Big Day at Suwarrow Atoll

For the past two days, the wind has been blowing at a steady 20-25 knots and our weather reports shows the seas in excess of four meters. Several of the boats we know have been in transit from French Polynesia and we've been sympathizing with them over the single-sideband radio. It's been rough out there.

Yesterday our friends on Sudden Stops Necessary, a Beneteau 38.5, came in and anchored near us. Both Chet and Glenda (owner and crew, not a couple) seemed nonchalant about their crossing but they were very happy to be here. This morning on the VHF radio, I heard Songline calling Lardo and though they couldn't hear each other well, I could hear them both. They asked about the condition of the pass into the lagoon at Suwarrow (it was pretty good, despite the 25 knots of wind) and if they should get permission from the warden who lives here to enter (can't - they don't have a radio - come on in!). Lardo arrived first and anchored just off our starboard bow. Songline arrived about an hour later and proceed to motor around in circles, trying to find a placed they liked to drop their anchor ("You're making me dizzy!" I said to them). At the same time Songline was going around in circles, Periclees was trying to free their anchor chain from a coral head so they were going around in circles, too, except just off our starboard quarter. While all this was going on, Gigi arrived from their passage and started looking for a place to anchor as well. At first, they were standing by while Songline was making the decision but I guess they got tired of waiting and motored over to where we're anchored. I suggested that they go ahead of us to about 12' of water, drop their hook there and drop down on 60'-70' of chain - the only drawback would be if the wind clocked out of the west which is extremely unlikely to happen (these easterly Trade Winds are very persistent). They tried that but wound up too close to Sudden Stops Necessary so they pulled up their anchor and went searching elsewhere. Mean while, Periclees and Songline are still going around in circles. Angus from Periclees jumped in the water to see where his anchor chain was and swam over to us - "What's Songline doing?" he asked.

Gradually, we got everyone settled and yet still another boat enters the lagoon. This time it's Grommet, a large ketch that we've never seen before but several of the boats in the anchorage hail them on the radio and offer welcomes. There are now 18 boats in the anchorage - the most since we've been here. I kayaked over to Songline to shake their hands and welcome them. They talked of 20' seas that were steep and confused. On the other hand, they said, Jimmy Cornell says that it's always a rough passage to Suwarrow. Jimmy Cornell! We hadn't even thought of looking at his book before we left Bora Bora! He's the author of World Cruising Routes, kind of like a bible of when to go almost anywhere in the world on a small sailboat. Maybe it's a good thing we hadn't looked it up before we left - we might never have gone!

I finally got the battery equalization routine figured out (combination of a defective regulator and our battery bank being too large). Ruthie is in the middle of polishing all the stainless steel while Corie is putting a coat of wax in the deck and cabin top. I'm working on putting a coat of wax on the hull as after almost 5,000 miles it's looking pretty shabby. Our pace on our respective projects is relaxed, usually only for an hour or two each day. We're getting some negative feedback from some of the other boats in the anchorage as they now feel guilty for not doing the same thing. However, if we were to put it off much longer, the oxidation gets so bad that it takes twice as long to get the same results. It's easier to do it now plus this might be the most beautiful place in the world to wax a boat.

It looks like the winds might be decreasing around the middle of next week so we're thinking about leaving then for American Samoa - about 450 miles away. I think we'll all be ready to move on by then.

My very best to everyone.
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At 7/31/2011 12:52 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 13°14.88'S 163°06.48'W

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The Far-From-Normal Normal Routine

We have been extremely lucky with the systems we have on Rutea, of which there are many. We have a complex electrical system and buried in that is a complex electronic system which includes computers, navigation equipment, radar, etc. Our plumbing system is much simpler but a key component of that is our watermaker and although we have the simplest model available, it still has three different pumps and four different valves. Of course, we have a powerful propulsion system (the main engine) and a diesel-fueled generator (which is actually part of the electrical system). Our refrigeration system has two separate compressors and gets a real workout here in the tropics. In addition to that, we have the sails and rigging which are a system unto themselves. Some of the cruisers I know spend an inordinate amount of time trying to keep all of their systems running. We've been luckier than many.

Still, systems need to be maintained and things break. Sometimes it's as straightforward as changing the oil and sometimes it's a completely mystifying problem that keeps me awake at night. For example, we have a massive battery bank on Rutea that's comprised of eight batteries that are typically used in golf carts. If we were to draw one ampere per hour, our battery bank wouldn't be dead until 1,040 hours had passed. Granted, a one amp draw is nothing and between the refrigeration, radio, stereo and other components that might be in use at any given time we can easily be drawing 30 or more amperes per hour. However, for some reason that I have yet to figure out, our batteries are now draining at a much faster rate than they have been and it's got me preoccupied. Normally, I wouldn't post technical issues on our blog.

