We are in Suwarrow, northern Cook Islands! We had a wild ride here with the most rugged weather we’ve had in over 5000 miles! Sustained 25-30 knot winds, gusting to 40 and 5 meter swell, though fortunately most often from our stern or back port side. At one point, we surfed down a wave at 13.5 knots!(that may not sound fast but for Llyr, that is FLYING!) Our overall speed for the trip was solidly over 6 knots.
The voyage turned really challenging in the last 24 hours. The waves became so big and fast (it isn’t only size that is an issue, but frequency and direction) that Brooks and Connor had to hand steer through the night since Llyr’s autopilot could not respond fast enough to the waves. They took 2-3 hour shifts. Arriving in Suwarrow in the dark at around 5am the winds were forecast to die, but instead picked up again to 35-40 knots in gusts. We weren’t sure we’d make the pass and even considered just heading on to Samoa, a trip of 5-6 days more. These passes into atolls can be pretty crazy, what with tides and reefs and funky currents.
We spoke by radio to a couple of boats in the anchorage who reassured us that we could do it, so we decided to give it a go.
We’d moved beyond the pass and had been hiding out in the lee of the island for a couple of hours to get out of the waves and wait for the light of day, so we had to turn back into them to return to the pass. We plunged bow-first into massive, short-period, five meter waves for over an hour, with winds gusting to 45 knots. Llyr’s bow buried in the seas as we made only 1 to 2 knots headway under full, roaring motor. Brooks wore ski-goggles and was clipped to a lifeline at the helm, working to counter forces of wind and wave and avoid broaching. Thankfully, I’d read about goggles somewhere and we’d remembered to bring a pair, since the waves regularly doused him! When we turned into the pass, it became a surf ride in at 8-11 knots, with Rowan on navigation, eyes glued to Llyr’s GPS track on our charts and google earth maps. Our relief upon entering the pass – which did turn out to be manageable despite the winds, dramatic standing waves, barely submerged reef structures and side shifting current– was immense. Hard to describe. Everyone hung in with only one case of seasickness (Gavin). Brooks and Connor were particularly magnificent at the wheel and kudos to Chuck for sitting up on deck with Brooks with a grin on his face while the waves crashed over them.
This is a spectacular place! Like the outer edge of the world that is never seen. Here is a google image, taken from Wiki. See that narrow pass on the northeast side?!
