SOREN
ARRIVED HOME Sat
8th November 2003 at Princes Wharf, Maritime Museum Basin, Auckland!
See the home coming pictures here
20
Oct. 2003 New Caledonia to Auckland V190
Noreen
uses the ships Fuji Finepix to great effect in New Caledonia,
the Iles des Pines - see image galleries part 1 here
and part 2 here
Read
Noreen's final account of the last voyage of this Pacific Season
"Today
is the first day of our last 2003 voyage in the South Pacific,
a bit sad really! We threw off our mooring lines and motored a
few miles away where we anchored for the evening, just in time
for a swim and wander ashore before the sun set.." more here
6
Oct. 2003 Vanuatu to New Caledonia V189
Herk
and Mereille say they had a great time and send pictures of their
view of Vanautu to New Caledonia here
Noreen
toughes it out overcoming illness and Bobby explains why
Engineers are bad with remembering names:
"I slept until I heard the anchor drop, my body ached
after the 24 hour journey, it was nice to hear the crew in good
spirits entering my cabin, “Daisy, we didn’t just see
a whale, it didn’t just jump out of the water and it wasn’t
a humpback!” Oh man, of course I had to miss out on that
one, I was gutted! Tod and Marita headed ashore to call the doctors
office to find out the results of the blood tests.." more
here
Noreen's Photo Gallery of the trip via Tanna and on to Noumea
here
Emil
gives us his highpoints of the Vanuatu South trip,
the week in Vila and the voyage downwind to Noumea:
"There was a day with absolutely no wind, the sea flat as
a mirror, you could even see the traces of flying fishes on the
surface like carvings in the water. Dolphins appeared on the horizon
and came towards the ship in huge leaps out of the water and dived
just in front of us. Turtles hunted around the aft one evening
on anchor and the next day two sharkfins crossed the bowsprit.."
more here
Mike
Clubbe's Voyage Crew comments:
"After the village dancing
ceremony we continued up to the volcano. I’ve been up several
active volcanoes in the past but nothing quite prepared me for
this one! When they say active they really mean it.."
more here
15
Sept. 2003 Vanuatu Discovery South V188
Noreen tells
of the journey southbound through Vanauatu from Santo to Pt Vila:
"The
following morning there were trips ashore to hike the hills and
bathe in the waterfall's fresh water pool and later that evening
attend custom dancing. Chief Nelson and his son Nixon prepared
a wonderful evening for us, there was, in my opinion, one of the
best custom dancing displays that we have seen, followed by an
abundance of great food. We were then invited to drink kava and
enjoy the sounds of the local string band!" more
here
Former
Soren bosun Troy Evans returned for 2 Vanuatu trips - and brought
his digital - Santo to Vila Photo galleries.
See part 1 here
Part 2 here
1
Sept. 2003 Vanuatu Banks Islands Voyage V187
Our
most northern and remote destinations. Noreen tells of kava nights
and a special custom dance - and VC Alison explained what turned
her feet blue..
"The following day (September 5th)
we motor sailed and anchored off Rowa Island Reef, the first group
to go came back ranting and raving about the turtles, sting rays
and magnificent fish that they saw swimming on the reef.I saw
the biggest parrotfish that I have ever seen and came across a
sleeping stingray camouflaged in the sand; the snorkel was one
of the best yet! .." more here
See Noreen's Finepix picture gallery here
Emil's
top 10 hits of the Banks Islands:
" Beautiful stars in the night, a slight breeze and almost
no swell lead us smoothly to Vanua Lava, the main island of this
region of Vanuatu.
From here this unique mixture between adventure and relaxation
started again and here are my personal charts of this hits of
the hits islands:" more
here
What
do ex Soren Crew do for their holidays? They come back for a sail
with us of course..
