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THE ISLAND OF SUVAROV (SUWARROW)

Anchorage Island

Now this is Paradise!! A huge atoll lagoon with many motus (small islands formed on the reef), reefs that abound with lobster (crayfish), clams, hundreds of fish, coconut crabs, hearts of palm.  A caretaker, along with his grandson & nephew are the only inhabitants on this tiny Cook Island.  They are only here during the cruising season which is May to October & then they go back to Rarotonga to wait out the hurricane season.  Evidence of storms is very much apparent on these tiny motus of the Suvarov atoll.  You can see debris high up in the trees & bushes.  Papa John, his Grandson Totoo & his nephew Baker were on this tiny Island when we arrived.  They had only arrived a short time before us. 

There was much work to do to clean up the beaches of strewn debris from the previous stormy season.  We spent a whole day, along with Lyn & Raymond (fellow cruisers there before us) helping gather fallen coconuts, palm fronds, driftwood & dead branches & piling & raking & then burning.  It was a big accomplishment.  While we were there we formed the "Suvarov Yacht Club".  I printed off some membership cards & for a donation of $5, we became Charter Members.  Hopefully other cruisers will buy their Membership to the Suvarov Yacht Club.  The money is to be used by Papa John (caretaker) to provide him with items necessary to keep up his excellent job of welcoming the cruisers to his little Island Paradise.     

"Take But Nothing, Leave But Footprints"

Looking out into the lagoon

DAY 44

An alarm clock on a cruising holiday? If we wanted to go fishing with Papa John that is what we needed to do. We were up at 6 am & ready to go shortly thereafter. We had arranged the day before to be up at the crack of dawn to go fishing with Papa John, Cook Island Style!

He picked us up in his 18' aluminum boat with a 25 horse power motor & we went trolling through the passage in the reef.

We used nylon lines that were about 100 lb. test  line & a bare hook rolled onto old floats. The motor was going almost full tilt when Will threw out his line behind the boat. I was on the other side of the boat & did not have my line all the way out yet & got a hit!

I hauled the line back in & found a small tuna attached!  Wow! We threw our lines back in again & boom!! We each got more hits that produced about 9 fish within 30 minutes. Now that is what I call fishing!!

When we got back it was still very early in the morning so we had lots of time to do more things. Papa John was anxious to continue with our "lesson" in survival. He then took all of us out in his 18 foot aluminum boat in search of lobster or what some refer to as crayfish.

We went out to a part of the reef that surrounds Suvarov & all climbed out of the boat & onto the reef. A little anchor was set to hold the boat in place & we walked on the reef following Papa John's every move & looked where he was looking & got lobster. And we got lobster! He knew just where they hid in the holes in the reef.

And we also got giant clams. Once caught, Papa John showed us how to clean the clams. It did not take long before we had a bountiful catch & would have a gourmet meal this night.

Once the coconut was shredded, Papa John would put about a handful onto a piece of palm frond lining (similar to fine burlap) & squeeze out the cream. Coconut cream can be used in many different dishes but Papa John used this cream for the tuna dish he was making.

The fish were cleaned by Totoo & Papa John started to prepare a raw fish dish using the fresh caught fish. Another fish was prepared & cooked in the outdoor oven.

We had a banquet fit for Queens & Kings!!

Cook Island people are by nature very happy & enjoy music & dance as a very important part of their life & culture. We shared some of the Cook Island music that we had with them.

We went back to the boat both exhausted from the day's lessons & bountiful meal plus all the laughter. Tomorrow would be another full day of new adventures.

DAY 45

After a restful night Will decided to do some more troubleshooting & repairing.

The first thing to malfunction today was the stove. It would not light. It appeared that some corrosion caused some electrical problem. He sprayed on rust protector to try to get more life out of the panel.

The next thing he decided to attack was the engine alarm electrical problem. Upon closer troubleshooting he discovered that there really has been a legitimate problem with the engine overheating.

The alarms were really working the way they should be. Apparently the alarms were going off for good reason. It appeared that the "Captain's" "expert mechanic" mislead her into believing that the engine alarms going off were nothing.

The next task was to flush out the heat exchanger on the engine. This was accomplished by soaking it in vinegar & manually cleaning out the holes with a wire.

