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NEWS AND FEATURE STORIES
We arrived in the afternoon, following 1200 miles of sailing from Papeete, expecting the US Coast Guard, FBI and all sorts of welcoming committees. All of them sporting M16- assault rifles and specs. What a mistake to make. American Samoa is an American territory, not American territory. We couldn’t even make contact with port control until we had already entered the harbor, even after having called them for many hours. As we entered the harbor, contact was finally made, and a man was coming down to help us clear in. This was at 1730 hours in the afternoon, and he had to ask that we pay the proper overtime fees. Seven dollars and fifty cents! In the mean time, several of the 12-15 sailboats at anchor in the harbor had heard our calls over the radio, and came out in dinghies to check on us and welcome us. An American couple even brought six cold beers for us! We have never seen anything like it. Talk about welcoming committee! . And so it went on and on for as long as we stayed in American Samoa. We had planned to stay for three days, but ended up staying for three weeks instead.
PAGO PAGO: American Samoa is an undiscovered pearl, no less. Possibly the name deters yachties from venturing there. That’s a pity. For it is only in name that American Samoa is American.
HORNY GIANT: ”T`ìs the season” for the humpback whale in the Pacific. These giants toss themselves up in the air and land with an enormous splash, in order to attract female attention. A fantastic and majestic sight. This humpback whale probably weighs in at many a thousand horny pounds, and we photographed it just South of Pago Pago. We couldn’t see if he got lucky, though…
(Not so) American Samoa
Pago Pago, American Samoa, 19.10.2008
SCENIC: The harbour in Pago Pago is a quiet place, except for the fishery harbor on the other side. We enjoyed dramatic scenery and great weather. The harbor is originally an extinct volcano where one side has collapsed and let the sea enter.
The first thing you notice in American Samoa after spending several months in Tahiti, is the price level. They are even cheaper than in the USA! We provisioned, bought diesel and shopped for clothes. Hospitable and genuinely interested people filled our days, and here most people don’t even speak very good English. Polynesian is the common language. The infamous tuna canneries in the harbor didn’t bother us. A few years ago dumping fish guts was banned, and neither sight nor smell botheres us a bit. To the contrary, both Chaguaramas, Cristobal and St. Cruz in the Galàpagos islands were more filthy than Pago Pago. The harbor is situated inside an old volcanic crater, and is very well sheltered. Hurricane-sheltered, some say. Only 65.000 people live in the islands, and here verybody knows everybody. Tourism is virtually nonexistent, and yet mot facilities are easily available. WiFi internet is everywhere to be found, and we enjoyed ourselves by staying in hotels, had our hair cut, Rune went to the dentist and the doctor for routine check ups, costing a mere tens of dollars. The fact that not more yachties find their way here, but go to crowded Niue or Cook instead, puzzles us. And from Pago Pago to Apia in Samoa, it is only a days sail. It was also in American Samoa that we were to experience our most exotic adventure so far.
NÅN SÅRTES GREJ: Finn Olav er sjef for alle midlertidige permanente løsninger ombord når vi er på havet.
THE ANCHORAGE: The seabed in the harbour is of poor quality for anchoring. As we pulled up one of our anchors, we could clearly see that. Old lines, ropes and pieces of chain had enveloped it completely.
GIVE US SMOKE: Two guys, happy, but anxious to smoke, met us with their skiff as we let the sails down. The trip from Pago Pago to Swains Island carrying provisions took us two days.