Swingin' on a Star

Ship's log for the circumnavigating Saint Francis 50 catamaran, "Swingin on a Star".

01 April 2010 | Palau
13 July 2009 | Palau
05 July 2009 | Yacht Harbor
03 July 2009 | Peleliu
02 July 2009 | Palau
01 July 2009 | Two Dog Beach
30 June 2009 | Mecharchar
29 June 2009 | Mecharchar
28 June 2009 | Ulong
27 June 2009 | Ngeruktabel
17 June 2009 | Ngeruktabel
16 June 2009 | Ngeruktabel
15 June 2009 | Ngeruktabel
14 June 2009 | Ngeruktabel
13 June 2009 | Ngerutable
25 May 2009 | Yacht Harbor
30 April 2009 | Malakal
29 April 2009 | Koror
28 April 2009 | Malakal
27 April 2009 | Malakal

The Marianas Yacht Club Mooring Field

22 February 2009 | MYC
Randy
The yacht club is a wonderful slice of Guam. It is comprised of Americans from State Side, for the most part, who want to keep in touch with their sailing genes. The Apra harbor is big and very protected. The yacht club is nestled about half way back into the mangrove marine preserve.

It is a very reefy area and it would be a good idea to get a guide or come in with good light your first time. Once oriented you should be able to get around with no problem. There is no dinghy dock but there is a nice beach area for landing with trees to tie to and the tide is generally three feet or less.

The mooring field is not brand new. I dove on our mooring and found as much as 50% of the material missing from the inside cusp of the chain links here and there. It is big chain however and the chain runs from the mooring (which is substantial) to the main float. From the main float you have a rope pendant that is a little thin and under serviced from my perspective (I would prefer splices to knots and a bit of fire hose sewn onto the eyes for chafe protection).

There's enough room to anchor in the mooring field here and there but beware, the bottom is littered with huge chain and rode from prior naval denizens. Unhooking an anchor here could be tough because the visibility ranges from 10 to 0 feet and the depths are 20 to 60 feet.

If you pick up a mooring here I would definitely dive on it and check all of the shackles, the chain, the mooring itself and the rope pendant. I tied a safety line to the chain because I didn't like the condition of our pendant given the perpetual 25 knot winds. Some folks have put out anchors but I would recommend just anchoring if you are that concerned with the mooring.

The yacht club proper is a nice open air building with a bar and grill open on Friday night, as well as Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Everyone at the club knows everyone else and the members are welcoming and super friendly to the cruiser guests. The phone at the club is free to use for local calls and there is a phone book right there. The club has fast wifi internet access for free (though you can't pick it up in the anchorage with a normal external antenna). Water is available for free and there are clean restrooms and cold water showers behind the club (hot water is available if you pay for the heater's operation). The club room has a TV with DVD player and local cable. The club will receive your mail for you and you can dispose of trash in the dumpster (separate out the card board for recycling please). It is a wonderful place and hard to beat at $25 per week (first two weeks free!).
Comments
Vessel Name: Swingin' on a Star
Vessel Make/Model: Saint Francis 50
Hailing Port: Las Vegas, NV
Crew: Randy Abernethy
Home Page: http://swinginonastar.com
Swingin' on a Star's Photos - Swingin on a Star (Main)
Selected photos of Swingin' on a Star at anchor.
7 Photos
Created 18 September 2007
31 Photos
Created 15 September 2007
copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Randy & Hideko Abernethy, all rights reserved