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Day 11 on Niue on board FGT Tuesday 31 August 2010 Position Lat 19-03S Long 169-55W moored at Niue or out at sea – Zero Cape Petrel miles to Niue. (1274m from Whangarei NZ) Wind 10 to 14 knots North. Boat speed av 0 knots. Barometer 1015 a tad down Sails – none!! Still none. cloud cover – puffy trade wind numbers Air temp 28C water temp 28C

Fakaalofa Atu from Oma Tafua – Greetings from To Treasure Whales

We on on’d to the whales Tuesday, or rather, the whales on on’d to us. They waited patiently by the FGT at 6am blowing to let the Sm know he should be on deck ready for the days fun. The TTSoPac managed to soak everyone including our guest Lima or 65 who is an Oma Tafua member from Niue. What a nice guy as you will see. Spent some time observing and photographing the whales in the anchorage then headed off shore to check there. Not a whale to be seen – but a pod of friendly dolphins came by for a surf on the bow wave – they did a few leaping out of the water tricks and disappeared! Lima set out the fishing line with Auntie Roz’s choice of lures – ‘ that’s the one – nice bright colours. Fish like that’ AR should know as she is the bling expert hereabouts – man she has some snazzy high heels – 6″ numbers – black with gold spots and she creates her own rings and bangles so she drips with bling – such fun – and she plays a mean guitar and loves the oldies songs. Anywho – later on the reel screamed – big fish and I’m running out all your line. The poor old Sm can’t wind the reel handle very quickly – it’s like a 100 pounder is hooked up and you know it’s more like 20 pounder which it was. A nice sized mahi-mahi. Lima ended up with the rod, and with a happy smile reeled him in and dispatched the fish expertly – ‘Done that before, Lima?’ once or twice was the answer and pass me that rope there. Soon it was all over red rover – the fish was processed and popped into the fridge for Wed lunch – and Thur and Friday etc. So Lima and the Sm considered that was a successful day on the water. As we tooled along a very large vaka ( say 50′ long) appeared on the horizon heading for Niue from Tonga. This is a traditional Polynesian canoe with outriggers being sailed using traditional means of sailing, food and navigation. Next thing it was gone – apparently they don’t sail to windward and she was zig-zagging to Niue. We should see them Wed. Also Wed Team Whale expect the 120′ sailboat Infinity now that should be interesting – check out their website http://www.infinityexpedition.com/ for a flavour of their world. We cruised and cruised all day not a cetacean seen. Let’s go home was the cry – and you know what comes next – Mr Eagle Eyes or more correctly Mr White Tailed Tropic Bird spotted a pod 1500 metres away – the Sm can hardly see half that distance – and that set the tone for the next hour as two humpbacks quietly swam just under the surface for the hour with your crew finding it hard to keep in sighting distance, So that was it – whales at the start and finish of the day – guess we know what to do now. Meanwhile the wind had shifted to the North and strengthened somewhat meaning not so good conditions to sight whales so tomorrow may be a bust.

Cheers Mutolu Kia from the fishers of Team FalconGt

Day10 on Niue on board FGT Monday 30 August 2010 Position Lat 19-03S Long 169-55W moored at Niue or out at sea – Zero Cape Petrel miles to Niue. (1274m from Whangarei NZ) Wind 5 – 8 knots Tending North and variable. Boat speed av 0 knots. Barometer 1016 still steady Sails – none!! Still none. cloud cover – puffy trade wind numbers Air temp 28C water temp 28C

