Friday 31 October 2014

Lots of Photos from Suwarrow

We did not have internet in Suwarrow and it was so slow in Niue so ... you now get a rather large dump of photos from our two weeks in Suwarrow ...

The water was rather clear

Although having a yacht just downwind that recently sank was sobering


And of course the laundry never stops ...

Happy boy in his tub

But how do I get over this hurdle ?

It was getting hot so two of our three windscoops were up

Tiny puffer fish that Victoria found (and returned promptly to the sea)

This was, of course, the home of Tom Neal, for many years.  He wrote "An Island to Oneself".

Another sunset in paradise.

Don't fall please

And more laundry

And more sharks ...

Baking day.

More baking.  Note of course with true multitasking the corrosion preventative, 3M adhesive and some epoxy putty on the table too ...

What do you mean this is not a normal baby toy ?!? Note the new baby fences behind Benjamin.


Coconut water ...

and Coconut Crab



Coconut Husking

Outside the lagoon

And more sharks ...


Yes, another sunset in paradise ...

The kids helping the ranger and his wife with the weeding.

A filleting lesson from Harry the Ranger for Max.  The fruits of our fishing outside the reef.

Another sunset.


The RNZN comes to visit


Grey Shark

White Tip Reef Shark.  They are really funny as they can't see well and run into things.

Drying our laundry by moon light.

More fishing from the RHIB.  All three on a handline.  Note the shark hoping, invain, for a portion of the catch.

Cruising ... Maintenance in exotic locations.  Liz sewing the staysail.

Cruising ... Maintenance in exotic locations ... refilling a propane tank by the gravity method (thanks SV Estrellita for the guidance)

Johnathan likes coconut crabs.

The flag that the kids did for the "Suwarrow Yacht Club"



Our flag hanging beside our friends and mentors SV Totem (Check out Totem's blog as it is amazing - they are also now a feed into Sail Magazine's SailFeed)

And, time to go ...


9 comments:

  1. Awesome photos thank you for sharing .

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  2. Absolutely beautiful! Do you dare to swim, or are the sharks temporary pets in your backyard? I am very curious on how you refill the propane. I checked the Estrellita website, and couldn't find it. Do you have a link or can you do a "tutorial"? Thanks! Oh, and I love Jonathan's hair! :)

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    1. Based on what we have learned form other cruisers and locals in the islands themselves is not to worry about the black tip sharks as long as you have not put something tasty in the water like fish entrails. We also now do not dump meats overboard near our boat. In the Cook Island and most of FP we almost always had our pet sharks under the boat. It is a bit unsettling working under he boat with them working. In Fakarava I dove with grey sharks and they were not a problem but since then in the Cook Islands I had a grey being aggressive with my inflatable (!) SUP and one took too much of a interest in Victoria while snorkeling so now, after some guidance from the locals in the Cook Is, we give greys a wider berth. We think we saw a mako in Niue. It didn't pay us any attention but a bit like dealing with black bears at home we gave it a wide berth.

      Propane: in a well ventilated area ... With no open sparks ... Hang the full tank upside down as high as practical. Empty tank low and right side up. Connect the two tanks (you need to make an adapter by buying a local fitting in the country you are in). Open the top tank. Open the bottom tank. Watch the liquid flow to the lower tank. If the liquid flow stops prematurely then, carefully, bleed off a bit of the gas from the lower fitting. Did I mention no smoking ? It goes faster if you heat the full tank and cool the empty tank. It takes several hours so ... A beautiful beach and book is recommended. Also google has tons on this and I think TiFou and Livia from Estrellita have a youtube video on it.

      Max
      Fluenta Chief Propane Officer

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  3. WOW WOW WOW!!!

    We are sitting here in Sydney Australia in refit mode and now we really can't wait to get out there! Also really glad to see we are not the only boat with nappies drying on the lifelines.

    Googling your propane tip as well.

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  4. I have just finished reading Tom Neal's book - an Island to Oneself - fantastic book and your pictures are exactly as I had imagined it to be!
    I must get there myself.

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    1. Thanks - I haven't actually read it yet. On my shopping list ...

      Max

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    2. Hi Vikki, fun that our crosses passed in Christchurch. I knew I recognized your website address from somewhere. Cheers, Max

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