Life here at Suwarrow Atoll is pretty simple. A big event for the day is when a boat arrives or departs. This tiny community was tittering about the delivery skipper and his crew that arrived one morning, got incredibly drunk that night and was asked to leave by the warden the following morning. They left in pretty rough conditions with other cruisers reporting seeing the small boat roll from side to side as they made their way away from the atoll. That would not be fun with a bad hangover. Yesterday we walked at low tide out to a small islet that's a nesting area for thousands of birds (80,000 birds was the last count but we wondered - how do you count birds?). Last night a group went back out to the same reef hunting for lobster and we could see their flashlights beams bouncing in their search. Tonight there's a pot luck dinner and the eleven boats that are here will pitch in to feed all 29 people, including the wardens.

The winds are due to fill in to about 25 knots and the seas increase to 4 meters. There are several boats heading this way from Bora Bora and it sounds like they're going to have a rough passage. We're keeping in touch with them on the radio. Once the weather gets calmer, we'll probably jump off for American Samoa as our supplies are starting to get low (we're almost out of beer!) and there's some parts we're having shipped in that we'd like to get our hands on. Plus, it's just getting time to move. A big thank you to all of you who have taken the time to write us - it's great to hear about what's going on with you. We wish everyone good health and much happiness.
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At 7/28/2011 7:17 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 13°14.87'S 163°06.48'W

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I probably shouldn't be writing right now . . .

. . as we just got back from having 'sundowners' on the beach on Anchor Island. Everyone brought their favorite beverage and some sort of snack to share. For the previous three hours we've sat in the shade of the palm trees, talking non-stop, playing a round of bocci ball and enjoying the company of other cruisers who are sharing this unique slice of paradise. My poor grasp of the English language prevents me from finding the adjectives to adequately describe Suwarrow Atoll and that's unfortunate. Please forgive me.
We walked around the southern end of the island this afternoon as yesterday we walked around the northern end (one could easily walk clear around the entire island in just a few hours). Parts of the shore are sandy with veins of broken coral while other parts the jungle grows right to the water's edge and you're forced to shuffle in clear, knee-deep water. Where the water is that shallow, it's not even refreshing - it's like tepid bath water. The air is thick with birds: boobies, terns and noddies are very common. The sky has been perfectly clear and the air temperature has been reaching the upper 80's daily. The humidity is very high - after all, we're only 13 degrees south of the equator.
But there's still something about this island, this atoll that's very hard to describe. The other cruisers know what I'm talking about when I bring up the subject. There's an easiness to being here. Time has no meaning other than the sun rising and setting. Keeping track of the date is difficult and it's absurd to try to remember what day it is. Sure, the water is teeming with sharks but they're mostly just black-tipped and not too aggressive (although Jake, the 5-year old on one of the other boats, did find a banded coral snake while playing in the shallows - very poisonous - but he wasn't bitten) but that's a minor detail. I almost feel like we've fallen down a rabbit hole and we're not even looking for a way out.
It appears as though we won't be picking up any crew when we're in American Samoa so that will give us more time here although by the Reserve's regulations we're limited to two weeks here. However, it begs the questions: When did we get here? When do we have to leave? What day is it?
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At 7/24/2011 7:08 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 13°14.86'S 163°06.47'W
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An Atoll Unto The Seven of Us!

They say the Russians discovered it and named it Suvarov. James says that the Cook Islanders never lost it to begin with so they call it Suwarrow. Part of the northern Cooks, eleven miles across, uninhabited save for two "Park Rangers", a low-lying southern reef (dotted with shipwrecks) with scattered motus on the northern part of the reef, Suwarrow can be seen from at least seven miles away! Seven miles that is, if the seas are flat- which they usually are not because Suwarrow is located miles and miles away from any land mass out in the middle (it has been called The Dangerous Middle) of the south pacific trade winds! The one pass into the lagoon on the northwest side is dotted with coral heads. The tide is always ebbing out the atoll pass because the waves constantly come over the southern edge of the atoll. Even with the wind on our beam and running at high RPMs Rutea could only do between 3 and four knots. Interestingly enough, there were no large waves on either side of the pass because of the extended reef protection on the outside, so we could pretty much just concentrate on the tidal action, eddies and whirlpools (and oh, yes- the coral heads!)!

