Written
on Tonga by the crew of S/Y DREAM consisting of: Dennis, Susan, Emil,
Stine, Morten and Marco.
We
left Moorea and hit for Raiatea, which is on our way to Bora Bora. After
about an hour of sailing Dennis heard a strange sound- it sounded as if
the V-belt was slack. When the motor was in neutral we had no problems but
when it was thrown into gear, the motor stopped. Well we had to sail
without motor power. After 80 miles the wind increased and turned into a
storm with lots of rain and a very black sky. We had nothing to steer by-
everything was black and with 5 hands who were all beginners the situation
was far from ideal. Susan was the only one who knew the boat a little and
Stine was the only one who had tried to sail before, apart from the
captain of course. It was a rough night but everyone did his or her best.
Some crewmembers fought bravely with seasickness but no one lost
the good spirit.
When
morning broke we were only 500 m from the reef, we could hear it but it
was shrouded in fog. Dennis dared not go through in this kind of weather
with no motor. We waited outside for an hour and the weather cleared up a
bit. Dennis decided to give it a try but unfortunately the wind had
changed so we had the wind in our teeth. We succeeded and now we only had
to find the anchorage and drop the anchor but nothing happened, the
windlass was stuck. Dennis ran to the deck in order to fix it but
unfortunately he broke a peg on the nut, which is supposed to stop the
chain from running out. The result was that 80 m cable ran out but the
most important thing was: we had made it to Raiatea. Everyone was in high
spirits and we decided to have burgers. After dinner everyone was
exhausted, we had not had much sleep on this trip.
The
next day “operation gear box” started. Even Dennis did not know much
about this gearbox; we had not had trouble with it before. We have made a
change of oil a couple of times that was all. Luckily Dennis had sent a
capsat to Tonny and he had together with Niels Underbjerg, our private
mechanic, found drawings of our gear box and sent them to Dennis’
e-mail. We made a division of labour: Dennis started to disassemble the
gear box and Stine, Emil, Sanne and Nic went to town to pick up the
drawings and to find a local mechanic who was able to deal with our
problems. They returned after a couple of hours with the drawings and they
had talked to a mechanic at a boatyard. He was able to speak English, very
remarkable out here, and furthermore he knew what kind of gearbox we had
and was also convinced that our trouble was due to a couple of bad
bearings. We sailed to the shipbuilding yard and no one noticed that we
arrived under sail only, we actually found it amusing but you have to be
on the ball all the time. We could get spare parts from day to day- from
Papeete. 3 days later the gearbox was ready and Dennis installed it the
very evening and we were ready to leave the next morning. That was nice
because we had some spares for “Evening Star” and they were waiting
for us at Bora Bora.
At
our stay at Raiatea we had some very fine dives. This took place at an old
ship from Nordby (a little island just opposite Esbjerg ) The ship was
called ”Nordby” as well and 100 years ago it shipwrecked here only 20
m from the shore and is now lying on the port side at a depth of 30 m.
Exactly
100 years later “S/Y DREAM of Esbjerg sailed through the same passage,
this time with detailed charts, echo sounder and satellite navigation but
just like “Nordby” no motor. Our sight was no more than 5oo m and the
rain fell in thick jets but we managed to drop the anchor nice and
accurately. Captain Rough Dennis was satisfied and everybody got a
well-earned Hinano, Tahiti’s counterpart to Tuborg.
We
wanted very badly to explore “Nordby” and 10 August we were ready. We
had no exact location of the wreck but tried to guess it. The sight was
very bad and we had to give up. Later in the afternoon we tried to get
some information from the locals. Some fishermen thought that the ship was
only 20-30 m from the shore, if so- the ship must have hit the shore?? We
decided to give it a try the next day.
We
went to the position but could not see any reef. We started our descent
– 30 m free fall. Again we were met with a sight like Danish conditions,
that is 5-7 m, very unusual for a lagoon in Polynesia. After 15 minutes we
found the shipwreck and had some very fantastic moments. After an hour we
had used our air and had to go up. It was impressive to see the former
proud ship almost intact at the bottom of the sea even 100 years after the
wreck. We talked a lot about what happened to the seamen and some of the
locals meant that some of them had settled on the island, to live a life
in paradise. An obvious conclusion, we thought, having experienced Raiatea
and the rest of Polynesia.
We
had a nice sail to Bora Bora and were received nicely by our friends- nice
dinner etc.