Fakaalofa Atu from Oma Tafua – Greetings from To Treasure Whales

Whales all over the place – started out with a pod of 3 whales – looked like a mother, calf and what is euphemistically known as an ‘escort’ aka male hanging around. They were alm ost in the yacht anchorage. As you know they are quite cunning so we see them swimming one way then they pop up behind you which was signalled by a huge splash as the whale leapt right out of the sea and crashed down about 50 metres away. No one saw that whale just the splash! That is a big breach. A great start to the day and the week for whale research. When the whale breaches like that they shed particles of skin about the size of a fingernail. This is collected and sent for dna identification so the sex , age and an id is obtained – very high tech and what a simple way to get all that info. Off we cruised to the North of the island but no luck there so back down and around to the West where 3 more gals and guys were playing about – same old stuff – look where they are swimming, they dive – wait the interval for them to surface to blow and get more air- somewhere between 5 and 40 minutes and then spot them – now we keep a lookout behind us and we are seeing them pretty much every time. The Sm has figured out that whales are just like humans – we take a big breath then dive and blow it out when we surface then take another breath. The old snorkelling trick. Whales did develop from land creatures so their blowhole is the nose and the pectoral fins their arms or legs. Their large mouths some would say match the Sm when he is in top form but unlike the Sm the whales are actually shy creatures in Niue waters. Fai Fia really has a nice affinity to the whales and she said ‘poor creatures being spied on by us – let’s go’ which we did and then more turned up as we motored to the mooring but they were the mornings whales so home James feeling satisfied for the best whale day this season, probably cause Aunty Roz was on board giving us the benefit of her opinions. The Hash House Harriers were on on last night but so were the waves and the thought of launching the TT SoPac on a dark and stormy night after a HHH meeting seemed like recipe for disaster. See what happens when you get really old and chicken- you miss out on all the fun! Meanwhile back on the boat the Sm multi-tasked by thinking about dinner for one, then emptying all the food cupboards and fridge – not too bad really – more coldies than anticipated – looking for pasta ingredients. Ended up with clean, tidy cupboards, knows where all the food is, including 10 Kg of onions and about 20kg of rice and flour each, and the missing bacon and salami – winner! Night descended to reveal one of those brilliant starry starry nights with the milky way running through it – magnifico especially with a cold one on hand. Wish you all were here. Next thing boat nav lights were seen coming into the anchorage and of course the Sm called them up on 16 as they had a spotlight out presumably looking for a mooring – It’s ok, they said, we are going to the Fisheries mooring which was right behind the FGT. As they came in they just seemed to get bigger and bigger – It was one of those no expense spared 80 foot if an inch jobbies that was a replica of a 1930′s racer. The guys on the foredeck looked about the same size as my fenders and it seemed to take them about a minute to walk from the bow to the mast! Oh well once again size matters. And that was it for the night except for the Sm’s terrific spiral pasta and tomato sauce he choked down, and those pesky whales blowing right next to the FGT.

On on to the whales on Tuesday

Mutolu Kia from the SM of Team FalconGt

Don’t forget – check www.svfalcongt.com

Day 9 on Niue on board FGT Sunday 29 August 2010 Position Lat 19-03S Long 169-55W moored at Niue or out at sea – Zero Cape Petrel miles to Niue. (1274m from Whangarei NZ) Wind 5 – 8 knots variable. Boat speed av 0 knots. Barometer 1016 still steady Sails – none!! Still none. cloud cover – puffy trade wind numbers Air temp 28C water temp 28C

Fakaalofa Atu from Oma Tafua – Greetings from To Treasure Whales

The Sm did not do justice describing the Sat night Matavia Resort concert for Oma Tafua. There was fantastic drumming using hollowed out tree branches with holes on top held in a sawhorse and wacked with sticks – all kinds of different sized drums making that ‘somebody is restless’ drumming. Vanessa Marsh – Miss So Pac – was the MC, and would have be a world beater as an MC at any event – so articulate and witty. The presentations by Fia Fia Rex and Olive Andrews were just riveting – getting the message across to conserve whale breeding grounds by not bugging whales as you watch them. Fai Fia drove Team Yachties and Uncle Stan from Juannas Resto home. Some interesting chats going on in the van. Sunday morning the freighter was due but no luck. However 2 Whales turned up in the anchorage to the delight of the yachtie crowd. Bruce on Migration had them by for an early breakfast – right next to him. The Sm attended the local church at Alofi – just 50m from the wharf overlooking the graveyard and the anchorage. Graves are all over the place with largish headstones. Folks at the church kept welcoming the Sm until he was a tad embarrassed and hid in an empty pew. However Tui , an older lady, discovered him and plonked right down next to him for a brief interrogation. The Sm thought that was super nice so awarded her the Canada maple leaf medal for which she said thank you and never said another word – not sure what that means! The Rev specifically mentioned the ‘overseas visitors’ twice – again so friendly. The church is a about 30m x 15m with a painted concrete floor, block walls with louvre windows, all painted white and varnished plywood pews, the pulpit and that’s your lot – no organ – simply effective. The congregation number about 70 taking about half the seats. The service was 80% in Niue language, and rest in English including all the songs. So when time came to sing a lady in the middle of the congregation played an acoustic guitar – who needs an organ – and the whole group erupted into song with all sorts of different harmonies going on – amazing – everyone knew their part to the second and all in tune too (the Sm refrained from spoiling the singing with his tuneless mutterings.) To show you how family oriented they are, a little girl maybe 2yo scurried up and down the aisles, in and out the pews, played hide and seek with the pulpit and not one person chased her. She had a couple of cuddles en route and then continued blithely with her games for the entire service. Very nice. It was hot out by the end of the service but the Sm kept his long pants and dress shirt on being a considerate kind of snag. The water taxi operated by David from Navaire ( I mean’t to put his name in the previous blog – he’s the NZ/Canadian) – took me back to FGT where the chef prepared lunch from the old smoked chook – can’t get rid of it – and cucumber. Next thing you know the 50m long (approx)Forum Pacific ship steamed up by FGT – dropped the anchor, and settled in to unload cargo. An interesting process. They have 20′ containers, and loose cars to unload. On shore at the wharf – which is a substantial concrete jobby, there is huge mobile crane, a v large front end loader towing a huge trailer, a very workmanlike steel power boat and a large alloy barge. The mobile crane deposited the boat and barge in the water – they attached themselves side by side and motor out to the ship. The two ship cranes unload the cargo into the barge and off they go. Looks like a 24 hour job. Interesting test for the ship crane driver as a little car in slings got the swings going through a good 60 degrees – next thing it was in the barge – didn’t see how they managed that! Strapped on the deck is the wreck of the 17m cat Anna which turtled on its way from Tonga to Niue last month to do what the FGT is doing. Quite tragic for the cat but luckily no injuries or more accurately – miraculous – thank goodness for EPIRBS – that pinpointed their position for the rescuers. That was the entertainment until 6pm when I was torn between invites to Migration – the Red Tri – for happy Hour and HH at the Washaway Cafe with Cara and Ben – the WC won out as it is one of the most famous meeting spots in SoPAc. It is a self service bar based on writing down in a book what your group drinks, and eats and paying before you leave to a designated guy. They have a mini-kitchen with fish foccaccias, and really big burgers. Washaway Cafe is situated at Avatele and a short way up from the fringing reef looking West to the sunset, and has some tables, chairs and lots of rock walls to park yourself on. It’s basically only open on Sundays as they have special dispensation to be the only bar/rest open on Sundays – remind anyone of Melbourne or Toronto circa 1950? Next time I’m bringing the bug spray. Was a really popular spot. The fish F was delicious – cooked by Pauline’s friend Jo. Strange – Pauline hasn’t been seen since the concert and the kick-on karaoke at Juannas.

