Hi from Clare, 4-2018 Mopelia and Suwarrow Friday 29th June 2018
A SPECIAL PLACE
Our last week in Mopelia was just as memorable as the first. We met nearly all the inhabitants and learnt more about their lifestyle. Previously it had struck us that there were no children on the island. We thought maybe it's a place for retirees, but no the children are living in Maupiti with relatives and attending school. They are due home shortly for the school holidays. We also discovered that most of the local people have held down regular jobs on other islands or in Paris. They have chosen to return to Mopelia to enjoy the simple life. They don't have a lot of material possessions but they have everything they need.
WONDERFUL COMMUNITY
We had a wonderful Pot Luck dinner with eight cruisers and six local folk who provided an abundance of fish and coconut crabs. The cruisers provided the nibbles, salads, sweets and alcohol. The local folk provided music by way of guitars, drums (a combination of barrels being beaten with a rubber thong) spoons in a bottle and wonderful singing voices.
This Pot Luck dinner is an event the local folk do when a number of cruising boats gather. They laid out the meal and played music, sang and had a few drinks while we ate. One local lady in particular, who used to be in the French military, spoke good English and had a very good singing voice. We had met this lady a few days before looking every bit a Polynesian just sitting on the beach cleaning fish and throwing the scraps to a dog. Looks can be very deceiving!
WONDERFUL CUISINE - MAYBE?
Talking about dogs, our friends on 'Fandango' were invited to dinner at Jean and Tuarae's home and in addition to the usual fish they had a very spicy dog stew. Ian from 'Fandango' said it was very tasty and he had two helpings. The dog in question was badly bitten by a coconut crab and was bound to get an infection so they decided to cook it instead. We had patted this dog a number of times and we felt sorry for it and we don't think we could have eaten it.
PLENTY TO DO
Every day we went for a walk on the island. There is a vehicle track that runs the length of the island just a short distance inland from the beach. It was a very pleasant walk in the shade of the palm trees and there are a number of smaller tracks along the way leading over to the ocean side of the atoll. It was on these walks that we met the local folk as the track runs by all the houses. We would invariably stop and chat and end up taking home more island produce than we needed. However it was too hard to say no. They would have it ready for us on our return trip along the road. It seems that their culture is to give you something. Just amazing considering that they don't have a lot.
Most days we would swim in the shallows in the lagoon or in the rock pools on the ocean side of the atoll. One day when the lagoon was flat calm we took three dinghies out and snorkelled the pass. There was less than the usual current running so we just held onto the dinghy and drifted by the colourful display of tropical fish.
PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW
Sadly we had to leave this wonderful playground and sail west. We will always remember the unexpected gem of Mopelia and the happy faces of the people who live there.
We set off for the 570 miles sail to Suwarrow on Monday 18th June and arrived Friday morning. Exiting the pass was easy as there was little current and the seas were a mere 1.5 metres. We had a very enjoyable downwind sail with the main sail our to port and the jib polled out to starboard. At one stage when the wind dropped to 8 knots we put the spinnaker up as well.
ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL SPOT
Suwarrow is a small uninhabited coral atoll about 500 miles east of Samoa and is a good place to stop for a rest. It is a Nature Reserve and very pretty with lush vegetation, mostly coconut trees, and sparkling aqua water. There are two attending Park Rangers here between June and November to check the passing yachts into the Cook Islands. They also make sure we do not damage the environment or ourselves. There is a variety of aggressive sharks here so many of the rules are focused on not luring these sharks into the lagoon. So no food scraps overboard, not spear fishing in the lagoon, no cleaning fish off the back of the boat and no kite boarding. They reported an incident where a kite boarder out in the pass had about five grey sharks following him just waiting for him to drop into the water. Also before 'no spear fishing' was a rule, a spear fisherman had his fish and spear gun totally chomped up by some sharks. Fortunately he lived to tell the tale. So the rules are not to be flaunted. We have been here for a week now and haven't seen any dangerous sharks in the lagoon. However if we walk to the ocean side of the atoll we see nurse sharks, black tips and white tips and greys cruising close to shore where the Rangers clean their fish and throw the scraps to the sharks.
A PRIVILEGED TO WATCH
The main attraction here is the manta ray. They come in the early morning to a shallow reef area some half mile from the anchorage as this is a cleaning station for them. They are truly wonderful to see. So big and yet so graceful just gliding around while the little cleaner fish remove any parasites that have attached themselves. Sometimes we have had as many as sixteen snorkellers and six dinghies out there watching the parade but the manta rays are not the slightest bit perturbed.