Troy Evans brought his digital camera to Vanuatu
see his Banks Picture galleries - part 1 - here
see part 2 - here
18
Aug. 2003 Vanuatu Discovery North V186
Emil
recounts the voyage north from Pt Vila to Santo
" the Maskelyne Islands, collected firewood on an island
first, then we anchored near a small inhabited island, Awei, only
three boats lengths away off a tiny shore. We had a perfect BBQ
on the beach and some locals came with their instruments and played
for us all their songs they knew, even Jingle Bells (it is winter
here after all). The volcanoes of Ambrym were glowing in the starry
sky and I was sitting a long time on the deck to watch this gorgeous
lights...." more here
Noreen's
account of village ceremonies and volcano climbs:
"In
Banam Bay, we were taken ashore and led into the village to see
traditional Vanuatu dancing. The men wore penis sheaths and a
bark-type belt to hold on their costume, while the women only
wore a grass skirt. The men danced to the beat of a drum and the
jingle of the seeds they had wrapped around their ankles, it was
very noisy and dusty, but what a show! ..." more here
Viv
and Chris' Voyage Crew comments here
"We
had a great trip and nice to know that second time aboard we weren't
disappointed..." more here
28
July 2003 Fiji to Vanuatu Voyage V185:
Noreen
sprints around Lautoka's market reprovisoning and Thea meets old
friends in the Yassawa islands: "our time off on Viti
Levu, Fiji, the majority of us choose to hang around in Lautoka
and spend our hard earned money in the Indian shops. There are
new sarongs and t-shirts being sported around deck, we all look
quite dashing! The majority of my day was spent in the markets
of Lautoka. They are spectacular, so colorful with the mixed fruit
and vegetables as well as the Indian spices!" more here.
Emil
gets his first sight of Yasur, Tanna's mighty volcano. ~
"..sunset on Yasur's rim. Deep below three vents with
steam and hissing music, explosions in short intervals and after
dusk, the glowing started. Big pieces of lavarocks were shot in
the air, like bullets of a gigantic sling, a firedance in a very
special way..." more here
Picture
gallery of this voyage,
Part 1 Lautoka and the Yassawas here
Picture
gallery of this voyage Part 2,
on deck and a taste of Tanna here
7
July 2003 Tonga to Fiji Voyage V184:
Emil
Gruber sees the King's birthday celebrations and gets invited
to a Tongan funeral.. "Heilala week in Tonga, the birthday
of the king and what a luck we are here right on time. Big military
thing first, parades outside the kings palace on a special decorated
field: The Tongan army, the US marines, a troup of French soldiers,
straight military music and the old king on a special car (we
called it “The Heilalamobile”), handwaving to his people"
more here
Noreen
Hill updates her Voyage Log : "Neiafu Anchorage July 12:
Thea and I alternate trips to the veggie markets and have started
bringing a deckhand ashore to help us carry the goods. It is great
to see how excited the deckies get with a little extra time ashore!
Lucy and Thea headed off to the markets while the ship was tidied
from the voyage up..." more here
Noreen
and Emil go shutter button crazy through northern Tonga to Fiji
- picture page part 1 here
And
their Tonga-Fiji pics of Fijian kava hospitality and a historic
rugby game; part 2 here
23
June 2003 Kingdom of Tonga Cruise V183
Noreen
Hill's tells of the crew's first sight of palm trees and beaches,
and the the King's birthday in Nuku'alofa : "Tofua
Island, the actual site of the mutiny on the Bounty, and best
kava plantations in Tonga! Just after breakfast we sat gazing
up at the two land masses, one of which we would begin ascending
shortly. More...
Emil
Gruber gives us of thier first taste of the tropical Pacific:
"The memorable events went on for the next days. A dinner
in a village on Hinakauea Beach with all kind of fantastic local
food, like roast pig, lobster, curried octopus, clams, beef and
fish cooked in coconut cream wrapped in taro leaves. More...
Tonga
Picture Page - Noreen's eye view of the beaches and sunsets of
Haa'pai and Vava'u HERE
5
June 2003 Auckland to Tonga Voyage
V182:
Soren Crew Noreen Hill tells of the ocean passage from Auckland
to the Kermadecs and north in to Tonga:
29°15’S
177° 54’W Lucy gives Thea and I the call at 0600, Raoul
Island in sight! The voyage crew were amazed to see land, at last!
Mikkel prepared a roster for crew ashore, after much confusion
the first lot were sent ashore with the stores and mail delivery
for the Raoul Island Team ... MORE...
Voyage
Crew Emil Gruber - flew from Europe to join the ship for 5 months
.. here are his first impressions and his story of the voyage
from New Zealand:
Do
you know the quintessence of sailing ? Getting on a tallship with
almost 60 years of life in all the oceans all over the world and
a Master with the same experience from Cape Horn to Antarctica..
More...
See the Picture Gallery from the ship's Finepix digital here
Voyage crew Paul Thurston sends a few of his pictures here
"The
ocean passage from Auckland to Tonga was exhilarating and more
fun than I had hoped for..."
Contact
our Auckland HQ: 
