Demain, Demain...

Tomorrow, tomorrow... That is the common refrain when asked when we plan to
leave this paradise. As it turns out we really had the boat all ready to go,
when a big potluck feast was planned on the beach with all the boats. It
didn't take much arm twisting to convince us to stay one more day.

John, Kleng and John (the park caretaker) took on the task of catching the
evening's fish. First they attempted to harpoon them on the reef
traditionally - remmber Tom Hanks in Castaway?? Yep. Like that. When that
didn't result in more than one small parrotfish, they returned to modern
methods and took the tin boat out to the pass and trolled. They came back
with a nice size grouper. The caretakers prepared this fish, and some
previously caught wahoo, four different ways! Marinated in soy and sweet
chile, secret flour recipe and fried, poisson cru-style, AND smoked.
Delicious.

Ranger John shreds coconut for marinating the fish

James (the other caretaker) showed me how to husk sprouted coconuts to get
the soft part inside, in order to make uto pancakes! YUM.

James teaches me to make Uto Pancakes from the sweet coconut flesh

What a feast we had. Everyone contributed and we enjoyed a great night with Didier and Anny
on SV Lulu (?) (France), Alex on Kashmere (Fr), Anna, Kleng, Liva, and Edgar
on La Familia (Norway), Caretakers James (NZ) and John (Cook Isl), and us!

La Familia, Kashmere, Lulu (?), Renova and James and John enjoy a potluck feast!

Rangers have arrived

John helping the rangers to ferry their gear to the beach

The National Park Rangers have arrived. We're happy to see them. They will
stay on the island for 6 months, keeping a record of visitors, recording
wildlife and vegetation, touring yachties around the islets, checking
visas/licenses, and so on. Their only supplies will be brought in by
yachties, and they will likely trade for fresh caught fish, or excursions
around the atoll.

We helped James and John to unload their supplies from the beach up to their
shack. As a result, we were rewarded with a tremendous dinner of wahoo -
half was marinated in fish and chile and cooked on the bbq. The other half
was marinated in coconut juice and lemon. Fabulous. Stranded on a deserted
island isn't so bad.

We spent part of the evening browsing through their logbook from last year.
They recorded oer 100 boats that came here last year, many of whom we
recognize from our travels. James has an amazing memory, remembering them
all, with stories about their boats and adventures!

But, our time here is coming to an end. La Familia is moving on. And we
won't be far behind. We're waiting to sort out a few things, so we have a
better sense of how long we'll be in Samoa. But we look forward to fresh
food again. It has been over a month since we've seen a grocery store: it's
been weeks since we've had veggies, we ate our last eggs this morning, and
we're baking on borrowed flour. So I guess it is time.

Thoughts on Anchoring

A fender can be seen floating the anchor chain

WARNING: The following section contains boat geek speak: you may wish to
skip this.

Yesterday, we re-anchored. We have been here for enough days to feel secure
that our anchor will hold. But this anchorage is covered in coral
heads/bommies. So our chain was firmly wrapped and recently the pulling on
the chain has been loud and annoying and preventing a good night's sleep.
Not to mention the wear and tear on the chain, damage to the coral, and
pressure on our bow roller. So, we raised the anchor, moved, and dropped the
hook again.

This time, we tied fenders onto our chain to float it a few meters about the
ground, thus preventing it from becoming wrapped around the coral heads. I
know...some of you boaters from home will talk about the loss of scope and
the catenary effect of this. But...when the chain is wrapped, you lose all
scope anyway, and with a vertical chain, the pressure on the chain and bow
is too great (and too loud) to be comfortable. We've only had to float the
chain one or two other times in the Tuamotus. But many of the cruising boats
have been using this technique throughout their travels.
If you're interested, here is what we've done: we tied the first fender
after we had laid out about 60 feet of chain, then another fender at 80
feet. We had a total of 100 feet of chain/rode in the water, in about 23
feet of water. The first float has been carried under by the weight of the
chain. The second float is just peeking out of the water. We feel this is a
good comprimise of maintaining the scope angle and enabling lots of shock
absorbing within the chain, while making it more difficult to catch the
chain on a coral head. This technique is debated among cruisers, so I
imagine it also to be a conversation among those reading. Our friends on SV
TOTEM have a good description of this technique on their blog - if you'd
like more info and pics, check it out here: www.sv-totem.com.

