Suwarrow

July 28, 2012

This is what I have been waiting for. Suwarrow is the dream that calls so many sailors into a cruising lifestyle. Remote, lush, pristine, and virtually unpopulated Suwarrow offers its raw self to its few annual visitors to explore, inhabit, and love.

To put a finer point on this we have been cooped up in the boat for six straight days while the island has received (I would guess) more than its annual expected rainfall. In the few sunny moments we hop in the dinghy, bail it out for 10 minutes (all that rain could sink a dinghy) and rush to shore.

Once there, we are (often) greeted by Ant or Harry (the caretakers) who are about as laid back a pair of guys as you would expect to find on a deserted tropical island. I chat with them while the kids soar on a swing suspended from a coconut palm. Then we head to the beach for some underwater exploring. Or maybe we circumnavigate half the island, picking up trash that was brought in by the storms.

Every few nights we have a potluck on the beach, last night was Mexican themed.
This is what I have been waiting for. Suwarrow is the dream that calls so many sailors into a cruising lifestyle. Remote, lush, pristine, and virtually unpopulated Suwarrow offers its raw self to its few annual visitors to explore, inhabit, and love.

To put a finer point on this we have been cooped up in the boat for six straight days while the island has received (I would guess) more than its annual expected rainfall. In the few sunny moments we hop in the dinghy, bail it out for 10 minutes (all that rain could sink a dinghy) and rush to shore.

Once there, we are (often) greeted by Ant or Harry (the caretakers) who are about as laid back a pair of guys as you would expect to find on a deserted tropical island. I chat with them while the kids soar on a swing suspended from a coconut palm. Then we head to the beach for some underwater exploring. Or maybe we circumnavigate half the island, picking up trash that was brought in by the storms.

Every few nights we have a potluck on the beach, last night was Mexican themed.
This group of cruisers (6 boats in all) seems to compete for the most elaborate spread. Last night Vick made gluten free key lime pie with meringue topping. To clinch it I torched the top with our Sur la Table kitchen torch. Everyone was duly impressed with how well stocked our galley must be until Vick fessed up that the torch lives in my tool bag and is used to heat-shrink wires. Our friends on Blue Rodeo also brought a key lime pie, and Island Bound brought flan. Waiting through (the equally impressive dinner spread) was a serious test of my self control and manners.

Today we took the dinghy out to a reef that was reported to have manta rays. We ran into our friends on Silos and Kim gave me some tips on free diving (something I’ve been dreaming of doing since my buddy Ken told me about it back in Mountain View). I was having a lot of trouble staying down and not panicking when the spasms started. Then the mantas started to circle beneath me and suddenly I forgot to think and ghosted them for what seemed like minutes at 30 or so feet below the surface. 5 mantas danced with Kim and I until cold and fatigue sent me back to the dinghy. This was one of the most tranquil, beautiful, and unearthly experiences of my life.

We don’t know how much longer we will stay here but I know that when we leave Suwarrow will remain in my memory as the place where I first felt like I had experienced the ideal that I have always dreamed cruising would be.

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