Niuatoputapu

 

This lovely anchorage, with a well protected inner lagoon,houses some of the friendliest people one could imagine, starting with the three laughing and smiling customs and immigration ladies who came on board to clear us in and to welcome us to their island, right down to the little children all around.

And all this happiness prevails despite the fact that one year ago this month, the villages of Niuatoputapu where literally wiped off the island by a huge tsunami, leaving them with nine deaths and almost no buildings or infrastructure. The islanders are still living in tiny plywood huts donated by the Red Cross but we never heard a single word of complaint, just a little sadness for those whom they lost.

We were welcomed by Jamie and Lucy of Bamboozle as well as Stuart of Imagine, the latter who we hadn't seen since they left Panama some time before we finally departed. After a quick kip to try to catch up on five nights of next to no sleep, we were enjoying a dinner aboard Bamboozle catching up on all the news from them and Stuart.

The following night, the ladies from the village weaving group put on a wonderful feast for all the cruisers and demonstrated their skills, a very fine form of weaving mats which is one of the islands main sources of revenue.

A walk down to the next village took us past many indications of the damage to the homes but the school was new. We had to visit the local bank and government offices which were all housed in tiny portable-type huts and all run with typical island style casualness but still they got the job done.

We hadn't expected the snorkelling to be very good as the tsunami would have damaged the lagoon reefs however, just on the outside, we found it to be very pretty, a myriad of fish and certainly lots of evidence of newly formed and colourful coral heads. Some time ago, we had watched a BBC documentary that showed how the Tongaans are growing coral to reconstruct their damaged reefs. I doubt they'd got as far as doing that here but it was exciting to see that this is a country taking care of its resources. It also showed how they have turned their whaling industry from killing them to swimming with them, now a major a tourist attraction.

We're shortly off to the Vava'u group of islands 180 nautical miles further south so will send more news from there.

PICTURE GALLERY:

New Potatoes?

Our current position is:

16º 48'930 S
169º54'335 W

Foul weather made us stay much longer in Palmerston than originally planned or anticipated. Gale force winds, along with very rough seas, led us to beg for a couple more extensions to our stay and we've now had to forgo our plan to stop at Niue.

Niue is an island right along a direct line to Tonga but it is apparently a spot one does not want to hang about during bad swells which is exactly what we are getting now. We really wanted to get there as we'd heard about the fabulous snorkelling and diving but this wouldn't be possible in these conditions anyway so, sadly, we have to pass on by.

Briefly, just to get back to that very interesting island of Palmerston, unlike all the other Cook Islands whose first language is Cook Island Maori (different to regular Maori), Palmerston maintains its first language as English that stems from the original settler, William Marsters. They even claim an allegiance to England because of him despite the fact that New Zealand supports them and they hold dual citizenship, Cook Islands and New Zealand.

They are currently digging trenches to lay telephone cables for each home. The entire population and some of the cruisers were pitching in to assist. Until now, they have had only one phone on the island to call outside and have been using VHF radios to contact each other. I will definitely be scouring the bookshops and internet to read more about these intriguing people.

We were blessed with some terrific whale sightings while there and hope to see more when we arrive in Tonga before they all are southbound.

As compensation for not being able stop at Niue, we have decided to head up to the northern group of islands in Tonga called Niuatoputapu or, because this is so difficult to pronounce unless you are born and brought up in Tonga, the cruisers affectionately refer to it as New Potatoes.

The trip is just over 600 miles straight down wind and, so far, we have had fairly lumpy seas but the winds have not been much over 15 knots which means we can fly our gennaker during daylight hours. We're not sure what to expect when we arrive as we've very little information on Niuatoputapu but have heard from others before us who have loved it. Let's wait and see.

So far, the fishing has been good and the freezer is fully stocked again. The excess was made into ceviche (raw fish in lime juice, yum) so we're certainly getting our fair share of brain food.

More news when we arrive in Tonga.

Palmerston Atoll, Cooks Islands

The Picton Castle

Upon leaving Aitutaki, we travelled another couple of hundred miles to Palmerston and the second night was a night from hell. We had been warned that a front was coming through which was to hit the area some time on Sunday but, as luck would have it, it arrived early and we were hit with the full force of 30 to 40 knots of wind with driving rains from just after midnight on Saturday. All advice warned of arriving in the dark so we managed to slow down to round the south end of the island as the sun came up but conditions were just so bad we couldn't see a thing. This felt a little like our arrival in Kauehi in the Tuamotus a while back.

The residents of Palmerston have laid out some buoys for visiting yachts and we were able to establish that there were two available. With such terrible conditions, we had our doubts about being able to head towards shore and pick up a mooring ball but we'd give it a try before giving up and carrying on to Niue another 500 miles away. It wasn't exactly a piece of cake but we managed, made a cup of tea and fell into bed for some much needed sleep.

The weather didn't improve throughout the afternoon so we cleared up the boat, read, played umpteen dozen games of Sudoku and fell into bed again at nightfall. Conditions throughout the night remained terrible. Paul got up several times to check on things and all seemed well until we were woken by shouts and flashing lights at five in the morning to tell us we had dragged our moorings. These warnings came from Vagabond who had been pacing back and forth since two in the morning after breaking their moorings. They had been using all the anchor lights as markers to travel along the line of boats at anchor when they suddenly noticed that their last marker had disappeared. That was us! We were now well on our way out to sea! Thank goodness for their misfortune; it had put them in a position to notice ours and save the day. Also, thank goodness that it wasn't a lee shore or we'd have been washed up on the reef. Fun and games.

