 Suwarrow : Profile
Suwarrow was for many years the home of a New Zealand hermit, Tom Neale, who wrote of his life in a book "An Island to Oneself". Today a caretaker and his family live on the atoll for most of the year, their solitude disturbed only by visiting yachts!
(May 2008) The current caretaker is John Samuela, with lives on the Island from May to November with his wife Veronica and their four sons. Six years ago, a two-story building was added to the island. The foundation houses a big water catchment tank that takes water off the large steel roof. The first floor is open and serves as the living and eating area (now affectionately called the Suwarrow Yacht Club).
A Cook island flag is flown from the flagpole on the jetty when the caretakers are there, and taken down each day at sunset to the blowing of a conch shell.
The caretaker does not have any official status as far as customs/immigration is concerned, as Suwarrow is not a port of entry. However he does take records of all boats arriving and lists crew and passport details in a ledger, which also acts as a visitors' book which skippers are invited to write their comments in. There is now no possibility of getting a stamp in your passport. Very few boats who arrive in Suwarrow have actually cleared into the Cooks. This does not seem to concern the current caretaker.
The charges are US$50 per boat to anchor for up to 2 crew for 2 weeks. If there are more than two crew on board there is an additional charge of US$5. Longer stays can be negotiated.
Suwarrow has been declared a national marine park and visitors are urged to preserve its environment. In order to keep the park as pristine as possible and to keep visitors safe, some new rules (May 2008) have been put in place.
1. Spear fishing is no longer permitted
2. Scuba diving is no longer permitted
3. The taking of coconut crabs is not permitted
4. Permission must be sought from the caretaker before visiting other islands in the atoll.
Contact National Parks Cook Islands, resources@environment.org.ck for further information.
Gifts of supplies are appreciated by the caretaker and his family, such as cooking oil, sewing supplies and fuel for the outboard and generator.
The caretaker listens out on VHF Ch.16, call sign "Suwarrow".
The pass is wide and lines up with Entrance Island on the other side of the lagoon. From 13º14.5S 163º06.0W a course of 178ºT will take you through most of the pass. The depth goes down to 5 metres then increases just before reaching South Reef, situated in the centre of the inner end of the pass. This can be seen just below the surface if the light is good and waves will break on it if there is a swell. It is possible to turn to starboard once clear of the Anchorage Island Reef, and pass between it and South Reef. Or turn to port leaving South Reef to starboard and go around it, before turning towards the anchorage.
The anchorage is sand and coral from 25 metres down to 14 metres or so, if you tuck in beyond the jetty. It is sheltered from Easterly winds, but would be exposed to a Westerly with a long fetch across the lagoon. As it is not permitted to anchor elsewhere in the lagoon, yachts would have to put to sea if a strong westerly was forecast as the long fetch in the lagoon can cause large waves, which break across the entrance making conditions hazardous.
As the bottom is patchy sand and coral, it is well worth snorkelling to take a look that your chain is not around a coral head before lifting anchor. Visibility is good, so a snorkeller in the water can give directions to untangle any fouling, even in the deeper parts of the anchorage.
Dinghy landing is on the north side of the rock jetty that does not extend right out to the edge of the reef, so outboards have to be lifted for the last few metres.
Yachts must take their rubbish away with them, as there is no facility for disposing of rubbish on Suwarrow.
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