Palmerston Atoll; Cook Islands
08/19/2004 - 08/30/2004
Several miles out of Mopelia atoll we are still waiting for some wind. It is supposed to be 8-15 knots, but we are too early -- for the next 8 hours, we motor. The camera does not capture the large swell that brings Whisper to the top of a hill where we can see for miles, then puts her deep in the trough where all we see is the current wave face and sky. Beautiful.
Four days of motor-sailing
We had three choices for our next destination - Aitutaki, Palmerston, or Suwarrow (a.k.a. Suvarov) atolls in the Cook Islands. We decided to leave Mopelia atoll in French Polynesia, find the best boat speed, wind angle, and comfort -- then see which island we pointed toward.
But first, we needed safely get out of the Mopelia Atoll. Leaving the atoll at the optimum time (current, tide, and sunlight illuminating the atoll bottom features), we motored toward the pass at 10-11 AM. We powered through the narrow 60 ft wide pass with 7 knots of boat speed and 10 knots speed-over-ground to maintain steering in the turbulent water. The three knot outgoing current swept us by the jagged coral walls on each side and squirted us out of the lagoon into a calm sea. Safely outside the atoll, we headed west on a long mellow swell. We don't mind 8 foot high swells when they are at 16 second intervals and glassy smooth.
Sunset on day one was even more dramatic looking to the east. The sky colors reflected on the dark glassy water, interrupted only by Whisper's wake.
We hoped to enjoy great light wind sailing on the 550 nautical mile trip, but the wind was lighter than expected. On this 100 hour trip, over 65 hours of the trip were spent motoring (motor-sailing -- the mainsail -- and maybe a slice of genoa are unfurled to help prevent the boat from rolling in the seas).
After the first 12 hours, Palmerston Atoll looked like the best intermediate stop for a direct-line-to-Tonga route, so we aimed toward Palmerston. Luckily, this was also our preferred destination.
On day one, the winds never exceeded 5 knots. At the end of the first day, squalls caused the seas to build and come from three directions. Without sufficient wind to drive and balance the boat through the seas, things got a bit uncomfortable. We both fought off seasickness with 1/4 Bonine tablet every 4-8 hours for the next 16 hours.
Sunrise on day two of the passage. The wind picked up and we sailed for the first time since the afternoon of day one (sailed for 1.5 hours in 7-9 knot winds). At 0330, we had squalls and wind 15-22 knots with "jerky" seas.
Most of day two we struggled with squalls (gusty winds and rain), with winds directly on our stern exceeding 22 knots. Finally, by the end of day two, we gained our "sea legs" and felt in the groove on our sleep and watch routines.
On day three, we enjoyed some great sailing in 8-15 knot winds -- but only for about 8 hours. By the end of day three, we motored in ultra-light winds.
Day four was a motorboat ride again. Approaching Palmerston at the end of day four (entering day 5), the wind jumped to 22 knots and the last five hours of sailing on flat seas was GREAT!
On the way toward Palmerston atoll, friends Jasper and Flo on Flocerfida called us on the SSB radio. They got us very excited about visiting Palmerston.
One of three main families on Palmerston (all are related) "host" and befriend each arriving cruising boat. We called one of these families when we arrived and they became our hosts. Another option was to just arrive, and they would assign a family to us.
Since Jasper and Flo were hosted by Edward and Simon Marsters (radio name "alpha sierra"), we hailed them on the VHF and they became our hosts.
Robin rocks out with the iPod. We really enjoy the MP3 player while on watch or while the other naps. Sometimes we plug it into the stereo system and let it run for hours on random mode. With over 2100 songs from our CD collection (only about 1/2 of our >200 CD's) on the iPod, we never get bored with the music selection. The 12 disc CD changer sometimes seems a bit repetitive if we don't change the CD's frequently.
Edward collected some basic boat information and our ETA, then informed us we would just miss the lobster feast luncheon. Not to worry, they'll freeze a fresh lobster for us and we can get it from them later. We like this already.
We only averaged 5.5 knots for the entire 550 mile trip. We also burned almost 1/2 tank of fuel! We caught one fish (a skipjack), which we threw back. We read a couple of books, and listened to a few hundred (of the over 2100) songs on the iPod. In the end it was a fairly relaxing passage, but we were ready for a week or so break in Palmerston.
The Palmerston lagoon is very shallow and sprinkled with hundreds of coral heads. It is suitable only for multi-hulls (catamarans and trimarans) with shallow drafts - less than 4 feet. Monohulls (like Whisper) anchor outside the lagoon on the leeward side of the atoll.
