Day 122 Market day

Rarotonga personality
Saturday is the big day at the open air market that is next to the Harbor. There are dozens of semi-permanent stands that sell foods, produce, clothing, tattoos and various souvenir nick knacks. I don't usually take the big camera ashore but I wanted to try to capture the mood of the place so I carried it along.
After buying some vegetables and a breakfast waffle, I strolled around with the camera. At first I tried to take some candid shots with the long lens but wondered if people would be offended by having their picture taken so I asked on vendor if they would mind and got a big hearty smile in return. After that I would go up to a stand and ask if they would smile for a picture. You will see the results... beautiful people looking very happy. At one point, I saw two men talking and asked them as well. They looked a little reluctant (of maybe it was baffled - why would I want their picture) so I told them I was making a slide show on the Cook Islands and wanted to show people what a beautiful place it was. I was rewarded by another round of warm smiles.
In French Polynesia at election time we saw demonstrations by people who wanted independence from France. Even though France appears to provide a substantial amount of financial support, there seemed to be a feeling that French rule was tolerated at best and in Huahine we saw some grafiti that said "No Howlie here" - meaning in essence - white man go home. We never felt any sense of hostility, especially when they learned that we were not French, but there was definitely a sense that they wanted Polynesia for the Polynesians.
The Cook Islands are independent but linked in some loose way with New Zealand. Many Cook Islanders emigrate to New Zealand and some come back years later after they have achieved some financial independence. Also, most of the million + tourists who visit the islands every year are from NZ. The attitude toward the whites here is completely different from that in French Polynesia. People are very friendly and open and they seem to welcome their association with NZ. Almost everyone says hello as you walk down the street and everyone speaks English. Most have travelled to other countries and they do not seem to mind being part of the 21st century.
From what I have seen, I would recommend Rarotonga as a place to vacation.

Day 121 Molly arrives

The Squash club
At 0900 Mark arrived with Molly and Kendall. They came on board with various items they brought with them. One special item was a beautiful card from Tim, Jordan, William and Mowgli that had over a dozen pictures of beautiful little William. Molly made a point of telling me what a delightful little boy he is. I was touched.
Since they had been traveling for half the day, Molly and Kendall left by mid morning to go back to the house for a rest.
I had made arrangements to play squash at 1100 with Ben and Rebecca from Manatee so I walked over to the squash court which was simple but quite nice. Rebecca is a good player and both she and Ben play frequently. I have not played since 1993 and my timing was just enough off so that I lost every game I played although one game went to 10 to 8. I wanted a re-match (after a healthy dose of ibuprofin and a rest) but they were leaving that afternoon for the island of Niue so I won't get a chance for a while.
In the evening, we walked into town for another movie. The show was terrible but the uniqueness of going to a cinema again was worth it.

Day 120 Rainy day

Cleaning the boat.
Molly arrives tomorrow so we want everything to look shipshape. Our plan to get things cleaned in the morning was interrupted by rain throughout the day but finally we completed our work.
Mark's accountant from New Zealand has come to Rarotonga every winter since 1985 and he and several other families rent the same houses on the beach for two to four weeks. They had an extra bedroom so they invited Mark, Molly and Kendall to stay with them for a week. They also have several high school and college age daughters who were going to visit along with some of their friends.
Also staying at the house is another couple from NZ, Frank and Debbie. Frank is originally from Massachusetts but has lived in NZ for 20 years. He is a boat builder who builds large personal motor vessels. His current project is a 186 foot motor launch for a Russian oligarch.
The houses are in Muri Beach which is about 15 minutes by car so Kurt, Andy and I could stay on the boat and still be close if there was a reason to visit.

Day 119 Happy 4th of July

Mooring the boats
The wind blows into the harbor at over 20 knots and the waves, although not large, cause the boat to rock continuously. I don't find this annoying but others on board do so we decided to try to back Southern Star into the only available space along the sea wall.
With two dinghies in the water to act as tugboats and ferries when needed, Mark got the anchor down securely on the second try and did a masterful job of getting Star close enough to the wall so that Andy could take several lines to shore with the dinghy. Jim from Liahona and Ken from Suzanne2 were waiting to take the lines and tie it off to two bollards that defined the boundaries of the mooring. After a line was secured to both sides of the stern and diagonal lines were affixed, the nest of lines astern looked like a game of cat's cradle. At least it was very secure. Finally we used to dinghy to put down a second anchor off the bow so Star would not break loose in these rather unstable waters.
Liahona was a bit different since she is a big catamaran. With an engine in each pontoon the boat is quite maneuverable under power but once the stern lines are secure, it is a bit harder to pull her into the dock. A little extra help showed up in the form of some bystanders who were observing the process and by noon, both boats were secure along the sea wall.
In the afternoon, the sun came out and made a perfect day for our planned 4th of July Bitter End beach party. Just past the airport there was a very nice public beach with picnic tables, a barbecue and a volleyball net. Jim had rented a car so he made several trips to take all of our gear and 4 boat loads of people (Liahona, Manatee, Suzanne2 and Southern Star) to the beach. We put our American flag on the volleyball pole and had a great afternoon and evening playing volleyball and barbecuing. The pictures tell the story better than I can.
We returned to the boats satisfied that we had properly celebrated independence day even if we did not have fireworks.

