RECREATION / BOATING : Selected OCC Students Will Set Sail for the South Seas

Many boaters dream of sailing to some exotic South Seas island, but few ever make it. If your New Year’s list includes a resolution to fulfill such a wish, 1991 could be your lucky year.

That’s when Orange Coast College will offer its first Polynesian cruising adventure--a 93-day, 8,500-mile voyage that will take about 50 students to the Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu, Tahiti and Bora Bora.

Sound exciting?

If so, you had better turn in your application now.

Although the boat does not sail until May, the application process began Dec. 1 and continues until Feb. 1. Already, 70 persons have signed up for the unusual sailing course.

“There is a lot of demand for this trip,” says Brad Avery, director of OCC’s sailing program. “And it is not on a first-come, first-served basis. We are going to try to put together a pool of applicants and assess their skills by going sailing with them. That way we can put together the best group possible for the trip.”

Many of the applicants are alumni of other OCC sailing classes, including past trips aboard the Alaska Eagle, which has also sailed with students to Alaska and Hawaii. The boat, donated to OCC in 1982, has sailed more than 50,000 miles with students aboard, including seven sail training cruises to Hawaii.

“But this is a first for us,” says Avery, who has served as skipper on various legs of the Alaska Eagle’s past journeys. “We wanted to go three years ago, but the Coast Guard wanted us to make a few more trips to Hawaii first.”

Now with a track record that includes eight years of cruising adventures, the Alaska Eagle has received Coast Guard approval to make the South Seas voyage.

“This is our first international voyage and, unlike our previous trips to Hawaii and Alaska, this is more of an adventure for us and for our students,” Avery says. “We are going to be in the Southern Hemisphere and in another country. It involves passports and visas. And the boat is going to be quite a ways from home. We view this as a big step and a step toward an even greater cruising future for the program.”

The Polynesian cruise will begin May 11 when the 65-foot Alaska Eagle sets sail with a crew of 10 on the first leg of its voyage. The 2,600-mile trans-equatorial passage from Newport Beach to Hiva Oa, Marquesas, will take 14 to 16 days.

After making landfall and clearing customs into Polynesia, the boat will spend a week exploring and sailing around the islands of Fatu Hiva, Ua Pou and Nuku Hiva. The leg will end in Talohae Bay, Nuku Hiva. From there, students from that first leg will return by air to California.

On the second leg of the trip, a new group of 10 students will join the Alaska Eagle in Talohae Bay. From there, the boat will depart on a 500-mile, three-day sail to the Tuamotu Archipelago. Crew members will spend some time exploring the area before sailing on to Moorea and Papeete, Tahiti.

From Tahiti, that group of students will return to Orange County while another group joins the boat for a cruise of the Society Islands. Leg 3 will include 11 days of sailing, but each night will be spent at anchor. On Leg 4, the Alaska Eagle will return from Bora Bora to Hawaii, a journey of about 14 to 16 days. And on Leg 5, the final leg, the boat will return from Hawaii to Newport Beach, arriving sometime in mid-August.

Planning the trip has been a challenge, says Avery, who will serve as skipper for Legs 1 and 2. “Just handling the airline reservations has been interesting. There is only one flight a week into the Marquesas, and you can’t miss it,” he says. “We have people planning their vacations around this, and it is important that we be at the places we are supposed to be, when we are supposed to be there.”

Cost for the cruise varies from $1,295 to $1,695 depending upon the leg. Cruise fees include food, but do not include air fares, which can cost another $400 to $1,000.

Applications for the sailing adventure may be obtained by calling the Orange Coast College Sailing Center at (714) 645-9412.

The Alaska Eagle is now at the sailing center docks where the boat is being outfitted for the cruise. “We are spending a lot more time getting the boat ready,” Avery says, “because the boat is going to be away from home for a long time, and it will be difficult to get parts and supplies.”

Avery believes that the Polynesian cruise is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many sailors. “They will be getting the adventure of their lives,” he says. “And the people who are applying for this trip realize that. They realize that this may not come their way again--unless they have the money to buy their own boat and go themselves.”

Armchair Adventures--If you would like to experience the thrill of a sailing adventure without going to sea, Orange Coast College has something for you too.

The 1991 Sailing Adventure Lecture Series will get under way at OCC on Jan. 11. For 16 years, the popular series, under the direction of Walt Gleckler, has been bringing world-class sailors to the county to talk about their voyages.

This year’s four-part program will begin with Kellogg and Diana Fleming, who are now nearing the end of their circumnavigation aboard a 42-foot ketch. Cruising stops for the Flemings have included Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Gibraltar and Portugal.

Appearing on Jan. 18 will be Russ Nilson and Cynthia D’Vincent, who have traveled 200,000 miles in a 90-foot brigantine studying whales. On Jan. 25, Montreal-born sailor, actor, poet and filmmaker Yves Gelinas will screen his 100-minute award-winning film about his single-handed voyage aboard his 30-foot sailboat.

The program will end Feb. 1 with a presentation by Mugs and Marcia Davock, who completed a seven-year circumnavigation aboard a 41-foot Rhodes sloop.

All four programs will begin at 8 p.m. in the Robert B. Moore Theatre on the OCC campus. Tickets are $27 in advance for the entire series or $31 at the door. Individual tickets are $7.50 in advance or $9 at the door. For information, call (714) 432-5880.

Boating Classes--The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary will offer a series of boating classes beginning Jan. 7 at the Huntington Harbour Yacht Club, 3821 Warner Ave. The nine-week series of classes will meet each Monday from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Cost is $17 per person. For information, call (714) 642-5540.