American Samoa is the only inhabited US territory on the Southern hemisphere. It is considered a sovereign state, and has its own laws and regulations, but it is closely associated with the US. We had to get a visa to sail here, but the process was very easy compared to the process we would face if we were to sail to the US. We applied online and received our 30 day visas a few days later.
There are almost 50,000 people living in American Samoa, spread across five islands. We are only allowed to sail to one of them, the main island called Tutuila. On this island, we can either anchor or go to the dock in the capital, called Pago Pago.
There is an option to apply for a cruising permit and visit other locations on the island. However, there is a controversy locally about this, as the local chiefs who govern each village are not happy to see sailboats in their bays. When we were there, rumors started spreading on the northern side of the island, due to three sailboats that were there. They had a permission, but the local population did not seem aware that they could even attain this, and they met a lot of skepticism as a result.
We are mainly here to stock up the boat with some groceries, as well as hopefully receiving a package we have ordered from the US. So, we planned to stay in Pago Pago. What we did not know before getting there, was that this harbor has the highest annual rainfall of any harbor in the world.
As our anchor winch is not operative right now, we were relieved that there was room at the dock. Luckily, we knew a few boats that were there already, and they sent us detailed information in advance about an open spot at the dock.
The harbor is not a favorite place for cruisers to stay over longer periods, as it is quite industrial. At the opposite side from the dock, there is a tuna factory, Starkist, which is the island’s biggest employer. It operates 24 hours a day, and has three shifts of workers that keeps it up and running 24/7. Every now and then, it gives out a quite bad odor, which reaches the dock if the wind direction allows it to. Which, unfortunately, is most of the time…
We were hoping that our new windlass (anchor winch motor) would arrive a few days after we arrived, as we had a scheduled delivery date. After talking to the other cruisers who were there, we quickly realized that most of them were stuck waiting for packages that are not arriving at the time they are supposed to. This made us somewhat concerned, and when our delivery date came and left without any updates of the whereabouts of the package, we visited the post office.
We were not happy when we learned that our package was stuck in Hawaii, and there was no telling when it would arrive. We were also told that it would get transported by ship, and not plane, which is what we thought. So, we had to become creative…
Through tips from other cruisers, we found a fellow cruiser who lives on his boat and works at a local tool shop. He said he would be willing to take a look at our old windlass, to see if he could fix it. We continued to visit the post office regularly, and crossed our fingers that he would be able to fix it.
As expected, the island time kicked in, and we heard nothing for about one week… oh well, time to make the best of it, and start exploring…. We rented a car for three days, and drove all of the roads we could find.
90% of the island is covered in lush rainforest. The National Park has a shut off area that offers great hikes. We were able to do a couple of shorter hikes, as we both can only wear sandals right now. Our feet are not used to getting squeezed into shoes, and the last few hikes we have done, has done some serious damage to our toe nails.
We also visited the NOAA American Samoa Observatory, which measures the ozone layer as well as some the carbon level in the air. We were lucky to get a tour and join an ozone reading. The facility is located at a beautiful location at the easter most tip of the island. This location supposedly has the cleanest air there is, as it has not reached any landmass since America.
The days we did not have a car, the island buses (which are rebuilt trucks with a wooden case on top) made it easy to get around on the island. You just stand on the sidewalk, wave our hand, and a bus will stop. We paid $1.50 to $2.00 per ride, depending on how far we were going.
After many remote anchorages this season, it was very nice to be close to a city, with all of its amenities. As a result, we had lots of social gatherings with other cruisers. Some of whom we knew from before, and some new acquaintances.
We had two different dock parties, one birthday celebration, and one sundowner gathering. It can be quite social at the docks, and it was a new experience for us to be this long at the docks. Our neighbors changed every so often, and we got to meet a lot of new cruisers as well as some of the locals.
There was a rugby tournament going on while we were there, and games took place at the main stadium in town every Saturday. We went there several times and hung out with other cruisers and watched the games. Both men and women play rugby here, and the women definitely tackle each other fiercely as well. We were really impressed, and even started to understand a little bit of the rules!
The captain brought his camera to one of the game days, and got some great shots of the matches.
We also used our time here to provision, and had access to lots of different US products. We even went shopping at the US military base, as there are several cruisers here who are veterans. After we were all stocked up, and our windlass had been at the tool shop for a little more than a week, we were getting very antsy to leave. We had spent almost three weeks at the docks, and our package did not seem to arrive anytime soon. Finally, we got the windlass back from the tool shop to test it.
After a few rounds of iterations back and forth, the captain finally got it to work! We were so relieved…. It is not a long-term solution, but certainly more than enough to get us through the rest of the season. Without an anchor, we would have had to go to places that would allow us to use moorings or to marinas, which are not that many in this region. Now, we can continue on with our plans to go through Samoa, then Tonga, before we end up in New Zealand in November and get the boat hauled out for cyclone season.
It is a quick overnight sail from American Samoa to our next destination, Samoa (formerly known as Western Samoa). We will cross the date line on our way, and will therefore loose one day. We will still be in the same time zone, but just a day ahead. Quite confusing…
