The Long Way to Niue

We expected a passage of approximately 10 days from Bora Bora to Niue, covering approximately 1100 nautical miles. It took us 25 days. That is longer than our passage from Mexico to the Marquesas! How did this happen?! We had a stopover of 17 days at a small atoll due to intense weather.

As we departed Bora Bora we already had our eyes set on a brief stop in the atoll. We knew a massive weather system was coming through that would stir up winds and seas that posed a potential threat to our boat. So we made a little progress towards Niue and then stopped for what we initially thought would be a few days. The few days melted into a few more days and then into a few weeks. We found ourselves in a bustling atoll with one local family and about 20 other boats hiding out from the storm for an undetermined amount of time. While holed up, the first major system passed and we watched massive breakers smash against the outside of the lagoon, 20-25 foot tall walls of splashing water exploding on the outer reef at times. It was a little bumpy inside the lagoon, but not too bad. Next, on the heels of the storm, came the tsunami warning from the earthquake off Russia’s Pacific Coast. The warning for our area was minimal with a 1- to 3-foot water level rise forecast, and a footnote that lagoons within atolls would feel an even smaller impact. We felt nothing in the protection of our wonderful atoll, but it certainly gave us something to talk about! We tried to leave once, as did about seven other boats. We all paraded single file over to the narrow pass and each took our turn looking at the pass and watching the massive breakers smash across the opening. The sea state was still kicked up from the previous storm, and the current flowing through the pass was exceptionally high given the extra water flowing out of the pass that had entered the lagoon during the storm. One by one, each boat turned back to the safety of the anchorages, including us. We later learned there was a warning out to mariners that day for an exceptionally high sea state, informing people to not attempt to go through passes. It was an affirmation that we made the right choice when we turned back to the anchorage. In Tahiti, it was the biggest swell seen in 15 years. During our 17 days in paradise limbo we moved anchorages twice to accommodate shifts in the wind direction. We enjoyed fresh coconuts, walks on the lagoon and ocean sides of the large motu, sundowners with friends, a haircut, a friend’s birthday party, diving, snorkeling, swimming, completing a puzzle (first time since departing Seattle), and making bowls out of coconut shells. We tackled a few boat projects, including pulling out the Sailrite sewing machine to make a few new sun protection covers, and prepared to leave again and again. We obsessively watched the weather, and discussed the weather with our friends constantly, as we grew keen to get moving. Finally, the day arrived when we had good enough weather to: 1) get out of the pass; and 2) make the 7-day passage to Niue.

Seven days at sea were a refreshing return to the active ocean after our long layover in the atoll. We started out in very light winds, motorsailing for about 36 hours, easing back into life on the open ocean. Then the wind picked up and filled in, and the hole we were expecting filled in too with light winds that were just enough to keep the sails full. This is our longest passage since crossing the Pacific and it feels good to be back in the simple rhythm of keeping watch, eating, sleeping, and checking the weather. Sea birds visit us most days, making passes around the boat with inquisitive eyes. We did not see another vessel for the entire passage. We kept in touch with friends who had also escaped the lagoon via SSB calls in the evenings. We celebrated Kris’ birthday at sea during the passage, with a festive meal of macaroni and cheese and pineapple cupcakes as the sun set over the waves and a massive rainbow appeared. Watching the sea and sky is restorative, even when the weather gets rough or the boat throws us a curveball.

We had one exciting night where our nerves were tested. Around 2am Kris noticed the metal attachment point on the boom (outhaul car) for the mainsail clew had split! The mainsail was loose, flapping in the light winds. Metal fatigue happens, and luckily the winds were light so the sail was not flogging around wildly damaging itself or other things. Together we reefed the sail and lashed the clew to the boom. The next day we added a second lashing to reattach the clew to the outhaul so we could sail again under full sail. A few hours later, around 4:30am, the mainsail sheet slid out of the clutch during a jibe resulting in the boom swinging out much farther than planned. Together we managed lines and were able to feed the sheet back into the clutch and get the boom back into place. This all happened during a calm night where we were sailing along at about 4 knots in 8-10 knots of wind. The calm conditions lasted for the following day which we greatly appreciated after not getting much sleep the night before. That evening the winds picked up again as did the sea state, making for a bumpy though not terrible ride for the next 3 days. We reduced sail area with 2 reefs in the main and 2 reefs in the jib to slow down. Ideally, we wanted arrive in Niue during daylight hours. If we had gone forward with more sail area in the 20 knot winds we would have arrived in the darkest hours after sunset and before moonrise. Wind speed shifted over the last few days and we adjusted our sail area and configuration accordingly. The swell continued to build and was coming from two directions, resulting in confused seas and uncomfortable conditions onboard (but definitely not the worst we’ve had). The weather window wasn’t perfect, but we had to leave the atoll and make our way west. There was only so much food onboard!

And here we are, a total of 1076 nautical miles from Bora Bora, completed in two segments with a “brief” stay at an atoll in the middle of the Pacific. We plan to stay here in Niue as long as the weather allows us to visit this island nation and explore its natural wonders.

Next Stops: Enjoying Niue, then on to the Kingdom of Tonga