Will also discovered the alarm panel wire was damaged & that someone had wired the alarm wires altogether including an exposed wire.

He also determined that there was probably something wrong with the injector system & valve guides in the motor.  Without proper testing equipment, this seemed the only thing that could be wrong to be making the motor behave the way it was. A qualified mechanic with all the testing equipment would have to determine what was wrong with the engine once it was back into port.

Nothing more to do but put the heat exchanger back together when all the sediment was dissolved & hope the engine would get us to Hawaii.

In the meantime Will attempted to repair the fuel gauge that sits inside the fuel tank. This proved to be not an easy task as the gauge suffered massive corrosion & was difficult to solder the wire back on.

Will also fixed the electrical problem Papa John had with the battery charger.

We decided to do a bit of snorkeling in the lagoon but because of all the sharks that live there, Totoo went with us to ward them off. He had his trusty spear at the ready should any get too close. He relished the chance to hone his skill at spear throwing.

Day 46

Another day in Paradise! We all helped to clean up the beach area & around the house. We gathered fallen coconuts, palm fronds & debris into pile & set them to burning. We raked & tidied up a whole lot today & by the end of it were all tired.

We took some time out to go swimming & snorkeling again but was a bit unnerving with all the reef sharks coming around to investigate us. Apparently they are not harmful but there are other types of sharks that come into the lagoon that are.

Totoo & Papa John were quite anxious if any of us went into the water. They kept a close eye on us & the sharks approaching.

Papa John once again was our chef for the evening meal. He cooked up some more of the fish that we had caught as well as more crabs. 

We also consumed copious amounts of coconut milk, fresh out of the shell. Coconuts are very plentiful & the milk is quite refreshing.

There is no fresh water on this little Island. The only fresh water that is available is from rain water that is collected & stored in two separate cisterns.

The one water catchment's cistern is under the floor of the cabin that the caretakers live in. The other is a cistern in the ground a couple hundred feet away from the cabin. The water from this reservoir is used primarily for washing laundry.

There is also no electricity on this tiny Island. A generator is started up usually at night for a short time for lighting & to charge batteries.

The caretaker has a marine radio that is used to report in to Rarotonga daily.

Generally the only way that supplies get to the Island of Suvarov is when the Caretaker is dropped off at the beginning of the cruising season. If more supplies are needed during the few months that he is there he would radio in to Rarotonga & request the necessary items & the next people heading in this direction would drop them off. Careful planning & provisioning was necessary for them to be able to stay on the Island & look after if for the few months each year.

We were fortunate enough to take advantage of their fresh water for showers a few times during our stay as well as to use some water for laundry.

We did not use their invitation to use the shower daily knowing that their water supply was very limited. Our Captain, however, had no such compunction to using up their limited supply of fresh water for her daily shower.

DAY 47

Ahh......So this is what paradise is all about!! Crystal clear waters, beautiful coloured fish, slight breeze to cool down from the hot sun. No urban noises, no hurrying to go anywhere, no phones, no television, no airplanes, no boats (other than one other cruiser anchored here), no other people. So tranquil, it is breathtaking. It is not difficult to forget that there is more to the world than what is here right at this very moment.

This tranquil Island Paradise would be shattered by another "incident" involving our "Captain." Let me explain.

Remember I mentioned about all the reef sharks in this lagoon? Since we set anchor we have been surrounded all the time by reef sharks circling & circling, ever watchful of any movement from us. We would come onto the deck & not see any sharks but within minutes they would be back to their surveillance.

For fun we wanted to see if they would be aggressive at any point. We had some spoiled leftovers & moldy oranges so we threw them into the water & stood back to watch.

Wow! The water started to boil with all the sharks fighting over what we had thrown in the water. They had hailed a bunch of their mates & were frenzied to get what we had thrown into the water. I would not want to be in the water at the same time.

So, now you say, how does this tie in with our "Captain"?

Well, you see, before we put the boat in the water in Whangarei, the Captain's husband had taken off the brass intake water screen to clean & forgot to put it back on.

The Captain decided that Will should put it back on while we were anchored here in the lagoon. We both just looked at her with unbelieving faces & our mouths open. She had witnessed the feeding frenzy with the sharks & the number of sharks that were hanging around & she wanted Will to get into the water with all of them around??