It's wild! A birder's paradise! A snorkeler's dream! A hermit's ideal island! A fisherman's haven! A beachcomber's park! The rangers have strung hammocks overlooking strategic places like Shark's Bay and Anchorage Island Bay that invite a good book and a snooze as soon as the sun puts them into the shade. All this to be shared with just six other boats- one Swiss, one New Zealand, one Australian, three American and us! So far I have identified Sooty Terns, Brown Noddys and Common Fairy Terns. I am still waiting to spot a Red Tailed Tropic Bird but James says he will take me out to Bird Island (where thousands of birds nest) for a bird walk. Corie went snorkeling yesterday with some other free divers to look for the four meter grouper that hangs out at the end of one of the motus. James told us of Parrot Bay where the Parrot Fish are so plentiful that you can stand in the water (knee deep) and spear one fish after another! The beaches are perfectly clean, unlike other atolls, because the rangers perform beach clean-ups regularly to pick up all plastic and tuna seiner trash that floats ashore. The shells are stunning but we can't pick them up because this is a reserve….

The next ten days are going to be really interesting and a lesson in the ecology of an atoll. We are taking our compost ashore to feed the compost pile for the making of soil for the garden. Since there is only sand on the atoll, the rangers make the soil for the garden from food scraps, rotting coconut palm tree trunks, and fish. In the mid 1900s a company that was going to grow copra and farm pearls here, imported by ship and spread tons of soil all over the island. They also planted 39,000 seedling pearl oysters in the bay. A couple of years later a major cyclone blew through covering the atoll in water which washed ALL of the soil into the lagoon which then killed ALL of the pearl oysters. To this day, the visibility in the lagoon is about ten meters because of that soil still suspended down deep in the water. In spite of the possible reoccurrence of a cyclone and the red ants which love to eat juicy sprouts and saplings and the land crabs which love to eat tender leaves and shoots, James and John persevere in their gardening efforts and have even eaten lettuce and bok choy this season! Then there is the story about the cruiser who started a palm tree forest fire on the atoll while burning trash…….

The other great thing about being in the Cook Islands is that the main language is English! I think we all should be multi lingual; however, it is wonderful to be able to listen to all of these fascinating facts and figures, great stories and understand the details! Of course we are trying to learn some words in Cook Island as it is the visitor's obligation 'to take up the local dialect as a mark of respect and an expression of I feel at home already"! What a concept! I feel at home already! On an atoll! Just the seven of us and our hosts! Kia orana! Hello! May life continue with you!

R of Rutea
7/20/11
Suwarrow
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At 7/20/2011 10:21 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 13°14.88'S 163°06.48'W

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James of Suwarrow Atoll

 James, Warden of Suwarrow Atoll

Now, safely at anchor and without the constant rolling, we were all able to finally get a decent night's sleep. Still, we were pretty sluggish the first part of the morning but after a leisurely breakfast we tackled the basic chores that come after a significant passage. We were visited by Lars, a young man (who we all agreed looked remarkably like my nephew, Simon) who is single-handing a 27' sloop called Twister. He lived for a while in Ocean Beach and left San Diego in April so we had much we could talk about. Corie and he swapped music.
Even though Suwarrow isn't an official port, it is a Nature Reserve and visiting yachts are required to check in with the park rangers. Since our dinghy outboard is in many pieces and I lost one of the oarlocks overboard (a long, sad story), we had to paddle into shore. I'm sure that we looked comical as we had Corie on the bow with a kayak paddle and Ruthie and I in the stern each paddling with an oar. Since we were bucking a pretty good head wind, our progress was slow. As we pulled up to the small, white sand beach, a large man in swim trunks, tank top and flip-flops was there to greet us. This would be James.

James is easily 6' tall and probably weighs in at 250 pounds. His skin is pretty dark and his long hair was pulled up into a cylinder shape on the back of his head. His beard is very long with the center of it - from his chin down - grey. I'm guessing he's in his mid-fifties. His two front teeth are missing and tattoos cover his body. He's an imposing figure but his attitude is immediately friendly. He sticks out is large hand to me, looks me in the eye and says with his New Zealand accent, "Hi. I'm James." He kisses Ruthie on each cheek.

We're invited up to his house where he lives with the other park ranger, John, who is off doing something. There are a couple of buildings, one a low concrete affair and the other a small, two-story building where the foundation is a 10,000 liter cistern and heavy telephone pole-type timbers hold up the second story. There are no walls on the first floor. Both building are in the middle of dense tropical jungle.

