Passage to the Cook Islands
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Crossing to Rarotonga, Cook Islands On July 18, 2002 we left Bora Bora, French Polynesia for Rarotonga, Cook Islands. It is a passage of 540 miles. It took us 4 days to sail to Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. 7/18, Leaving Bora Bora, Day 116 47.440 S, 152 31.850 W, 6:48 UTC, 8:48pm Tahiti time,
passage from Bora Bora to Rarotonga, Cook Islands On Wednesday morning we watch Saperlipopette leave Bora
Bora for Raiatea. We hope they have a good trip. We said goodbye to Peter at
the Bora Bora Yacht Club and motored to the fuel dock. There we filled the
tanks and the jerry jugs we got from Saperlipopette. We motored over to the moorings at Bloody Mary's and
grabbed a mooring buoy. Rich and I went over for a drink, Bloody Mary's of
course. It was 5pm and the dinner crowd had not arrived. After a few drinks
we returned to the boat for dinner and a movie. Our feature presentation was
Bridget Jones Diary. A funny flick.
Enjoying a Bloody Mary at Bloody Mary’s This morning we prepared for passage. The dingy was hoisted
on to the foredeck, deflated and lashed down. By 11 am we were heading out.
Bora Bora from inside the lagoon Right now the winds as 13-16 knots from the SSE, swells 1-2
meters from the SSW. Our course is 225 and we are doing 6 knots with one reef
in the main, the staysail and a partially furled yankee. We talked with
Sojourner, Second Chance and Wilhelm on the radio this evening. Sojourner and
Second Chance hope to get into Rarotonga on Friday afternoon, Wilhelm will
arrive on Saturday. We will probably get in on Monday sometime since
Sojourner and Second Chance left on Monday, Wilhelm on Tuesday. Passage making is so much fun! Rich, Elaine, Jesse, Sarah, Katmandu SV Windarra, 489 miles to Rarotoga 7/19, Day 2 17 31.015s, 154 25.458W, 5:13 UTC, 7:13pm local time,
Passage from Bora Bora to Rarotonga, Cook Islands Well today was a long day of passage making. The winds were
15-20 knots out of the SE today building to 20-24 knots now. The swells as
1-3 meters but during the day we saw swells up to 16 feet! We have 2 reefs in
the main sail and using the staysail, no yankee. We have been heading more
westerly to cross 154 degrees west to avoid some the swell that will be
coming. The swell on the beam makes the ride rolly. We get
occasional splashes into the cockpit. Rich has his foul weather jacket on so
that he can stay dry. Every so often the autopilot complains and we have to
reset the course manually. Mandu has his bed in the cockpit along with his food and
water dishes. He gives us this disgusting look every so often as if to say,
"Are we there yet, I've had enough." Sojourner and Second Chance arrived in Rarotonga today.
Wilhelm should arrive tomorrow. We hope to be there on Monday. Signing off for tonight... Rich, Elaine, Jesse, Sarah, Katmandu SV Windarra, 374 miles to Rarotonga 7/20, Day 3 18 23.375s, 156 38.195W, 5:36 UTC, 7:36pm local time,
Passage from Bora Bora to Rarotonga, Cook Islands Today was a tiring day of passage making. We had winds on
the port beam, 20-26 knots, swells on the beam or just aft of the beam 1-4
meters. We were sailing with the staysail and 2 reefs in the main. Someone
has to sit by the wheel at all times since sometimes the autopilot gets a
current overload trying to control the rudder. It lets out an alarm like a British
ambulance, then you have to push the standby button, bring the boat back on
course and push the auto button. This is a random occurrence. Since the swells are large we get splashed in the cockpit
every so often for good measure. One time it came under the dodger and got
the cat wet. He was not a happy camper. Around 5pm we saw a squall line ahead so we decided to
bring down the main. This is no simple chore when the boat is bouncing along.
It was a good thing that we got it down since the winds rose to 30 knots
sustained. Now we are motor sailing with just the staysail and the winds have
died down back to 20-26. Looks like it will be a long evening. Can hardly wait to
get in on Monday! Signing off for tonight... Rich, Elaine, Jesse, Sarah, Katmandu SV Windarra, 245 miles to Rarotonga 7/21, Day 4 19 57S, 158 35W, 5:50UTS Passage from Bora Bora to
Rarotonga, Cook Islands We thought that yesterday was a long day. Today seemed
longer. The winds were 30-35 on the beam, swells up to 16 ft on the beam also.