That was your Sunday on Niue.

Mutolu Kia from a smallish Team FalconGt

Don’t forget – check www.svfalcongt.com

Day 8 on Niue on board FGT Saturday 28 August 2010 Position Lat 19-03S Long 169-55W moored at Niue or out at sea – Zero Cape Petrel miles to Niue. (1274m from Whangarei NZ) Wind 10 to 20 knots East – South-East. Boat speed av 0 knots. Barometer 1016 steady as she goes Sails – none!! Still none. cloud cover – puffy trade wind numbers Air temp 28C water temp 28C

Fakaalofa Atu from Oma Tafua – Greetings from To Treasure Whales

After Friday’s 3 whales Team All-of-us have high hopes the Niue Whale season has just begun – may be they were on island time and if so they will be very friendly and relaxed – AND we were right as you shall read. The Sm spend a restful night on board sans company – messed up the galley cooking up smoked organic chook with cabbage, onions and peas washed down by apricots and reduced cream. Had to cancel the Friday night pizza after that! Sat morning the Sm had ordered rain showers all day to wash off the boat, and that spurred him on to wash his clothes and even himself. The boat nazi came onboard for a several hours and what a difference that made – the threat of being shot out of hand always works! The Sm escaped over to Bruce on the red tri Migration to bash his ears – Bruce is the unofficial yachties leader and what a great job he does – seems yachties bond instantly – very nice. The freighter is due today ( Sunday) and Bruce organized the water taxi service as the wharf will be busy – no dinks allowed – and the Sm volunteered for the 2 – 4pm shift – be another learning experience driving a rib with a powerful motor – giddyup. Pity the passengers. At 5pm Team Yachties we drove over to the Matavai Resort for the fund raising concert for Oma Tafua – oh man what a deal. -the hoi poloi where hanging about the main deck overlooking the SoPac to the West when a preggers Mom whale – Ms Big Momma – blew as close as you could get to the deck! Sensational is the only word for it as she did the old fluking 3 times, then seeing she had an audience to please – she did the Breach dance 3 times – Heads up out of the water – looking at us – ending with monster belly flops – the crowd went wild – shouting, gasping, exclaiming, pointing – absolutely exhiliarated by this speccie display. Fai Fia said – ok very good – just what I ordered when I prayed to the god of Whales to put on an act for our Oma Tufua concert – remember that means to Treasure Whales.I think she has a direct line to the G of Ws. The gang was in a fine old mood after that start with lots of chatter. The show went on with little kids doing whale dances, older kids and adults all doing their version of whale tales and legends dressed in traditional cosies all with woven palm front hats with flowers – all the gals have flowers in their hair – (even if the Sm wanted to he could not do that!) A cabinet minister attended along with Robert Rex who is responsible for more Miss Niues than you can shake a stick at. Olive sang a rousing blues tune, and we were even treated to a local version of a Guns n Roses song. Kind of like a raucous end of school concert. The highlight was a 10yo boy with a 6 foot palm frond whale on his head doing the whale dance. Talk about Mr Whale head – The Sm thinks he took lessons from Mr. Canoehead in Canada. The Sm even got on stage to present gifts to the kid dancers (frisbies from Oakville) but was banned from speechifying – maybe they knew his reputation with a mike. That was a great night – Fia Fia drove us home – Team Yachties comprised Jackie and Gary from Inspiration Lady – Goderich!, Bruce and Alene from Migration – Calif, Jack from Anthem -Florida and the NZ/Canadians from Wellington NZ