He told her no, he would not do it. She then suggested that the caretaker, Papa John do it. We told her that we did not think that was a very good idea at all & that that would have been taking advantage of Papa John's good nature. After all, Papa John is over seventy years old.

Besides, we had already gone half the passage without it on; we could carry on the rest of the way. Luckily, she dropped the issue. She wouldn't do it herself, so why would she expect someone else to do it?

We learned that there will be another cruiser coming along any day now & that he is a surgeon & will take out the tooth that is causing all the problem.

Papa John has nevertheless been very hospitable despite his pain. The Captain has been asking him constantly to take her in search of some rare shells as well as to go out to some other areas to snorkel.

Today he has agreed to take all of us out to search for some shells. Papa John is not one to sit around so he got in the water & went snorkeling & diving in search of some shells also.

Now, if you know anything about diving, you will know that as you descend in the water the pressure gets greater & we knew that the pressure would cause Papa John even more pain. The Captain was so insistent about getting shells that she did not consider that Papa John was in pain.  She just wanted shells. We could tell that he was indeed, in a great deal of pain while diving for shells but kept going anyway. The Captain ended up getting some nice shells thanks to Papa John.

He was also quite reluctant to take us out to some of these reefs because of the danger of sharks & not just reef sharks. While we were snorkeling, Totoo kept his eyes glued to the water & spear readied at all times.

We did get visited by a tiger shark as well as blue tipped shark & those were only the ones we were able to catch a glimpse of. 

DAY 48

Papa John took us on a picnic, Suvarov style. We all got into his boat & headed to another of the tiny outer atolls in the lagoon. He was going to show us how to search for coconut crabs & teach us how to cook them.

The sand on the beach is made up crushed coral & shells.

Once the fire was going good rocks & chunks of broken coral were placed on the fire to get hot. When the rocks & coral was the correct temperature the crabs & lobster were spread out on them to cook.

After turning a few times the food would be ready to eat.

They collected a number of coconuts & Papa John showed us how to string the coconuts together for easier carrying.

It looked so easy watching Papa John, but the only one that managed to actually make a plate was Will. Then Papa John made a basket while he was waiting.

Some of the legs of the crab were too hard to break apart with our hands so we had to bring in some natural implements (rock) to break them open. It worked great!

The taste of these crabs & lobster is about the same as what we have at home - very good eating!

What a feast we had again. Papa John was sure true to his word about us not going hungry on this little Island Paradise.

After lunch we started to walk back along the beach to the boat & head back to our own boat.  Another fantastic day!

DAY 49

We were to have a pot luck tonight so the Captain contributed some food to be taken onshore to share with everyone else.

Will & I did our laundry on shore & went to hang it up between the palm trees.

Three times we hung it up & three times it fell to the ground & three times it had to be rinsed! The rope that was there was rotten from the sun & weather & kept breaking. Finally we got a piece strung up that held & we were able to get our laundry dried.

We were told today by the Captain that the boat won't be sailing from Hawaii back to Vancouver. 

We had also talked about leaving here tomorrow but that won't be happening either.

Because the engine on the boat definitely had a major problem in that it had no power to propel the boat through the water, we were faced with the dilemma of how to get the boat out of our anchorage.

We had had enough time to see what the layout of the lagoon was & where the coral heads were & Will determined that there would be no problem with sailing the boat out. We did not need to have a motor.

The Captain was totally against this idea. She did not believe that Will could actually sail it off the anchor & avoid the hazards & get out of the passage.

We had a chance to talk to Raymond & Lyn about our "misadventures" with our Captain & her boat. We needed to talk & vent some of our frustration, so, they got some details of our adventure. They didn't have too many comments at this point.

Day 50

Our lessons continue today. We went to visit our hosts in the morning & were eager to learn more. So far we have learned how to catch fish, crabs, lobster & clams. We learned how to get the green coconuts out of the palm trees & cut a hole in the top to drink the milk, & we learned how to get the "apples" out of the brown coconuts.  Papa John showed us how to extract the cream from the shredded coconut.

The next thing to learn was how to find & prepare Heart of Palm.

The day was a bit cloudy & windy but no rain to speak of. The water on the little Island would be getting low with no rain since we got there.

We decided not to abuse the hospitality of Papa John by using the Island's limited water supply for daily showers. The Captain however, had no such ideas & kept using their water supply every day for showering.