At least, that was how tall Rich thought they were, I thought they were
bigger. We are all wearing our foulies or duck suits as Sarah calls
them to keep dry. The waves break over the boat and get everything in the
cockpit soaked, including us. Poor Mandu was sightseeing on the cockpit
cushion and got drenched. He was not a happy camper. He is now staying down
below. We hope to be into the harbor in the early afternoon. We
talked to Second Chance on the radio just a bit ago and they will help us get
settled. We can hardly wait to be there. Signing off for tonight... Rich, Elaine, Jesse, Sarah, Katmandu SV Windarra, 99 miles to Rarotonga 7/22, Arrival Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga 21 12.258S, 159 47.095W, Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga, Cook
Islands This morning the seas and winds had not abated. We got
pooped a couple of times. There was water everywhere in the cockpit. We were
soaked. We pulled into Avatiu Harbor around 1pm. The trip took 4
days and 2 hours, for 540 miles. We all agreed that it was our toughest
passage to date. We are ready to relax for a while here in Rarotonga.
Avatiu Harbor, looking towards Harbormaster’s office Avatiu is a small harbor. There are 10-12 boats are stern
tied to the quay. 3 boats, including us, are anchored in the harbor. The
harbor is full. It is smaller than Baie d'Hakahau on Ua Poo. After setting anchor we got the dingy ready and put the
boat back into order. We took water in through some of the portlights and the
anchor hawser. Sarah's bedding is wet. Jesse's laptop computer is damp also
but seems to be coming back to life. We will be making some trips to the
Laundromat. We checked in with Captain Don Silk, the harbormaster. It
was very easy and low key compared to Mexico and French Polynesia. Then we
all took hot showers! It is great to wash off the salt. We walked a short block down the street to a place that
sells fried chicken and sat at the picnic table for our meal. Now we are
relaxing, relishing being at anchor and not on passage. Next, exploring Rarotonga. 7/25, Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga 21 12.258S, 159 47.095W, Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga, Cook
Islands We are now Tahiti moored to the corner of the quay. A Cook
Island patrol boat came in on Wednesday morning so we had to pick up anchor to
let them come in to the harbor (yes it is a cozy harbor). After they had tied
up we dropped anchor and tied to the quay. The patrol boat is about 70 feet
long. It is run jointly by the Cook Islands, New Zealand and Australia. The
Cook Islands is comprised of 15 islands over 750,000 square miles with a
total land area of 93 square miles. It is a lot of area to patrol for fishing
boats, drift nets, illegal activities, shipping and mariners in trouble. We
are curious what sort of arrangement exists between the three countries in
this regard. Maybe this is another reason the Australians are interested in
Wedgetail.
Patrol Boat docked next to Windarra
A snug spot in the harbor We took all of our foul weather gear and the cockpit
cushions on shore to wash all of the salt off everything. In addition we took
everything that had gotten salty inside the boat to the Laundromat. What a
chore! Now if we could only wash down the boat... Rich and I have done some exploring of Avarua. It is a nice
town close to the harbor. There are grocery stores (many, with lots of great
stuff), internet cafes (multiple, much cheaper than Bora Bora) and
restaurants (Italian, Chinese, Fish & Chips, etc). All this and they
speak English too. So much cheaper than French Polynesia. They even have
baguette but they call it French Stick. There is even a movie theatre, (2
movies per night, one at 7:30, one at 8:00, admission is $5 Kiwi (about $2.50
US), Tuesday is two for one night, and Friday night Star Wars II is playing!
yippee! Jesse and Sarah joined Travis and Brandon from Second Chance and went
to see Spiderman tonight.
Folks are big around here Today is a holiday, Gospel Day, so everything is closed
except for a few shops. Tomorrow there will be a parade through downtown. It
is the beginning of their Constitution Day celebration that ends August 4.
Besides the parade there will be dancing and singing competitions similar to
Heiva we saw in Bora Bora. It should be fun. We have not checked in completely with customs. The fellow
came by the dock the other morning and Jesse talked to him. He told us to
remove our Q (quarantine) flag and check in with the harbormaster, which we
had already done on Monday when we arrived. Since then we have been trying to
catch him at his little office in the green building on the quay but he is
never there. I guess it will happen sometime. He does not seem to be worried. A huge yacht, Lady M came in today. It is 130 feet long. It
will be interesting to see how the boats will have to move when the container
ship that was due to arrive today shows up in the harbor. Could be
interesting. There are now 3 sailboats at anchor (Lil'Gem, Gitana, Soya),
several sailboats moored to the quay (Wilhelm, Sojourner, Second Chance,
Cardinal Sin, Nootka Rose, us, Susquehanna, Elizabeth II, as well as a
Norwegian boat, a French boat, a Kiwi boat, a local catamaran), some fishing
boats, the patrol boat and now Lady M. We got up at 4am this morning to call the watermaker folks
to see what is the problem with ours. They will send us some parts here to
Rarotonga. Hope it will fix the problem. Well it is getting late, so I need to send this out. 7/27, Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga 21 12.258S, 159 47.095W, Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga, Cook
Islands Kia Orana (Cook Island Polynesian hello) I forgot to tell you that on Thursday Rich and I got our
Cook Islands Drivers' License. We walked into the police station, signed a
form, she took our photographs and $10NZ and half an hour later we had our
licenses. They are good for one year and you need one to rent a car or
motorized scooter/moped here on the island. We just have to remember to drive
on the wrong side of the street. What fun it will be to flash it as
identification when we are back in the States! Friday was the parade. They decorate trucks, pile on some
people, add a boom box blasting local music and drive down the main street in
Avarua. One fellow was portraying a chief, held a spear aloft and almost fell
off the top of the float when it stopped for traffic. The local SPCA was
represented with a number of dogs, including one that had only two legs (left
front, right rear and he could hop unassisted). It was a fun parade and
everyone turned out to see it, despite the intermittent rain.
