Cook Islands

26 August 2024

Cook Islands

After leaving the Society we set course to the Cook Islands. We had the trade winds blowing from the southeast and we made good progress the days after leaving Bora Bora. Even with reefed gaff sails we would still zoom along at 7 or 8 knots. The nights on deck were pleasantly warm and the moon lit up the night skies during our short crossing. We arrived well on time at our destination, so we were all eager to go on shore. Unfortunately Rarotonga only has one small harbour on the northside of the island and this one was closed due to the swell running straight into the harbour basin.

So we spend our first two nights at anchor on the westside of the island. We couldn’t go on land, but the anchorage turned out to be truly amazing! As soon as it started to get dark we heard whales blowing very close to the ship (or were we just dreaming?). The next morning the daylight came and proved our whale sightings true. All day long we would see humpback whales surfacing around us!

In the breaks between the whale sightings we kept ourselves busy and turned the ship into one big playground. We enjoyed paddleboard races, tours through the engine rooms, rope-splicing classes, treasure hunts, listening to the history of the Oosterschelde and a quiz night.

After the swell getting lower we were welcome in the port of Avarua. The harbour is really not that big, so the ship looks very impressive here and all the islanders are very happy to see us. All the time there is people coming down to the dock to admire and compliment the ship, we have already made it to the front page of the “Cook Islands News” and even a local artist or two came by to make sketches of us laying at the quay.