Get Lost On Purpose

Author: Drew

  • Finally Sunny in Rarotonga

    We’ve been in Raro 6 days now and during that time the sun has showed itself for a total of 2 hours. It’s not been raining, just completely overcast and breezy. At night it’s in the 60’s and we go out wearing jeans, long sleeves, and Margie even sports a fleece jacket. I don’t know whether this is normal or not. One local said it’s common to have weather like this till September. Another said this is extremely unusual. Thankfully the sun is finally gracing us with its presence today. This morning it’s beautiful and clear but still cool. I hope to see the temperature creep up into the mid 80’s today!

    Despite the dreary weather we’ve been having a great time here in Raro. There’s about 10 boats on the quai (pronounced “key”) right now but it seems everyday one or two leave and more come in. I find it unbelievable we’re the only ones with a scooter parked behind our boat. For $14NZ (less than $10US) per day it seems almost ridiculous not to have one. Even if you don’t have anywhere to go, the pure entertainment value of scooting around the island is worth it! The other night we were cruising along at 50 kilometers and “crack!” Part of the scooter’s plastic frame fell right off in the middle of the road. No worries, just pick it up and cram it into the storage compartment under the seat. Oh well! The only thing that could add to the fun would be a stereo system installed on “Junior” so we could rock out to the cool radio station here. One minute you’ll be jammin to the newest rap song from Ludacris or Akon and then they fade into “Cruisin” by Smokey Robinson or “River of Love” from George Straight. 101.1 FM – Raro’s Hottest Hits “If they won’t let you listen to us at work, piss in the coffee pot and quit.”

    Last night we had Linda and Andy from Coromandel Quest over to the boat for dinner. I actually owed them a hot meal from a year ago when I was without cooking gas and they fed me in Ecuador. It’s still crazy to me you can run into someone you met a year and 4000+ miles ago on a tropical island in the South Pacific with no contact or planning. I looked up one day and there they come into the harbor. It just goes to show how small the community of international cruisers really is. So since I owed them a dinner I put Margie to work 🙂 whipping up some of her soon-to-be-famous salmon cakes and a green bean casserole while I hosted Linda, Andy, and Jake who, along with his wife Neely, are down from Canada on their honeymoon. We met them over at a resort on Friday and it looks like we’ll be dining with them tonight. He stopped by to say hello and got sucked into a couple of beers. I guess that means tomorrow night is now Taco night and I’ll be cooking!

    It looks like a small low pressure system is forming fast and rolling through here on Wednesday. I’ve been watching it on the forecasts for the last 4 days. That won’t be fun in this harbor since it’s completely exposed to the north and they’re is calling for stiff north-north easterlies tomorrow which will turn the seas right at us. When a Low forms rapidly it can create violent little squalls. This is called a “meteorological bomb” and it’s exactly the type of thing we want to avoid at sea. The latest weekly weathergram from weather guru Bob McDavitt on Sunday confirmed my suspicions but thankfully he puts the potential “bomb” 500 miles to our south. “That Low should be taken by a jetstream quickly southeastwards and may well bomb on Wednesday near 30S 160E as its trough crosses Southern Cooks. Standby for some squalls from this passing trough.” I’ve begun studying the crossing from Fiji to New Zealand even though we’re months away. It has the potential to be downright scary if I don’t time it perfectly between the Lows shooting off Australia. Since this is now acknowledged as an El Nino year, I need to figure out it’s affect on those Lows. My worry is that it’ll put them closer together making it more difficult for us to sneak through between the gales. I guess all I can do is keep on studying and watch for those patterns!

  • Change of Plans – Sailing to Rarotonga

    The best thing about this lifestyle is that short of weather and boat capability, we have complete freedom to direct ourselves and change our plans. After 10+ days in Aitutaki we decided to do just that. We like Cook Islanders, we like the food, the atmosphere. We like all the Kiwi and Aussie tourists hanging around. So we decided to not cut ourselves short here in the Cooks and head south to see what the nation’s “city life” is like in Rarotonga, the capital island. It’s only 140 miles due south from here…an overnight sail. We’ll be able to do a good restocking there and get some needed laundry done. Plus, if we stick with our plan to head up to Swarrow, we’ll also add in a stop at Palmerston Island putting one more Cook Island under our belt.
     