We were able to make contact today with our friends in Chilliwack, BC. It was so great to hear from them & find out that our little dog, Shaman was fine & enjoying the company of their dog, Barclay.

DAY 51

There was much excitement today. The awaited surgeon arrived today.

Soon, Papa John will have his toothache taken care of. And while we were meeting & greeting the Captain, Ken,  from the Catamaran "KenB", another boat arrived.

And they were expecting to meet another boat here also any day.

Our Captain ran into some coral heads & broke the dinghy engine shaft rendering it completely irreparable & inoperable. We had a lot of action going on this day!

Ken B was a Canadian who had moved to Virginia years before to practice medicine. He now has been retired for quite some time & spends his time single-handing his catamaran throughout the South Pacific.

Of course, we all swapped our stories. "Funny" thing during this conversation, Ken was telling a story of his own & explaining the importance of having the sails set properly to "balance" the boat in certain sea conditions. Our Captain did not have much to say at his comments.

You may recall that she took down our foresail during heavy seas on our passage to Rarotonga from New Zealand & would not believe what Will told her about the importance of having the boat balanced. Ken just confirmed what Will had told the Captain about the importance of having the boat balanced.

We learned that the research boat, Savannah was actually owned & operated by a couple from New Zealand. They were doing research on the number, type & location of fish primarily in the Cook Islands. They also brought some more supplies for Papa John from Rarotonga.

The Captain was making several trips between the boat & shore. She was taking advantage of the water once again for showering & laundry.

Will & I stayed on the boat & watched the Captain's comings & goings. On one of her trips back to the boat we observed her trying to start the outboard engine. She pulled & pulled & pulled. She could not seem to get it going. She finally ended up attempting to row back to the boat.

That was also quite an exercise. She did not appear to know how to row in a straight line & had difficulty coming up to the boat. Will told her to use one oar to straighten herself out. She grabbed one oar with both hands & started to row & ended up going in circles.

She eventually got back to the boat & told Will that she could not get the motor to go into gear. She got into the sailboat & Will got into the dinghy.

He noticed that the motor was in gear! Then he attempted to move the propeller & it moved freely indicating that something was broken. She had not mentioned one word about having hit something.

He questioned the Captain, "...did you hit something?" She meekly lifted her head & replied that "...yes, but I didn't hit it very hard."

He told her that you did not need to hit it really hard for it to break because it was made of hardened steel. If hit the right way it would just snap right off. She then replied back to him, "... that it must have been an accumulative problem & that was why it broke!" Again, he had to explain about metals & how they break or don't break.

Well, the "not very hard hit" ended up breaking the main propeller shaft in half, broke the gear & twisted the propeller shaft.

Great! Now, not only do we not have a working boat engine, we do not even have a backup motor! Incredulous! How could she possibly hit the coral heads? The water is crystal clear! How better does the visibility get? Not much!

Unbelievable situation we are in now! Needless to say, we were just a bit upset with the ineptness of our Captain.

What was she going to do next to further compromise our situation with a neglected boat?

DAY 52

We were up & at it about 6 am to go fishing once again with Papa John & Totoo. This time we only got two Barracuda. We trolled the same as we had the previous time but not much luck. We should maybe have been out a bit earlier than we were. Oh well, two was better than none.

The Samoan fishing boat arrived & got it's supply of fish bait from Savannah & then headed out again.

We went with Papa John & Totoo out to the research boat & then we all headed for the little Island of Seven Sisters, close to where the entrance to the lagoon is. We were going in search of some more fresh crabs. Gregg & Nicki were going to get a lesson on collecting coconut palm crabs.

Gregg put his big boat onto Auto Pilot & we headed for the little Island.

After we all got back from Seven Sisters Island, we went ashore & watched & did what we could to help get our evening dinner ready. We would be having fresh caught fish, crabs, & coconut pancakes. Our newcomers will be treated to a feast, Suvarov style!

Papa John is a wonderful person with a big heart.  He is very proud of his little Island & so very happy to share his knowledge.  He has worked for years & years with the all the Cook Island people from most of the surrounding Cook Islands.  He has even taught his people how to farm the oysters to produce their famous 'Black Pearls".  The Black Pearl industry is one of the main sources of income for the Cook Island people.  Papa John is also teaching his Grandson Totoo the ways of the land & customs. Simple "Thank You" did not seem adequate enough to show our gratitude for his hospitality & sharing his culture with us.

