Report from Rarotonga
Wednesday July 14, 2004 at 20:55 EDT
Rarotonga --
Ed and Dick filed a Bastille Day
report covering the end of
Easter Island,
the flight to
Tahiti
on Sunday, their short stay there, and the flight to
Rarotonga
on Monday.
Summit, New Jersey -- After sifting through hundreds of pictures, identifying locations and people, a selection of the best of them can now be seen with each leg report.
Ed and Dick have been giving talks about their adventure. As more events are scheduled, their time and location will be posted on this website.
Summit, New Jersey -- Flight data collected by one of the GPS devices and by Captain Richard Sollner are now appearing on the route page and on individual leg pages.
Todd Kaplan took a very nice picture of the crew with four FOP children present at their arrival in Manville.
Ed and Dick are going through their electronic pictures shoeboxes to select the best ones to show you on this web site, so keep an eye on it.
Flemington, New Jersey -- The "Flight for the Cure" ran circles around hurricanes and closed the loop Saturday as planned, welcomed in Central Jersey airport by a crowd of family, friends and I.F.O.P.A. members.
Dick filed a final report, which covers the Thursday leg from Trinidad to West Palm Beach and on to Savannah, with a Friday leg to Sky Manor, New Jersey, which brought them on the green, a short put away from Central Jersey, where they flew to the next day, right on schedule!
Watch for more postings such as pictures and flight data in the coming days.
Savannah, Georgia -- The "Flight for the Cure" crew has been on the phone with Steve Pelletiere to monitor the hurricane activity and they changed their route accordingly. Yesterday, they flew from Trinidad to West Palm Beach, where they arrived in the evening, and went on to Savannah.
Steve sent a brief email, which is posted on the Savannah leg page
Port of Spain, Trinidad -- The "Flight for the Cure" arrived in Port of Spain apparently without having to tangle with the usual thunderstorms found along the northeastern shore of South America, nor with Hurricane Charley, which must have left the area before their arrival.
Bobbie expects a call from Ed later today. His phone report will be posted afterwards.
Natal, Brazil -- Ed called Bobbie from Natal, where they arrived OK. They regret not being able to make it to Sao Paulo, more than 1200 NM away, where an FOP community would have welcomed them warmly.
In other news, Guido Warnecke and Gunter Schmitz, the two ferry pilots Ed and Dick met in Maputo and accompanied to Johannesburg, have sent a few pictures of the encounter. A couple from Maputo and a birthday picture from Johannesburg.
Finally, Ed and Dick are planning on arriving at Manville Airport at about 2:00 PM this Saturday. All are welcome to greet them at their arrival.
accra, ghana (?) -- An emailed report from Ed and Dick just came in at lunch time. It covers Broome, Australia to Walvis Bay, Namibia. It has been broken into pieces corresponding to each leg, with the beginning on the Broome Page.
A quick call to Ed's wife, Bobbie, confirmed that they made it to Libreville yesterday and Accra today.
walvis bay, namibia -- After crossing thousands of miles of liquid deserts, namely the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Ed and Dick crossed a dry one Today: the Kalahari Desert, which was under half their route. They made it to Walvis Bay without a problem, the new HF radio working fine, and they are now resting in Swakopmund, about twenty miles north of Walvis Bay.
Dick found a Rotary meeting to go to tonight.
johannesburg, south africa -- The "Flight For The Cure" crew had a 10 hour flight Saturday, from Saint-Denis to Maputo. No problems other than the unworkable HF radio. They met ferry pilots in Maputo, who suggested they follow them to Johannesburg, where they would be able to get better technical help than in Maputo, still recovering from a civil war ended more than a decade ago and from more recent natural disasters.
A short flight took them to Johannesburg, where they stayed in "Safari Huts" in Honeydew. One of the ferry pilots, Gunter Schmitz, urged them to have an operating HF radio, otherwise they wouldn't be able to leave Gabon. He was very helpful and drove them 75 miles to Johannesburg, where they bought a new HF radio. They are hoping to be able to leave tomorrow Tuesday a 9:00 AM for Walvis Bay, back on track and a couple days behind schedule.
They now plan on spending two nights in Walvis Bay, one in Libreville and one in Accra.
Sources also tell us that Dick Sollner's birthday was Sunday, when he turned 79. This might very well make him the most senior circumnavigator, and repeat offender at that. Happy Birthday Dick!!!
saint-denis, la réunion, france -- Ed and Dick are spending an extra day in Saint-Denis to have spark plugs changed. The HF radio is still giving them trouble, emitting only sparks, when powered up! They'll continue without it and use the satellite phone instead.
Departure is planned for tomorrow Saturday, 8:30 AM.
saint-denis, la réunion, france -- The "Flight for the Cure" landed in Saint Denis today after a sixteen and a half hour flight. The enjoyed tail winds for a change. No word about in-flight entertainment.
The crew is getting some well deserved rest from each other at the local Novotel, since it is past 1:00 AM there.
cocos islands, australia -- A short update from Bobbie yesterday: they made it OK to Cocos on Monday and should be en route to the Réunion Island, and getting close to it, as this is written.