The host family came out to meet us in their skiff and directed us where to drop the anchor. The coral ledge outside the atoll has many crevasses and coral heads where an anchor, improperly placed, could endanger the boat, the coral, or both.
The French courtesy flag comes down, and the Cook Islands courtesy flag goes up. Just a smidgen of the main and genoa is unfurled to help balance the boat while motoring.
For such a long motor-boat ride, we sure have a lot of lines on deck to manage the sails. Most of these lines were unneeded.
Finally, Palmerston Atoll appears on the horizon. 550 miles and over 100 hours (65 hours motoring). It has seemed like a long trip.
Palmerston Atoll's North Island. We sail around the lagoon reef and tuck in on the leeward (western) nook of the atoll reef. A family boat meets the arriving yacht and directs it where to anchor.
The outside anchorage at Palmerston atoll looks like we are anchored in the middle of the ocean. A deep coral anchorage with minimal protection from the SE,E, and NE.
Goodly, Edward, and Jock. Goodly and Jock are the Palmerston officials for clearing into the Cooks. Although not an official port of entry, they check us in and pass the information onto the Capital in Rarotonga. Eventually, Palmerston hopes to become an official port of entry. Edward is the head of our host family. Edward, his brother Simon, and Edward's partner Shirley are our hosts.
Edward navigates the small hazardous pass toward the village. Son John asks Flo what cool stuff has she brought in for him today.
Immersing in Palmerston
The "dinghy" pass that enters Palmerston lagoon is narrow and winding, has a very strong current, and is fraught with hazards. For this reason, the host family comes out in their aluminum skiff to the anchored cruising boats to pick the cruisers up. They come out once or twice in the late morning, then make one or more trips back to the boats in the late afternoon.
Our arrival into the family's homestead was a whirlwind of meeting the family and the other cruisers. At one time, "alpha sierra" hosted over twenty individuals from the anchorage. They briefly held a monopoly while we were there, with every cruising boat being hosted by Edward and Simon.
Shirley, Edward's partner was our hostess and she provided a huge lunch spread everyday around 2 PM. You were expected to let them know if you could not make it, otherwise you were invited and expected for lunch. There is no cost. I repeat, it was free. We did not have one New Zealand dollar (their currency) upon arrival in Palmerston, and we did not need one the entire week we were there.
Compared to our experience in French Polynesia, where a similar experience would cost each individual $30 US, this was pretty amazing to us. Our host family opened their hearts, their homes and their hearth and did not expect payment -- only mutual sharing. We shared our hearts, our spare provisions, labor, DVD's, CD's, batteries, fishing gear, photographs, school supplies, etc. This was enough.
The supply boat only comes to Palmerston every 2-4 months, and unpredictably. The islanders appreciate cruisers supplying them with needed materials during the cruising season. Cruisers planning to visit Palmerston are told (via radio) what supplies are needed, and they pick up these supplies in population centers before arriving in Palmerston. These supplies are appropriate exchange for the wonderful hospitality received.
There are only 50 people living on Palmerston atoll -- 30 of these are children! I think we met most of the population in our week there.
Edward shows off his new TV/Stereo cabinet. Bill on Outer Limits just completed the cabinet for Edward, building some of it using local materials. Bill set up a "ripping" saw and guide to enable Edward to rip (saw) local coconut tree wood. The trim on this cabinet is all coconut. Edward's TV and DVD/CD player will be housed on this cabinet.
Steinar from Marialena then applied 4-6 coats of clear-gloss varnish to the cabinet. Cruisers visiting later added a shelf to the inside of the cabinet.
Edward introduces us to the sweet nectar of the green coconut. A long pole yanks the coconut from its stem and it falls to the ground.
A stack of coconuts is then "shucked" by driving the shell (carefully) down on a sharp stake that is embedded in the ground a few feet. The experienced shucker can clean the green shell off the "nut" in a matter of seconds. Once shucked, we placed the liquid-filled coconut centers into the fridge for chilling.
John engages in some dental hygiene. We think (and hope) these were still his baby-teeth. Sweets and candy (lollies) had helped to decay the teeth he is diligently brushing. Dental care and Doctor's visits are also offered by qualified cruisers. Katherine, a doctor and crew member on Outer Limits saw almost every resident of the island while there.
Jasper from Flocerfida tries his hand at shucking coconuts. Jasper was into the local "live off the land" experiences. He lobster hunted, gill-net fished for parrotfish, and shucked coconuts.