Day 118 Preparation

Tomorrow is Independence day
We spent the day organizing ourselves. There was the automatic boat cleaning and some maintenance items and we went to the store to re-stock our depleted groceries and buy some supplies for a barbecue tomorrow to celebrate the 4th.
The harbor here in Rarotonga is really an industrial port rather than a yacht anchorage. There dock is stacked with containers and there are lift trucks moving back and forth transporting all manner of cargo from fuel cylinders to vehicles. The black rubber tires of the lift trucks leave a deposit on the dock that gets everywhere. After the complete cleaning we did yesterday, it is easy to see black footprints on the deck even though we put down several mats for foot wiping.
There is an area at the end of the harbor that is a little more suited for yachts but it requires a med moor meaning that the boats drop an anchor in the harbor and then back down toward the concrete sea wall onto which they tie several lines to the stern. The makes a parallel row of yachts facing the middle of the harbor. There are six other boats in the harbor and only seven spaces so we will have to squeeze in. The wind is blowing into the harbor at a diagonal so getting Southern Star into one of those spaces is going to require some careful maneuvering.
Town is a 10 minute walk away and the road is lined on one side with fairly standard tourist shops, mostly selling clothing. There are only a few restaurants and they are mostly a counter with some picnic tables outside. At the other end of town there are a few sit-down restaurants and we chose to have dinner at one on the waterfront. It is nothing elegant but the fish is good and the tables are right on the water.
After dinner we went to the only cinema in town for the first movie of our trip - and it was in English.

Day 117 Rarotonga at last

Avatiu harbor, Avarua
At about 0700 we sighted the island through the rain and mist. It took another 2 ½ hours of motor sailing to battle our way to the harbor of the main town on the North side of the island. At 0830 we talked to Manatee on the radio net. They had arrived on Friday and could give us a report on the harbor.
Manatee's journey had been a little bit like ours. They travelled 480 miles in the first two days and when the weather hit it took them two more days to go the last 70 miles. As Mark would say, "Bleak!".
By 1000 we were tying up to the side of the dock used for cargo ships. We were told they only come in on weekends and we could use this spot until we found a more permanent location. On advantage of this was that it was the more commercial location in the harbor and had services like an industrial strength water hose. Since Southern Star was coated with salt, the more water we could get the better. We gave "the old girl" a nice fresh water bath until she squeaked (when the hull is salty it is slippery but when it is clean, it literally squeaks) and we all felt a lot better.
We walked into town to get a bite to eat and immediately were struck by the fact that everyone was speaking English. It seemed quite startling after three months of struggling with our meager French. The second surprise was that the cars were driving on the "wrong" side of the road. This calls for special attention when crossing the street. Of course this will be the case also when we get to New Zealand but I guess I did not expect to see it until then. One last observation was that the the town was, as Mark said, "Knee deep in Kiwis". This is school holiday time in New Zealand and many families take advantage of the rather low cost airline fares to vacation here. It is a bit like West Coast Americans going to Hawaii for a winter holiday in warmer weather. The strong NZ accent takes a bit of getting used to.
Because Liahona had stopped at Aitutaki we had mostly caught up with them and because Aitutaki is West of Rarotonga, they had a more difficult time making their way to the island. This put them several hours behind us and they did not arrive until mid afternoon.
Like us, the first thing they wanted to do was to get onto solid ground. Both Mark and Jim remarked that the footing seemed to be still moving even though they were no longer on the boat. I had this feeling when we arrived in the Marquises after our 25 day passage so I knew what they were talking about even though this time I did not experience it.
After a clean up of Liahona we walked into town for pizza. During dinner the conversation was entirely about the passage that we had just been through. It was a bit like veterans re-living their time in the war. We did discover a new scale to measure such an experience. On a catamaran (like Liahona) the pontoons normally are the only thing in the water. The bridge that connects them (containing the kitchen and eating area) is normally above the water. When seas get rough the waves can hit the bridge and usually this makes an annoying noise. On this crossing, the waves were hitting with such an impact that all the kitchen appliances were thrown onto the floor. Our conclusion was that, on a scale of one to ten, it is pretty close to the top when you have to tie down your toaster.

Day 116 Really tough going

S 19º47 W 159º48 @0830
Mark's accountant in NZ rents several houses in Rarotonga every year and invites several families to join him for a week. This year, he has invited Mark and Molly so she and Kendall will arrive on the 6th. If that were not the case, it is unlikely that we would have continued on to Rarotonga with the weather as it was.
By the middle of last night it became clear that the last 100+ miles was going to be rough. The wind was blowing from the East SouthEast so it was about 45º off the bow when we set a course southwards to Rarotonga. The swells were still in the 10 to 20 foot range and coming from the same direction. Under these conditions, it was impossible to sail directly South so in the middle of the night, Mark started the engine so we could maintain our intended heading. The boat was now plowing into the waves - every third or fourth wave came over the bow and washed down the sides, the boat was heeled over to starboard (leaning strongly to the right) and being pummeled by the waves. Down below in the galley it was very challenging to stand up and not be slammed against the walls. Up in the cockpit it was wet as the spray from the waves was blown across the boat. All-in-all, this was not a pretty sail.
To make matters worse, just as Mark and Andy tried to furl the jib (roll it up) the furling line parted from being chaffed and the jib fully deployed. We spent an exciting next few minutes while I steered and they did an emergency splice so we could bring in the jib.
The rest of the day was spent hanging on and watching the GPS show us that we were indeed making progress. It was a bit like undergoing something painful that you know will stop at a certain point and being able to watch the progress to the end point - so that becomes the focus of attention. When we were 40 miles away from the island I pointed out that we were almost there. The next day, Mark mentioned that this comment was the only thing that caused him not to call off Rarotonga and head North. We spent the rest of the day and night fighting our way South.