    So far we’ve only heard of two boats heading to Raro. Some years it’s a popular stop while in other years yachts stick to a more northerly route through Aitutaki and Swarrow. It seems this is one of those more northerly years. There’s seven boats in Swarrow right now with 5-6 more on the way. On the 17th, a cruise ship (the first ever) is pulling into the island with 350 passengers. Now that’s a crowd. It’s not surprising Raro is becoming less popular. The harbor is tiny and offers no protection from a northerly wind and swell. We’ll be Tahiti-moored to a concrete wharf meaning we’ll drop anchor, back up, and tie stern lines ashore. This way they are guaranteed to squeeze 15 boats into a space meant for 12! In years past the harbor runs completely out of space and the port captain is forced to turn boats away. Hopefully it won’t be an issue for us this early in the season.
     
    Aitutaki remains one of our favorite stops ever. The only regret I have is not getting down into the main part of the lagoon on our dinghy. We tried yesterday but with the wind blowing steady out of the east the waves were up and the ride was miserable. I hoped to try again today but the trades aren’t letting up. At least we were able to do that lagoon tour with Zen (Bishop’s Cruises was great) so we have an idea of what we missed. Here’s a list of some of the highlights from the past week and a half.
    -One Foot Island was absolutely gorgeous and deserves its spot as one of the world’s most beautiful beaches.
    -For an animal that doesn’t move much, giant clams are pretty damn cool
    -being sick sucked but watching the first two seasons of Entourage did not (thanks Tom and Monique)
    -The Pacific Resort is still my fav. Voted Best Island Boutique Resort 2008 in the World Travel Awards
    -Margie can and will dance for an hour by herself at the Blue Nun Cafe and not care cause she’ll “never see ANY of these people again!”
    -Goodbye Scoot-Scoot…we will miss you
    -we found the best candy store on the island. email us for details
    -the fire dancing at the Tamanu Resort on Thursday nights is killer! not to be missed.
    -Margie loves her some banana pancakes at Cafe Koru and they make bacon here just how I like it…fatty and greasy!
    -And we love the international cruising community. Last night we joined Brits Neil and Jackie from Camelot for some fish burgers and rum punch aboard the Austrian catamaran, September, with Hans and Gaby. There’s 5 Norwegian guys on a boat anchored outside the pass. This morning an Italian boat left and a New Zealand boat showed up. We really do know people all over the world!
     
    So long Aitutaki. Thanks for the great introduction to a new country!

  • The Cost of Paradise – Polynesia and Bora Bora

    Legally we could have stayed in French Polynesia till September. Back in the states this winter we went through the P.I.T.A. of getting our long stay visas giving us 6 months to relax and meander through the country at an “island pace.” It involved a quick trip to Atlanta, a short interview, and about hundred pieces of paper from banks, police offices, and insurance companies. We had to prove we had enough money and coverage to afford our stay and cover our asses. Thanks to Photoshop, a scanner, and some artful and creative productions on my part, we passed muster with flying colors. Once we arrived, it seemed our visas also canceled out the process of posting a bond; something everyone does when entering the country by boat. Basically you put enough money in some sort of escrow account to cover a plane ticket out of the country so they could put you on a plane and throw you out if they so choose. Everyone complains because you lose money on both banking fees and the currency conversion. I’ve heard of boats losing up to $300 per person not to mention you have well over a thousand dollars each tied up in some foreign bank. The guys at immigration never mentioned a bond to me so I certainly never said a word to them! All in all, the visa was probably worth it even though we chose not to stay for the entire duration. Why didn’t we stay? I hate to keep talking about it but, as Margie mentioned in her last post, cost was a limiting factor for us in French Polynesia. We aren’t paupers living out here in a floating trailer park but my keel is still full of lead ballast…not gold. Cost and value are important to us. And it seems we aren’t the only ones. With the exception of the brand new Four Seasons (where a cheeseburger at the pool will run you $30), the resorts in Bora Bora were operating on less than 30% occupancy. Here in Aitutaki, the Pacific Resort is booked solid for the next two months. This is the first week since January that the resort we visited this morning, the Aitutaki Lagoon Resort and Spa, isn’t full. They’re back to full occupancy next week. And we didn’t even think it was a nice place! Obviously people are starting to figure it out. The same experience, same beauty, similar culture, and better food (in our opinion)…half the cost. On Bora Bora, if you’re staying at one of the island resorts (on the motus) and you want to eat at one of the three or four restaurants on the main island it can cost you $100+ to get there and back not including the meal. It’s just a boat ride away! Don’t believe me? Check out the reviews at Tripadvisor (www.tripadvisor.com) Here on Aitutaki, you jump on your $12 a day scooter and head off. And let me go ahead and put this out there. OVERWATER BUNGALOWS ARE OVERRATED AND OVERPRICED. I know people are finding our site by googling Bora Bora so if this helps just one honeymooning couple make up their mind, I’m satisfied. If money is no object, head to the Societies, get yourself a bungalow, and relax to your heart’s content…if not check out some other places. Start here. I’m in love with it and I’ve seen some fascinating places. www.pacificresort.com