MAKE YOUR OWN FUN
At present we have seven cruising yachts here. Six of us were at Mopelia together and so we continue to have ongoing good company. A few nights ago sixteen cruisers were the guests of the Rangers for a pot luck dinner ashore. There is a lovely shaded area with a large table, benches, a fire place, hammocks and a swing made from old fishing nets. It is a very pretty setting and the Rangers provided the fish and the cruisers did the rest. The senior Ranger (Harry) performed the official Tongan welcome and we all had a very social time.
Harry is a professional baker in a former life and he gladly shared his recipe for home made bread with Clare. The recipe has been tried on Eye Candy and turned out very well. Harry says the most important ingredient is patience.
We also had a dinghy drift for sundowners last night. We tied six dinghies together and just drifted in flat calm water while we handed around nibbles, had a few drinks and enjoyed a glorious sunset. The sky was blue, pink and grey and the cloud formation big and fluffy. How fortunate we are to enjoy such peace and calm far away from the troubles of the world.
SOME MENTAL STIMULATION
Andrew has been very busy using his SWR meter and dummy load to repair the Rangers HF radio station and their solar panels. The radio lost its tuner on the ship coming back to the island this season meaning that the Rangers had no radio communication with their base at Rarotonga. To replace their tuner and long wire antenna Andrew built a half wave dipole antenna from the bits and pieces lying around and bingo they are back on the air again. The Rangers are very happy and can now communicate to base 3 days per week to report on visiting yachts.
Andrew tracked down a couple of blown diodes in their solar panels and replaced them with others found in old solar panels to enable charging for their twelve volt batteries. He also gave them an old multi meter so now they can check on their charging.
He has also helped many of the cruisers with radio problems mostly caused by corrosion. In fact he has been so busy they almost have to book an appointment.
SO WHAT NEXT
We have some very strong wind and big seas coming in a few days as a very intense high pressure passes. So we will stay put until things settle down. We are prepared with two anchors out and floats on the anchor chain so we don't get hooked on one of the many coral heads covering the bottom. It might be a bouncing in here, but better here than out at sea.
Love Candy xxFriday 29th June 2018
A SPECIAL PLACE
Our last week in Mopelia was just as memorable as the first. We met nearly all the inhabitants and learnt more about their lifestyle. Previously it had struck us that there were no children on the island. We thought maybe it's a place for retirees, but no the children are living in Maupiti with relatives and attending school. They are due home shortly for the school holidays. We also discovered that most of the local people have held down regular jobs on other islands or in Paris. They have chosen to return to Mopelia to enjoy the simple life. They don't have a lot of material possessions but they have everything they need.
WONDERFUL COMMUNITY
We had a wonderful Pot Luck dinner with eight cruisers and six local folk who provided an abundance of fish and coconut crabs. The cruisers provided the nibbles, salads, sweets and alcohol. The local folk provided music by way of guitars, drums (a combination of barrels being beaten with a rubber thong) spoons in a bottle and wonderful singing voices.
This Pot Luck dinner is an event the local folk do when a number of cruising boats gather. They laid out the meal and played music, sang and had a few drinks while we ate. One local lady in particular, who used to be in the French military, spoke good English and had a very good singing voice. We had met this lady a few days before looking every bit a Polynesian just sitting on the beach cleaning fish and throwing the scraps to a dog. Looks can be very deceiving!
WONDERFUL CUISINE - MAYBE?
Talking about dogs, our friends on 'Fandango' were invited to dinner at Jean and Tuarae's home and in addition to the usual fish they had a very spicy dog stew. Ian from 'Fandango' said it was very tasty and he had two helpings. The dog in question was badly bitten by a coconut crab and was bound to get an infection so they decided to cook it instead. We had patted this dog a number of times and we felt sorry for it and we don't think we could have eaten it.
PLENTY TO DO
Every day we went for a walk on the island. There is a vehicle track that runs the length of the island just a short distance inland from the beach. It was a very pleasant walk in the shade of the palm trees and there are a number of smaller tracks along the way leading over to the ocean side of the atoll. It was on these walks that we met the local folk as the track runs by all the houses. We would invariably stop and chat and end up taking home more island produce than we needed. However it was too hard to say no. They would have it ready for us on our return trip along the road. It seems that their culture is to give you something. Just amazing considering that they don't have a lot.