Palmerston has a rather unique history. It was uninhabited until back in the mid 1800s when a Lancashire man, William Marsters, settled on the atoll. He took three wives from the northern Cooks and sired a total of 26 children. He then allocated each of the three families an area of land and maintained strict rules about intermarriage. Today, there are 63 residents, most carrying the name of Marsters who still adhere to the original split of land. We are told there are many, many more Marsters living in New Zealand and Australia.

They have a custom of "hosting" visitors and as the only means of getting there is to sail, cruisers are really the only visitors. Upon arrival, a chap comes out to your mooring to announce that he will be your host during your stay and this means that you may go ashore to eat with them or even to be accommodated in their house should you wish to stay overnight. For this, they ask no money but any gifts of food, clothing, fuel or whatever, is gratefully accepted. This, we are told, is the Polynesian way.

When we arrived, a big square rigger, the Picton Castle, was at anchor. What an unexpected and wonderful sight. This vessel has quite an interesting history as well and the captain seems to have made some connection with the islanders and arrived with his hold full of supplies including huge freezers for them to fill with fish that will then be taken to elsewhere for sale. On their last day, all the islanders were invited aboard for a tour, some festivities and snacks and the cruisers were included. We were shown around and given a little of the background which all proved incredibly interesting. This was definitely a case of being in the right place at the right time and we were treated to the sight of this magnificent ship as it upped anchor and raised its sails. They took with them, one 19-year-old Palmerston girl who had expressed the desire to travel aboard since she's first seen the Picton Castle when she was a little girl of eight. How exciting this must be for her.

Well, as luck would have it, we broke loose again but this time it was our own mooring lines that came adrift. Fortunately, we had just finished dinner when we felt something odd so went outside to check and, yup, we were floating free. With the help of lights from the surrounding yachts, it wasn't too problematic to get connected up again, this time doubly making sure we were tied up securely.

We have whales in the anchorage here as well and as I sit here typing, one surfaced just between us and our neighbouring yacht, giving us a tail flip as he descended again. We're told that it's possible to swim with them in Tonga, so we're certainly hoping that they are still around when we get there.

On one occasion when we decided to go ashore, our hosts, Edward and Shirley, served a terrific lunch of Wahoo and, as one of the cruisers had caught a big tuna on his way in, someone made up a lot of sushi as well. To top it off, it was birthday time for one of the yachtie children and his mother had made a huge cake. We were even treated to the use of the washing machine which was such a luxury. This "hosting" experience is really quite unique and they obviously take it very seriously, almost as though it were their duty to do so but they do it so willingly and graciously.

We do not fully understand the island politics. I think that would take a fair amount of time and research but there are very strict rules and procedures that appear to be maintained. We are only given permission to stay for three days which can be extended with a good, valid reason (this despite the fact that elsewhere the Cooks give 31 days). In order to scuba dive, one must obtain permission which is only given if you are prepared to do some work while diving e.g. clearing broken corals from the tiny, narrow passage through the reef. With regards to managing the island's interests, they have a mayor, a town secretary and each of the three family groups will have representation on the council. This all appears very normal but we wonder, if we were to dig a little deeper, if certain aspects aren't a tad strange. As soon as the opportunity presents itself, I'm going to try to read up a bit more. There have been a couple of books published which I'm dying to read. Most intriguing.

Apart from one day, the weather has been abysmal. We are supposed to be leaving for Niue now but there are huge nasty weather conditions all around the southern Cooks and Niue. This means that we either grin and bear it or try to sit it out here. Should things get worse as predicted, we may have to bypass Niue and go straight on to Tonga if we ever get a weather window. After being bashed around coming here, I'm certainly not of a mind to jump back into that.

PHOTO GALLERY:

Bora Bora to Aitutaki

Another 500 miles under our keel and we arrived in Aitutaki, the first of the Cook Islands we are to visit. We have said our fond farewells to French Polynesia, having thoroughly enjoyed our stay in each of the groups. So here we are in the Cooks and guess what, they speak English here!!! The first English speaking country we've visited since leaving Trinidad 4 years ago (if you can call what they speak there English). How simple things have suddenly become now that we can actually ask a question and understand the answer?

We left Bora Bora heading westwards and slightly south which should have taken us three or four days. However, it took us five - no wind, not a whiff, not a breeze, only the very occasional little waft of air that appeared a couple of times and had us rushing around to put up the cruising chute only to have it fall limply and serve no purpose other than to frustrate. Needless to say, we succumbed again to the iron genny for most of the trip. The seas were dead flat and, with a relatively full moon most of the way; it really was quite a pleasant and relaxing trip. Paul managed to catch three enormous Mahi Mahi but put one back. The freezer was already full after the first catch so he dried most of the second for later.

Aitutaki proved to be a terrific stop but for one thing. The inner lagoon is far too shallow for the likes of our keelboat so we had to anchor on the outside of the pass. Unfortunately, this was so incredibly rolly and uncomfortable; we knew we wouldn't be able to stay for long. Also, as our luck has been running, we could feel the anchor chain grinding away wrapped tightly around a coral head. - a bit worrying.

Despite this, we were able to enjoy the island for a couple of days, renting scooters to get around and take in the sights. The people were just so incredibly friendly and welcoming, just as we have found so many of these South Pacific people to be.

Around the anchorage, we were treated to a few large turtle sightings and a wonderful display of humpback whales at play. Now is the time of year that they arrive in these waters to breed before heading back to the Antarctic in another month or so. Let's just hope they stay out where we can just watch them; they are rather large and bumping into one would not be recommended.