"Full house" on Niue Yacht Club's mooring field. 23 yachts on moorings and three at anchor over the weekend.
All these yachts with a total crew number of 65 will be here for periods ranging from a 3 day stop over and up with three yachts indicating they will be staying for up to a month!
Their reasons for staying for such along period is the amazing diving in Niue's waters, the arrival of thehumpback whales and to explore the unique geology of Niue.
Crews come from all walks of life as well as many nationalities. At present we have two orthopaedic surgeons (one has offered help at the local hospital), a pharmacist, two airline pilots, a structural engineer, a property developer, media and underwater photographers, a historian and author, a molecular research scientist, IT specialists, nurses, teachers and retirees whose home is the sea.
An interesting and diverse group of people- constantly changing as they "flow" through Niue All of these yachts are from a loose category called " Puddle Jumpers " who came into the Pacific Ocean as early as last October, and have been"jumping" from one South Pacific location to the next. Often they have an itinerary preplanned but they do talk to one another over their radio nets and if they hear rave reviews, they will change these plans.
According to one captain that visited Niue last year, Niue and the Yacht Club were second on a list of 1 to 10 as a "must visit." This information was then read by other captains who then visited on such a recommendation.
Yacht crews are prolific bloggers, and many crews record their travels and post to the web along with the photos they have taken during their stay. In effect they become our de-facto travel agents and often tourists, who flyin on our regular Air New Zealand flights, mentioned that they "Googled" Niue and found many of these cruisers blogs.
The Biggest Little Yacht Club in the World. "Arrive as visitors, leave as friends" http://www.nyc.nu/
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