Most days we would swim in the shallows in the lagoon or in the rock pools on the ocean side of the atoll. One day when the lagoon was flat calm we took three dinghies out and snorkelled the pass. There was less than the usual current running so we just held onto the dinghy and drifted by the colourful display of tropical fish.
PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW
Sadly we had to leave this wonderful playground and sail west. We will always remember the unexpected gem of Mopelia and the happy faces of the people who live there.
We set off for the 570 miles sail to Suwarrow on Monday 18th June and arrived Friday morning. Exiting the pass was easy as there was little current and the seas were a mere 1.5 metres. We had a very enjoyable downwind sail with the main sail our to port and the jib polled out to starboard. At one stage when the wind dropped to 8 knots we put the spinnaker up as well.
ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL SPOT
Suwarrow is a small uninhabited coral atoll about 500 miles east of Samoa and is a good place to stop for a rest. It is a Nature Reserve and very pretty with lush vegetation, mostly coconut trees, and sparkling aqua water. There are two attending Park Rangers here between June and November to check the passing yachts into the Cook Islands. They also make sure we do not damage the environment or ourselves. There is a variety of aggressive sharks here so many of the rules are focused on not luring these sharks into the lagoon. So no food scraps overboard, not spear fishing in the lagoon, no cleaning fish off the back of the boat and no kite boarding. They reported an incident where a kite boarder out in the pass had about five grey sharks following him just waiting for him to drop into the water. Also before 'no spear fishing' was a rule, a spear fisherman had his fish and spear gun totally chomped up by some sharks. Fortunately he lived to tell the tale. So the rules are not to be flaunted. We have been here for a week now and haven't seen any dangerous sharks in the lagoon. However if we walk to the ocean side of the atoll we see nurse sharks, black tips and white tips and greys cruising close to shore where the Rangers clean their fish and throw the scraps to the sharks.
A PRIVILEGED TO WATCH
The main attraction here is the manta ray. They come in the early morning to a shallow reef area some half mile from the anchorage as this is a cleaning station for them. They are truly wonderful to see. So big and yet so graceful just gliding around while the little cleaner fish remove any parasites that have attached themselves. Sometimes we have had as many as sixteen snorkellers and six dinghies out there watching the parade but the manta rays are not the slightest bit perturbed.
MAKE YOUR OWN FUN
At present we have seven cruising yachts here. Six of us were at Mopelia together and so we continue to have ongoing good company. A few nights ago sixteen cruisers were the guests of the Rangers for a pot luck dinner ashore. There is a lovely shaded area with a large table, benches, a fire place, hammocks and a swing made from old fishing nets. It is a very pretty setting and the Rangers provided the fish and the cruisers did the rest. The senior Ranger (Harry) performed the official Tongan welcome and we all had a very social time.
Harry is a professional baker in a former life and he gladly shared his recipe for home made bread with Clare. The recipe has been tried on Eye Candy and turned out very well. Harry says the most important ingredient is patience.
We also had a dinghy drift for sundowners last night. We tied six dinghies together and just drifted in flat calm water while we handed around nibbles, had a few drinks and enjoyed a glorious sunset. The sky was blue, pink and grey and the cloud formation big and fluffy. How fortunate we are to enjoy such peace and calm far away from the troubles of the world.
SOME MENTAL STIMULATION
Andrew has been very busy using his SWR meter and dummy load to repair the Rangers HF radio station and their solar panels. The radio lost its tuner on the ship coming back to the island this season meaning that the Rangers had no radio communication with their base at Rarotonga. To replace their tuner and long wire antenna Andrew built a half wave dipole antenna from the bits and pieces lying around and bingo they are back on the air again. The Rangers are very happy and can now communicate to base 3 days per week to report on visiting yachts.
Andrew tracked down a couple of blown diodes in their solar panels and replaced them with others found in old solar panels to enable charging for their twelve volt batteries. He also gave them an old multi meter so now they can check on their charging.
He has also helped many of the cruisers with radio problems mostly caused by corrosion. In fact he has been so busy they almost have to book an appointment.
SO WHAT NEXT
We have some very strong wind and big seas coming in a few days as a very intense high pressure passes. So we will stay put until things settle down. We are prepared with two anchors out and floats on the anchor chain so we don't get hooked on one of the many coral heads covering the bottom. It might be a bouncing in here, but better here than out at sea.
Love Candy xx
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