The residents of this unique atoll are all descendnts of a single settler. William Marsters, an English carpenter from a passing ship, settled this atoll in 1863 with his 3 Polynesian wives. He then had 17 children (at the time,) and 54 grand-children. His descendants have traditionally welcomed seafarers for many years. Although Palmerston is administered by the Cook Islands, the family was granted full ownership of the island in 1954.
Nowadays, there are three families (about 60 people total) living there now and they "sponsor" or host the yachties who stop there on their migration westward. They say about 60 boats per year take an open roadstead mooring and visit the island.
During our stay, there were eventually 9 boats in the anchorage and the yachties were split up between the 3 families. We, along with 3 other boats, were sponsored by Edward and his family.
We contacted Edward and his nephew-in-law Will in advance of our arrival. They very much appreciate it when cruisers are able to transport specific requested supplies/goods to the atoll. Contact info: edwardjohndickmarsters@hotmail.com and/or willrowenaut@gmail.com.
As Tom and I attached Cinnabar to her mooring buoy we were pleasantly surprised to see a long, sandy beach lying parallel to the wind. This could be a possible kiting location! And with the big winds coming up Tom might be able to get some more days of kiting under his belt. He was excited.
Every morning the local pangas would drive out the pass to the mooring field, pick up their yachties, and transport us to the various beaches and houses to spend the day with our sponsors, walk around the island, or do whatever we wanted.
On Sunday we all attended church. The ladies were instructed to wear a hat and dresses that come below the knee and don't show shoulders.
Sure enough, the winds came and Tom was able to get in 4 days of kiting.
It was so windy that one of the heavier boats broke its mooring and had to re-moor. Edward and his son came out to drop another mooring and attach it to CINNABAR and Y2K (a Beneteau) as a backup. Luckily we stayed secure.
Snorkeling the reef from the boat was also excellent, very healthy coral, giant napolean wrasses, and lots of fish life. The occasional turtle would surface nearby and we got daily visits from humpback whales. Tom even saw one whale in the water when he was doing an underwater repair.
Since there are no stores or restaurants on the island our host families would feed us a big lunch every day. Often it was their locally caught parrot fish prepared in numerous delicious ways. Catching and exporting parrot fish is the islands one industry. Each family has several large freezers which hold the parrot fish fillets until the supply ship arrives to bring goods and take the frozen fish back to Rarotonga to be used by the resort restaurants. An impressive solar farm (~120 panels, ~40 kV?), installed in 2015, replaced the island's generators and allow the residents to keep as many freezers running as they like.
Other amenities on the island include internet, wifi, cell, and TV service (all by satellite), a school and teachers, health clinic and nurse, water catchment systems, tractors, quads, scooters, workshops, and a mahogany tree forest. However, there is no suitable big-ship pass into the lagoon, nor harbor or wharf. Also, the residents continue to veto building an airport of any sort (in order to maintain their semi-isolation).
One of the other sponsors, Bill, invited us to have ice cream at his place every day.
We were compelled to stay an extra day since host family Bob was throwing a birthday party for their yachtie, Anthony from Australia. All the yachties were invited and we enjoyed a table loaded with meat, fish, poisson cru, rice and vegetables. And a chocolate birthday cake!
I was shocked to see a California Chardonnay on the table. Anthony had brought it and he told me it was his last bottle. I got so excited he generously filled my glass up to make sure I got plenty.
On the mooring and mostly protected from the E to SE swell, we waited out the wind event in relative comfort, although it did get a bit bouncy at the end. After enjoying the extreme hospitality at Palmerston for a week we were ready to head to our next destination, the island of Niue with a short stop at Beveridge Reef (weather permitting). After Edward and his sons brought us out to Cinnabar for the final time we urged them to stay aboard for some cold beers and conversation. Edward played my ukulele and he and his sons sang several songs for us. We watched the sun set and they stayed as long as they possibly could, leaving with just enough light for them to make out the pass between the treacherous coral heads in their lagoon.
Palmerston is a very unique place and it held many pleasant surprises for us. We'll never forget the island and its generous residents.
Nowadays, there are three families (about 60 people total) living there now and they "sponsor" or host the yachties who stop there on their migration westward. They say about 60 boats per year take an open roadstead mooring and visit the island.
During our stay, there were eventually 9 boats in the anchorage and the yachties were split up between the 3 families. We, along with 3 other boats, were sponsored by Edward and his family.
We contacted Edward and his nephew-in-law Will in advance of our arrival. They very much appreciate it when cruisers are able to transport specific requested supplies/goods to the atoll. Contact info: edwardjohndickmarsters@hotmail.com and/or willrowenaut@gmail.com.
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| Our first trip ashore with Edward (driving), customs officers Godley and Sheila. (Sheila is the island's visiting nurse and hails from Papua New Guinea, of all places). |
As Tom and I attached Cinnabar to her mooring buoy we were pleasantly surprised to see a long, sandy beach lying parallel to the wind. This could be a possible kiting location! And with the big winds coming up Tom might be able to get some more days of kiting under his belt. He was excited.
