( January 2023)
Happy New Year to you all!
Being GMT+14, the Line Islands in Kiribati ( pronounced Kiribas) saw the New Year in before anywhere else in the world! The day started off overcast and windy but by late morning the sun had come out in Fanning Island so we decided to have an early lunch and then take a couple of beers and our books ashore and find somewhere to sit and relax at the waters edge. The lagoon is far too shallow and hazardous to negotiate on Imagination so we took the dinghy across to the other side of the pass and anchored it in the shallows and waded ashore. We didn’t find any nice sandy beach areas close by but we did find a clearing in the palm trees next to the water so spread out our towels and opened a beer each. As we sat chatting, we soon saw big, very black clouds off in the distance heading our way so we finished our beers and packed up again. As we headed back to the dinghy, the wind picked up and the rain was not very far behind. Needless to say, the ride back to Imagination was both salty wet with the waves that the wind had whipped up splashing up and over the sides of the dinghy, and fresh wet with the heavy downpour. We got onboard and hung up our wet gear to dry and unpacked our bags and just as we finished, the sun came out again. Bloody typical! Although this is a prettier atoll than Christmas Island, the lack of beaches and the unnavigable lagoon mean there is very little to see or do and so on the 3rd, we went back to see the Policeman to check out of this island and get permission to move on to Kanton ( aka Canton) Island which is in the Phoenix Island group. As is typical for island life, the policeman had still not turned up at the station by 9.45am and so a lady working in one of the nearby government offices got on her motorcycle to go to his home to tell him we were waiting for him. Around 10 minutes later he came around the corner on his motorbike with a big smile and a wave, wearing shorts and collared t-shirt and with nothing on his feet which is not at all unusual in Kribati. All the cruising notes we have read have said that these islands are very conservative and so when meeting officials here in Kiribati, men should wear long trousers and collared shirts and women must (at all times) wear knee length or longer skirts and have shoulders covered, but none of the officials we have come across so far have been in long trousers or collared shirts themselves and have mostly been shoeless! Most women, however, have been dressed in skirts and tops that covered the shoulders with some going against the grain in shorts and sleeveless tops. We completed the necessary paperwork with the Policeman who then cheerily gave us permission to take photos of the two cells that we were surprised and shocked by. They are both around 5 feet square with no bench or toilet facilities, just a slightly sloping floor and small hole in the back wall. We were told that they are mainly and fairly frequently used to contain drunk citizens who are left to sober up before being sent on their way.
It is clear that very little government money is spent here as the Police Station and government offices and their furniture, fixtures and fittings are all in a very bad state of disrepair. For us it seems very sad but the folks that live here do not seem to be concerned about it. It’s a very pretty place and the islanders seem to live a happy, simple life in family groups with eating and cooking facilities either out in the open or in open sided shacks and small sleeping quarters on low stilts. Their freshwater supply is either rainwater run off or from wells – either way it is often contaminated. While we were waiting for the Policeman to arrive, two sisters, one teenager and one aged 8 or 9, walked by us chatting and laughing and carrying two large empty containers. As they waited for the buckets to slowly fill with run off water from the large collection butt in the corner of the government buildings they played happily together and spent time doing each others hair, clearly enjoying each others company before heading back home with the now very heavy buckets. This scene made us appreciate that although these people do not have all the fancy trimmings of modern life, they are still happy and content and the children are wonderfully free to be children without the concerns for safety on all levels that children of the first world are exposed to.
We brought the anchor up soon after returning to Imagination and were lucky enough to see 3 Manta Rays as we went through the pass. Just as Shawn had finished raising the mainsail, the winch and it’s bracket tore off of the mast but as the halyard ( rope) was still attached to it, the rate at which it hit Shawn on his arm and then hit the deck was thankfully reduced. Luckily, the brake that the halyard goes through above the winch was on, so the sail stayed up and Shawn got away with just a superficial graze and some bruising – it could have been so much worse. The 7 day sail to Kanton Island was a very comfortable one with nothing else to report other than a white booby that decided to overnight on board. At around 11pm on the 7th, Shawn nearly jumped out of his skin as he looked forward around the side of the cockpit and came face to face with the bird who squawked loudly at him for disturbing him…he did it again later having forgotten our passenger was there! I’m not sure who frightened who the most or who made the most noise in their surprise, but it was very funny. At daybreak, the booby was preening and flapping his wings like he was getting ready to depart, but after a while it became evident that he didn’t have enough room to take off where he’d positioned himself. Shawn tried to usher him onto the forward deck, but he was having none of it and so we had to throw a towel over him to take him forward. Even then he seemed reluctant to go and had to be shooed to the dolphin seat and then off. Our next job, before breakfast thankfully, was to clean up the disgusting mess the bird had left behind!!
