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American Spirit II - Day 134; Arrived in Suwarrow; & Lots of Black Tipped Sharks; Sunday, May 18, 2014



On watch from 12:00 AM until 1:00 AM. Before turning watch over to Joel at 1:00 AM, I heated up a kettle of water and made coffee for him. He does the same for me at 8:00 PM and 6:00 AM. Since we each like our coffee different than the other, we make it the way the person taking over watch wants it. The only thing better than waking up to good coffee is not waking up and being allowed to sleep thru your watch. Not going to happen.



It was warm during the night due to a little north in the wind. North meaning from the equator. When the wind was from the east or southeast, it was a little cooler. Think Southern Ocean. We had to wear a long sleeved shirt to keep warm. Not last night.



A little history about Suwarrow. This information is copied in part verbatim from the book Charlie's Charts of Polynesia. One of my 30 or 40 pilot books that we use to navigate around the world. Suwarrow is a fairly large atoll, 11 miles across. The largest island in this atoll is called Anchorage Island, where most boats visiting anchor. Makes sense, doesn't it? This is a dangerous atoll to visit. Charlie says: "Many vessels have been lost here and several have sunk within the lagoon where their wreckage is still visible on the bottom. The anchorage is dangerous in anything but stable trade wind conditions." Two years ago during the World ARC rally, one catamaran almost sank in the lagoon. Charlie's Charts go on to say that "...this lagoon is known to have a large shark population." Yes it does. More on that later. The atoll is uninhabited. Park rangers occupy it for 6 months a year. Previously, a hermit named Tom Neale lived her from 1952 to 1978, when he died of cancer. He wrote a book called An Island to Oneself. If you have time and money, I'd recommend you read it. The atoll itself was discovered in 1814.



Instead of doing the 1:00 AM to 6:00 AM watch, Joel went off watch at 5:00 AM, since we were making a landfall at 9:00 AM. One less hour of sleep for me. Oh well.



At 5:10 AM, 10 minutes after Joel went off watch, I got hit with a medium size rain shower. How does he do that? Two days in a row I relieve him and 10 minutes into the new watch I get hit with a rain squall. Another shower makes an approach at 6:30 AM. I get a little sprinkle. Not bad. Its getting light out now, with the sun soon to rise. Dawn of a new day. Lot of blue sky. Should be a beautiful day. The sun rose around 7:00 AM. more. At 7:10 AM I sighted the southern part of Suwarrow. Land Ho!



At 7:30 AM I noticed that the port jib sheet was dragging in the water, under the boat. If we'd started the motor it may have wound around the propeller. That would have been a problem. Dangerous pass, no motor. BIG problem.



We crossed the finish line at 8:56 AM, after sailing 690 miles. Engine usage during that period. Zero. Cool. A really nice sail. As we entered the pass, with no navigation markers, we used our electronic navigation aids to do so. However, its still difficult. And Suwarrow is not a place that we would have entered in the dark. Joel and I will enter most places around the world at night. But not places like Suwarrow. Too many coral heads invisible outside of daylight. And not listed on the charts. In entering Suwarrow our charts and the actual water depth were not the same. To enter after sunset would be a crap shoot. Not smart. At 9:55 AM we were anchored in 65 feet of water, with about 240 feet of chain out. Over 200 pounds of lead chain, plus an anchor weighing over 50 pounds. Thanks God for electric windless's.



And the first thing we saw after anchoring...were black tipped sharks circling the boat. Lots of them. When I went in the water later, I had a 6 foot black tipped shark swim up to me and then away. With my Go Pro underwater camera I think I got some great video. And the water clarity is amazing. Crystal clear.



We ate breakfast at 10:45 AM. Bacon, scrambled eggs and toast.



After breakfast we inflated the dingy, which takes about 20 minutes. Including assembling the electric motor and putting it and the seat and oars in the dingy also.



We both napped from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Dead tired.



At 5:15 PM we left the boat for a party on shore. Most of the 20 boats in the anchorage were in attendance. Most had drinks; some brought their grills and cooked dinner. The 'young' crew built a large camp fire. still going as I type this at 11:20 PM.



Back on the boat, we had blackened chicken legs cooked on the grill by Chef Joel; plus the vegetables from last night that Joel didn't like, peas and carrots. I spiced them up tonight, and he actually said he liked them. Chilled pear halves for dessert; and toast with butter, jelly and peanut butter. And I'd be fibbing if I didn't mention that Joel had some red wine after dinner; and I had some white wine.



Sitting in the cockpit after dinner, looking at the Milky Way and planets above us; and listening to the roar of the waves breaking on the windward side of th atoll, this is sailing. And why we're here. We both wish that our friends and loved ones could be here, too.



How many visitors does Suwarrow get a year? Maybe 50 boats excluding us. The only way to get here is by boat.



349 Days until home.



Brian Fox


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