More of a Hike than a Run

Originally posted on July 22, 2014, by cruisingrunner

When we were back in Bora Bora, Tim met a husband and wife from Istanbul, Turkey who had taken notice that I was running. They told him they were runners too, and that their favorite place to run so far was in Nuku Hiva. Too bad I didn’t start running again sooner. Anyway, that couple are here in Suwarrow, and I got to meet them at the onshore cruisers potluck we all had our first night here. They let me know that they had scouted the motu here, and that it really didn’t look possible to run. How disappointing. After a 5 day ocean passage I wouldn’t even be able to run here?

The next day I paddled ashore to scope things out myself, and the prospects didn’t look good. There is a trail across the motu past the “yacht club” and book exchange, but it’s probably only a tenth or two of a mile across. I decided if I were desperate, I could do short laps. While I was doing my exploring I ran into Vaiane, the wife of the park ranger here at Suwarrow. We chatted a bit (in English!) and she told me that at low tide it’s possible to walk around the entire motu. OK, that’s my plan. Come to shore at low tide, and if you can walk around it should be possible to run, even if slowly.

Low tide today was at 11:45 am, so I paddled to shore and set out starting towards the southern end of the motu, towards the pass [note 1]. The running was like off-road running for about the first half to 3/4 of a mile. The terrain alternated between small bits of loose coral and the lumpy bumpy coral shelf, and it was tolerable, even if very slow. Once I got around to the other side of the motu I had to put on the brakes. From here and the rest of the way around the terrain alternated between very large chunks of loose coral and a very ragged and rough coral shelf. I had to walk unless I wanted a sprained ankle or a broken neck. So, at that point, it was much more like a hike than a run. The views were enjoyable, as usual, and I spotted a vessel approaching the pass from the east. At the far north end of the motu there were hundreds of birds, small black ones with white beaks, and they were not very happy about my presence. The entire way around the motu was just under 1.5 miles, and I went around 1.5 times, since I took the trail back the second time rather than hike around. So, not much of a run today, but a decent outing all the same.

Suwarrow has been a more social experience for us than our last two stops. There are several other boats here and we’ve had a potluck on the beach, a happy hour on one of the other boats. Since Exodus is neither the only nor the biggest catamaran in the anchorage, happy hour was not on Exodus, like it usually is. Today there will be a gathering on the beach to celebrate a birthday, and I will eat cake with less guilt having gotten in the run/hike this morning.

-D.

[Note 1] Atolls are basically a lagoon surrounded by a coral reef. For yachts to enter the lagoon, there must be a break in the reef wide and deep enough for passage, sorry if I’m being captain obvious. These breaks are referred to as “passes” and an atoll may have none, or it may have several. Some passes are challenging, and entry and exit must be timed to be close to a slack tide for minimum current rushing either into or out of the lagoon. Some atolls, like Maupiti and Mopelia, never really have a slack tide as the current is always flowing out because water is always spilling into the lagoon over the reef. We have found that it is easier to navigate a pass if you are going with the current, if for no other reason than you are through it faster. The most current we have had to contend with was when we were entering Mopelia and we had 4 knots of current against us. Probably a greater concern than current itself is the existence and size of any standing waves caused by the combination of wind, swell, and current. The biggest standing waves we have had to go through was when we were exiting Maupiti and they were between 2-3 meters. A bouncy ride, but not dangerous. Suwarrow has a single pass, and we had about 1.5 knots of current and no standing waves when we entered. It is one of the more straightforward passes.