Last night was bliss. We had a good breeze all night, and still pulled as
usual, but the loud CLUNK and abrupt shock of the boat, of chain on coral
was absent. Hurray.

Liva and I explore the exposed reef

Gourmet Delights

Well, I made a braided bread with basil for yesterday's coconut crab beach
picnic. But last night, Anne (SV La Familia - www.7hav.com) rallied and
raised the bar by making a delicious spice cake. OK... It's on!

So now...what delight shall I make today??

Brownies...

Banana Bread and Coconuts

With a dozen sharks circling the boat at any one time, we seem to spend more
time looking for other places to swim. We've found a nearby reef that the
sharks do not seem to be interested in. Also, I spend each afternoon on the
beach, playing with the kids from La Familia, lying in a foot of water,
drinking coconuts, in an effort to cool ourselves off!

La Familia brought with them a hand of very ripe bananas, so I've been in
full banana bread mode. We've made 6 or 8 loaves in the past few days and
have shared them with the other boats. I've finished up my stocks of flour
and baking powder. No problem, the other boats here, have helped out, and
we're so close to Samoa, re-supplying will be easy, and cheap!

Banana Bread Delivery

All is well on board. John is still a bit under the weather, but his stomach
pains are manageable and less frequent, so we feel he is on the mend. We're
still flying through the reading material...I've just finished my ninth book
this month! Wow.

The French boat has left, as has Discovery, the small charter boat. We're
now down to three, and Camdeboo is leaving this afternoon, so we'll soon
just be two boats.

We're happy to get on the bandwagon and we are flying our Canucks flad from
the stern - we hear that the Canucks are moving to the FINALS...WOW!

Go Canucks!

Happy Victoria Day

Wishing all of you at home a very happy Victoria Day and Long Weekend!!
Although we are a long way removed from rainy long weekend camping
trips...we're still thinking of you all and hoping for good weather to mark
the beginning of the camping season!!

As you can see, the achorage is full of coral heads...and sharks!

After spending three quiet days along here in Suwarrow, we were pleased to
have La Familia join us on Saturday, shortly after the arrival of Julian and
Annyis (sp?) from France. And yesterday (Sunday), two other boats joined us.
Camdeboo is a Victoria sailing boat, who have had the boat here in the South
Pacific for five years, and whose owner grew up in Lantzville!! They are now
on their way home via Hawaii. And the Discovery is a older converted fishing
vessel, with 9 guests on board from all over the world, including Victoria,
BC!

So once again, we are enjoying potlucks on the beach and socializing again.
And even though we have left french-speaking countries, I continue to
practice my limited language skills!

During our days here alone, John had three evenings of severe abdominal
cramping. In situations like these, we are reminded of our isolation. We
have four medical texts on board, but the symptoms did not fit neatly into a
single diagnosis, so we cast about within friends and family for ideas and
advice. The decision we needed to make was whether to stay at isolated
Suwarrow and rest, or if we should weigh anchor and travel the 4-5 days to
Samoa where we could find medical help. Unfortunately, the wind was very
light, so we weren't looking forward to a long sail, bobbing about without
wind.

In the end we settled on an inflammed gall bladder, or gall
stones...primarily due to the re-occurrence of pain after meals, although
the pain presented itself in the lower left quadrant of his abdomen...which,
according to our books, was not typical. He has been two days without
symptoms, so he's thrilled to be back to his usual diet, and taking
advantage of all the fish that has been shared with us from other boats! The
other possible diagnoses were also not serious, so we're happy to have
stayed put.

With Company Again!

La Familia Arrives!