Start of Constitution Day Celebration Parade
Crowd lining the street
One of the many floats
Local hero who played for the Utah Jazz In the afternoon we watched Lady M depart, helped Lil Gem
tie to the quay and watched the container ship, Forum Rarotonga come into the
harbor. Quite a bit of excitement for such a small place.
It is going to dock where? In the evening we all went to see Star Wars II at the movie
theatre. It reminded me of going to a Saturday matinee as a kid. Kids are
running around, when the movie starts it is not lined up so the words are on
the top and bottom of the screen. In the middle of the movie they stop the
film for intermission. Everyone runs out to get food and drinks. After 15
minutes it starts again. Not sure that George Lucas had planned for an
intermission but there was one. This morning Rich, Sarah and I went to the local farmers
market. Not only do they sell produce they also sell local handicrafts,
artwork, etc. We enjoyed walking around and seeing it all. Sarah and I went into
town for lunch and to do a little shopping. We didn't do too much since all
of the shops close at noon on Saturdays.
Rich next to statue at the cultural market Tomorrow we are thinking of renting bikes and riding around
the island. 7/31, Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga 21 12.258S, 159 47.095W, Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga, Cook
Islands Kia Orana On Sunday we rented bikes and rode around the island. It is
about 30 km. We got to see the reefs and motus on the south side of the
island. There is a pass but it looks very shallow. We did see a trimaran
anchored there but no other sailboats. There is the Rarotonga Sailing Club,
established 1940, near Muri Beach. We stopped for lunch at the restaurant,
Sails, located at the club. They are very active in Optis, Capris, Lasers and
an outrigger canoe sailboat. A member of the club was on the ketch Nokia,
during the Sydney to Hobart race that is so famous for the storm that
occurred during the race (Fatal Storm). It was a fun place and the food was
good. We watched people out swimming, kayaking, windsurfing and snorkeling.
We hope to go back there for a day on the beach. The bikes were good, 21
speed but the seats were hard. My butt is still sore!
View from Rarotonga Sailing Club Monday we turned in the bikes and rented two scooters. Rich
went zooming around. I am still learning how to drive it. It is not an
automatic so I am to learn to change gears. The brakes are reversed (foot
brake for rear, hand brake on right side for front brake). I also have to remember
to drive on the wrong side of the road (Cook Islands are English style).
Sarah joins me on the scooters and gives words of encouragement like,
"Watch out", "Shift, mom", "That car is
turning", etc. Most of the time Rich and I are on one scooter and I am
holding on for dear life! In the evening we joined some of the other cruisers for a
potluck/BBQ at Coconut's. It was fun to talk to folks. We are seeing more
sailboats from other countries such as Norway, Germany and Holland. Barbara
of Nootka Rose is looking for crew to join her on the trip to Fiji. She has
not been very successful. Someone suggested that Jesse or Sarah should join
her. We stopped that suggestion right away. We are not ready to part with our
crew! On Tuesday we hoisted Rich up the mast. The inner shroud on
the starboard side came lose during the passage from Bora Bora. This time
Rich was able to put cotter pins in on both sides so that they should not
come out again. He also fixed our flag halyard on the starboard side and
added a flag halyard on the port side. In the evening Rich and I went out for a quick bite at
Trader Jack's. Bob and Linda from Cardinal Sin joined us. Then we went to the
dance competition at the auditorium. This is part of the Constitution Day
celebration. The dancing and singing was very good. They have four different
styles that each team (island/village) must perform. There is 1) singing a
song in multiple parts, telling a story, but no dancing involved, 2)
traditional chanting, 3) action songs (singing with dancing in a mini play
format), 4) drum dancing (drum group with dancers). The fourth style is very
similar to what we saw in Bora Bora but the dancing is not as seductive. This
must be because of the missionary influence. The costumes are all hand made of
natural materials. The choreography is more involved than Tahitian dancing we
saw. During the performances, people in the crowd would go up and put money
in baskets on the stage for each teams' performance. All age groups are
represented (13 - 80). Each team is limited to 50 people on the stage. For
some of the islands, this is half of their population! Talk about community
involvement. We had a great time. Today we ran a few errands and watched the goings on in the
harbor. The container ship left, after turning around in the harbor. A fuel
ship came in, they did a 360 using their anchor to pivot on before docking.
