Palmerston Atoll

Wildfox
Anthony Swanston
Fri 30 Aug 2013 00:13
On Sunday I watched a Norwegian boat go aground in the pass and when it floated off I knew there was enough water for me to get out. I had two lovely days of light weather sailing, albeit in the wrong direction. Wind came through on Monday night but on Tuesday it was clear that I could not reach Palmerston Atoll before dark. I took down all sail and went bare poles until midnight and then some sail. Of course the wind died but I arrived in glorious sunshine at 1030.
Here is the story of Palmerston. An English missionary arrived in 1860. No TV, no internet; Monoply and Scrabble had not been invented and so to amuse himself he brought along three Polynesian wives. His original house built from the timbers of a shipwreck still exists. Maybe I will become a missionary...
You cannot anchor on the coral reef; outside the reef it is too deep and so the islanders provide 9 moorings free of charge. The first boat to reach you is your host for the duration of stay. I give them rope, timber, beer and rum and they ferry me in and out. The reef pass is scary – four knots of current and the deep water turns and twists like a contorted corkscrew – the shallow water is zero. You just cannot do this in your own dinghy.
The officials who came to my boat argued as to whether the population was now 61 or 62; anyway it is small – they live in 11 family groups and every family group is guaranteed one government job. It turned out that I did not have the correct agricultural clearance certificate from Rarotonga and so a nice lady sprayed inside my boat with bog standard fly spray, wrote out a certificate and gave me permission to go ashore.
Ashore there are no shops, restaurants or bars. The Picton Castle (pictured in the Rarotonga report) is the supply vessel for the island. It visits three time a year so you have to be careful to get your shopping list right. The only time everybody on the island gets together is to go to church. And everybody goes to church.
I was sitting quietly in the cockpit having a late lunch / early dinner and three whales surface and blow close to the boat. They pass within 25 yards...

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