Escorting Duties into Alofi, Niue

19-00 S by 169-55 — Niue is the world’s smallest independent nation with only 1200 people on the island. Niue is the largest raised coral islands in the world. It is comprised of one coral limestone island that has an area of 259 square kilometers and a height of 200 feet. It is nicknamed “the rock of Polynesia”. Niue also possesses control of a sunken atoll to the south of the main island, called Beveridge Reef. Like the Cook Island’s, New Zealand is the protectorate of Niue. Even though they are under New Zealand, it is self-governing. Of all the nations, Niue has the most number of politicians per capita one per 65 people. Niue has one flight per week from New Zealand, and mail in and out goes on that flight. There are a total of 50 hotel rooms and the island can accommodate about 120 tourists at a time. Niue is a popular fishing, diving and caving spot. Continue reading

Suwarrow to Niue

Day 2 at sea — After a miserable 45 hours, conditions began to ease some. Not a lot, but some. The waves dropped to 4 to 8 feet. The frequency and forcefulness of the nasty beam rolls lessened a little. The ride went from being super miserable to uncomfortable. Most of our days at sea have been uncomfortable, so we have learned to live with uncomfortable.

One of the things about Niue is  that it is difficult to anchor. Continue reading

Diving All By Ourselves in Suwarrow

We got a call on the radio first thing this morning from a couple we are friends with, Denise and Kip. We first met them in Nuka Hiva and have seen them often in various ports. We mentioned having lunch with them on our first day in Manihi, but didn’t mention their names in that entry. They were getting close to the reef and had recognized Kosmos from the distance. We definitely stand out. Eric gave them the low down on getting through the pass and where to anchor.

We got another delivery of more fish from John. We are not sure what kind of fish it is, but it is enough for three nights. A few minutes later, John called on the radio and said he was organizing a potluck at 1730 (5:30 pm) in celebration of Kip and Denise’s wedding anniversary. Since Christi wasn’t going to be making the fish still left from yesterday for dinner tonight, and since we couldn’t eat the new fish fast enough, we vacuumed sealed all the fresh fish and put it in the freezer. Continue reading

Passage from Bora Bora to Suwarrow

We had a decent passage from Bora Bora to Suwarrow with seas at a rocky 6 feet when we left, working and slowly mellowing out a little each day to nice 3 foot seas by the last day. Up until that last day we were running at 1600-1700 rpm and doing about 6.4 knots. The last day the wind and current both picked up in our favor and we had to slow down to 1400 rpm to keep our speed at 6.4 knots. Why slow down? So we could arrive at daylight in Suwarrow. Continue reading