A bit about Suwarrow

Since we have some time on our hands, we'll provide a quick summary of this
place - Suwarrow. This is a small atoll in the Northern Group of the Cook
Islands. There is no way to get here other than private yacht or an
occasional supply ship - I'm guessing two times per year, perhaps.
Since 1900, the Cooks have been a territory of New Zealand, although they
now have their own inter-island government with an elected lower house of
representatives, and an advisory upper house, consisting of the island
chiefs. The economy in the islands is fragile, depending on copra (dried
coconut), pearls and tourism. The shortfall is managed with foreign aid,
mostly from NZ, and considerable amounts of money sent home by family
members working abroad. Foreign policy and defence continue to be handled by
NZ.

The atoll is made up of a ring of coral, upon which there are several small
islets. The largest, Anchorage Island, is adjacent to the pass, and we have
anchored in the lee of this island. All the islands are very low, and as
with many atolls in the South Pacific, our Lonely Planet guide suggests that
their greatest threat is global warming. And we can see why. Should the sea
level rise even a small amount, these atolls will be completely awash.
Historically, these islands were inhabited by allied (NZ) coast-watchers
during WWII and their concrete building is still here. But it is Tom Neale,
who lived here as a hermit for extended periods during 50s to 70s that have
made this atoll well-known. His book, "An Island to Oneself" is a South Seas
Classic.

The atoll is now a Nature Reserve and UNESCO site. During the winter months
(not cyclone season), there are caretakers living here, and in recent years,
they have a fabulous reputation among yachties. The caretakers have been
known to befriend cruisers, host potluck dinners on the beach, providing
lagoon 'tours' and fishing excursions! We had hoped that they would be here
when we arrived, but we are a bit too early.

Beside Tom's house, there is now a newer wooden structure in place, that
seems to serve as the caretaker's house and also as a gathering place.
Yachties have christened it with their colors, and we can see the flags of
many of our friends flying from the rafters, including Blue Moon, Totem, IO,
Mojombo and others. We will add our CRYC flag to those that have come before
us.

You can check it out on google earth...our position is:
13° 14.94S
163° 06.52W

And then there was one...

Renova, alone in the anchorage

After a fun-filled couple of days, all of our anchorage companions have now left us. Australia 31 and Secret Agent Man left yesterday, and this morning the Domo Zita and the Calypso, the Italian boat, have also left.

We are now the solitary boat here. The winds have filled in, so we imagine that all of them will have a great
sail to Samoa. Good winds also mean that we could have more boats arriving, who have left from French Poly, including perhaps our friends on La Familia.

Given the number of sharks around here, we look forward to swimming and fishing with friends around, so that we don't have to swim alone!

We've got a few little jobs to do while we're here. The GRIB files that we rely on for our wind forecasts are notoriously less accurate as we move West. So I'm now sorting out the weather fax files that we can receive via our HF (high frequency) radio. And since our little nav computer is making more and more odd noises, I'm setting up our big computer to be ready as a full backup nav system. And organizing our paper charts for the months ahead. And...we are keeping lists of things we need from home, since Dom has been considering another visit while we are in Samoa! Of course, all of this activity is kept at bay by a healthy amount of time spent in the water and enjoying all the new books that I have been accumulating. After having a complete lack of quality reading material, I've started to demonstrate hoarding tendancies...whenever an interesting book becomes available, I can't help but grab it up, even though we are bursting at the seams with books!

My favorite place to curl up with a good book

As always, we appreciate your news. We have heard of the Canucks success in the playoffs. We'll have to get our our Canucks flag!!

At dusk

Red-Footed Boobies!

A Red-Footed Boobie

This title is not solely an attempt to increase blog hits, but I suppose it never hurts!!

Bernie and Yvonne are avid and knowledgeable birders, and they had offered to take me out this morning to an island on the far side of the atoll to explore some lively bird areas. What a treat. This worked out well for John and Eric, as they wanted to do some fishing in the same area, and they were much more comfortable with another dinghy in the area, in case of outboard trouble.

(An aside - our outboard has been giving us trouble lately. Again. Strange knocking sounds this time. We expect it is just a matter of time. But...Eric lost his prop here a couple weeks ago, so now we're sharing - his inflatable dinghy with our outboard!! Hurrah!)

