We’ve been in Niue a week and have enjoyed many of the outdoor activities this New Zealand protectorate has to offer. When we arrived we thought we got the last mooring ball, but it turned out that the anchorage was full, with a record 27 boats. This meant that we had to anchor and then wait our turn for the first available mooring ball (which came open 3 nights later).
Hoisting the Niue flag
On Saturday night, after a great birthday party onshore with the other visiting yachties, we made it back to our boat, just in time for a huge storm that came out of nowhere. The winds gusted upwards of 30 knots and we had 6 foot swells rolling through the open roadstead anchorage (meaning no coral protecting it like we had throughout the rest of the South Pacific). It was so rough on the boat that we thought we had a couple of knock-downs. Peter tethered himself in to the cockpit and maintained anchor watch all night long, as we had boats on moorings fairly close to us. The sound with the howling wind and our anchor chain was really intimidating as the anchor chain dragged back and forth against the rocky bottom. The boat beside us got its’ genoa sail shredded.
We certainly couldn’t complain too much though, as another cruiser just 120 miles away from us capsized their 57 foot catamaran. Luckily they did everything right for safety purposes. They were able to set off their EPBIRB (which is a devise that immediately alerts emergency stations that they are in trouble). New Zealand sent a plane from one of their bases and they located them and were able to divert the freighter that was coming in to Niue to rescue them. There were two men onboard – when the boat flipped the skipper got thrown in to the open ocean. The crew member was able to get below in the hull. This meant that they were separated. The owner made his way to the dinghy and remained there, cold, wet, and thirsty for 18 hours bouncing around in the rough ocean. The crew member got inside the safety hull (designed for protection when a cat flips over). When they were rescued the crew member inside the boat had to swim through the boat to get out. We met them the morning they were rescued and brought to Niue, and Kelly said the scariest part was having to leave the safety of his airtight bubble and swim through debris (everything was upside down of course) to get out of the boat. The emergency escape hatch could not be opened after trying with hammers, the fire extinguisher, etc. This design flaw may have cost him his life if he wasn’t able to swim through all the debris, sails, etc. to get out. The men were both exhausted and drained when they were brought in, but in relatively good spirits with no injuries. They didn’t have any money, or clothes (other than shorts) or passports, etc. The Niue community welcomed them with open arms and provided everything they needed, including a flight home to New Zealand, which they are leaving on this afternoon. Needless to say a lot of the yachties here have reviewed their safety procedures and checked that their EPBIRB is working properly.
While this is a very sad story for the two men, it also has created a navigational hazard as the boat is still floating somewhere at sea on the direct path to Tonga. This is where everyone is heading from here (a 2 night sail). We’ve been in contact with a couple of boats who have since gone to Tonga, and luckily they did not hit the boat. It would be very difficult, if not impossible to see at night, especially since the hull is a dark blue, which would simply blend in with the ocean. It is also unlikely that radar will pick it up as it doesn’t have that much surface area above the water. We all are just hoping we don’t run in to it on the way to Tonga.
Dinghy dock
The island here is very cruiser friendly. The moorings are owned and maintained by the Niue Yacht club – the biggest little yacht club in the world. They don’t have any local members and no one here has a boat. It is strictly designed for visiting yachts and they certainly take good care of you. They have a little clubhouse with free internet access and a café/bar. When you take your dinghy to the wharf, you need to use a crane to take it out and put it back in. It is a really slick system.
Dinghy dock crane
Because there are so many yachties here, it is quite sociable. You can meet up with others at the club or just wandering through the village. Our friends Rob and Ruth from South Africa invited us for dinner on Albatross II, along with a solo boater who was “bottomless” when we went to invite him aboard and another South African couple, who know our South African friends Ian and Sheri from back home. Very small world.
Birthday Party at Yacht Club - Rob, Scott and Cindy & Peter
We've rented a car for the week with Scott and Cindy. There are lots of walking, trekking and bicycle paths, as well as many caves and chasms throughout the island and we’ve only touched the surface of them.
Lots of oceanside caves where local canoes are stored
We went for a fabulous dive with Scott and Cindy (and the local dive company). The dive is famous for thousands of poisonous sea snakes in all different sizes. These snakes are highly toxic and one bite would kill you. Luckily they aren’t aggressive and they haven’t bitten any divers so far. The coral is alive and well here and making the dive really interesting is the variety of caverns and underwater caves that you can dive in. In between the two dives, when you need to have a necessary surface interval before you can dive again, we went in the dive dinghy to watch the spinner dolphins. There were hundreds of them and we were lucky enough to get in the water with our snorkel gear and swim with them. (Deanna and Shelby you would’ve absolutely loved this – I was thinking of you both the whole time!!!!!) Also, while the dive master drove the dinghy while we held on to the outside, so that we were pulled in the water alongside them as they dodged under the dinghy, swam and dove in front and did lots of playing and spinning on the surface. It was such an incredible experience and most certainly the best surface interval ever! Scott took some great photographs and some video, so I’ll try to post that next week.
A local flower on the ground while hiking
On a sad note, we learned of the passing of Peter’s Uncle Don. We send our love and condolences to the entire McRobert family. Uncle Don was a wonderful man and he will be greatly missed by all of us.
Yeah....fresh lettuce
Until next Friday…..hug someone special.
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