Sojourner, Elizabeth II, Belatrix, and Wilhelm left today for Niue. 5 boats
took their place by the quay. We found the Fed Ex place at the Rarotonga airport. They
traced one of our packaged to Auckland. It could arrive any day now! Well we are not in any hurry. Rarotonga is a great place
and we are enjoying our stay here. 8/4, Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga, One Year Anniversary 21 12.258S, 159 47.095W, Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga, Cook
Islands Hello, Hola, Ia orana, Kia Orana, One year ago today we set sail from Seattle, Washington
with not a little trepidation. We were looking for adventure, new acquaintances,
and a chance to expand our horizons/perspectives of this remarkable world we
live in. With the help of family and friends we are accomplishing our
objectives and are pleased with the life style we have chosen. So now we
think it is time to say thank you to all the people who have been so
instrumental in making this happen. To our parents whose support from the beginning has been
remarkable even though we have taken their only grandchildren to some of the
more remote areas of the earth. We are what we have been taught to be. To our friends Doug and Nancy for their continuing effort
as the primary contact between Windarra and the "infrastructure".
We miss your company dearly. To Ray Mosher for his endless efforts in supplying weather
information regardless of our location. There have been many storm tossed
nights on Windarra when "Ray's Weather" e-mail told us someone was
aware of our position and what to look out for. Thanks Ray! To Arik and Ronna (Roo) for their support during Windarra's
refit and to Roo for crewing on the more difficult legs of our journey. We
wish you guys the best in your new life and think of you often. To Barbara Parker for forwarding these position updates to
our friends and family on the east coast. Thank You. To the Concordel family of S/V Saperlipopette. Through your
company and friendship the culture of French Polynesia was opened to us. We
hope to see you in future adventures. To Steve Lieberg who managed the delivery of a replacement
refrigeration motor to Nuka Hiva. This cold ones for you Steve. To Dan Krenitsky for crewing on the Baja Ha-Ha, our first
adventure into warm waters of Mexico. You helped open the world of snorkeling
and diving to us. To Rosie Cadle for shlepping us around San Diego to get
diving gear and provisions. Diving has been a wonderful part of our
adventure. To our sailing friends in Seattle who helped us learn to
sail and race 'big' boats and listened to us dream and talk about our plans
for this adventure and never once said that we were crazy. To all of the folks on the mailing lists, thank you for
your friendship, for listening, providing feedback and helping us stay in
touch. We are looking forward to the coming year with stops
planned in Nuie, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, and Thailand. Our very beat wishes to all Rich, Elaine, Jesse, Sarah and Katmandu S/V Windarra, Rarotonga, Cook Islands 8/8, Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga, One Year Anniversary 21 12.258S, 159 47.095W, Avatiu Harbor, Rarotonga, Cook
Islands We are still here enjoying Rarotonga. Both of our Fed Ex packages arrived. The package from the
watermaker folks was unfortunately missing the seal that we wanted. Oops. The
mail package contained some boat items that we had purchased over the
internet from West Marine arrived on Tuesday. On Tuesday Sarah and I went out to lunch with some of the
other cruising women. It was fun but we felt a little left out of the
conversation about grandchildren. It was interesting to hear some of the
comments they have about cruising. Last night there was another cruiser barbecue at Coconut's
across the street. There was quite a crowd. We are quite international as we
have boats from Guernsey, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Germany, USA and
Canada. The highlight was the dance and drum group from Puka Puka that
performed at Coconut's later that evening. They were here on the island for
the competitions as part of the Constitution Day celebrations. They have been
performing around the island to raise money for their group. The group will
be leaving soon to perform in New Zealand and Australia. Puka Puka has some
strong Samoan influence so their style of dancing is a little different from
the other Cook Islanders. Near the end of the performance they bring up folks
from the audience to dance with them. I had a chance to try and dislocate my
hips in front of every one. Rich said I did well but he is prejudice! The low
point of the evening was listening to the warm up band for 2 hours before the
dance group. It was 3 locals who sounded like deranged Don Ho imitations!
Every song had the same tempo regardless of the time signature, 4/4, 3/4,
etc, all the same. One of their hits was Born Free! They mixed it up by
singing every third song in Polynesian. It was agonizing but the Puka Puka
group made up for it.
Avatiu Harbor is getting crowded Today we did a few chores around the boat. Rich worked on
the watermaker. We will see how it works tomorrow. Tonight is a quiet night
on the boat, dinner and a movie. We are getting ready to go on passage again. Over the next
few days we will fill the water tanks, get fueled up and do our provisioning.
We will wait for the right weather window also. No need to be in a hurry.... |