Every morning the local pangas would drive out the pass to the mooring field, pick up their yachties, and transport us to the various beaches and houses to spend the day with our sponsors, walk around the island, or do whatever we wanted.
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| Friendly Palmerston Residents |
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| My contact Will (a Kiwi, one of 3 non-Marsters residents) and his wife Fiftieth, Fifty for short. She's Edward's niece and one of the islands schoolteachers. |
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| William Marster's original house. Nobody lives there now. |
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| Another Palmerston resident. |
On Sunday we all attended church. The ladies were instructed to wear a hat and dresses that come below the knee and don't show shoulders.
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| Nicole and Audrey (SMETANA), Sylvia (CINNABAR) and Alex (Y2K) ready for church. |
Sure enough, the winds came and Tom was able to get in 4 days of kiting.
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| Kiting at Palmerston...who knew? (winds 18-29 kts, 7m and 10m kites) |
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| Tom had a bad take-off; a sudden gust and too shallow water. His wounds were patched up at the local clinic. |
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| The beautiful beach where Tom did his kite ops and launching. I waded in the shallows and watched stingrays. |
It was so windy that one of the heavier boats broke its mooring and had to re-moor. Edward and his son came out to drop another mooring and attach it to CINNABAR and Y2K (a Beneteau) as a backup. Luckily we stayed secure.
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| Edward and son John conduct maintenance on the Moorings. (Anchoring is not desirable - the rocky shelf below is full of coral - although it is possible if the moorings are full and only in the area your host specifies.) |
Snorkeling the reef from the boat was also excellent, very healthy coral, giant napolean wrasses, and lots of fish life. The occasional turtle would surface nearby and we got daily visits from humpback whales. Tom even saw one whale in the water when he was doing an underwater repair.
Since there are no stores or restaurants on the island our host families would feed us a big lunch every day. Often it was their locally caught parrot fish prepared in numerous delicious ways. Catching and exporting parrot fish is the islands one industry. Each family has several large freezers which hold the parrot fish fillets until the supply ship arrives to bring goods and take the frozen fish back to Rarotonga to be used by the resort restaurants. An impressive solar farm (~120 panels, ~40 kV?), installed in 2015, replaced the island's generators and allow the residents to keep as many freezers running as they like.
Other amenities on the island include internet, wifi, cell, and TV service (all by satellite), a school and teachers, health clinic and nurse, water catchment systems, tractors, quads, scooters, workshops, and a mahogany tree forest. However, there is no suitable big-ship pass into the lagoon, nor harbor or wharf. Also, the residents continue to veto building an airport of any sort (in order to maintain their semi-isolation).
One of the other sponsors, Bill, invited us to have ice cream at his place every day.
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| The island had a "garage sale" and Bill found a lovely brassiere into which he fashioned a hat. Nice going Bill! |
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| Some of the yachties with Bill's wife Matua. While we were at Palmerston there were sailors from Italy, Ecuador, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, France, Canada, South Africa and the U.S.A |
We were compelled to stay an extra day since host family Bob was throwing a birthday party for their yachtie, Anthony from Australia. All the yachties were invited and we enjoyed a table loaded with meat, fish, poisson cru, rice and vegetables. And a chocolate birthday cake!
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| A full table. Oscar (Swedish boat HILMA) fills his plate while Max (Italian boat Y2K) enjoys lunch. |
I was shocked to see a California Chardonnay on the table. Anthony had brought it and he told me it was his last bottle. I got so excited he generously filled my glass up to make sure I got plenty.
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| La Crema Chardonnay from Sonoma. |
On the mooring and mostly protected from the E to SE swell, we waited out the wind event in relative comfort, although it did get a bit bouncy at the end. After enjoying the extreme hospitality at Palmerston for a week we were ready to head to our next destination, the island of Niue with a short stop at Beveridge Reef (weather permitting). After Edward and his sons brought us out to Cinnabar for the final time we urged them to stay aboard for some cold beers and conversation. Edward played my ukulele and he and his sons sang several songs for us. We watched the sun set and they stayed as long as they possibly could, leaving with just enough light for them to make out the pass between the treacherous coral heads in their lagoon.
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| Our host Edward (R) and his two sons David (L - who cooked all the meals) and John (Middle), a very nice family. David has also worked on a ship and has visited all 15 of the other Cook Islands. |
Palmerston is a very unique place and it held many pleasant surprises for us. We'll never forget the island and its generous residents.
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| Cinnabar on her mooring at Palmerston. |
So cool... Reading this at work is painful...
ReplyDeleteSylvia, this is absolutely fascinating! The people living there seem very friendly, and quite remarkable! The photo of you on the beach looks like heaven. I love seeing what you and Tom are doing!
ReplyDeleteWonderful to hear about your unique stay and host family in Palmerston. And Tom's unexpected kite-ing days (as well as "badges of honor") were an added plus. Love seeing the La Crema chardonnay. Looks like you had an incredible time!
ReplyDelete