Sunday – the freighter is not here just yet and the Sm is scrubbing up to attend Fia Fias church which she notes has the best singing.

And WHALES – right here by the boat!!! – She’s on bro – they’re back. Yippee. And time for a swim before church.

Mutolu Kia from an excited smallish Team FalconGt

Don’t forget – check www.svfalcongt.com and www.thekermadecs.org

Day 7 on Niue on board FGT Friday 27 August 2010 Position Lat 19-03S Long 169-55W moored at Niue or out at sea – Zero Cape Petrel miles to Niue. (1274m from Whangarei NZ) Wind 10 to 20 knots East – South-East. Boat speed av 0 knots. Barometer 1017 going maybe down maybe up Sails – none!! Still none. cloud cover – puffy trade wind numbers Air temp 28C water temp 28C

Fakaalofa Atu from Oma Tafua – Greetings from To Treasure Whales

And as usual I was wrong – expectations of a quiet sail back to the mooring were shattered when Mr. Curly the humpback whale was sighted close to the main town of Alofi. Olive knew it was him because his dorsal fin was a tad curly just like Mr. Curly in the Michael Leuning cartoons in Australia. That’s ok for Ausbods but us Canucks associate Curly with – you know don’t you – Larry Curly and Moe – the 3 Stooges. So the Sm reckons that if we watched the series that just happens to be on board we’d figure out Mr Curly’s antics, and sure enough it worked! He blew to the right of us, dove, blew to the left of us, then blew behind us giving us the fin(ger). The Sm is always amazed by the sleek, hugeness of these animals and is sure nuclear subs are modeled on whales. We were pretty happy campers with that sighting and celebrated on board at the mooring where Cara, Olive and Ben – Team Whale – did some speckie synchronized diving simulating whales fluking, you know, of course, that’s when they dive with the tail straight up in the air. The interesting thing was their cossies were a tad improvised! Vanessa directed the show as she is an expert on that kind of water dancing. Soon enough the whole gang was in the water splashing about to beat the band. Try it – for tail flukes you can submerge with your ankles together, feet angled out like a whales tail, or if you prefer, go under feet first with your arms up, wrists together, palms angled out like a tail – also good to use in your dance moves. As we were drying off, the Sm innocently asked Karen if it was kosher to swim ashore and back after dinner. Karen said sharks feed at night but go ahead if that turns your crank – Thanks Karen – whose side are you on anyway? Actually that was a bit embellished what she really said was -’are you a bloody idiot -stay out of the water – the dark shapes are about at night’ plus the ‘harmless’ sea snakes are continually tooling past the boat heads up for a looksee but they have tiny mouths so they only poison you if you kiss one -hmmm. Team Whale left and Team Falcongt freshened up with the transom shower now in full operation – motor a while and the fresh water is nice and hot – aahh – the luxurious feeling of a hot shower washing away the sticky salt water. Batteries fully charged, lots of lights, propane at the stove, stereos all in action, bose system for music, movies or radio, and hot water – this is some boat! Karen, Karl and the Sm dinghied ashore to be greeted by a couple of yachties who told us they have never seen a smaller rubber ducky. – the Sm responded with a curt ‘size doesn’t matter – it’s what you do with it that’s important’ but they had already nickednamed our dinghy – TT SOPAC – acronym for Tiniest Tender in the South Pacific!

We are parked at one of the most secure moorings in the SoPac, at an island with overwhelming hospitality, great snorkelling, great friends, great marine animals, walking , biking, eating, and partying and you can get some idea of life here. 40 years at work was worthwhile to end up here – wish you all had the Sm’s good fortune and were here.

