CIRCUMNAVIGATION NOTES

Peter Radford

(Peter Radford is currently in the Pacific with his Warrior 35 Hunny Bear).

Grenada/Les Roques

In Grenada we met Hugo du Plessis who seems to be permanently anchored there and he regaled us with stories of other OCC members. We were also fortunate enough to see Richard Steel and his family, who told us that Gub Gub is still on the market - she looks very smart indeed. Thence we proceeded to Los Roques and what must be one of the finest anchorages in the world, swept by the trade wind but safe in 30ft behind the reef with the deserted sandy beach of the atoll nearby. Ariba in Los Roques is a perfect place for resting before and after an ocean passage, even your rubbish is collected daily by the launch belonging to the National Park!

Panama Canal

The passage to Panama at the end of February proved quite rough with a large following swell, and on arrival we found that one yacht had been dismasted and another, Wossily Bonc, pooped and broached with consequent damage to the coachroof and flooding below. Transit of the Canal is limited to Tuesdays and Fridays, and on Friday if you leave early and are lucky the pilots will get you through in one day, presumably because the weekend is coming up. The Tuesday transit takes two days. Yachts are rafted up in threes, the centre one providing the motive power and the outsiders the long lines. Even so, four line handlers are required on the centre yacht! Transit is still a bargain at approximately US $125.00, and Colon Yacht Club a haven with its air conditioned bar and sizzling steaks.

Galapagos

We had steady north-east winds all the way to the Galapagos, with no doldrum area of south-westerlies evident. It cost US $200.00 to stay four nights in Santa Cruz, made up of port dues, Guardages, buoy and light dues, and entry fees to the National Park. The Port Captain took the money but gave us no receipt. Few supplies were available as two supply boats had run aground, however the bank now has a telephone with a satellite link. The wildlife is amazing, but about forty motor boats and tourist launches were in the harbour. At the Darwin Centre they had four large tortoises and that's about all!

Marquesas

There were thirty-three yachts moored in Hiva Oa and we were rather disappointed to find no fresh fruit available, in spite of the fertility of the island. Two or three supermarkets are, however, well stocked. Hanamanu Bay is worth a visit and the local people gave us bananas, but we found an abundance of no-nos here and also in a bay on Tahuata island, which made going ashore quite a painful experience for some days after. Talk about '92 being an El Nino year - we definitely know it to be an El No-no year!

Tuamotus

On nearing the Tuamotus we encountered wave and current monitoring buoys. We also found that much pearl farming is being established in the lagoons, and in some cases these have extended to such a degree that the lagoons are inaccessible to yachts - commercialisation has arrived in a big way. Many of the Tuamotus are still worth a visit, though, for the glorious anchorages and the excitement of trying to work out when slack water will be. We eventually discovered that low water seems to coincides with the moon's meridian passage.

Cook Islands

After `doing' the Society Islands we arrived at Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, where we were the only yacht for several days - presumably the rather horrendous pass puts a lot of people off. However a VHF call on Channel 16 will bring a response and details of tides from the local Scuba Dive base, a New Zealander called Neil Mitchell. It is possible to go aground on the sandbars in the quarter mile pass, but fortunately we had calm weather and the outgoing current, which is continuous, was no more than a knot. It is wise to anchor at the entrance to the pass and obtain local advice before proceeding in. Best anchorage once inside the lagoon is in a small pool near the jetty. There are, however, a number of coral head to be avoided and a draught of over 6ft would definitely present problems.

The people of Aitutaki are very friendly and we spent several days touring the island by scooter, listening to the wonderful singing of the congregation at the Sunday church service, helping to mark bearing lines on the deck of the canoe which was to take part in the Raratonga Inter-Island Competition and, most of all, enjoying the hospitality at the Game Fishing Club where the President and members made us feel part of the community.

Nuie or Savage Island *

Five rather boisterous days and nights brought us to Nuie, which is often passed by, perhaps because of its open anchorage at Alofi. There is one buoy available and the local yacht club (which has one small yacht) is hoping to lay a further half dozen or so. Anyway anchoring is not such a problem, although there are occasional westerly winds which make it necessary to leave Alofi.

Nuie is a remarkable island both for topography and friendliness, and you are assured of an unusual experience. The raised limestone atoll has numerous caves, chasms and arches to explore. Since the 1988 cyclone the economy has been in poor shape, as many large fruit plantations were destroyed, and many of the islanders moved to New Zealand. However those who remained are a jolly and friendly lot, for whom nothing is too much trouble. Jenna's Bakery, Sail's Restaurant and the refurbished twenty-room Niue Hotel are the centres of

NB: Further information about Niue Island is available from the Cruising Information Service.

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