The friendliest people in the world?

Hi again! Last time we left you we had just left Tahiti and were sailing to the Society Island of Huahine to hide out for a few days whilst we waited for a weather window to continue our journey on to the Cook Islands.

Well Huahine was a little gem and well worth the visit! It was an overnight sail to get there from Tahiti and we arrived at abut 9am the next morning to be greeted by a really spectacular pass and anchorage behind the reef.

We dropped the hook in crystal clear water in to white sand

We got to enjoy this island for a few days until that weather window arrived. We got a visit from some fellow cruisers from Seattle in the USA and made some new friends.

We decided one day to take a walk up to a local view point about 400m up a hill. It was a lovely walk on an easy path through a pine forest which lead to a spectacular view point.

We waited a few days for some heavy winds and sea to die down and then then a five day window appeared that looked good for the sail to the Atoll of Penrhyn in the Northern Cook Islands about 650 miles North West of Huahine.

It did take us the full 5 days to get there. It was a downwind sail for the whole way but the sea state was not very kind and we had a couple of very rolly days, as well as some nasty squalls to contend with. This is the pacific sailing we have come to expect. Often the conditions are lovely, but storms far to the South of us can throw out huge swell which interact with the local wind waves and make the sea surface confused and not very comfortable. Still the sunsets and sunrises were magical as ever. On the last night we had to slow Azimuth right down to avoid arriving at Penrhyn in the dark, so, we got to sea the sunrise over the atoll.

We timed arrival well, and entered the pass in to the atoll at about 8:30am that morning. This was an easy pass in comparison to Raraka’s pass, nice and wide and well charted (for once!) The chart even detailed a tortuous route through the coral bommies to get to the village of Omaka where we needed to check in to the Cook Islands. The anchorage wasn’t the best, it being a lee shore, and the waves had some fetch over the atoll, but we didn’t have a choice as we needed to check in here. That decision was to be significant later!

There was also another sailboat there too! We had thought we would have the place to ourselves. Penrhyn (local name Tongareva) is very remote and not on the main cruisers route. It is the most Northern of the Cook Islands and is some 750 miles north of the main Island of Rarotonga. There is very little around the island other than the uninhabited line island atolls. It certainly felt remote, we hadn’t seen another boat for the whole of the 5 day crossing from French Polynesia. Penrhyn gets about 15 boats visiting a year. It turns out the other boat (Coho) that was at anchor had been in Penrhyn for a month and was actually leaving that day.

We put up the Q flag and waited for customs to visit the boat from shore. 30 minutes after we arrived, we got a radio call from customs to tell us they were on the way. A small launch came out and the customs and health official came onboard. These guys could not have been nicer! We had a chat about the sail and the island and I filled out the paperwork. As you know if you read the last post, our checkout of Tahiti had not gone very smoothly, and we were a little concerned that we didn’t have the right paperwork. Our good friends Donna and Mark had sent us a copy of their French Polynesia exit paperwork, so using the power of photoshop, I had created a convincing looking Zarpe for Azimuth! This was examined and not even questioned by the customs official! They also didn’t notice or were not bothered that we didn’t have exit stamps from French Polynesia in our passports either. Infact the guys were very relaxed and welcoming to us.

A couple of hours later we headed to shore to pick up our documents and pay our customs fees. We didn’t really know where we were going, but everyone we met stopped for a chat or to say hello and welcome us. We found what we thought was the customs office, but it turned out to be the office of the mayor! He welcomed us in and sat us down for a chat and introduced us to a load of other people. We were in there for about an hour, talking about the history of the island and the people, and now we are on first name terms with the mayor, Puna! What an introduction to Penrhyn!

We did eventually find the customs guy and had another chat with him before paying the fees and headed back to the boat with more stops for chats with the local children.

We paddled our trusty canoe through the swell back to the boat and got Azimuth ready to go. We needed to motor across the lagoon in good light to the other side where the best anchorage was waiting for us off the village of Te Tautua. Ailsa went to pull up the anchor and everything was going fine until it stopped, and then made a very disconcerting grinding noise. Oh no, I thought, here we go again. I went to have a look, and yes the sound was awful, and the windlass wasn’t moving anymore. Ailsa went back to the helm and I did battle with getting the anchor up by hand for the next half an hour! It was quite scary, because the sea was rough and the wind was strongly blowing us on to the shore. It was difficult for Ailsa to control the boat and stop her drifting whilst I swore a lot and eventually managed to get the anchor up. What a nightmare!

