Rarotonga

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RAROTONGA KIA ORANA!
WELCOME TO THE COOK ISLANDS!

DAY 22 - Our first day in Rarotonga The Cook Islands consist of 15 islands scattered over approximately 2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean. Rarotonga is part of the southern group of islands. Aitutaki, Manuae, Takutea, Atiu, Mitiaro, Mauke & Mangaia are also in the southern group of islands. The northern group of islands includes Manihiki, Penrhyn & Pukapuka. The Island of Rarotonga is about 5 miles east to west, and about 4 miles north to south and has a population of about 8 to 10 thousand. There is a reef all the way around the island, with only a couple of small passages that allow a boat inside. Most of the area inside the reef is too shallow for boat passage, but does provide some great snorkeling. Great diving can be done just outside the reef. One of the main sources of income on the Cook Islands is black pearl farming. Most of the black pearls are farmed in the lagoons of Penrhyn & Manihiki Islands. Fishing is another industry that is heavily relied on. There are lots of services on Rarotonga to meet your every need. Activities are plentiful, whether you want to dive, snorkel, swim, kayak, bike ride, fish, eat, dance. Many types of accommodations are available also. Regular air service is offered to Island hop the Cook Islands.
Clip in the paper about the storm we just came through	Tied to the dock in the little harbour.
DAY 23 After a good night of sleep we were ready to get the boat back into some semblance of order. The cleanup from the last three weeks got under way with taking bags & bags of laundry across the street to the Laundromat, disposing of garbage & rinsing & hanging things outside to dry. There was a water outlet on the dock beside us so Will hooked it all up & we had water! And lots of water. We washed down the boat & filled the water tanks. We quickly went and rented a motorcycle and immediately took a drive around the Island. At an average 60 kilometers an hour, we got around the Island in about 40 minutes.

We stopped at Trader Jacks for refreshments. While we were enjoying a cool one, we watched some local young men haul an outrigger out into the water. They were going to paddle around part of the Island just for practice in using the outrigger that was so much a part of their past.

After quenching our thirsts we carried on investigating the shops. I found a local wrap & shirt that I decided I needed to have for these warmer climates. On our tour around the Island we stopped at various places in search of micro switches. After several stops, we finally located a place that had more micro switches than we needed. We bought about six of them due to how we seemed to have been going through them on the fresh water pump. Then we went for a supply of fresh groceries. The Captain had gone on her own to try to locate a friend she met when she was here last time. We met up with her & her friend & then went to "Ara Moana", a fish & chip shop just beside the marina. Oh, it was great to be on land once again. The Cook Islanders have treated us fantastic. They are very industrious & hard working people. They will go out of their way to help you if you are in their shops and stores. One man from the hardware store went all over town looking for a micro switch for our fresh water pump for us. People have come to the marina in their cars, and asked us if we needed a ride any where. The atmosphere is very laid back & relaxing.

DAY 24

We spent this day in doing some more cleaning & putting away laundry. I took all the dishes & pots & pans out of the cupboards to wash. They were all covered with salt water. I also bleached out the head & washed the floors. Because of the humidity & wet conditions inside, mold & mildew had started to grown again. I attacked that with bleach also.

Will was tending to all the mechanical things that needed attention. The fresh water pump had been a real big problem but we found the micro switches we needed so that problem should be sorted out. At least for now.

The next thing to figure out was that "blasted water maker"! Why was it leaking so much water? Will started taking it apart in the morning & worked on it all day. I don't know how many times he took the water maker apart & put it back together to try again. And it still leaked! He could take that water maker apart & put it back together with his eyes closed by the time he finally figured out what the problem was.

The problem turned out to be a cracked housing. The crack was in the seam of this housing so was impossible to detect by sight. The only way he found it was by drilling holes in the casing & hooking up the water maker & looking to see where the water was spurting out.

But he finally found it. Now, the next thing to do would be to see if a part could be ordered from the manufacturer & have it shipped to us here, in Rarotonga. Seemed like a fairly straight forward solution.

