Cruising Helmsman – June 2017

In practice, short stays in remote anchorages

such as the Ninigo islands, are tolerated for

small yachts prior to checking in when the area

is distant from any port of entry. Take care to

check with the latest security warnings about

entry ports as some have reported incidences

of robberies on the PNG mainland. Ninigo is

absolutely safe; you are treated like honoured

guests there.

An AIS tranceiver is a good tool to have

aboard, as shipping between the South Pacific

and Asia passes through this area. Purse seiners

as a rule do not transmit AIS signals, until they

are right on top of you, but at night you can see

the glow for miles.

There are four main passages into the Ninigo

lagoon: two nearby to Longan Island, one north

and one west; one south of Lau Island on the

southwest corner; and the eastern passage.

Locals assure us the eastern passage is suitable

for keelboats but we did not confirm this.

Most of the smaller atolls have no entrance,

though Heina does and one of the local families

assured us the channel is still marked. Waypoints

for Heina can be obtained on the Noonsite website.

We entered the SW passage near Mal Island

and departed the passage to the north of Longan

at the end of our stay. Neither was hazardous.

We made and used geo-referenced satellite

raster chartlets to define our routes into the

lagoon and to navigate around the multitude

of shallows inside. The programs we used were

GE2K AP and SASPlanet.

The key yacht contact at Ninigo is Oscar

Sinapling on Longan Island, he has the PNG

Tourism Board yacht book. He is responsible for

co-ordinating dive and snorkelling. A modest

Kina$10 fee is charged by the PNG government

per person per dive, snorkelling is free.

There is no way to reach Oscar ahead of time.

Michael Tahalam is also an important

contact. He is a ward councillor and can be

reached on the public telephone at The Station

at Mal Island; telephone, when it is working:

+675 276 4542.

Michael can answer pre-arrival questions

such as what items might be most needed by the

islanders. Fear not to bring items of some value,

for instance: copper or stainless steel nails,

exterior or marine paint or small amounts of

resin and hardener needed for canoes, handheld

GPS units, binoculars, etc. Islanders are willing

to pay you appropriately in Kina for goods.

Thomas Ailis and family at Puhipi village

on Mal have been called the 'ambassadors' of

Ninigo. Expect a visit from Tom; he will likely

bring Elizabeth, his wife and a gift of a western

islands woven hat.

Great donations to pack aboard include:

clothing, children’s clothing especially;

sunglasses, polarising is best; reading glasses;

solar lights; popcorn; brown rice; spices; 3-in-1

coffee; children’s books; hand tools such as small

axes, hand drills sharpening stones, kitchen

knives; soap; toothpaste and toothbrushes;

wound-care supplies; school supplies 2.5 inch

to 3 inch copper roofing nails; good quality

woven plastic tarps for making sails; hand sew

sailmaker thread and needles; three strand or

braided line, polypropylene is okay, in sizes

from 5mm to 19mm. ≈

RIGHT: The

friendly beautiful

people of Ninigo.

72

Cruising Helmsman June 2017

DESTINATION

SE ASIA

In 2003, Philip and Leslie retired from

demanding corporate careers and set

sail from Kingston Washington in the

USA on an open-ended voyage aboard

Carina, their Mason 33 cutter-rigged

sailboat. They have travelled now for

over thirteen years and logged 35,000+

nautical miles. With hundreds of friends

made in dozens of different countries,

their love of this unique and challenging

lifestyle has never diminished. They are

currently anchored at Pohnpei Island

in the Federated States of Micronesia.

http://www.sv-carina.org.

LESLIE LINKKILA,

PHILIP DINUOVO

“DRAT, NOSERLIES,” MUTTERED LESLIE,

“MAYBE IT’S TIME TO MOTOR.”