We both calmed down for the motor across the lagoon which was littered with bommies, the most we have ever seen.

Not an easy route to get across, but it went ok, and 2 hours later we dropped our anchor in a beautiful flat anchorage in front of the village.

That is where we have been ever since and where we are as I write this.

The next morning we got a visit from a boat and a chap called Rio. He was on his way to the other village but wanted to invite us for dinner at his house that night!

We canoed over that evening, and had a wonderful meal with Rio, his wife Kura and the rest of his family. They are all lovely people. Rio used to be the mayor of Penrhyn a few years ago and has been telling us in the great detail all the history of the island and the issues that face the islanders today.

When we arrived for dinner we pulled up at their dock dock / beach with the sea full of sharks! Rio then proceeded to show us their “pet” nurse sharks and was teasing them with a fish head on a line for about 10 minutes whilst we watched in fascination. He even had us get in the water and stroke their heads! A very unnerving experience! He assured us it was safe. Apparently the kids swim and play with them everyday!

Eventually one of the sharks managed to get hold of the fish head and a battle ensued between about three of them for the prize.

It was a lovely dinner. We were made to feel very welcome. Rio claimed that we were now part of his extended family! We were also told we had to attend church on Sunday as the islanders all do.

So here’s a quick run down of the history of Penrhyn. The island got its “western” name from a ship that sank here called the “Lady Penrhyn”. Its crew was stranded here for over a year. The native name for the Island is Tongareva which means “journey south”. At one time the atoll had a population of over 1000 people. Before the arrival of missionaries in the 1800’s each motu island in the atoll had its own tribe, and Rio has told us a number of stories from these times. They were a fearsome bunch and did not welcome visitors, resorting to cannibalism. The first missionaries had a very hard time reaching out to the islanders, and were actually saved from being killed and eaten by one local woman who has entered in to local folklore and songs. A church was established and life started to slowly change.

Fast forward today, and island life is radically different. Now the population is less than 150, and the people are struggling to stay. A supply ship visits the island once every three months. The price of goods is extremely expensive and everything has to be ordered in. With not many jobs, it has been difficult for people to be able to afford to live, and there has been a gradual migration to either New Zealand or the other cook islands like Rarotonga. Infact the whole population of the Cook Islands in 15000, there are more islanders now living in New Zealand. Rio fears his is the last generation that will live the islands. He is not standing on his laurels. He is standing for election as mayor this year and hopes to make many changes to the local economy and supply and turn the exodus around. We wish him and all the islanders the best of luck. This place is paradise, and people should be able to carrying on living here.

The next night we were invited to a birthday party celebration at Rio and Kura’s house. It was Tee’s birthday, Kura’s brother. What a another lovely night! It was a feast of food. We got to meet many of the other 30 inhabitants in the village. Tee is in the first picture below on the left sitting next to Rio.

The following Sunday we did go to the church service where we were welcomed by the whole community. Its been a long time since Ailsa and I have stepped in to a church, as we are not religious. This however was a special experience. The singing was something to behold with full falsetto singing from the whole congregation. They did not hold back either, being very vocal and even the children joining in all the parts. The service was in the local dialect, so we couldn’t understand it, but it didn’t matter as we just enjoyed the atmosphere.

One day last week we took the canoe out to explore a close by island. Its paradise for sure here!

The people have all been so kind and welcoming, particularly Rio, Kura and their family. I was keen to try and give something back, so jumped at the opportunity to help Rio fix his fresh water pump (still ongoing), and one of his outboard engines.. I also fixed the villages broken compressor and have been booked in to fix one of the other villages broken outboards! Handy man Dom!

I leave you for now with some pics from Rio and Kura’s back yard. Such a lovely place. There is a great photo of Kura working on making a hat from dried and died coconut leaves. I cant see us leaving here for a while, its too nice!