  • Arrived in Aitutaki, Cook Islands

    Pulling out of Bora Bora on Saturday morning, we knew we were in for a rough ride. I had reached that point where I was ready to leave no matter what. We were 8 days past our “legal” date in French Polynesia, out of French Poly cash and tired of the prices, bored with the food (except that Reuben at Blood Mary’s), and oh so ready to see something new. We were attempting our first passage since last year and of course, Margie’s second ever, so we knew there would be some adjustment time to get used to the movement and life at sea. We had two meals prepared and ready to cook. I set up the blog so we could update by email and keep everyone posted on the 485 mile passage. Three hours after we pulled out of the pass we hit our first rain. Soon after, the random 12-13 foot southern waves started rolling in on our nice 8-10′ southeasterly sets. The wind gusts rose into the 30-35 knot range and by 3:30 we were sitting in the cockpit in our foul weather gear surfing down waves at 8.5 knots thinking hmm…I’m not that hungry any more and let’s just keep that computer where it is. Just after nightfall we finally gave up the cockpit and did watches from below. Those intermittent southerly swells would come out of nowhere, slap the side of the hull, and crash across the entire boat drenching anything in the path. We made 162 miles the first 24 hours which was actually slower than I thought we’d be but I think it was the wave height slowing us down. Sunday came with absolutely no improvement in the weather so we sat below all day, hatch boards in, reading and trying to keep the nausea under control. We did manage to get down a couple of tuna fish sandwiches. Day two put 151 more miles out of the way and by late Monday morning the winds and seas had abated some so I put out the full genoa. That along with the mizzen carried us at 7 knots till late night Monday. Then the wind died all together. We wanted to make it to the pass at Aitutaki with some good daylight on Tuesday so with the help of the engine we came around the northern coast at noon.
     
    Then came the pass. I circled around the front of it saying “is that it?!?” for about 15 minutes before finally dropping anchor on the outside (in the swell) so we could explore it by dinghy first and see what we were up against. It looked like the dinghy was gonna run aground in the pass as I entered so I couldn’t imagine taking Dosia in. I discovered it was dead low as one tide program had suggested (the other, of course, said the exact opposite) and we would have to roll around and wait a couple of hours before we could safely enter on the “big” boat. It was nice being able to dinghy around the anchorage and chose out my spot beforehand without coming in blind. About 4pm we wrestled the anchor off a coral head on the outside and headed in. Dosia’s draft is 5.1″ and the shallowest I saw was 5.8″. I had spent an afternoon in Bora Bora calibrating the gauges just for this pass and I was happy I did. Once inside we headed up the small outer channel into 2 knots of current and dropped anchor. As I write this I have three anchors out. Two off the bow and one stern anchor. At full tidal outflow, the current runs probably three knots and where we’re sitting it tends to push on the starboard side of the boat so I feel more comfortable with some extra protection out. The bottom is rocky in places so you gotta check your anchors and make sure they’re set. I have one bow anchor in sand and the other wrapped around a rocky head. This boat ain’t going nowhere and that’s good cause with our smoking scooter rental (code named “Scoot Scoot”) we don’t plan on spending much time on the boat! Yep, that’s right…we got transport for at least the next week. $100NZ ($65US) for a week cannot be beat. Especially when that was the cost for one day’s rental in French Polynesia. This place is G-R-E-A-T! It is wonderful to be back in a country with some sort of earthly pricing. It’s just as beautiful (if not more in my opinion) and with the same friendly South Pacific people. And here they speak English!
     
    Apparently there was a funeral on the island today and with a mere population of about 600 people, it drew the likes of many of the locals, including those in customs so that was closed. We’ll check in tomorrow and be clear to explore the rest of what we’ve already decided is going to be awesome destination!