The whole tribe gathered for a ritual farewell dinner at the Fa Lala Fa Resto run the former Miss Niue – Pauline – who has the talent of remembering everyones name – so the Sm was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by name instead of ‘ you old bastard not here again are you??’ Our tribe comprises Chris, Sue, Helen, Gerry, Anne, Karen, Karlos, the Sm, Olive, Cara, Ben, Fia Fia, Vanessa, Lofa, Roz, Pauline, and little no-name tabby cat from Coral Gardens – ask Gerry about that cat! We basically pigged out on fresh fish, and veges ’cause we are v healthy eaters – fries don’t count on holidays do they? The old 5 conversations going at once made for a jolly time, interspersed with yachties and various locals quizzing us on our activities ’cause we are rapidly becoming old Niue hands. And a tradition on Niue is Kareoke at Juannas Thursday nights. Oh man – hold the phone – the Sm had in mind a snooze right now – which was immediately poo-pooed by the kids.(anyone under 60) – ‘You all are coming to Juannas ‘ was the cry! 6 of us rocked up to wonder if the joint was open. But they were just saving electricity and turned on the lights for us. So long story short – by 1:30am we had sung our hearts out – no pikers in our tribe – had a couple of drinks – ask Olive about the beetroot drink. Uncle Stan and Sonja are really fun hosts – the night never ends. Then off to the FGT for Karen and Karlos’s last night on board. – What fantastic luck to have 5 crew in the confined and unprivate FGT for 19 days with sometimes quite arduous conditions , and to end up basically like family. Unbelievable – Thanks Team FalconGt.

After a nights unconsciousness, Karlos, Karen and the Sm punted the FGT to the wharf for baggage transfer and to get Gerry, our techie for some minor reworks of the handrail which some careless driver had pushed out of shape – all fixed – good as new. Team Whale were finding it a challenge to get to the wharf on time for some odd reason so we goosed about the fairway providing the wharf crowd with photos opps. Anne had some concern that Gerry was about to stowaway – some things are just hard to leave. So with Team Whale on board off we cruised Northwards along the coast, passing by Coral Gardens where we spied Gerry in handcuffs and Anne smiling hugely. We’ll really miss you Team Falcon – Chris, Karen, Karlos, and Gerry leaving the Sm to his fate. For compensation Mr Curly was waiting for us about an hour out. Dropped the hydrophones for quite a while noting that Mr Curly changed his tune (song) after a bit causing excitement in the experts. Now here is the story – only male whales sing using songs to attract the ladies, and also their buds who slide over to check out the competition. And that’s what happened – another whale joined in the chorus. Mr. Curly seemed to buzz off so we headed for the barn, and of course, his mated surfaced – two of them. Team Whale wanted a tail fluke number to polish up their dance routine. Next thing you know – Flukie gave us 3 pec slaps in a row – hitting the surface with his pectoral fins – some show – they are pretty big and floppy – the Sm thought it was whale talk for the fin(ger), and then – to cape it off his mate did a TAIL FLUKE!!!!!!! – Winner – thank you Flukie – a loud involuntary shout arose from the onlookers – what a thrill – first this week – yeah baby – let it roll.

That was too much – and that’s it from us. Sat is a day off the water because Oma Tofua is holding a really big fund raising concert at the Matavai Resort where Olive is doing a gig, Fia Fai has her kids dance troop doing the whale dance, Team Whale dancing and singing, and the lots more acts – a big night.

Mutolu Kia from a really small Team FalconGt

Don’t forget – check www.svfalcongt.com and www.thekermadecs.org

Day 5 and 6 on Niue on board FGT Wed 25 & Thu 26 August 2010 Position Lat 19-03S Long 169-55W moored at Niue or out at sea whale watching – Zero Cape Petrel miles to Niue. (1274m from Whangarei NZ) Trip log 21435 at 7am today Thu Days run – forget it – whale watching Wind 10 to 20 knots East – South-East. Boat speed av 0 knots. Barometer 1018 going up – next floor gents apparel Sails – none!! Still none. cloud cover – puffy trade wind numbers Air temp 28C water temp 28C nice bright moon showing the way home to the boat