Late morning on the 10th January, having sailed 980nm, we arrived in Kanton Island/atoll. Only 7 families live here, with one member from each family being employed by the government in some capacity. It is part of the Phoenix Islands, Kiribati which is the largest marine protection area in the world and if you want to visit any other islands within this island group, you must have a local guide on board, paying for his flights to get there etc etc. We only wanted to visit this island/atoll and so didn’t need a guide, but while we were in Kiritimati we asked the officials about needing a permit for visiting here and were told we would be issued it on arrival. However, once radio contact was made, it was clear that we were not welcome. The guy wasn’t rude, but told us the island was still closed for health reasons ( ie Covid) and we shouldn’t be here. We explained that we had been legally cleared in Kiritimati ( Christmas Island) having been screened by the Health officials there and had the permission paperwork from Fanning Island. He said he would contact Christmas Island and come back to us but we heard nothing by the end of the day. Deja vu! In the meantime, the mainsail winch and bracket was riveted back onto the mast and we decided that we really didn’t need to take on another struggle with authorities in order to stay here in Kanton as we were already legally in the country and it wasn’t worth wasting another several days potentially for the sake of a couple of snorkels and a walk ashore and so decided we would leave in a couple of days when we had done some maintenance and rested a while.
As we were getting up the following morning, the anchor alarm started going off and we found we were dragging fast and had already gone across the pass to the other side and were around 100 metres from the supply ship dock. The lagoon, like Fanning Island, is hazardous with lots of shallow coral reefs and bommies so the available anchoring area is relatively small just inside the pass. We had let out the chain and floated it ( as explained in a previous blog) but as we were getting caught in the outgoing and then incoming tides and as a consequence had periods of current against wind, we were moving around in all kinds of directions which had resulted in the buoys becoming tangled up together which created huge loops and bunches of chain which effectively shortened the length of chain we had out and as a consequence, the anchor lifted out. Because of the urgency of the situation, it was safer, easier and quicker to cut the ropes of the buoys (we only lost one in the mayhem!) and then untangle the mess of rope and chain so that we could pull it all up and re-anchor, this time without the buoys. That’s the closest we have come to destroying Imagination. A very close call indeed!
Late morning, we were called up on the VHF radio and were told that the clearance was fine but Christmas Island authorities had “forgotten” to give us a permit. When we told him we had been informed we would be issued a permit on arrival, he very quickly said that he had “run out” of permits. If the Island has been closed for over 2 years, it seems incredible that they have run out of permits so it was obviously an excuse. We can just imagine his glee when Christmas Island told him they didn’t issue us a permit! We told him that we had decided to leave the following day anyway after doing necessary work on board as it was clear we were not wanted here and he wished us a good sail with relief in his voice. It does make us wonder when they plan to open up again…Covid is not going away. Having looked at the weather forecast, we decided to leave after lunch instead rather than wait, to make the most of the available wind before it was forecast to die in a couple of days, so we had an early lunch and departed with the outgoing tide at 13.15.
