUS CLAS
Page 23 and 24: Why introduce a new Oyster 575 when
Page 25 and 26: OWNER REPORT www.oystermarine.com 2
Page 27 and 28: While Moana was moored in Cebu Yach
Page 29 and 30: Coron On arrival in Coron we left t
Page 31 and 32: PHILIPPINES FACTS: Weather Resource
Page 33 and 34: The bi-annual ACC Bank Cork Week is
Page 35 and 36: South, south, south... by Mariacris
Page 37 and 38: We cast off once again; and after a
Page 39 and 40: At long last a sighting of the famo
Page 41 and 42: Those of us not too seasick took th
Page 43: “Forget the National Geographic -
Page 47 and 48: We had our first experience drinkin
Page 49 and 50: But at Musket Cove, owner Dick Smit
Page 51 and 52: We were first to arrive in the smal
Page 53: Oysters at the 2008 Autumn Boat Sho
Page 57 and 58: esearch and testing of reactors). A
Page 59 and 60: what to do, I don’t know how this
Page 61 and 62: to remember everything he did. Late
Page 63: HEADING www.oystermarine.com 63
Page 66 and 67: OYSTER COWES REGATTA 2008 CLASS 1 1
Page 71 and 72: OYSTER 655 SOLWAY MIST II John Maxw

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