Dear F&F,
We\’d heard that when you were at Palmerston the locals did everything they could to \”get some work out of you\”. We were no exception!
As soon as they found out we were SCUBA divers, we were put to work. First, we checked our own mooring to make sure it was in good shape and for the most part, it was. So in \”payment\” for our using Edwards mooring, he asked if we would put in another one for him. We did this as well as serviced two others for him. Then Bob got into the act! His moorings had all disappeared during the last Hurricane. I put 4 new moorings in for Bob. Then Corey, Jock\’s husband wanted me to replace his. I couldn\’t find the giant anchor he said I \”couldn\’t miss\” so that one remained lost. We tried! All in all, a lovely reef which Cindy did one fun dive on with me; but I got to work for my supper….:) My mooring work was particularly appreciated by friends catamaran from South Africa. One morning we saw him drifting away from the reef and hailed him on the radio to wish him a good trip to his next stop, the island of Niue. He called back that I had awoken him and he was sure glad I did as his anchor had dragged and he was drifting away from the reef. If the wind had been blowing the other way, it would have been ugly. He picked his dangling anchor up and picked up a mooring I had set up the day before. He remained firmly attached for the rest of his stay.
On our next to last day, we had arranged an \”all cruisers party\” which we \”boaties\” would bring lots of goodies too and it was hosted at Bob\’s. We weren\’t exactly sure why Edward and Simon were okay with this, but suffice it to say, the \”boaties\” put their feet down. Bob and Edward chewed the fat (literally) and it was a wonderfully successful event. By this time, there were 10 boats in the anchorage so we had quite the gathering and some good breeze to test my new mooring installations. Happily, all were solid including the one holding 60,000 lb. s/v \”Visions of Johana\”. See the Photo Gallery of Palmerston Island for details.
A rare visit by a supply boat also occurred on our last day which made all the locals really happy and lastly, Bill\’s wife was picked up by the Rarotongan Coast Guard to be taken by their vessel 500 miles to testify at an assault trial which she had witnessed a year earlier while visiting Rarotonga, (Capitol of the Cook Islands).
All in all, there are 15 Cook Islands spread out over an area over 1/2 the size of the USA! The largest can be driven around by car in 30 minutes!
All good things must end and after a final tour by Taia and a dinner we hosted for Bob\’s family aboard \”Beach House\”, we reluctantly but excitedly prepared to sail to one of the more remote destinations on Planet Earth….\”Beveridge Reef\”…..stay tuned!
Good bye Palmerston Island, we had a most delightful and memorable experience.
Scott & Cindy