8 days 22.5hrs and 1095nm later, we arrived in Betio, Tarawa on Friday 20th January at 10.45 local time after a very comfortable, relaxed and uneventful sail apart from catching another Wahoo on the penultimate day that was somewhat smaller than the last one we caught. The anchorage in Betio is littered with big commercial fishing vessels on anchor, has a very long dock as well as a shorter one, a small wharf and there are several wreckages on the surrounding reefs. Although the Line Islands, Phoenix Islands and the Gilbert Islands are all part of Kiribati, private yachts are treated in the same manner as ships and are required to “clear in and out” with the authorities at each stop, so once again we found ourselves waiting to hear back from the VHF radio operator as to when those authorities would be available to come on board. After “putting Imagination to bed”, we delayed our lunch until we were too hungry to wait any more and then decided to nap and watch tv whilst listening out for the radio. We were eventually called at around 17.30 and told that we wouldn’t be cleared until tomorrow so we stood down, had a couple of rum drinks and relaxed for the evening. There is always something so wonderful about being on anchor and going to bed in our cabin after a prolonged period at sea and using the saloon as our bedroom…..it’s bliss!!
We couldn’t get “stuck in” to any jobs the following morning as we were standing by for clearance so we pottered with stuff that didn’t make too much mess and we were eventually told we would be cleared at 17.00 but that hour came and went with no sign or contact from the boarding party and so at 17.40, Shawn called the Port Control who got back to us at 18.15 with apologies from the boarding party – the vessel they had wanted to clear before coming to us hadn’t arrived and so we would be cleared after it’s arrival tomorrow. We had been keeping Beretati ( the yacht services provider that helped get us cleared in at Christmas Island) in the loop and after we received this information we emailed him to let him know what was happening and told him that the whole situation was very frustrating. We were clearly not as important as a big ship and not worth coming to unless they could “kill two birds with one stone”. That was all he needed to hear to go and chase the authorities up and tell them that he would pick them all up in the morning to come and clear us before going onto the ship as we had been waiting unnecessarily and for too long, and so on Sunday morning, the boarding party, along with Beretati were on board by 07.30 having been picked up from the wharf by Shawn in the dinghy in 2 trips. It was so nice to finally meet Beretati after all the contact we have had since just before Christmas.
We had a total of 6 officials on board from Immigration, Public Health, Customs, Police and Quarantine and they were pleasant and polite while they did what they needed to do. We were slightly amused by the fact that the Customs Officer spent the entire time sat on the back step feeling queezy as she gets seasick. This is not a comfortable anchorage at all as there is little protection from the wind which whips up the waves across the lagoon. Honestly, it is sometimes rougher on anchor here than out at sea! We were cleared by 08.30 and after having a coffee and chat with Beretati who stayed on board after the officials had been dropped ashore, we went to stretch our legs ashore and get credit for the SIM card Beretati had supplied us with.
Being the capital, Tarawa is very busy in comparison to the rest of the country and it is apparently the most densely populated atoll in the world. Numerous ships of all sorts, shapes and sizes come and go, depositing and picking up their supplies and passengers. Once again, the people are very friendly and welcoming but the island is covered in garbage ( humans will be humans!!) and there are lots of stray dogs that are very timid and wary. There are over 70,500 people living here, which is about half of the total population of Kiribati, and it is some of these residents that the government are hoping to relocate to Kiritimati ( Christmas Island) over the coming years.
On Monday, we did intend to go ashore to do a little shopping but having been without internet for so long we had much to catch up on so we stayed on board messaging, emailing and blog writing and Shawn also did some more fibreglassing to strengthen an area of the cockpit. Having not heard from our oncoming crew member for some time we messaged her and she told us that she is unfortunately unable to join us for our next leg after having an accident and breaking her wrist which is a real shame for us and a big disappointment for her. We wish her a speedy recovery and hope she can join us at another time. Beretati met us at 09.30 the following morning – he had offered to take us to the next village to submit a letter to Immigration requesting permission to visit a few outer islands, visit the tourist office and go to a supermarket. Along the way we saw our first glimpses of war relics, Japanese gun turrets along the ocean side coast. This area of the Pacific saw a great deal of action during World War 2 due to it’s strategic position and Tarawa was occupied by the Japanese with around 6000 lives being lost here, both Japanese and American.
