THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

After visiting Rarotonga, we sailed to Niue, then the Vava’u group in Tonga, followed by Lautoka in Fiji. Niue was by far our favorite, as we enjoyed some decent rock climbing and having humpback whales swim around our boat at anchor and sing us to sleep at night.

After leaving Fiji we had a quick sail with strong winds to the Solomon Islands. At their peak while running, the winds abaft reached apparent 40-45 knots steady with a couple gusts as high as 60 knots. Seas were a solid 20 feet and sometimes jumping into the cockpit……..not so pleased to make your acquaintance mr. wave wee thought. Other thoughts included; glad to have made that water tight engine control panel cover.

Our first anchorage was in Star Harbor on the island of Makira, where we were treated like family by the village chief, Willie, and his wife, Rebecca. They bestowed us with their generosity, presenting us with fresh pineapple, leafy greens from their garden, and they cooked us a few delicious meals of sweet potato in coconut milk, their main diet. The village of Mwarairaro in Star Harbor consists of a few families living in thatched homes and has no electricity. The people live simply with a subsistence based life-style. They have little, but have a lot to give. We responded to their generosity with gifts of fishing hooks, lures, sunglasses, a snorkeling mask, a bracelet, nail polish, etc. As soon as they gave us a gift, we would respond with a gift, which would be reciprocated by another gift, and so the "giving wars" began, each side trying to repay their indebtedness to the other. Graham received a beautiful chief’s necklace complete with shell money, which can be used for purchasing a wife. The giving war culminated in a large feast held aboard Chandrika. Willie and Rebecca provided a variety of sweet potatoes and a hen. At first they were going to give us the live hen the day before, to keep aboard Chandrika overnight and to slaughter the day of the feast. Not wanting to kill, feather and gut the hen on our boat with Squeak’s assistance, we asked if they could do this part for us, to which they kindly agreed. We had a lovely meal.

the primary school in Mwarairaro village

Casper (the village chief's nephew) with his wife and children

After hopping across slippery mangrove roots we reach the village's old drinking water source. Here is chief Willie with our local guides.

The children in Mwarairaro village have a natural sense of balance and were soon walking across our slack-line with ease.

The police stopped by, disappointed that we had failed to sail half way down the island chain just for the sake of government paper work (‘haus bullshit’ in Pidgin English proper), and kindly informed us we must leave next day for the city of Honiara. The night before our hasty departure, Willie and Rebecca came by to say goodbye and to present us with a very kind letter. Rebecca burst into tears as we gave her a goodbye hug. We will dearly miss our friends in Mwareraro village in Star Harbor.

Together with our friends, Rebecca and Willie, aboard Chandrika

We are currently in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, taking care of business, before we depart to explore more of the small villages on the outer islands. 24 November, 2009

RAROTONGA

Rarotonga is the largest of the Cook Islands and is home to the capital of this independent nation. Vegetated volcanic peaks rise up sharply in Rarotonga’s interior making for excellent hiking with spectacular views. As in the Societies, the hikes are strenuous and often involve fixed ropes up steep eroded inclines. Rarotonga’s booming tourist industry feeds the economy, providing well-paved access roads and established trails, which are all shown on the tourist map available at the information center.

While in Rarotonga, we enjoyed speaking English with the locals (as this nation was formerly a New Zealand colony). We also appreciated the variety of locally grown vegetables and being able to find imported mozerella cheese for our home-made pizza.

The Needle

One of our favorite adventures was climbing one of Rarotonga’s most prominent features, called the Needle. While most likely metamorphic, this 150-200 foot spire resembles harder igneous rock, such as granite. After hiking to the base to survey what equipment we would need to climb it, we discovered an easy route up the Needle’s east side. We decided to give it a go without ropes and gear. A few tricky moves up a wide crack led us to a path, which we followed to the base of a chimney. After shimmying up the chimney, we reached the top offering a view of the entire island. A few days later we would climb it again with our friend, David, on Tystie.

