Suwarrow, Northern Cook Islands Friday the 13th Ginger 13 deg 15 min S, 163 deg 07 min W

Suwarrow Atoll, Cook Islands, we arrived outside the pass this morning at about 6AM and tacked back and forth until the sun was high enough to enter the lagoon. As our trip started with lumpy seas and 12 knots of wind we made good time for the first couple of days but it took a full 24 hours for me to get my "sea stomach". The closer we got to Suwarrow the longer the trip stretched out. Though our mileage was slowly decreasing the eta continued to be further and further in the future. Our all
time low was last night with no wind and a little current to barely push us along with just 40 miles to go the estimate was 2 days to get here! Finally after hours of sitting in the heat of the day with no breeze a line of squalls came through giving us a little wind and a welcome opportunity for a shower on deck. We had a new pressure cooker recipe for dinner (chicken parmesan in tinfoil packs, great for cleanup!) and the wind started to fill in. By 7:30 we were going 3 knots and the steady winds
brought us in. We were able to run the pass under sail with no problem and it was great to anchor among friends and take a break from the passage. We're having dinner with Paddy West's crew tonight and were able to visit with Tamasha as well. The forecast is for wind to come up maybe as soon as tonight so we'll haul anchor and head west for American Samoa tomorrow.
We enjoyed our check-in with the ranger John, his wife and 4 kids and heard stories about his family fishing traditions. We'll take some food supplies ashore for them this afternoon as they're running low on some items; eggs, milk, crackers. We mentioned another boat we met, Bravo Charlie III to them and they lit up and retold the story of being evacuated by Tom on Bravo Charlie III at the end of the season 2 years ago. The supply ship that dropped them off was to return 6 months later and pick
them up to get them off the island for cyclone season. The ship radioed that they weren't going to make the trip and they bypassed the island. John and his wife had to gather a few belongings and hitch a ride with the last sailboat to come through the area for the season. They are gracious hosts who have a good rapport with cruisers.
Tomorrow morning we'll be on our way to Samoa and looking forward to picking up mail for the first time since Rachel delivered it to us in March in Zihuatanejo.