James strikes me as well-educated with a dry sense of humor. Though he is a Cook Islander, he was born in Wellington, New Zealand. Even though their communications systems are crude at best, he seems very current on world affairs and has what appear to be astute observations of the situation of Cook Islanders, who are given New Zealand passports. We easily talked for a couple of hours and then he gave us a tour of the island on which he and John live. They have a garden but the sandy soil makes it difficult to grow most vegetables so they're experimenting with different sources for mulch and ways to build up the soil. He shows us a spot where we can easily spear parrot fish though he warns us that there are places where we should stay out of the water because of the aggressive sharks. During our walk, we find John, stretched out in a hammock and introduce ourselves. He's younger than James, seems a little more reserved but still friendly.
Once back at the 'house', we go through the paper work that checks us in. Four different forms to fill out plus he needs copies of our passports, ship's documentation and exit papers from French Polynesia. There's a $50USD fee but James refuses it as we had brought a couple of bags of groceries as other cruisers had emailed us of their needs before we left Bora Bora. In his official capacity as Park Ranger, James was very efficient but remained friendly and cracked jokes. He promised that John and he would invite the people from the boats in for a Cook Island meal sometime this week. It was late in the afternoon by the time we left.

This is a fairly popular spot for cruising yachts to stop. Last year, 109 boats stopped here and that was down from the year before. We're the 30th boat this year. The atoll was made famous with Tom Neale's book, An Island to One's Self although James said that Tom Neale wasn't the hermit he claimed to be as there was a village with 60 people living right next to him.

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite places (Corie says I'm losing credibility as I say that about almost every place we stop). The water isn't as clear as some of the places in the Tuamotus but this is so wild and remote that it just has a special attraction to me.
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At 7/20/2011 10:18 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 13°14.88'S 163°06.48'W
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Day Five: Arrival in Suwarrow!

At 1330 local time, we entered the pass at Suwarrow Island. Unlike the passes in the Tuamotus, this pass has no name. Nor does it have any navigational aids. It does have a bad reputation for poor cartography (meaning the charts for the area are often inaccurate) and Charlie's Charts, one of the most respected cruising guide books, says, "Many vessels have been lost here . . . ". Despite all that, Ruthie did a superb job of picking our way through a complex series of reefs that make up the pass. With the tidal current always flowing out, most of the time we were only making 2 knots even though our engine and prop were working overtime. Since this is a Nature Reserve established by the New Zealand government, there is only one anchorage even though the atoll is over 11 miles across. As it turns out, there were already five boats here, shrinking the available space to anchor down to some postage stamp-sized spots. Once again, Ruthie proved here prowess at boat handling and positioned us perfectly in the best spot in the anchorage.

We're right behind Anchorage Island which is where Tom Neale wrote "An Island to One's Self" after living here for 15 years alone. There's a couple of Cook Islanders living here as caretakers. We hadn't even got the anchor down and the black-tipped reef sharks were already swimming around the boat, checking us out. It certainly is beautiful here and reminds us of the Tuamotus.

In review, our passage was pretty easy but that was largely due to the quality of Rutea's build. According to the Nadi reports (the Fijian weather service) the area we just crossed was considered to be 'rough'. Rutea continuously gobbled up 160+ miles a day despite the big seas and often squally weather. Our sails took quite a beating so now there's a substantial amount of repair work to be done. On top of that, our single side band radio isn't working too well and that's kind of our life line to the rest of the cruising community. Luckily, we can send and receive emails using our satellite phone - so no excuse for not writing us!

I'm exhausted. I bet I could count the hours of sleep I've had in the last four days on one hand. All I need now is a cold beer (or two), a shower, a hot meal and some rest. Then I'll be able to get to work on the projects that need to be completed before we leave here, probably in about a week. Next stop, American Samoa.
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At 7/19/2011 2:42 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 13°14.86'S 163°06.47'W

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Day Four: No Squalls So Far!

Yesterday morning we had a line of dark squalls bearing down on us that looked pretty mean. Ruthie turned off the autopilot and using the radar as a guide, expertly hand-steered Rutea through a narrow slot between two huge cells. It still rained like hell and the wind was up to 30 knots but at least we cleared the really rough stuff. The day mellowed out after that and even though it remained pretty lumpy, we made good time covering over 160 miles in a twenty-four hour period.
The evening was clear with only a few clouds (unusual!) and we kept the genoa out on the pole. By 0400 the wind had backed so Ruthie and I dropped the pole - we didn't even need to turn on the deck lights the moon was so bright. Since I was unable to sleep (not unusual!), I finished up Ruthie's watch.
The wind had gotten lighter by mid-morning so we put up the asymmetrical spinnaker but it didn't increase our speed by as much as I had hoped. Reluctantly, we stowed it just a few minutes ago and put the engine on because we want to make the pass at Suwarrow during daylight. We should arrive there tomorrow at about this time.
We've crossed into yet another time zone - we're now four hours ahead of San Diego and 3,744 miles away.
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At 7/17/2011 11:01 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 14°05.16'S 160°18.71'W
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