Fakaalofa Atu from Oma Tafua – Greetings from To Treasure Whales

This is really a tough life – no time for fanciful diaries every day now – we are up at the crack of dawn (easy on the jokes there boys) fill her up with whale watchers, lunch, and off to sea what we can see. At dusk we head for the barn to feed and water the horses getting back to Team FalconGt HQ – (the boat) and into unconsciousness by 11ish. Same boring old routine for Team Whale plus they have to download the stuff they saw so they are even more wiped out than us. Ok I know you readers want a little detail so here goes: Wed morning the crew of Olive, Fia Fia aka Happyz, Cara, Ben, Chris and the Sm took off at 7am for the South side of the island. About ½ hour into the trip we copped our first sighting of a monster sized humpback lurking around just under the surface. She was singing away – way better than the Sm and getting into the old yoga chant nicely. Olive dropped the hydrophones in to record the songs – Interestingly a particular song is sung by whales starting in Australia then that same song is heard at the next Easterly Whale winter vacation destination so for example the next year the Aussie song will be heard in, say Vanuatu, from a different whale – what this means is being studied as we speak by a gal for her PhD so stay tuned folks Crafty – the humpback – soon had our measure and was last seen submerging and leaving us in peace. Then Olive told the Sm – that was just a Juv – not really big at all -yeah right! Looked like a nuclear submarine to me. We checked to the South, we checked to the East but nary a whale saw us, or wanted us to see them so once more – home James and don’t spare the horsepower specially with the swell behind us – zoom we were back with the mooring in sight when Cruisin’ Susan the humpback whale blew. Not sure if she was blowing us off or simply ignoring us – anyway Dive 1 was on the job with 2 swimmers in the water but CS was too smart for them -everytime she blew and showed her gigantic sleek back she had outdistanced them nicely – oh well they had a nice long swim. The Whale team dropped the listening gear and recorded but why bother – just stick your head in the water and the songs were coming in loud and clear – no doubt about these whales they’d be welcome in the church choir – which reminds me the church singing on Niue is quite the feature so you know where Team Falcongt will be at 10am Sun. Those astute readers may have noted that Karen, Karlos and Gerry were missing in action on the FGT – guess where they were? Some may say bludging ashore while others may say they went on a fascinating nature walk with Misa – Niue’s answer to David Attenborough. They are now educated on the flora of Niue and you can be too by reading Karens website www.thekermadecs.org. In the afternoon diving was on the agenda with Niue Dive – thoroughly recommended – apparently the signature dive is at – get this for a descriptive name – Snake Gully – and you know what lurks about there and it ain’t the farm on the Dad ‘n Dave serial famous in Aus 50 years ago – it was SNAKES – sea snakes and lots of them and quite a variety including the deadly Krait -famous name of a ww2 commando Aus boat – well named. All sorts of tropical fish goggled at for 50 minutes, then a snorkel and then some sort of swim competition with Danny Dolphin and his pod. You know who won! No wonder Team Dive, Team Falcongt, and Team Whale watchers look pretty peaked last night but we all rocked up to Coral Gardens for a quick beer and sausage sizzle courtesy of Anne and Gerry – thank you, then off to Juannas resto for a buffet of traditional Niue food, which was kicked off by Sam welcoming us and saying grace. The choices were smoked whole fish, 2 types of raw fish, takihi -taro and papaya drowned in coconut cream, mussels, plus sponge cake and icecream. Like a red wine? Almost a bottle in one glass! The Sm elected to do a spot of washing (and himself) at the Niue Yacht club facilities at the wharf – oh yes – found out yesterday the NYC is housed at Mamata’s icecream shop – that answers a question of why did the yacht club have such a big selection of icecreams. Lots of good snoozing last night on the FalconGt. This morning we nudged into the wharf and collected diesel in jerry jugs, punted out to the fairway and gurgled them into the tanks. Tooled back in and watered the port tank – backed out and headed off for a days – you guessed it – whale watching – first good omen was Danny and the Dolphins playing tricks for us as we headed North – the sea reminded me of Lorne on a day when there are long 2m swells spaced far apart and a slightly wind rippled surface – looked delicious. That is until the SE Trades arrived at 10am making for a roughish ride, and not so good Whale sighting as the blows are hard to see amongst the white capped waves. Anyway it’s probably morning teatime for Cetaceans so they didn’t come out to play – not yet anyway. We have a special guest on board today – eat your hearts out guys – Miss Niue and Miss South Pacific – the vivacious, poised and lovely Ms Vanessa Marsh. At Whale HQ last Sunday we had the pleasure of four Miss Niue’s starting with Lofa, and her daughters Pauline and Fia Fia aka Happyz whom you know founded Oma Tafua – To Treasure Whales, and Vanessa. Say no more – the film South Pacific says it all. Wish you were all here.

It’s lunch time Thursday and I’ll send this now for your edification so if anything happens this afternoon that will be reported in the next gabfest.

Mutolu Kia from Team FalconGt

Don’t forget – check www.svfalcongt.com and www.thekermadecs.org

Day 3 and 4 on Niue on board FGT Mon 23 & Tue 24 August 2010 Position Lat 19-03S Long 169-55W moored at Niue – Zero Cape Petrel miles to Niue. (1274m from Whangarei NZ) Trip log 21325 at Noon today Days run – forget it – whale watching Wind 10 to 20 knots East – South-East. Boat speed av 0 knots. Barometer 1016 steady Sails – none!! Until Tue – main with #2reef to steady her down boyo. cloud cover – puffy trade wind numbers Air temp 28C water temp 28C Really bright full moon but only at night

