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Skyelark of London - Arrived Suvarov



On Monday night we enjoyed a wonderful BBQ at the new Bora Bora yacht club and discussed with fellow crews the plans for our first ocean passage of this leg. We left behind the unseasonal rain, westerly winds and showers for settled easterly trade winds straight out of the Pacific Crossing Pilot books. Blue sky, gentle clouds and the long lazy swell of the Pacific. A steady F5 from astern saw us averaging 7 knots under main and boomed out headsail the entire way. The apparent wind at 150 degrees lasted the 4 days and an hour of our voyage. By night, a full moon and stars ~ we have now all steered a course by the Southern Cross. The cooler night time breeze sees us sailing the silvery path of the moon on the waves ahead.



To be fair, we had a few squalls but mainly of rain and the wind only briefly touching 35knots. 700nmiles under our keel and the first sighting of a palm tree rising from the horizon ~ surely this must be One Tree Island of the Suvarov atoll. Gone are the majestic mountains of French Polynesia. Here in the northern Cook Islands we find low lying islands or Motos. Nothing here for our Everest climbing crew member David. The highest point of the island is just 15 feet above sea level.



No longer buoys, here just a reef surrounding the lagoon and but a single entrance. A measured approach, aided by GPS but more reliant on the man in the bows calling the course changes to lead us through the narrow channels between the reefs, the colour changes in the water being beyond this correspondents ability to describe.This atoll measures about 10 miles by five. The main island maybe just a mile or so. This is in the middle of the Pacific, and entirely uninhabited. However, in the 1950s the New Zealander Tom Neale spent about 6 years in two spells as a voluntary castaway. We await our first trip ashore to see his dwelling ~ but first we have to brave the half dozen or so sharks circling our ship.



This atoll is visited by but a mere handful of round the world sailors each year, and a warden from New Zealand for a couple of months a year. What an honour to follow in the footsteps of Capts Cook, Bligh, Bourganville and of course Moitessier. Breadfruit, coconuts, fresh raw tuna, and now an entire atoll to ourselves. We shall sleep soundly, on deck and listening to the distant roar of the waves breaking on the reef that surrounds our tiny anchorage. Around us, the anchor lights of our fellow World ARC yachts coming on as the sun sets low in the west, giving an unforgettable backlight to a few distant coconut trees. Far too beautiful to capture on camera, but we will try so we can later share with you all our wonderful experiences.



Gerard







suvarov

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