An Island adventure.

[Hasbeen]

I sailed into Gizo in the Solomon Islands 1976. I had been caught in the middle of the Solomon Sea by the edge of a cyclone that had no right to be that far north, particularly in April. I was heading for Cairns Australia, via Woodlark Island from the Treasury islands south west of Bougainville. With no satnav available for a price yachties could afford in those days, I had been drifting around for 3 days, waiting for some sun to find out where the hell I was after the blow petered out.

At over 7000 Ft high, with no reefs very far off shore, the western side of the Solomons was the safest thing to approach blind. I finally got so bored I decided to go to the Solomons. With light winds in the doldrums up there, it took 10 hours to get to the islands from when I first saw them, from about 40 miles out.

I found the British Solomon Island Protectorate sign on the warehouse on the jetty, in very faded paint rather amusing. They had been self-governing for many years, but had not bothered to paint out the sign.

The only European on the island was a Pommy government surveyor up from Honiara, doing some work at the air strip on an adjacent island. He was paddled out to me by canoe begging for a cup of tea, & food if possible. He been there 3 days, sleeping in the government guest house, but there was no food or cook to be found. He was eating cold tinned stuff from a Chinese trade store, & drinking coke.

I stayed & fed him for a few days, until he flew out, which was a great idea. I was greeted like a long lost brother by him & his wife, when I later arrived in Honiara, & entertained by them & their friends like royalty.

After a couple of weeks of this, they announced they could arrange an engineering inspector position for me with the government if I liked. About this time I realised they were organising my spending a lot of time with a nice young widow lady doctor friend of theirs. Becoming very nervous I sailed out a few days later.

Honiara then & today is a really beautiful place, & those European specialists had a marvellous life style. I occasionally wonder where my life might have gone if I weren’t such a coward.