Fakaalofa Atu from Oma Tafua – or Greetings from Our Treasured Whales

Yesterday morning bright and early we set off to look for whales. The crew were Karen, Karlos, the Sm, Olive, Cara, Ben and Fia Fia our Niueian founder of Oma Tafua – Our Treasured Whales. OT was set up to educate mainly Niueians about whale conservation as us falangis have managed to destroy 90% of whale stocks. Niueians want the whales – mostly humpbacks – to hang hereabouts, firstly to monitor their health and also to enjoy the whale watching which is a visitor attraction. The Sm can personally tell you that the second coming of BiG Bill the Humpback Whale surfacing right next to the FGT on the mooring at night and telling the Sm that his boat doesn’t look as tasty as some he has rubbed up against, is definitely a significant emotional event – think of a large bull grunting before it charges followed by a whoosing blow sound and brother your jaw drops in amazement. Oh no I hope he keeps tooling off that way. He did. Anyway back to the boat – we cruised along the North shore for a while until we saw BB’s cousin fooling about outside the Coral Gardens resort. That’s the current residence of Anne and Gerry so we can only surmise Cous was stopping by for a chat. He/she slid off – we slid off after him/her whereupon Cous must have done a back flip under the boat and headed back to the resort. Fia Fia said ‘ poor guy – let’s leave him/her in peace’ so off we went spotting one more before we packed it in ’cause we needed to report to the Police and Immigration. We managed the Police ok but Immigration had closed so Karen, Karlos and the Sm ( the folks staying on FGT )inspected the shops on the main drag of Alofi. We met Moka at the Tourist office, Carmen at the stamp shop, and Mamata at the Niue Yacht Club (a mini-version of BHYC). Then a tropical rain shower saw us sitting under a porch from which we made sure all who drove by waved at us – actually mainly vice versa. Friendly ain’t the word for it! Strangely we were pretty hungry and tired – nothing to do with getting up early and being bounced around in the sun all day.. so the rain stopped, the smiles continued, and a couple of beers at the NYC proved just the thing as the crowd gathered for the Monday night sausage sizzle. The whole gang turned up, Olive, Cara, Ben, Fia Fia, Vanessa, Helen, Sue, Chris, Gerry, Anne, Karen, Karlos, the Sm, Joan and Jim just to round out the table – and when the SS was ready the Sm made a minor blunder by rushing the food and tucking away the first one, then casually arriving back there 3 more time – guess he was hungry greedy guts. Olive gave the most amazing presentation – perhaps done once or twice before? – on conservation of whales in general and humpbacks in particular – the Sm was so impressed he is now an official Whaleyman, and has taken up the challenge of WhaleAwareness. Not sure how that works but it’s to do with primary school presentation around Oakville Canada – the old home town. Back on the boat last night the whales were having a right old time – singing away to beat the band – Karlos heard the singing in the metal hull – kind of doing their version of that yoga chant ‘oh ooomah’ but the Sm fell into a deep sleep and woke up this morning at 5:25am to help Karlos and Karen do fresh goodies shopping at the local market – which we did and then with Gerry and Anne on board went whale watchin’. And we saw’em – a pod of Sei whales giving us a very good view as they quietly swam along with us off to the side mostly close to the surface with a bunch of blows – all seems very relaxed. Arrived back at the mooring kind of latish -7;30pm so we did a nice 12 hours tooling around and finished with a beautiful moonlite sail along the coast – music playing – couple of beers – tropical – v nice. Now for dinner whipped up by our crewmate Chris at her motel – aah the hard living life. More whales tomorrow – hope Big Bill stays away tonight.

Mutolu Kia from the FalconGt crew

Don’t forget to check www.svfalcongt.com and www.thekermadecs.org

Day 1 and 2 on Niue on board FGT Sat 21 &Sun 22 August 2010 (we had 2 Sundays due to the date line – nothing to do with us needing spiritual help) Position Lat 19-03S Long 169-55W moored at Niue – Zero Cape Petrel miles to Niue. (1274m from Whangarei NZ) Trip log 21256 at Noon today Days run 152nm -nice Wind 10 knots East – South-East. Boat speed av 0 knots. Barometer 1016 steady Sails – none!! cloud cover puffy trade wind numbers Air temp 28C water temp 28C Really bright full moon.