Based on how we had gone through water on the first leg of our passage, a proper working water maker was a must. We had more distance to cover on the next leg of our journey than what we had just done.

And, apparently, we were told, there would be no available water supply once we left Rarotonga. Before we even began our journey the Captain had assured us that there would be enough rain that we could count on that as a source of water. This proved to be untrue. We only encountered short lived squalls the whole nineteen hundred & some miles that we just did. Besides which, there was no water collection equipment on board the boat.

Oh, pardon me, maybe this is how she meant we were to collect the water ...??

Well, this was not going to be good enough for us. Water is a critical part of surviving on long passages. Will explained his findings about the water maker to the Captain. Her immediate reaction was that we did not need to get the water maker fixed, we could go the rest of the journey with a couple of extra jugs of water on board & collect rain water!

Will told her that we would not even entertain the idea of leaving here without a proper working water maker. She persisted in her argument that lots of people sailed for long passages with less water than we would have.

Besides this argument, she stated that she was going to sell the excess anchor chain to bring the bow up & make room for the added weight that she planned on taking on when she added more containers of extra fuel & water.

Now we have another asinine idea of the Captain's. If we were to get into a major storm situation between here & Canada, the extra anchor chain could help save us. He told her that the last thing to sell on a boat would be extra chain.

She did not grasp this idea either & still insisted that we could get by with a limited supply of water. Then I jumped in & had to side with Will. I told her that we either got a replacement part for the water maker or a new water maker or she would have to find someone else to crew her boat from here back to Canada.

She still answered with "but.....other people", "but....sell the chain", "but...", "but...", "but..." By this time we were getting very frustrated with the Captain that she could even entertain such an idea, thereby putting our lives as well as her own at risk for the sake of a bit of money!

Will ended up raising his voice to her & asked "What part of this conversation are you not getting? I am telling you that we will not leave on this boat without a proper working water maker! Do you get it?" She looked at him dumbfounded & finally stopped with the "buts".

She finally got it - we would not go any further unless we had a proper working water maker. She consented to see if there was one to be had on the Island. There was none to be had so we went onto the Internet to the dealer & found a phone number to call to see if we could get the part needed to fix this water maker. We were in luck. Although that particular water maker is not being built anymore, they had the part needed & would ship as soon as possible by DHL. We were to check our email to see when the part would be shipped & then check here at the local DHL outlet for its arrival.

Whew! what a thing to go through. We were really beginning to see that this woman did not have a lot of common sense. She seemed to be more difficult & obstinate to deal with than earlier. We had even told her that we would buy a new water maker ourselves when she talked about the cost of repairing or replacing being too much. Relationships between us became quite strained after this little incident.

In the evening we went to the Staircase Nightclub to watch the local dancing. They can sure get your mojo running! They are some of the best Polynesian dancers in the South Pacific Islands. Their costumes are beautiful & the music & drumming goes right into your very core.

DAY 25 Will was heading out to the DHL office find out about the shipping of the water maker part & noticed a sailboat coming into the harbour. Wow, another cruiser - wonder who it is? We soon found out that it was Cookie Cutter with Peter & Connie & Tegan (Peter's daughter). We had met Peter & Connie in Victoria at the Captain's home only months before. At this meeting we commented that, "wouldn't it be something if we met them somewhere in the South Pacific?" They had left their boat in one of the South Pacific Islands & had gone back home to Victoria for a few months when we first met them. They planned on leaving about March sometime to carry on with their own South Pacific sailing adventure. Tegan joined them in Tahiti & sailed with them to Rarotonga. As Cookie Cutter was attempting to get turned around & backed into a spot beside us their anchor got fouled in debris on the bottom. They had to lift the anchor & then Peter had to get into the dinghy to try to get the debris off the anchor & then reset it. After a bit of maneuvering, they got beside us & threw the docking lines to Will & got secured to the shore. Once we said our hellos, Will & I took off to find a phone to call the water maker manufacturer to order the part & arrange for them to ship it to Rarotonga. No problem, they have it in stock & will be shipped today & we should have it a few days after the weekend.
	With this job done, we went back to the boat. Peter & Connie had secured their boat & did their check-ins with the Port Authority & were ready for some breakfast. We had discovered Mama's Cafe. They served good coffee & good food so we suggested that we might all go for a coffee & bite to eat.
After this brunch Peter, Connie & Tegan were ready to sleep. We headed off on our motor bike to do some more exploring.
Typical historic church with cemetery	Old church & cemetery
Marilyn shopping	Local fruits
Rarotonga Lagoon	Rarotonga beach & palms
	The Island of Rarotonga is very beautiful. The growth is incredible. Trees, flowers etc. everywhere. The locals take good care of their yards and houses, and unlike many countries, garbage is almost non existent.

