Silver Fern arrived at Alofi, Niue, midday yesterday after a very exciting 48 hour sail, which was, as John put it, a baptism by fire. The strong winds and sea state to match calmed down by yesterday morning, and we enjoyed the consistent 12-16 knots the rest of the way to Niue. And, if our calculations were correct, at 172° 30’ W, we sailed across the International Dateline, sending us back a day! This meant that we were gifted a second Wednesday the 14th of May, 2025, making it the world's Longest Wednesday.

We made our way to the small mooring field in Alofi, which has a few moorings that are strong enough to hold Silver Fern, so upon arrival we broke out the boat hook and rigged up a bridal. After we were happily secure, John set off in the dinghy to check us in to customs, which unfortunately is never as speedy of a process as we’d like. But by late afternoon, we were all piled in the dinghy and heading to shore to have our first explore of Niue!

The first thing we stumbled upon was of course, Alofi’s famous dinghy crane! This was something I’d never seen before, but it seems to work extremely well if you’re not in a hurry and have a few extra hands around to help! So the dinghy went airborne and we parked her in one of the designated parking spots. Before arrival, we had heard tales of Niue having the clearest water in the world, and after seeing the state of water just off the wharf, I’d believe it!

We wandered down the main street of Alofi, some of us in search of an ice cream or fizzy drink, others in search of something a bit stronger after the excitement of the last few days. We found ourselves at the Niue Yacht Club, which is situated on a bluff with a fantastic West facing view of the Pacific. We chatted with some other cruisers who had found themselves here, cracked open a few cold drinks and mostly just enjoyed being on land in a new place!

The biggest, little yacht club in the world!

We made our way back to Silver Fern just after the most spectacular sunset, one of the ones where the sky stayed pink for another 45 minutes after the sun disappeared. We had a hearty dinner of bangers and mash, and Andrea taught us all a new card game, which we all managed to stay up until the late hours of 8:00 pm playing.

Our first Niue sunset did not disappoint!

This morning, we are preparing ourselves for a big day of adventures onshore, hoping to rent a few cars and doing a circumnavigation of the island on four-wheels. Land vehicles seem somewhat foreign at this point, but we’re really looking forward to finding out who’s the best driver onboard!

Cheers,

Liv!

The World’s Longest Wednesday

Niue’s Grand Tour

Tonga’s Wild Ride