Suwarrow

Anchorage Island, Suwarrow Atoll

I shall attempt to describe our last port of call with the adjectives it deserves, but bear with me, for as I write we are sailing along under storm jib only with seas to match.

Swimming with Giant Manta!

Sooty Tern

Suwarrow is a small atoll several hundred miles from anywhere in the Cook Island group. The one main island (all of ½ a mile long) has a semi protected anchorage amongst a lot of coral heads that stick up about a metre off the bottom to snag your anchor chain. But given the right conditions (non reinforced trade winds) this is paradise. Two care takers look after the island for six months, being away for the cyclone season.  If you have read Tom Neale’s or Robert Frisbie’s books about the island you will understand why. The high point of the island is only about 10ft and exposed to the ocean swells. James and John are the two caretakers and hosts; keeping everyone in line and making them feel welcome.  The record 28 boats in the anchorage did not feel busy; it’s just one of those very relaxed places. We snorkeled most days on various reefs or with Manta rays, went lobster hunting on the reef on a moonlit night, enjoyed several potlucks ashore and did a reef walk out to Whale Island (full of nesting birds). The hard part was dragging ourselves away after nearly 2 weeks.  This we did and headed for Niue, but the strengthening high pressure below us sent winds we did not like beating into, so we bore off toward Tonga.  I leave you with a log entry by Heidi on the second last day of this leg ….. “Lie down on cabin floor for 10 min, catch my breath and settle my stomach.  Get up, go climb (bottom hatch board has been in for a few days) into the cockpit and look around. Check the course. Lie on floor, repeat. The end of each 4 hour watch seems like a major victory. The reward: a few hours sliding on your bed where you can’t lose your balance.”…… This trip we had our worst pooping to date that put nearly a foot deep of water in the cockpit, but for all the weather there was no upchucks.  A day at anchor Heidi still talks of sailing to Chile...... what a spirit or is it just a short memoryJ.   Such is the price we sometimes have to pay to visit paradise!

John (caretaker and all round great guy) and Heidi

Potluck dinner in the "clubhouse"

Suwarrow (Suvarov), Northern Cook Islands – Fish Species List

Manta - check out the cephalic fins!! (near the mouth)

After three months in French Polynesia our fish ID skills are improving. So we thought we would share a list of fish species for Suwarrow.  This in not a complete list as there’s always those that you don’t see well enough to ID, or you can’t remember everything that you see while snorkeling and our field guides don’t always have everything for this area.  This list does illustrate the wonderful diversity of species on the reef.  The ones marked with (*) were delicious!

Unidentified Dascyllus - any ideas out there??

Threadfin Butterflyfish	Chaetodon auriga
Redfin Butterflyfish	Chaetodon lunulatus
Teardrop Butterflyfish	Chaetodon unimaculatus
Raccoon Butterflyfish	Chaetodon lunula
Dotted Butterflyfish	Chaetodon semeion
Reticulated Butterflyfish	Chaetodon reticulatus
Speckled Butterflyfish	Chaetodon citrinellus
Saddled Butterflyfish	Chaetodon ephippium
Dot-and-Dash Butterflyfish	Chaetodon pelewensis
Pacific Double-Saddle Butterflyfish	Chaetodon ulietensis
Fourspot Butterflyfish	Chaetodon quadrimaculatus
Ornate Butterflyfish	Chaetodon ornatissimus
Pennant Bannerflyfish	Heniochus chrysostomus
Longnose Butterflyfish	Forcipiger flavissimus
Lemonpeel Angelfish	Centropyge flavissimus
Regal Angelfish	Pygoplites diacanthus
Orangeband Surgeonfish	Acanthurus olivaceus
Achilles Tang	Acanthurus achilles
Convict Surgeonfish	Acanthurus triosegus
Whitecheek Surgeonfish	Acanthurus nigricans
Pacific Sailfin Tang	Zebrasoma veliferum
Bluespine Unicornfish	Naso unicornis
Spotted Unicornfish	Naso brevirostris
Orangespine Unicornfish	Naso lituratus
Moorish Idol	Zanclus cornatus
Humbug Dascyllus	Dascyllus aruanus
Blue-green Chromis	Chromis viridis
Pacific Half-and-half Chromis	Chromis iomelas
Onespot Snapper	Lutjanus monostigma
Blue Damsel	Pomacentrus pavo
Black Snapper	Macolor niger
Bluefin Trevally	Caranx melampygus
Rainbow Runner	Elagatis bipinnulatus
Peacock Grouper	Cephalopholis argus
Coral Grouper*	Cephalopholis miniata
Greasy Grouper*	Epinephelus tauvina
Camouflage Grouper	Epinephelus polyphekadion
Arc-Eye Hawkfish	Paracirrhites arcatus
Bullethead Parrotfish	Chlorurus sordidus
Steephead Parrotfish	Chlorurus microrhinos
Bicolor Parrotfish	Cetoscarus bicolor
Pacific Longnose Parrotfish*	Hipposcarus longiceps
Red-breasted Wrasse	Cheilinus fasciatus
Bird Wrasse	Gomphosus varius
Sixbar Wrasse	Thalassoma hardwicke
Threespot Wrasse	Halichoeres trimaculatus
Checkerboard Wrasse	Halichoeres hortulanus
Redlip Cleaner Wrasse	Labroides rubrolabiatus
Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse	Labroides dimidiatus
Bicolor Cleaner Wrasse	Labroides bicolor
Big-scale Soldierfish	Myripristis berndti
Spotfin Squirrelfish	Neoniphon sammara
Twotone Dartfish	Ptereleotris evides
Goldsaddle Goatfish	Parupeneus cyclostomus
Manybar Goatfish	Parupeneus multifascialis
Trumpetfish	Aulostromus chinensis
Cornetfish	Fistularia commersonii
Orange-lined Triggerfish	Balistapus undulatus
Picasso Triggerfish	Rhinecanthus aculeatus
Indian Toby	Canthigaster solandri
Mahi Mahi*	Coryphaena hippurus
Gray Reef Shark	Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos
Blacktip Reef Shark	Carcharhinus melanopterus
Whitetip Reef Shark	Triaendon obesus
Giant Manta	Manta birostris

Arc-Eye Hawkfish

Dot-and-Dash Butterflyfish