This morning we saw the familiar sight of palm
trees on the horizon reassuring us that the earth is not flat and everything is
where it is supposed to be. Penrhyn (Tongareva to the Cook Islanders), is a
large atoll with a population of around 200 and has Free
Association status with New Zealand. After motoring all night and until
noon today in calm conditions, Katie had half the boat washed by the time we
arrived at the
pass. The pass was narrow but well charted and we made our way to the
anchorage with Katie on the bow just confirming what Kurt was driving to on the
electronic chart. The flat calm conditions actually make it harder to see coral
due to the mirror-like surface of the water. Overall, it was one of our easiest
landfalls.
We anchored off the village of Omoka to await clearance.
After a while two officials (Customs $NZ 60 & Health $NZ 25) arrived in a
dinghy to collect our outward clearance, inward clearance, crew list,
declaration of health, vessel registration, nil
list, personal effects declaration, ships prescription drug inventory,
liquor inventory, tender inventory and stamp our passports. Mr. Junior Andrews
and Mr. Tuku Mastu were efficient and friendly. They invited us to church
tomorrow and to a 21st birthday party feast for a young lady on
Monday (the King’s Birthday holiday).
Amazingly, three other yachts also arrived today: a
Canadian, a Kiwi and another American making a total of six now in Penrhyn.
On June 1, 2024, our position at anchor
1200 Cook Island Time
1500 PDT
1000 NZST (June 2)
was:
8d58.80m S, 158d02.94m W
24 hr noon to noon: 192 nm