Once shucked, a machete, strategically taps a hole in the coconut top. The top flips back to make the sweet juice available to the drinker. The meat is also tasty, but much softer than a coconut that is later in the ripening process (brown).
A bendy-straw would have made this easier, but here goes nothing. Duncan found the juice almost too sweet. He suggests cutting the sweetness with a little dark rum and crushed ice. The white coconut meat is soft, delicious, and easily scraped from the coconut's interior. We let these sit in the freezer for a few hours and they were even better.
Time to explore the village. Flocerfida has been around a week and escorts us around the island. Jasper, Robin, Jasper's wife Flo (Flocerfida), and crew Marcia (pronounced mar-CEE-ah). Marcia is a Brit from Manchester that Flo and Jasper met in Aitutaki atoll. Marcia was looking for sailing and cruising experience. Marcia will sail with Flocerfida as far as Tonga.
First stop, the Administration building to complete our check-in. Simon enjoys a coffee break. Tere (Terry) is the elected/appointed official and is also the husband of Yvonne, the school Principal (and secondary school - adult school teacher).
William Marsters' grave. Died in May 1899 at 78 years old. Three wives and he made it 'till 78! The Marsters family occupies Palmerston today.
The Marsters'
To better understand Palmerston, we need to give a brief history. In the late 1800's, an Englishman moved to Palmerston with his three (yes, three) Polynesian-Maori wives from Penrhyn atoll in the northern Cooks. He established strict rules for inter-marriage, split up the atoll's islands among the extended families, and built a house which still stands.
The official languages are Maori and English and the island is a Cook Island, so it is independently administered by the Cooks for internal affairs, but the Cooks are managed by New Zealand for international and defense related affairs.
The islanders are proud, independent thinkers, and have an international perspective (maybe because of visiting yachts from all over the world). They are Maori at heart, but embrace their Caucasian roots. Palmerston islanders are a beautiful group. The mix has worked well. The Marsters leave the "r" out of the pronunciation of their name, so it sounds like "Masters".
A picture of a laminated picture, of an original tin-type of William Marster.
The Marsters' graveyard. There are several grave sites around the island. Almost all are Marsters family graves. This main graveyard is next to the church in the village center.
The original Marsters home. Built from the lumber and timbers recovered from a shipwrecked lumber-carrying ship. Doubly lucky, huh?
Some of the support beams in the house are 2 feet square and 10 feet long. The weight and strength of this home has kept it here (through dozens of cyclones) over the last 100+ years.
View of the anchorage from inside the lagoon. This picture resolution doesn't work well, but the boats are on the dark blue water, just beyond the palm on the right. This looks much nicer at full size and resolution, but you get the idea.
This is the main trail connecting the Marsters' "alpha sierra" family compound to the rest of the village.
The woods on the main Palmerston island are chock full of Mahogany and other tropical hardwoods. The locals have preserved their beautiful woods instead of cutting the valuable trees out.
The main street of the Palmerston village. A wide, hard-packed, sandy swath lined by coconut palms. In the shade of the palms and other large trees, the families built their homes. We saw one motorcycle and one quad. All other transport is on feet or bikes.
The telco on Palmerston. A large satellite dish, solar panels and batteries, one phone booth, and one Internet connection. The phone uses phone cards and the island's only Internet access is via the one computer in the shack.
The Palmerston "Lucky School". No real explanation on the "lucky" part. It is a nice new school with 5 computers running Windows XP and recent Office software. Night extension courses for the adults teach more advanced computing and business administration skills.
Nearing feast time, Simon (left) arrives with a huge catch of parrot fish. David, Jasper, and John try to "associate" themselves with the big catch by posing for a photo, but Simon was the fisherman that brought them home.
These parrot fish ended up dead and delicious -- curried, baked, and "poisson cru'ed" in coconut milk for the daily feast.
Edward squeezes the coconut meat (from a brown coconut) through a cloth to make coconut milk (left). The electric rasp grinder and splash guard allow the hard meat to be removed from the hard brown nut shell. John (lower left) scrapes each of the emptied shells to snack on any residual coconut meat that didn't make it to the milk-squeezing stage.
A typical afternoon feast. Flocerfida, Dikenja, Marialena, and Whisper are all present. We eat first, then the family sits down to eat.
Edward sings us some fun songs about the Marsters and Marsters family history. We loaned him Robins guitar for the week we were there.
This is one of the small islands across the atoll lagoon. Not sure if it is Tom's island or Primrose island. The land on each small island is split between each of the three main families.
To hear the locals discuss economics and tourism is a real education for us. As travelers -- familiar with tourist destinations, it is amazing what we take for granted.