In trying to still do something for Papa John, the Captain gave him all of our fishing gear from the boat as well as dishes & cutlery & anything else she thought we would not need for the rest of our trip.

DAY 53

The day has come for us to leave this Island Paradise. The morning started out with a heated discussion about how we were going to get out of the lagoon. Gregg had said that he would tow us but the Captain declined his offer. She said that Papa John could do it the best because he knew the lagoon like the back of his hand & could steer us away from any hazardous coral head & rocks.

Will told her that he did not agree with this method of getting us out of there & I agreed with him & told the Captain so. She then told me to "shut up", that she was talking to Will. Well, as I saw it, the decisions she made on this boat affected me as well as Will & I was not in any hurry to get into the type of trouble that we could if we went along with her scheme.

Will explained to her that if she was going to enlist the help of Papa John that he should hook on to the sailboat at the base of the mast & not beside our boat. He said that the chance of his boat banging against the hull of ours was a real possibility.

He stated that he would not help her in this undertaking.

She did not quite believe him so asked him flat out if he was refusing to help & he replied that he was not going to go along with this method of getting us out.

He did however build a sling to use to tow the boat from the mast. He also put up the main sail in preparation for sailing out.

It was the only thing we could do especially since we did not have an engine. We would have to rely exclusively on our sails to get us out of any situation we might encounter.

The Captain did not like his answer so called one of the other cruisers over to the boat to try to enlist his help in getting us out. He was quick to see the situation for what it was & gracefully said he could not help & left.

The Captain tied Papa John's boat to the port side of our boat instead of at the base of the mast as Will had suggested. Once we were tied to Papa John's boat, the Captain took the helm to steer the boat & out we were going. So far so good? Well, not exactly.

You see, as it turns out, the Captain really did not believe that Papa John knew the way out of the lagoon & kept steering away from where he wanted her to go.

He would motion for her to go straight & she would turn straight & then a few minutes later she is steering away from the direction he was indicating.

Papa John was steering his little 18 foot aluminum boat & would motion again for her to straighten out. Totoo was in the bow of their little boat & was getting thrown back & forth & could see what was going on also. He would yell at her to straighten out.

She would get going straight again for a few minutes & then she was back going the direction she thought she should go instead of where Papa John was indicating. Her direction would end up with us running afoul with coral heads!

Again Papa John would motion & Totoo would yell for her to go the direction they were indicating.

Will & I were on the deck watching what was going on & at this point we realized that she really was going to do us some damage if she did not listen to Papa John's direction. We both ended up also having to yell at her to straighten out.

During this fiasco she is telling me to watch off the side for coral heads! She really did not believe anyone including Papa John! Still she ignored his directions!

By this time Papa John had towed us into the channel between the reefs. The entrance through the reef had six to eight foot standing waves. The standing waves were being caused by the tidal outflow of the lagoon, meeting the ocean waves, which were coming from a different direction.

Again, the Captain kept steering away from the direction that Papa John wanted her to go. 

This ended up in his boat being out of the protection of our boat & resulted in his boat being tossed up & down about 70 degrees. With each action, the aluminum boat would smash into the hull of the sailboat. The fenders in the meantime were useless with all the action of the waves so the boats were completely unprotected from the smashing.

The Captain realized that the fenders were not protecting her boat, so left the helm to go & look over the side to see what was happening!

She actually left the helm while we were being tossed around as if we were in a washing machine.

Not only that, Papa John & his grandson were being thrown from one side of the boat to the other. On the one side they almost got bashed into the hull of our boat & on the other they almost got tossed into the sea.

Totoo was trying to hang on with all his might but didn't have anything to hang on to. He would get his fingers cut off if he hung on to the side of the boat that was against ours & was afraid to hang on to the other side for fear of getting thrown into the water.

Will & I could see where this was leading so quickly helped Papa John & Totoo get their boat untied & set free of us & out to safety away from our boat! They were in real danger of being very seriously hurt.

We could see the other cruisers standing on shore watching this fiasco unable to be of assistance.