David in the chimney

July- August 2009

FROM FRENCH POLYNESIA TO RAROTONGA IN THE COOK ISLANDS

Rarotonga, in the southern group of the Cook Islands, lies 540nm distant from Bora Bora in French Polynesia. Because of our previous light wind passages, we were looking forward to the forecasted wind speeds ranging from 15 to 25 knots. The winds during our southwesterly passage were expected to shift in a counter-clockwise direction and were predicted to turn full circle. While this would mean that the wind would be right on the nose during part of our journey, the wind was predicted to only be brief and light from the southwest and would soon return to moderate SE trade winds (25 knots predicted). We sailed out of the cut in the reef of Bora Bora on July 20th in ideal conditions. Once outside the pass, with calm seas and 20 knots abeam, we were reaching in the SE trades at a swift 6 knots under full sail. For the next day and a half, we enjoyed pleasant sailing as the wind gradually shifted to the east and then the NE. By mid-day on July 22nd, our wind stopped. We could see squally weather in the distance and we sat and waited for our expected shift in wind. When our wind returned, it hit with surprising force. It was blowing 30 knots, which would have been fine except that the wind was coming straight out of the southwest (the direction we were trying to go). The wind also came with stronger gusts in the 40s and lower 50s. We beat our way forward into the building seas. By morning, the winds (still from the SW) had increased with sustained wind speeds between 40 and 45 knots with gusts in the lower 50s. The seas were confused and were probably around 20 feet in height. We could feel Chandrika being lifted by the swells and then dropped into the troughs with a loud thud against her hull. By this point, we were both beginning to grow sea-sick. The thought of food was nauseating. Periodically, we would poke our heads outside to look for ships and to check the sails. If we needed to venture outside to alter course or make an adjustment, we would quickly slide back the hatch, jump outside, adjust our Monitor self-steering system, and then leap back down below, trying to do so quickly before a breaking wave would douse us with salt water or splash through the open hatch. Occasionally, as Chandrika dipped into a trough, green water would pour over her bow and rush along the deck. Due to the confused nature of the seas, a breaking wave would periodically hit her sideways with a loud thud, sending spray flying. With our double-reefed mainsail, we decided to heave-to, a technique in which the sailboat lies with her bow quartering the oncoming waves as the vessel slowly slips downwind, creating a slick of calmer water upwind in her wake. As soon as we hove-to, the motion felt more comfortable. As we lay on the sole (floor) of the main salon on our settee cushions, we managed to struggle down some much needed dry cereal. We remained hove-to for 18 hours, as we slowly ate and regained our strength. The wind was gradually shifting to a more favorable direction; although at the time it seemed to be doing so incredibly slowly. At 4 am on July 24th, we resumed sailing in a gusty 25 to 45 knots of wind at a beam reach using a triple-reefed mainsail and our staysail. Within 24 hours, the wind had shifted to the East and had subsided to 20 to 30 knots, The seas had also decreased to 12-16 feet. At 1pm on July 25th, we finally dropped sail and motored into Avatiu Harbor in Rarotonga. After a lot of anchoring, re-anchoring and shifting around, there was eventually space for us to tie to the wharf next to the other sailing vessels. July 2009

THE SOCIETY ISLANDS OF FRENCH POLYNESIA

Upon departing Tahanea in the Tuamotus, we were again plagued with light winds. In an often constant state of experimentation on sail trim, weather helm, point of sail, and sail area/ combination, we were gaining on Tahiti, 3-1/2 days away. Well vegetated, the volcanic up-thrusts of the Societies are protected by barrier reefs and surrounded by a ring of calm, protected aqua blue water. We utilized the benefits of a first world country, such as paved roads and developed hiking trails, while ignoring the tourist industry’s recommendations and requirements of hiring a guide. Directions to a trail head were similar to those given by a taxi driver, only to be punctuated by fear of lawsuit. Trailheads were unmarked but effort and persistence paid off. We got everywhere by bicycle or on foot, which only added to our long missed and much enjoyed full days of exercise. Peaks came in and out of the clouds as we ascended their ridges and valleys. A day in our own private swim hole in the jungle was an enjoyed rarity compared to the long, narrow and often exposed ridge walks. The steepness of the ridges, sometimes resembling irregular elevated stone sidewalks allowed for both nice views and a good bit of shade first through the larger trees and tree ferns, followed by shrub brush, tree entanglements, and small fern groves in the windier parts, starting at about 1200 to 1600 feet above sea level. Hanging ropes were common as was the question of whether or not to trust them. It was 5:45am on the island of Moorea as we biked the 27 km to Mount Moa Puta, rising 2600 feet above Chandrika. Taller than wide and wider than narrow, the peak is shaped like the blunted tip of a knife. At the top of the sharp fin, a hole penetrates through the center, making the summit the top of an arch. Our goal was to reach the summit and then rappel inside the hole. The trail climbed steeply up until it crossed the top of a waterfall and followed along a river. It then split off from the river, where we quickly gained a ridge. The ridge climbed up steeply along loose earth. There were fixed ropes along much of this section to prevent erosion and to keep us from slipping. The summit offered gorgeous views of the coral reef below. A short scramble down the far side of the peak brought us to a bolted anchor, where we hung our climbing rope and rappelled inside the hole below the arch. To ascend back out of the hole, we climbed back up to our anchor on the crumbling rock and scrambled back up to the summit. We then reversed our steps and returned back down the trail. By the time we reached our bikes in the mid-afternoon, we were quite tired and were looking forward to returning home for a big meal and a good night’s sleep. As we approached our bikes, we discovered that the seat to our folding bike had been stolen and the thieves had released the air in the back tire of our other bicycle. On closer inspection, we discovered that our bike lock had been dented, as if someone had tried unsuccessfully to smash it with a rock. Fortunately, we had carried a bike pump with us, but we were not looking forward to biking the 27 km back to Chandrika standing on the pedals the entire way. With our terrible French, we attempted to ask around the neighborhood to see if anyone had seen anything suspicious. At one home, we met a kind English-speaking Polynesian woman, who was concerned about how we would return to our boat without a bicycle seat. Her teenaged daughter then offered us the bicycle seat off of her own bicycle that she no longer used. With relief, we begrudgingly accepted the gift, happy to know that we would be able to get home and would be able to use our bicycles for more adventures in the Societies and beyond.

Moa Puta

climbing out of "the hole" on Moa Puta

Often on our hikes and explorations, we enjoyed the company of various fellow cruisers. Despite the large scale of the South Pacific Ocean, there is not much land, and we see our friends at various anchorages. Our exploration of the Societies also brought us to the Leeward Islands of the Societies, such as Huahine, Raiatea and Bora Bora. In Huahine, we met up with Kirk on Salsa and Martin on Anima. Kirk, always looking for entertainment, proposed setting up a zip-line from the top of his mast to the mast of neighboring Anima, anchored about 200 feet away. As the zip-line idea did not involve the mast of Chandrika, we were more than happy to give it a try.

hiking the narrow Rotui ridge in Moorea

a view on the hike of Mt. Pahia in Bora Bora

June-July 2009