The supply ship only arrives every 2-4 months. Women having babies prefer the medical care available in Rarotonga or New Zealand. In many cases, they leave their husbands behind (every adult on the island has a government job for which they receive a salary). Since the supply ships are not reliable, a pregnant wife may get on a ship many months before she is due, and she may not return to Palmerston and the father until many months after the baby is born.
On any discussion of an airport or airstrip being built, it is clear the locals are not interested. It has been offered and they have politely declined. They like the few "yachties" that show up here for a few months of the year, and the occasional long-term visitor that arrives via the supply ship, but they have no interest in making Palmerston a tourist destination. It is quiet and safe here. It is paradise and they get to almost exclusively enjoy it -- sharing it with only the few that go out of there way to get here. Why mess it up?
They would like a reliable ship that arrives once a month, but the cost of that is prohibitive. There is no economic or humanitarian incentive for anyone to fund more frequent visits, so for now they get by in their relative isolation.
Bill Marsters. Commodore of the Palmerston Yacht Club. We gave him our 2004 Puddle jump flag from Latitude 38. The yacht club has a roof, a bar (no beverages available) and a bathroom nearby. That's it.
The beautiful (local) mahogany wood table serves as a great congregating place for cruisers. Newer magazines keep the news or gossip hungry up to date. The local kids hang out with us.
Marcia, Flo, and Jasper catch up on the Hollywood gossip while the crew of Whisper read the newest Economist. Just kidding, we skimmed the trash magazines too.
Bill's son, "Mr. Wong" got his nickname because the only food he absolutely loves is white rice.
Up.
Twist.
Arch.
Splash.
Submerge. Dive.
Repeat. A breaching humpback off Marialena's stern.
The leeward side of the Palmerston atoll also appears to be a gathering place for calving and mating humpback whales. We joked that every morning around 10 AM it was "Time for the whale show!". On most days, it was. On the first morning in the anchorage a huge humpback came up between Marialena and Whisper -- heading directly toward Whisper. She (he?) dove just under our keel. We think Whisper's sexy hull shape attracts whales.
Jasper, Flo, and Marcia from Flocerfida. Robin on Whisper. A beautiful day for a beach walk.
An awesome beach rings the main island on Palmerston. We circumnavigate the island on foot.
/>A special charter of the Cook Island police boat brings the voting ballots to the less than 20 voting residents of Palmerston atoll. From here, the boat will proceed north to the Cook Islands northern group.
Marialena, Reniassance 2000, and Moose are anchored next to us in the anchorage.
Sue and Paul Marsters. These parents have six of the most beautiful and well behaved children we've every met -- and they are the most relaxed "parents of six" we've ever met. Here, we are on our way across the atoll lagoon to "find the birds". Sue also brought snacks and beverages for us -- delicious leftovers from lunch.
The Birds
One of the Palmerston experiences we will remember forever is the interesting yet traumatic "Borson Bird" feast and the events that led to it.
On an isolated, remote Pacific atoll, the families that live here have found ways to live off the land. Somewhere in the history of Palmerston (possibly even before -- from the Penrhyn wives), someone found out that the Borson bird was edible, if not tasty. There is a 4-6 month breeding season for the Borson bird, and they use the outer atoll islands for brooding their young.
On the Saturday of our stay, it was time for the once a month (during the short brooding season) to go "bird hunting". Since Shirley was busy with the Police boat (learning to manage the election ballots, and Edward was the local constable, relatives Sue and Paul Marsters fed us well, then asked us if we were interested in going to "find the birds". Since we were the only ones around (everyone else had dispersed onto the island after lunch), we said, "sure, sounds fun".
We explored beautiful and serene "Primrose Island" first. Other than a stick and twine structure used as a frame-roof for a camping shelter, there were no other structures on this beautiful island.
Marion hams it up with her machete. The main island is behind her in the background. It took us almost an hour to get to Primrose island.
On Bird island, a more sophisticated campsite provides a "weekend getaway" for families on this main island. This is Edward, Shirley, and Simon's weekend getaway camp.
As the kids scrambled in the bushes near the shore, the Borson bird parents began to circle us. Now we realize, this was in distress.
A Borson bird chick sits in its "nest". Hidden among the bushes, these young birds are flightless. The slightly larger birds are nearing flight, but in the close quarters of the bushes, they are easy to grab. Other than squawking and pecking with their sharp beaks, there isn't much sport in it.
Once grabbed behind the neck, the Borson bird is easily managed. If necessary, the "flight wings" on the wing tips are plucked to prevent them from flying away.