Beretati has been invaluable to us in helping speed up all things formal and gaining permission to visit the outer islands was one of those. Having dropped the letter into Immigration, he then thought it might be good to visit Customs ( they are in different villages!) to let them know we had submitted the request so that they could expect it and deal with it quickly. Beretati had previously told us it could take a week to 10 days to get permission. While we were in with the “ deputy head” of Customs, we discussed with her and Beretati ways in which Kiribati could make cruisers’ lives easier in order to encourage more to come this way and we explained that the delays in check in and the need for checking in and out on each island group and islands within each group, puts many off and having to apply for permission to visit the outer Gilbert Islands and face up to a 10 day wait for permission is something that few yachties will tolerate. They will simply go to other destinations where procedures are much simpler and quicker. She was unable to explain why the long winded procedures were in place, just that it was the way they had always done it and so she was very interested to hear feedback and was understanding and receptive. She agreed changes needed to be made and she is planning to discuss it with her superiors in the coming days. When we left her, we went to The George hotel which was recommended to us by Robin, the lone sailor we met in Kiritimati, and we had a drink with Beretati who reassured us he would ring and chase up Immigration in a couple of days. After he left, we used the hotel internet for finalising and posting our blog and then had lunch. The next few days were spent catching up online, fibreglassing, smoking some fish and meeting up with Beretati to help and advise him on expanding his Yacht Services business. The rains also came after 4 months without any and we had many heavy showers with some fairly strong winds too. The residents here are very happy their water supplies are being replenished. We hadn’t heard anything about our request for visiting the outer islands by Friday (27th) and so Beretati got on the case, going to the next village again to visit Immigration in person. He managed to speed up the process and the Immigration Officer contacted her boss to ask permission to expedite our request which was granted by late afternoon. We then met Beretati at 08.45 the next day (Saturday) to meet a Customs official who was coming in just to complete our clearance and so by 09.30 we had permission and the necessary paperwork to visit the 3 outer islands we had chosen to go to.
The rest of the weekend was forecast to continue to be wet and windy, so we decided to delay departing until Monday, 30th. We were up at 05.30 having planned to leave by 6am with the first light, but it was still too dark and the rain was still with us so we had breakfast and waited a while. Once the sun started to come up we could see there was a lot of black cloud around and the two weather predictions we had looked at were saying different things. We had two choices, wait until tomorrow to leave, or wait a little longer to see if the clouds passed. By 07.40, it looked like the clouds were passing with clear skies behind, so we pulled up the anchor and left the choppy lagoon for our sail to Abaiang. We arrived in the anchorage of Taburao at 16.50, 8 hrs 55 mins later after a fairly bumpy but comfortable sail. It was so nice to be in a pretty anchorage, free of waves and smells of cargo/fishing ships and we finally felt we were back on our adventure, although every experience we have is a part of it, some are more pleasant than others!
Abaiang is another atoll with over 5.5 thousand inhabitants, although when we arrived we wondered where they were all hiding as there are not a lot of dwellings visible from the sea. When we went ashore o the 31st, we discovered that abodes are dotted all along the very pretty main road, on both sides of the road and we got many smiles, waves, and “mauri mauri’s” as we went. It is very lush and pretty here if you can ignore the piles of rubbish amongst the vegetation and on the beaches which does rather spoil it. We had been told of an establishment here called “Kiriswiss” which is a homestay style property owned and run by a Swiss/Kiribati couple Nick and Lisa, so we went to say hi. We were very warmly welcomed ( except by one of their dogs, who was very protective of his area) and we were offered a soft drink as we sat and chatted with them ( along with a mommy and three adorable 6 week old kittens) and we were shown around there lovely property. We had walked further than we thought and our walk back to where we had left the dinghy included a shell hunt along the ocean side coast. Just to reiterate – It feels so good to finally be back to our adventure after the last month of waiting around and long sails!
Just as an aside: We received an email on the 23rd from a couple who had found our details having done a search online about sailing to Christmas Island. They wanted to know about our experience with clearing in there etc as they are hoping to revisit, and so we told them the whole saga. Although we were hopeful we had started the opening up of that island, we told them to contact the authorities there to clarify things for themselves as Beretati had told us they would be opening up fully in March. They got back to us several days later and told us that Christmas Island is now open to yachts and flights will be restarting in March……wonderful news for the lovely people of Christmas Island. Having visited there before, they also know Timei and were very happy he was still helping out yachties! 🙂
