Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There
Sadly, many sailors bypass the little island. Those traveling via the northern Cook Islands
often head to Tonga nonstop rather than facing winds and seas from forward of the beam.
Happy winners of the South Pacific weather lottery, we snagged a perfect window of ESE
winds for a brisk four-day, 560-mile beam reach from Suwarrow. Wind direction is less of
an issue for cruisers who arrive via the southern Cook Islands, although that route often
brings capricious winds (calm today, blasting tomorrow), a result of greater proximity to
low pressure systems tracking to the far south.
Few Pacific landfalls are as laughably simple as arrival in Niue. Except for a few FADs
(Fish Aggregating Devices marked by large orange buoys), the island is free of any off-ly-
ing dangers. It's a straightforward matter of pulling into the deep, wide bay of Alofi and
picking up one of NYC's twenty hefty moorings. Curious sea snakes popped their heads up
as we made fast to one of the many free moorings and took in our new surroundings. We
were reassured to learn that the fangs of these venomous reptiles are located so far back in
their narrow throats that it is virtually impossible to get bitten. Yes, cruising is a great learn-
ing experience, and on our way across the vast Pacific, we shed one paranoia after another:
first our fear of sharks, and now, our instinctive aversion to sea snakes.
Having triumphantly announced our arrival to Radio Niue and conquered the notorious
dinghy crane (more on that later), we were greeted with a friendly “Welcome to Niue!” by
customs officials on the wharf. Soon, we were walking south past Alofi's “commercial cen-
ter” (a sprawling, one-story building subdivided into small shops) to Niue Yacht Club, “the
biggest little yacht club in the world.” Run entirely as a volunteer effort by good-hearted
people such as Ira Merrifield and Commodore Keith Vial, NYC offers boaters warm
showers, a cozy reading corner, free Internet, power outlets, and a small bar area open six
days a week. They even hosted our son's ninth birthday party in the clubhouse, going so far
as to decorate a table with balloons and a colorful tablecloth for the special occasion. For
an optional NZ$20, we couldn't resist the impulse to join NYC, whose membership ex-
ceeds the island's population of 1,500. Thanks to Ira at NYC and the extremely helpful
tourist office just a coconut's throw away, we soon had all the information needed to ex-
plore the “Rock of Polynesia.”
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