We had a fabulous time. We saw lots of Frigatebirds - both Lesser and Greater, Red-footed and Brown Boobies, all of which were nesting in the trees not far from head height! We also had the treat of seeing Red-tailed Tropic Birds nesting on the ground. I'm still working on sorting out the Shearwaters and Storm-petrels, but there certainly were hundreds, if not thousands, flying around us.

Bernie and Yvonne

Eric and John had success fishing, and caught three nice fish, and great stories of a too-eager shark which chomped down on John's fin, in his attempt to claim his rightful portion of the fish. After birding, Bernie, Yvonne and I also explored some of the gorgeous coral, which was the most colourful and healthy since the Tuamotus. We also saw lots of sharks, most were black-tipped reef sharks. Quite harmless. But after Bernie speared a nice fish, we were also investigated by a Lemon Shark. Not the harmless variety. I nearly choked in my snorkel as I beat my fin in its face, and flung myself towards the dinghy. Afterwards, I felt quite selfish (not to mention cowardly) for jumping in so quickly, without regard for Bernie and Yvonne! But as seasoned cruisers, they knew it wasn't friendly, but weren't nearly as paniced as I was!!

Tonight, we're off to the beach for another round of coconut crabs. Dinner will be some concoction of the various fish we caught today - Parrotfish, Jackfish, and Yellowlip Emperor (I think).

A Jack, A Yellow-lip Emperor and a Coral Trout

Arrival in Suwarrow, Cook Islands

We've arrived in Suwarrow!! Without any wind, we decided to run the motor for 8 hours overnight, putting us just 20 milles from Suwarrow atoll at day break. How wonderful to be so close to land again! At 9 am, the radio sparkled to life, and we heard Bernie's familiar voice asking us how far away we were. At noon, as we approached the pass, we were thrilled when Bernie and Yvonne came out in their dinghy to greet us and guide us in.

Bernie and Yvonne dinghy out to the pass to meet us at Suwarrow

We felt truly welcome, as Eric was running down the beach alongside us snapping pictures of our entrance. Both boats have put off their departures, in order to wait for us to arrive. We were absolutely thrilled to see them!

As soon as we dropped the hook, everyone clammored aboard Renova for welcoming cocktails. What a treat it was to share stories of the past weeks' crazy weather, and hear of the great fishing and birding they've been enjoying. They have already planned a beachside feast of coconut crabs for the evening, followed by fish soup for dinner aboard Australia 31. What a treat after a long passage!!

An afternoon picnic of coconut crab and cocktails

Without much delay, John and Eric were in the water with their spearguns, and I was getting the boat ready to be home again. Moving all our gear from the v-berth up front back to its usual hiding places, and setting up the settees to be couches again, instead of our sea berths. After only a couple hours, we knew we would like it here!

Interestingly, Eric has now been here almost a month, and has seen very few other yachts. 3 other boats in that whole time, besides us and Australia 31.

And...later in the afternoon, two other boats made their way into the pass. So here we are - 5 boats in total. Canada, USA, Australia, Italy and France. Wonderful. The Italians weren't up to a shared dinner last night, but the single-handed french sailor, Gigi, joined us. He didn't speak much english, but his french was good. Eric and I have some french (Eric more than me), but Bernie, Yvonne and John didn't speak french. But, Bernie and Yvonne had some spanish, and Gigi had some portugese, so we were a melting pot of languages throughout the evening, enjoying a wonderful fish stew!

Already, it's been a fabulous landfall. And there are more stories to come! We'll save that for a future post. But for now, know that we've arrived safely!

Our position is:
13° 14.94S
163° 06.52W

For those of you interested, here are a few stats:
Total distance: 580 nm (nautical miles - I know, it's been a while)
Distance actually travelled: 602 nm
Time: 121 hours - just over 5 days
Average Speed: 5 knots
Motored: 13 hours
Boats seen: 0
Fish caught: 0