When we finished our tour we went on board Cookie Cutter for refreshments & then we all decided to go across the street to Coco's Bar & watch the local dancers perform.
As Peter was getting into the dinghy to get to shore to go to the show, he had his glasses knocked off. Yup, you're right, they fell into the water. Peter decided that he could not afford to lose his glasses so got his diving mask & light & dove into the water to retrieve his glasses. He was so lucky - he actually was able to find them in the dark.
	Once Peter got cleaned up from his brief "swim" we carried on with our plans to see the dancers. The live music that played there was excellent and we got to put on our own dancing shoes and shake out a few wrinkles. The bar was quite large and was packed to the rafters. Friday night is the big night out for the Cook Islanders and this spot seemed to be a favorite.

We have seen a number of the Polynesian dance shows that are awesome, especially the drumming, which is mostly done on hollow logs. You have to hear it to believe it - the sound seems to resonate throughout your whole body. The elders of the Cook Islands are attempting to teach the young people all the dances & traditions of their native Islands. The young man at the right has the title of best male dancer of Rarotonga. He could dance like I've never seem anyone do before! Absolutely Fantastic performer!

DAY 26 We got up & went to the local Saturday market in search of fruits & vegetables & whatever else we could find that we might "simply need to have." Then we headed to an Internet Cafe to see if we had news that our water maker part had been shipped, but no news yet.
Back to the boat then & Will continued with his maintenance on the boat by changing the oil only to discover that the filter was loose & spraying out oil. So, another clean up of oil done. The next item that needed attention was the head (toilet). It had been very difficult to flush from the beginning. The Captain's husband had done some repairs on the head while we were still in dry dock but whatever it was that he did, did not resolve the flushing problem. Will had done a number of minor repairs during our passage also to try to get the head to flush easier. He had already completed some repairs by using the rebuild kit that was on board but it did not fix the problem. The next option was to take the whole pump/flush mechanism apart & see what was happening. Well, he found out what part of the problem was! He discovered that there were some missing pieces, some pieces that were in upside down & some pieces that were worn out! No wonder it didn't flush properly. The next thing, then, was to reassemble the whole mechanism with new parts installed properly. He tested the pumping/flushing again & still it was hard to pump. Then he decided that there must be something blocking one of the hoses somewhere. This investigation involved taking apart the medicine cabinet & wall to get at the hoses. A pretty labour intensive job to find out why the head won't pump easier. The culprit ...a tiny fish caught up in the elbow of the water intake hose that pumped the water to flush the toilet.
The next discovery was that the wash down pump was directly connected to the Windlass cabling & had no fusing. That answered the question as to why the pumps wouldn't work when the switches on the panel were turned on. They were all wired wrong. At least now that we had discovered this we could use the wash-down pump, by turning on the power to the windlass.
	Starlight Express belonging to Al & Betty from Vancouver, BC arrived here. They are also friends of Peter and Connie's. Peter and Connie did not know they were coming so were quite delighted to see them here. The Starlight Express is heading back to B.C. via the same general route that we are taking.
Getting onto shore from the boats was no easy task. We had to use our dinghy's to go about 10' & then climb up the wall with a not so stable set of metal steps that were hanging on the wall. Later on, the Port Captain arranged to put some proper steps in place to make it easier to get on shore.
From rickety stairs that had been placed there a couple years previously by a cruiser from New Zealand to newer, more stable stairs
The next order of business then, once the new cruisers had done all their check ins, was to get together & swap stories of who has been where & who has done what & who is going where next. What a great day when a new cruiser arrives. There is much to talk about.