Fakaalofa Atu from Oma Tafua -(google for the really interesting explanation of Oma Tafua – donations welcome)

We tied up to a mooring good for a 1000 ton boat at 10am with Gerry winning the prize for the closest arrival time -the winner had the privilege of buying the crew drinks which he did with a 24 of Steinlager – thanks Gerry. I just realised I got that wrong – Karlos won the prize so he owes us a 24!! Going ashore is quite good fun – first find and blow up the mini-rubber ducky, clamp on the outboard – place one Ferryman Karlos in it and wonder where the passengers and goodies can fit. Gerry needed a shave so he was taken ashore first – nothing to do with his wife, Anne, being here, of course! Has anyone seen him lately?? Next ashore – Chris who went to the motel where her friends were staying and reported back they had left her in their dust because they went to a craft market with folks singing and dancing. Karen, Karlos and the Sm decided to water the boat at the wharf so we backed her in, tied her up with the help of four friendly Niueians, and got her done. Kind of exciting backing in between reefs with crashing waves and a 1 m surge. Odd behaviour from 4 yachties on the wharf who completely ignored us when it was obvious their help would have been appreciated. While playing at the wharf our boss lady, Ms Olive Andrews,aka ‘ the Whale Lady’ arrived with her fellow whale survey crew – Cara from NZ and Ben from Aus – all youngsters just brimming with energy and smiles. So enjoyable. Olive braved the surging boat and came back to the mooring with us, giving us the mail on the program and whipping up our enthusiasm nicely. PR is just one of her many talents. We enjoyed the checkin process at Customs – so friendly but professional – they got the job done and chatted away about the fun we could expect on their island. As we were sweating pretty good, a swim was in order – Chris was waiting for us on land so Olive -in her guise as a race car driver- took all of us for a chasm swim at Matapa chasm. These are peculiar to Niue with rugged coral and limestone walls. There are occluded walking paths – not too bad – which suddenly open out to amazing views of towering walls enclosing a giant rock pool of inviting water which is a mix of fresh and salt. Instantly there were a bunch of splashes as 8 hot and sweaty Palangi plunged in. Cries of too much – oohh aahh – look at the tropical fish`rang out for about 30 minutes as we cooled off in a most invigorating way. Think the best of South Pacific tropical swimming and colours, and you guys eat your heart out as the FGT crewmen swam with the mermaids on Niue – mind you we had to do it a couple more times the next day – It`s a tough life.. Back at Whale HQ – a bach overlooking the ocean where Olive Cara and Ben hang – look for pics – Olives next talent was hospitality with hot showers – and cool drinks, plus entertaining us with animated stories – she is chock full of amazing experiences and a great way of expressing herself – think a complete Billy Connolly -and her mum is a Scot. Dinner at the Falala Fa resto by the wharf – run by the Rex family and of course you know that Rex means king so we were treated to dinner by the royal family of Niue, headed by Pauline, representing the beautiful and vibrant Niueians. Now if one was looking for a gab fest this was the place. Several other yacht crews turned up who had helped Oma Tafua so we had a mini multi cultural dinner with Niueians, NZers, Aussies, French, Canadians, and Norwegians. Delicious wahoo fish and chips, and Thai chicken salad for the FGT crew. We slept soundly last night – still at last – still at last – brother the boat don`t rockn`roll or `tip over. Snooze city. Brekky of coconut juice, toast and tea then off to Whale HQ with Olive – only took us an hour to get off the boat – get the washing – might as well wash the boat floor – fiddle with the outboard – where`s my mask and snorkel? You know – the usual antics trying to get going. A feature of Niueian life is the Sunday church. Our more religious buddies checked out 2 services and reported the singing was stunning, as the SM found out later singing is pretty much a part of life here. We played good little housekeepers and did the washing, Karlos helped the Whale HQ crew with lunch prep then we had a nature walk to the Talava Arches – pretty amazing walking through the bush to the huge cave-like entrance and as you peeped around the corner the arch appeared with the booming ocean behind, and your classic rock pools in front. Another tropical aquarium. But this one had, besides the colourful little fish and coral , a bunch of sea cucumbers or beche de mer. Back at Whale HQ the most fantastic lunch – all local – was on the table thanks to almost everyone except the SM who is culinary challenged. Plenty of NZ Sav Blanc, fruit juices and the healthy Niueian water – get your calcium and magnesium here. The whole gang arrived, the Rex family, Chris, Helen and Sue aka the snorkling mermaids – Team Scotland and Team Falcon. Lunch only lasted 6 hours during which Olive picked up a guitar and gave the most amazing singing and playing gig for 2 hours, under the tropical sky, in a tropical garden.-turns out Olive is pretty much a pro player. Roz Rex, our resident Niueian songstress doubled our enjoyment with Polynesian songs until Team Falcon joined in. I think the ulterior motive was to thin out the crowd – the Sm managed that alright when he gave his version of the Sloop John B! We finished off the day with a traditional swim at Lemu and a shower at Whale HQ. Back on the Falcon GT Big Bill the humpback greeted us by blowing off next to the boat 4 times – a powerful groan and whoose – we could see him clearly as he showed his massive tail – the FGT and whales are buddies now. Tomorrow bright and early it’s out to sea to check out the whales.

Mutolu Kia from the FalconGt crew