Fifteen birds (so far) await their trip back to the village to be distributed among the families. We visited one more island -- without much luck before the almost 20 birds were collected. Small Simon is responsible for the piles of surprised birds.
Robin decided that chatting with Ann and sitting on the beach was more fun than watching the collection of these flightless baby birds. We were both fascinated and traumatized by the experience
Cute Ann. Robin and Ann played "paddy cakes" sang songs, and chatted.
Ready to head back to the village with about 20 squawking birds around the gunwales of the small aluminum skiff.
Robin and Ann hit it off. The lovely vine crown will become a gift to Robin. We arrived back in the village very late in the day and completely exhausted.
Robin in her royal crown. The look on her face accurately reflects our mood after the hunt.
A 4+ inch diameter shell on a huge hermit crab. We considered a rousing session of hermit crab racing, but didn't get around to it.
The Borson Bird Feast
The once a month Sunday feast on the Borson bird brought in family from around the village. As usual, the cruisers ate first. We had a couple of new boats in the anchorage that had no idea of the preciousness of the birds they were eating. With only 5 birds allocated to the family and this feast, we took about three bites of breast meat, while a guy on one of the new boats wrenched the bird in half and walked away with half a bird. We worried whether there would be enough Borson for the family. Not to worry, there were chickens too.
After our three bites of the Borson, we realized we really preferred the chicken, so we had no more. The meat was oily and gamey. Since we saw the poor little guys it came from, maybe it had lost it flavor for us?
The Borson bird feast. Plenty for everyone.
The remains of two of the fuzzy young Borson's we met the previous day. In the end, we decided our hunting-gathering skills had been weaned out of us at an early age.
John, Simon, and Alfred. Paul and Sue's boys. Extremely well behaved, articulate, and proud of their family, their island, and their accomplishments.
Marcia, Nga, and Marion.
Photogenic Nga. She may grow up to be a super model.
Simon and Alfred showing us the family and volleyball team pictures. Volleyball is huge on the island, and these guys are all excellent players and competitors. Future Olympic teams should come to Palmerston to recruit players.
Yvonne, the principal and secondary/adult school teacher -- and her daughter.
Polly, the crew member on Renaissance 2000 brought her ukulele in for Paul to play. Music, song, and fun were the order of business. Alcohol consumption on the island was very low -- we saw big Simon with a beer one Sunday afternoon, and that was it.
The three photogenic sisters -- Ann, Nga, and Marion. A great example of the beautiful mix of features in the Marsters family.
Duncan and Irene, from the boat Moose. Not too many other Duncan's out here...
Our departure from Palmerston was fairly abrupt.A large low passed over the area creating north westerly winds that climbed to maybe 15 knots. Even though that is not much wind, it is enough to make the anchorage uncomfortable and risky because of the lee shore of the reef. In the middle of the night, Marialena's anchor chain broke and they were headed toward the reef. Luckily, they woke up immediately on hearing the chain break and motored away from the anchorage. They returned to the anchorage the next morning to retrieve it. From their skiff, Simon and Edward pulled the anchor up first -- followed by 50 or so feet of chain before the chain snagged on coral. Duncan free-dove to untangle the chain end from the coral. This was Duncan's deepest free dive so far -- maybe to 60 feet. He was really out of breath when he surfaced! Moose and Forever left the anchorage and went around to the south east (now leeward) side of the atoll to find a better anchorage or heave to (hang out without anchoring or moving). One boat anchored briefly on the other side of the atoll, but the wind started to switch directions just as they anchored to put them again on a lee shore. They decided to leave Palmerston and sail on toward Samoa.
After a week in Palmerston, we were ready to move west. As the wind shifted to the south, we made preparations for departure. Island Sonata (a catamaran) just arrived and was going to go through the "big boat" pass and moor to coral heads inside the reef and just off the village. We contacted MJ and John on Island Sonata and assured them that we were not leaving because they arrived! Then, we called alpha-sierra and said we were thinking about leaving the next morning (we stayed aboard during the bad weather).
The next morning, Edward came out to return our guitar and DVD's. As a departure gift, he gave us some frozen parrot fish and lobster. As we said our goodbyes, we all started to get choked up. For a week, we were embraced as members of the Palmerston village while sharing experiences with a wonderful family living on a remote Pacific atoll. We learned to respect the concept that to some, there are more important things that economic development. The people of Palmerston have a great thing going here, and they do not want to mess it up. After only a week of immersion in Palmerston, we completely understand.