South Pacific (part five)
From Tahiti to Fiji (part one)
The Society Islands to Nuie (Click here for a map)
Beveridge Reef Bears
It occurs to me that you should be reminded that we are not alone on "Avalon". Our crew of 2 teddy bears have been with us for the duration, whilst the gecko stowed away from Tahiti. The latter is keeping down the insect population (we keep a few rotting bananas to aid fruit fly production), but the teddy bears' usefulness is more nebulous. Arthur was handcrafted by Jim's sister Yolande, and is definitely the brainier bear though more histrionic - apt to throw himself on the floor in rough weather. Lance(lot), a cast-off from Cassandra, is more placid and a cuddly comfort during an anxious night watch. Their characters are demonstrated by a conversation of theirs overheard after we had anchored in Beveridge Reef (situated just west of Niue).
Lance: Where are we?
Arthur: Good question since my cloth chart does not even show the nearest island, Niue, which is our next destination, 125 miles away. We are in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean some 450 miles west of Rarotonga.
L: Wow! And nobody here but us chickens, as the skipper would say.
A: That's not strictly so, we can see a ketch anchored due west of us just outside the pass.
L: Weird though innit?
A: It is a truly amazing sight, as we appear to be safely anchored in the middle of the ocean. Remember this my boy, it is an unique experience!
L: Yessir!
June 30th 2003 seems a good time to reflect on our progress through the South Pacific since returning to Tahiti on 11th April.
We revisited lovely Moorea en route to Huahine, possibly our favourite of the Society Islands. Whilst anchored at the south end of this island we witnessed a Sunday service held on the nearby beach, where adults were baptised in the sea. We explored the lush volcanic island by scooter stopping to buy fruits from a small road side stall (bananas, papayas and pineapples), peer over a bridge to watch huge freshwater eels, visit the massive complex of Marae and Maeva, and photograph the ancient stone fish traps in the nearby lagoon. We decided to haul the boat out on the next island, Raiatea, and "Avalon" was parked on the hard next to Bernard Moitessier's "Tomata" (now owned by Veronique his last wife, whom we met).
Ed: An internationally renowned sailor, writer, and ecologist, Bernard Moitessier was one of the true legends of the twentieth century, who became famous for his daring sailing exploits. He was born in French Indochina in 1925, and grew up with both French and Vietnamese cultures during the turbulent times before the war. He was imprisoned during the Japanese occupation and was later to fight against the Viet Minh. At the age of 25, he left Vietnam and began a wandering life, exploring the Indian Ocean, the South Atlantic, and the Caribbean, surviving two major shipwrecks along the way. In 1968 he entered the Golden Globe race with nine others, and later recorded events in his book "The Long Way". He spent his later years in France, where he died in the summer of 1994 while working on his last book, "A sea Vagabond's World".
After a few days gruelling work to clean and repaint the bottom, we had to wait for 5 days due to adverse weather, to move on to Tahaa, thence a few days later to Bora Bora. This island's volcanic peeks are spectacular, but our impressions of the island were coloured by the inclement weather. We approached the fringing reef in almost nil visibility in a torrential downpour, and during our stay we experienced wet and windy squalls. So, on to Rarotonga and the capital of the Cook Islands. This was one of the worst passages we have suffered, with high winds and seas, torrential rain, thunder and lightning. At one point we turned and sailed back towards Bora Bora for 24 hours, then hove to for 24 hours, thus a 5 day passage took us 8 days! Nostalgic thoughts of England in June; sunshine, honeysuckle, tranquility, garden parties with family and friends, prompted at least one of us to consider curtailing their circumnavigation in Australia to fly home! But, no pain no gain, arrival in Rarotonga was a delight. First, a courteous and informative welcome from the harbourmaster, and during our 2 week stay in Avatiu harbour jolly companions anchored either side. Two local boats, a catamaran "party" boat running sailing trips by Alberto (Swiss), and a fishing charter boat run by Chris (English) and Tim (Irish). Jim had a free trip with the lads on the fishing boat one evening, sadly no fish landed, but several beers downed. However, we drooled so often over their catches of wahoo, barracuda and mahimahi that they eventually gave us some! We traversed the island on foot (4 hour walk) and took the perimeter bus several times, visiting botanic gardens, the Muri Beach lagoon area and Ngantangiia Harbour (the departure point of the Maori canoes that left to settle New Zealand in the 14th Century). Other hightlights were attending a Sunday service at the Cook Islands Christian Church (founded by John Williams of the London Missionary Society in 1823) held in Maori and English, specially to hear the spirited singing, attending a traditional "feast" with local dancing and drumming, and Rosie acquiring a tattoo (most painful). Everywhere the people were helpful and friendly, the women often attractively adorned with a wreath of flowers in their hair. I should add that we were particularly fortunate in attending the service we did, as this included the send off for the Cook Islands team to the 2003 South Pacific Games (being held this year in Fiji). At the spread laid on after, we were able to chat to some of the team (men's shirts and ladies dresses all in attractive green Polynesian leaf print) in between sampling local fresh fruits, home-baked vegetables and meats, sandwiches and cakes.
We left Rarotonga with reluctance, but time was marching on, and 4 days later reached Beveridge Reef. The trip was again rough but uneventful apart from almost catching a large mahimahi which slipped the hook as we were landing it. We were very grateful to have wind vane steering and an autopilot which minimised steering in the unpleasant weather. Our current anchorage is giving us a chance to relax, catch up on sleep and prepare for our visit to Niue. This is one of the smallest Pacific nations, 2000 people on an island about 20 miles long. At the same time it is one of the largest upthrust coral atolls in the world.
3rd July postcript
Whilst in Beveridge reef we entertained Alan and Julie from the ketch "Quintessa". They had sailed from New Zealand specifically to dive for shells here, some of their enthusiasm rubbed off on us, so we extended our stay, and what rewards. Myriad brightly coloured fish round a wreck on the reef, a few shells worth keeping, and most exciting of all, a pair of humpback whales cavorting just outside the reef pass as we left today. As we were coming out of the reef (see diagram) we saw the pair quite clearly, their spouts, bodies and flippers, amazing. It looked as though we were on a collision course, but they dived and came up behind us and looked as though they were going into the lagoon.
Humpback whales migrate south at this time to mate and calve, so we guess this is why they were going into the lagoon.
Ed:- We have just heard that Rosemary and Jim are now in Fiji, and have celebrated Rosie's birthday in style. We are looking forward to the account of their passage to Fiji in the next instalment.
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