We had already raised the main sail, so when the small boat was untied Will quickly got the foresail up to sail us out of this channel.

Now, also, to note here. If the Captain had gone & looked on the other side of the Island in the morning, before we left, she would have noticed that the wind, wave and tidal action was creating some good standing waves in the channel where we needed to go. If she had any common sense & had gone & looked at the passage she would have known for sure that her method would not work. At this point, there was nothing for us to say because she would not have believed what we told her anyway.

So now, both sails are up & the Captain is at the helm & we are still in the lagoon with reefs around us. This would not be a problem though because Will had the sails set for the wind direction & we could safely sail out through this passage. So we thought.

The Captain however continued to display her lack of experience in sailing by losing the course & headed us in a collision course with the reef. Will saw what was happening & told her to "..turn up, turn up."

Well, she did not understand or comprehend what was necessary & turned too far in the opposite direction. She back winded the foresail heading us on a collision course for the reef on the other side of the narrow channel this time!

Will then had to do an emergency tack before we came to a complete stop & got pushed sideways into the reef. Speed was of the essence to avoid a disaster.

Will took control of the helm & got us headed in the proper direction & proceeded to adjust the sails once again to get us out of danger of the reefs in this passage. We narrowly  missed going aground against the reef!

Once we safely outside the passage & course set for Hawaii we both sat in the cockpit & started to shake & wonder "what the hell had just happened?" Our hearts were racing like crazy & we were pretty shook up. We couldn't believe what had just happened!!

After we got calmed down a bit, Will called the Captain to have a chat with her. He asked her if she realized what she had just done & how she had nearly caused a tragedy with Papa John & Totoo as well as ourselves & the boat.

She looked at both of us with a kind of blank expression & said that she had done nothing wrong & that she did not endanger our lives or anyone else's. She took no responsibility whatsoever in what had just happened.

We were incredulous that she had no comprehension of the danger that she had just put us through! There have been many boats that have gone aground & lives lost on the reefs here.

This Island is hundreds of miles away from any civilization. There are not even any jet trails in the sky from planes flying over this area. It is too far away from anything for an afternoon visit or any sort of emergency help. This truly could have been a disaster!

This situation could have been avoided if the Captain had believed in Will's skills & let him sail the boat out.

This last "little" incident was the end of any respect we had left for this Captain. Her actions clearly indicated that she had no respect or regard for our lives or our safety, let alone her own.

It was going to be a long, long passage to get to Hawaii. Previously we had discussed stopping at Penrhyn Island, Christmas Island & maybe one or two of the Kiribati Islands, but after what we just went through, we were all of like mind to get back to Hawaii as fast & as soon as possible.

Even if things had not deteriorated to this extent, the Captain did not believe that we could set an anchor while under sail if we wanted to stop at any of the other islands.

So, the sails were set & we were on our way to Hawaii. It was going to be a real challenge living with this woman for another three weeks in close quarters.

The Captain had gone below to assess the water damage that had occurred because she neglected to close her hatch in her haste to get out of the lagoon.

We had all the hatches closed while Will was spraying off the dinghy before departing. He then stowed it in preparation for our passage. When he was done the hatches were opened once again & did not get closed prior to leaving while under tow.

The Captain was not paying attention & did not secure the hatches properly herself & then blamed us for leaving them open on purpose. More water soaked bedding & clothing was not something that we looked forward to again so why would we intentionally leave the hatches open?

This boat is what is termed a "wet boat." Water was constantly coming in through the hatches & in particular the companionway hatch. Will fastened a piece of clear plastic around the navigation station where the radios & computer were, to protect from the water constantly splashing in.

When the water came in the companionway it soaked whoever might happen to be standing in the galley as well as dumping salt water all over the stove & into to the cupboards. Everything that was metal ended up rusting.

And so, the last leg of our journey was beginning. It was going to be a long, long journey to Hawaii with no engine in the boat or even a dingy motor. We just hoped the sea gods would be with us & that we would not need the assistance of a motor.

We were also very tired of dealing with the Captain & were anxious to get this journey over with. Any ideas of me staying in Hawaii & Will going home & then me continuing with the Captain to take the boat all the way back to Victoria was completely out of the question.

The sooner we ended this relationship, the better. We could not imagine what the Captain might do next to endanger our lives through her ignorance or ineptness.