Suwarrow - put it on your cruising wish list

[killarney_sailor]

Just arrived in American Samoa after spending some time on Suwarrow in the Cook Islands. It is fairly large atoll that is a national park. It is really what cruising is all about I think - remote and unspoiled. Beautiful water and snorkelling and lots of fish to catch and eat. The lagoon has a large population of fairly docile black-tip reef sharks that wander around and are interesting to look at (and yes you can swim with them around).

The Cook Islands government station two caretakers there for the cruising season and they provide a warm welcome for the hundred or so boats that visit each year. It is a good place to stop if you are going from Bora Bora to American Samoa since it breaks the long trip into two nice sections (think 6 days and 4 days). It also gets you north for the transit across the Cook Islands so you are less likely to get nailed by a front coming into the South Pacific Convergence Zone.

[WanderingStar]

Thanks for the report.

[tdw]

Killarny,
A hundred boats a year, I figure all within the same six months or so. How many were there when you arrived ?

[tdw]

Also known as Suvarov. Thought it rang a faint bell ... A Kiwi by the name of Tom Neale lived there for some years in the fifties to seventies.

Tom Neale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[killarney_sailor]

We celebrated Tom Neale's birthday at the potluck when we were there. There were six boats when we were there. In theory, it is closed for six months of the year when the caretakers are not there but there would be no way to know who was there (Cook Islands are not much into the spy satellite stuff).

It was originally called Suvarov after the name of the Russian ship that discovered it in the early 1800s (go figure - apparently they were going from European Russia to Alaska via the scenic route). Suwarrow is the official name now since it works better in the Cook Island language.

[tdw]

Suwarrow it is then. Very beautiful place, certainly worth a visit.

Easier to visit if coming from the east.

[Spyder]

Places like this, however near or far, are what cruising is all about.
Cheers