As alluded to in previous news, AVGAS wasn't about to be delivered in time at Mauritius, so the leg from Cocos to Mauritius had to be extended by 125 NM to reach the remote French Island of "La Réunion". At about 2430 NM, this makes it the longest leg of the trip so far... But by shortening the next leg to Maputo, this change barely affects the total numbers such as distance and fuel.
Broome, western australia -- Well, our heros came through and emailed a report from Broome about the end of their stay in Cairns, their flight to Broome and arrival there.
Broome, western australia -- Another quick call from Bobbie, letting us know our intrepid flyers made it to Broome, Western Australia, and are going to bed... After all, it is 10:00 PM Saturday over there.
Cairns, Queensland, Australia -- Ed and Dick coaxed their reluctant computer gear into sending a report and pictures.
First, a couple pictures from Easter Island, one from Tahiti, a couple from Rarotonga and Apia, a report from Port Vila, and finally, a report with pictures from Cairns. A couple pictures on the Cairns page haven't been identified yet!
Talking to Ed this morning, he assured me they have a lot more pictures and are trying their best to get them to us.
Cairns, Queensland, Australia -- 35 years, to the day, after Neil Armstrong uttered these words, the "Flight for The Cure" has landed in Cairns, completing its Pacific Ocean crossing. No word as to whether the crew took a small step towards Immigration and Customs offices or a giant leap for the restroom, but all indications are that they are going to spend a few days of tranquility in Cairns, with friends of Ed, whom he has known since his previous trip.
Port Vila, Vanuatu -- Bobbie received a call from Ed on Sunday night from Vanuatu. They are there sound and safe. They are planning to leave for Cairns, Australia, on Tuesday morning, just about now considering Vanuatu is 15 hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern time zone. They are a little bit ahead of schedule to give themselves time to fix some nagging problems with the HF radio and auto-pilot in Cairns.
Apia, Western Samoa -- Dick filed a report picking up from where he left off, and covering the flight to Apia.
Despite having a good time, and not much of it to send pictures (!), they are planning on flying to Vanuatu today.
Rarotonga --
Ed and Dick filed a Bastille Day
report covering the end of
Easter Island,
the flight to
Tahiti
on Sunday, their short stay there, and the flight to
Rarotonga
on Monday.
Pacific Ocean -- Bobbie received another satellite phone call from Ed Monday evening around 7:00 PM EDT (UTC -4); they were about 2 hours away from Rarotonga. She received another one today, from Rarotonga. Until the crew sends us their report, here is the information relayed by Bobbie:
They landed in Rarotonga after an instrument approach. The HF radio is still giving them trouble. Skyplan was very helpful there. They checked in at a nice motel with a great view of the ocean and are resting for a couple days. Fuel has been relatively cheap so far, below $4 a gallon. They are not sure fuel will be available at Mauritius and will have to choose an alternate if that's the case. They also change their stop in Western Australia from Port Hedland to Broome.
Pictures taken by Todd Kaplan and Mark Seeman on departure day at Manville have been added to the leg 1 page
Additionally, an FOP kids page has been added. It includes Jocelyn's and Maria Claudia's biographies. Jocelyn and Maria Claudia were on TV and Gaby Ponte sent a couple pictures, which can be seen on the leg 3 page
Pacific Ocean -- Bobbie received a satellite phone call from Ed Sunday evening at 8:00 PM EDT (UTC -4); they were 7.5 hours from their Tahiti destination. They were having trouble with the HF radio and were making position reports using the satellite phone.
Easter Island, Chile -- Bobbie, Ed's wife, received a satellite phone call Thursday evening from Ed while over the Pacific, enroute to Easter Island, and expecting another 3 to 4 hours of flight. They made it OK, but not without making a few people nervous as you'll see in their reports on the leg 4 page received Saturday evening. Unfavorable winds delayed their Saturday departure for Tahiti to today.
More pictures by Gaby Ponte were received from Lima and will be posted later.
Lima, Peru -- Gaby Ponte sent more pictures and Ed and Dick filed a brief report now on the leg 3 page.
Lima, Peru -- The "Flight For The Cure" was welcomed at Lima Airport by an IFOPA group assembled by Gaby Ponte. She sent a couple pictures, which can be seen on the leg 3 page.
Panama City, Panama -- The "Flight For The Cure" reached Panama yesterday after an overnight stay in Miami. took-off this morning at 9:42 AM from Central Jersey Airport (47N) in Manville, New Jersey. Ed's first report and pictures are posted on the leg 2 page.
Look for more Manville departure pictures, courtesy of Mark Seeman and Todd Kaplan, to be posted.
Manville, NJ -- The "Flight For The Cure" took-off this morning at 9:42 AM from Central Jersey Airport (47N) in Manville, New Jersey. Send off party pictures are posted at the bottom of the first leg page. We are waiting for a report from the crew after they arrive in Miami.
The "Flight For The Cure" will depart around 9:00 AM on Saturday, July 3rd from Central Jersey Airport (47N) in Manville, New Jersey. You are welcome to attend if you happen to be on this continent at the time. See Directions.
Steve Pellettiere prepared a report outlining the weather Ed and Dick can expect along their route. His general synopsys has been added to the route page while leg specific weather has been included in the corresponding leg page.
Manville, NJ -- Ed Galkin took Whitney, her Dad and her friend Lindsey for a ride in the aircraft being readied for a flight around the world. A brief report and pictures are available.