Norfolk Island

0800 position 29-04S 167-56E. At anchor in Sydney Bay, Norfolk Island

Yesterday was one of the most memorable days of the voyage. We broad reached into Norfolk Island as the sun rose in the morning sky. As Van Diemen got closer we could see the majestic Norfolk pine trees that cover the rugged island standing guard around the green meadows below. The cliffs of the island's north coast were lined with large and widely spaced estates. Seas were breaking against the sea cliffs. We rounded the island's eastern end, taking care to avoid some rocks shown on the chart and jybed onto starboard tack. First Phillip Island, which lies three miles south of Norfolk, then Nepean Island, which protects south facing Sydney Bay from easterly swells, came into view. As we got closer a large cargo ship anchored in Sydney Bay came into view. We rolled up the jib, rounded Nepean Island, headed up into Sydney Bay, and dropped the mainsail. The seas smoothed out as we entered the bay and we dropped the anchor in the lee of a headland just to the west of the island's small boat pier.

Our arrival in Norfolk was a milestone for the Van Diemen crew. Zappa and Marie's daughter Claire lives on the island with her Bounty mutineer descendent husband Jimmy Quintal and their two small children. It had been nearly six months since the family last got together. Claire is an environmental scientist and manages the island's waste and water systems. Jimmy works for the island council. He is a building inspector but does other things too including handle cargo. Yesterday he was working to unload the freighter and we waved to him on one of his shuttle trips to the ship.

Norfolk Island is very similar to Niue, an island country we visited a few months ago on this voyage, in that it does not have a protected harbor. All goods and materials that arrive by sea to support the island's 1,800 inhabitants must be transferred from ship to shore via lighter. The lighters are loaded using the ship's crane and unloaded at the pier using a mobile crane onto trucks which then transports the cargo to its final destination. The process is slow, dangerous, inefficient, and expensive. The forty foot lighters were working to transfer cargo ashore as we approached our anchorage.

Norfolk Island is teeming with history. First discovered by Captain Cook, it was used initially as one of England's penal colonies. Restored ruins from the island's penal colony days fill the area behind the pier. The island was later used as a resettlement area for the inhabitants of Pitcarin Island who's population had grown to exceed the island's capacity to support itself and were facing starvation. Many of Norfolk Island's current inhabitants, including the Quintals, can trace their ancestry back to the Bounty mutineers that once lived on Pitcarin.

After getting Van Diemen put to bed the whole crew dinghied into the pier to clear customs and immigration. Like Niue, boats can not be left in the water because they will be quickly damaged or destroyed by the waves. Instead, a crane lifts all boats out of the water and onto the pier and that's what we did with our dinghy after we all climbed out of her. As we were walking up towards the end of the pier a tourist who was watching the cargo ship operations approached us and started asking questions about our cruise. After a few rounds of questions and answers it was "Where are you from?". It turns out that both she and Rob were from Hobart. A couple of rounds later they determined that her husband was Rob's first cousin. At that point they recognized each other (it had been a few years), and a second mini family reunion occurred on the pier at Norfolk while the Quintal/Bell family reunion took place a few feet away. The customs/immigration officer took it easy on us. It turns out he was Jimmy's high school classmate.

Jimmy was going to be working all day unloading the ship so he loaned us his truck. The crew piled in and we followed Claire up into town. The island is stunningly beautiful. Widely spaced Norfolk pines line the road ways and border fields full of grazing cattle. There are few fences, and care must be taken while driving to avoid hitting cows that wander across the roads or graze on the grass nearby. "Burnt Pine Township", Norfolk Island's only town, is centrally located in the middle of the central plateau, and is a neatly organized and charming spot that caters to both the island's locals and visiting tourists. We enjoyed a great lunch at the Olive Cafe and got to know Claire, her three year old son Hunter, and infant daughter Lilly.

Following an afternoon nap aboard Van Diemen we headed back into town and to Claire and Jimmy's for dinner. Their two story house was constructed almost entirely of Norfolk pine that was cut right there on the property. Jimmy regaled us with stories of the day's effort to unload cargo from the ship offshore. This was a new ship apparently unsuitable for this specialized use, and there were some near disasters during the day. Numerous automobiles aboard the ship were damaged by cargo that could not be safely controlled as the ship rolled, a container full of glass intended for a construction site on the island was broken, and one of Jimmy's mates nearly got crushed by suspended cargo that got away from the handling crew. The situation was so bad that the operation was stopped early for the day.

The beautiful weather we enjoyed yesterday ended during the night and we got some rain to wash the salt off of Van Diemen's deck. It is a bit more rocky here in the anchorage this morning as the wind has shifted to the west, a more exposed direction for this south facing bay. The forecast calls for a large southwest swell tonight, which will be interesting, but the wind should be kind to us until our planned departure in two days.

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