DAY 27 Mother's Day in Rarotonga! I went to a local church this morning with some of the other cruisers to a special Mother's Day service. The singing in the church is all done without any musical accompaniment. The church simply resonates with the vibration of the powerful sound of the male & female voices. It is the most wonderful singing I have ever heard.
DAY 28 Peter helped Will try and straighten the bent spinnaker pole today. It broke in the process, so they cut off about two feet, and replaced the end catch. It seemed to work ok after that. Later in the day Will and I went to Trader Jacks to have a burger and a beer. But after looking at the menu, decided it would be nice to have a nice meal. So after appies, a nice entree, and even dessert, we were nicely satisfied. Today Will also managed to fix a broken pot holder on the stove, along with the head door latch, and some broken floor boards.
DAY 29 A cruise ship out of Tahiti arrived today, and unloaded a lot of it's passengers ashore. We decided it was a good day to stay out of town, as it would be busy. I got some work done on the web page, and we did go in and upload it to our web site. Peter, Connie, and Teagan came over to our boat for drinks and snacks.
DAY 30 Will's birthday today. I bought him a new snorkel at the local dive shop. We had the whole crews from Cookie Cutter, and Starlight Express over for a party that evening. During the day Will repaired things again. This time some sail slides, and sail attachments. Had a lengthy argument with our captain about selling anchor chain, carrying more water, and fuel. Anchor and chain is a first line of defense in a drift situation, where you are getting close to a reef or land. We just could not get this through to her. Also Will told her we really did not need all that extra fuel, as he could sail the boat close hauled, and tack as required to reach Hawaii. Again she did not believe him. As it turned out we lost use of our engine soon after leaving Rarotonga, and Will did just that. We just had to prove every thing to this woman.
Day 31 Went to a dive shop and arranged to do some scuba diving in the following days. Also arranged for a refresher diving course for our captain. That night we went to the Staircase nightclub to watch a Polynesian dance show. We were so impressed, we ended up buying their C.D.
Day 32 Today we went and talked to the harbour master, to get information for Margo Wood of Charlie's Charts. We promised her we would get what information we could to help her keep her books current. Also the part for the water maker came in. Will put it all together, and it worked. He also did some more repairs to the water supply for the head, and got that working much better. We also started to do some shopping today to start provisioning for the next part of our journey. Another small argument with our captain about the amount of food we should carry. We ended up giving in to her, with the result that we arrived in Hawaii with almost no food aboard. I believe it is much better to overstock, even though you might end up wasting some in the long run. Our captain was again proving her lack of common sense.
Day 33 Returned the motorbike today. Then did some more provisioning. After that it was more repairs to the wind vane steering system. Another boat, Mica Rose, one of the first American boats we have seen, arrived today. They also took the direct route from New Zealand, and did it in fourteen days, as apposed to our 21.
Day 34 We had to move our boat this morning, as the local patrol boat was coming back in, and we were partially in its spot. Later in the day we went for our two dives with Rarotonga dive charters. They were both fantastic. Peter loaned us his underwater camera and we got some great photos. Peter and Connie put all the photos, along with some of theirs on a C.D. for Will, as a slightly delayed birthday present.
Day 35 Today we have to leave this beautiful place. Our captain clears us out with the authorities, while we do a bit of last minute shopping. We cast off the lines about noon, and head out of the harbour with Starlight Express hot on our heels. We are heading for Aitutaki, and they are heading for Penrhyn, both other Cook islands. Except for the dealings with our captain, we have had a fantastic time. How could life be better than this?