4
other boats came along and we had a mega party on the beach. It was nice
to meet with the others again, and our stories became increasingly wilder
according to the amount of alcohol.
Nic
and Sanne was supposed to sign off here at Bora Bora but decided to stay
and Dennis had no problem signing them out of Polynesia and adding them to
the ship papers. Now we left for Rarotonga where we were to pick up Marco
and Morten from Denmark.
The
trip lasted 5 days and the main part of the crew was sick most of the
time. We had the wind from all directions because we were under direct
influence of the “South Pacific Convergence Zone” -not to be confused
with the “Intertropical Convergence Zone” which caused big problems on
our trip from Panama to Galapagos.
We
arrived at Rarotonga and our first impression of the island was –this is
paradise!! Everyone was extremely hospitable.
We
decided to make new bedplates for the dinghy and some of the local
children came to help. Two girls worked all the afternoon sanding and we
rewarded them with biscuits and squash.
Stine,
Emil and Dennis had some nice dives at a place called Black Rocks.
Dennis
and Susan picked up Marco and Morten at the airport and Nic and Sanne
signed off.
We
attended a Catholic service and this was a great experience. People had a
much more relaxed and harmonious relationship to the church than we are
used to in Denmark. Local news and information were brought in the church
and had a social function as well as a Christian. The music and the texts
were modern – the Danish National Evangelical Lutheran Church could
learn a lot here- that is if they intend to get more regular churchgoers??
After
10 marvellous days at Rarotonga we left Cooks Islands heading for
Beveridge Reef, a trip of 480 miles. We were sad to say good-bye to
Rarotonga and to Sanne and Nic but new adventures awaited ahead. The wind
was foul and we barely made 4 knots. It is frustrating to go by motor 3
days in a row; this can be seen in the logbook. Susan wrote: Now I know
why it is called the Pacific Ocean. On the 3rd day we saw
humpbacks this raised our spirits! And 2 days later Beveridge Reef, which
is an atoll, showed up. Dolphins came to greet us and on our way through
the funnel-shaped entrance Emil caught two Black Jacks. It is fascinating
to lie sheltered by the reef (almost a closed underwater circle) in the
middle of Pacific Ocean. Close to the reef we saw rays, sharks and all
sorts of fish and Dennis caught a reef shark.
The
next evening we arrived at Niue having sailed 140 miles. A gorgeous place
to dive, because you have a very good sight. There are only 1800
inhabitants but they are all very nice and hospitable. They have built up
a cosy and well-run community, but unfortunately many inhabitants and
firms have left so to day Niue depends on the 30000 former inhabitants
living abroad and the support they get from New Zealand, a support that
will stop within a few years. There are no white sand beaches on Niue and
that is the reason for no hotels and tourists, apart from us.
We
rented bikes to see the island, which is like a big garden centre filled
with palms trees and overdimensioned house plants. Everybody toots the
motor horn but here they only want you to wave back, in Denmark it means
piss off!
The
following day Dennis, Susan and Emil at
the boat and met with too nosey sea serpents, clouds of yellow
fish, big parrot fish and also a turtle. Marco, Morten and Stine went to
the other side of the island to snorkel in caves. In order to reach the
caves they had to walk a couple of km through a forest wearing swimwear,
snorkels and submarine lamps. Just think what a woodman would think, if he
saw them! Outside the caves they saw signs indicating all sorts of dangers
and that all institutions on the island disclaim all responsibility of
what could happen in the caves. Anyway they put on the masks and jumped
into the water, swam under water to another cave and crossed it. They lit
their lamps because it was total dark. They climbed sharp coral banks,
swam through another lake and ended at a vertical wall. There were no
other ways out so they decided to climb the wall and did not scratch
themselves too badly. Stine only had one line: A good thing I do not have
to go down the wall. But there was no other way out of the cave, so they
realized that it was no tourist route, they had chosen, and started the
descent with a prospect of a 15m free fall and a week in a hospital.
Having searched an exit for one hour in the dark without luck they had to
take the same way out of the caves. A challenging and unique adventure
none of them would have been without. Unfortunately we had to leave the
same evening but Marco had to catch a plane on Tonga 14 September. On our
way we passed the date line and lost a whole day. Monday 11. September was
a very short day…
After
three days at sea, again without much wind but a rowdy motor, we have
reached Tongataapu, which is supposed to be the Pacific´s New York and
the next month and a half Dream will sail between “the friendly islands
of Tonga”
This
was all for this time
Many
wet greetings (it is raining cats and dogs)
Dennis