On Sep 4, 5:12*pm, "Gregory Hall" wrote:
....
I scoff because I can take a look-see using Google Maps.

http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworl...rt_Moresby.htm

You might want to zoom *it in a couple notches so you can see the reef and
other obstructions. And you can readily see if there's a headwind leaving
port then there will be a tailwind returning to port. You can also see the
area is wide open with few dangers and obstructions until you get to the
pass in the outlying reef proper. ...

Nice picture. I have a chart of the area. It is a bit reefier than
you might guess from the photo. The entrance to the yacht harbor is
particularly full of bommies and they don't show at all in the sat
pic. The prevailing winds in that area are the SE trades but, of
course, I don't know what Zac was seeing. The waves that you see in
the pass are likely refractions from incoming surf rather than wind
waves. I'm not going to argue that Zac is telling God's own truth.
He is, after all, a sailor selling a drama. I also don't know where
he was when his motor went south. Still, it is very possible that
when his engine quit he was drifting onto a dangerous lee shore. If
he was near the Basilisk Passage in a SE'r'ly then he'd be hard on the
wind on stb to return to the harbor. I admit, I'm guessing about the
particulars but, the story is not beyond belief to me.

-- Tom.