The whole harbour we are in is Apra harbour. In order to orient ourselves and decide what we were going to do, after our first night at the Port, we moved over to the Marianas Yacht Club anchorage in Sasa Bay. Brian on Holdfast was already anchored but had dragged during the night so was considering moving. There where a few other boats on moorings, including a French one we had watched over the previous few weeks on Marine Traffic, sail all the way from Vanuatu without stopping.
There are two parts to the anchorage separated by reef. We checked out the smaller anchorage and although we could get in depth wise, with two boats spread out on moorings, we really didn’t have the swinging room to anchor.
After speaking to Andy on a mooring who had been here for 8 months, we decided to anchor towards the back of the other boats away from shore. We are in about 25m of water, but with reasonably strong prevailing winds and apparently poor holding in the soft mud, we are able to have a lot more scope than if we were closer in, and surrounded by reef we are keen not to drag.
It seems an anchorage in the Pacific isn’t complete without a boat on the reef, and here is no exception. A timber boat was washed up approx 6 years ago, when its mooring broke. I hear that there was a dispute to who was at fault since it was on a club mooring, so it was never salvaged, and is now just a sad reminder for others to beware. It looks as it it would have been a beautiful boat and I heard it had only just been restored before being shipwrecked. Bizarrely its wind generator is still in working order buzzing around at high speed trying to charge the non existent batteries.
Nearby, behind us is the naval harbour, which is a restricted area. There is no accidental wandering into there. A giant barrier runs across the entrance and whenever a ship goes through a security boat with a blue flashing light guards it, while a little tugboat draws the barrier back and then puts it back in place immediately the boat is through. If you enlarge the photo below you should be able to see the barrier and a warship behind us, to the right of the photo.
We saw the Coast Guard Cutter returning this morning from patrol. We think it was the one looking for the missing person, so either the body was located, or this many days on (over 3), they have decided further searching is futile. Very sad. We found out later the body has not been recovered.
Close by yellow smoke spews out of the large concrete chimney of the power station. It is very old and a new plant is being built in order to comply with federal environmental standards. As it is, if something is not done the power utility faces penalties of US$150M for failure to meet US clean air regulations. As we drove around we saw huge pieces of plant being transported to the new site. I am not sure when the completion date is due, however I imagine it would still be a couple of years.
We have now met a few of the club members. Everyone is really nice, and we have a lot of information now from local people on our trip ahead. Basically a few members get together on Friday and Sunday evenings for drinks before sunset when the bugs emerge.
We also briefly met the Frenchman off the boat we were watching. A solo sailor, he was heading back to France for some surgery, insurance choosing to send him home rather than have the operation in Guam. He is however heading the same way as us, so we may well meet up in Japan. When I asked him why he didn’t stop in FSM he said he read on Noonsite that it would take months to get approval to get permission to enter so chose not to bother! What a shame.
The facilities at the club are very clean. There are toilets and showers (cold only) and free WIFI. There is also a skip to dispose of rubbish. Unfortunately the food bar is no longer running due to lack of business. The gate at the driveway is kept locked however you are provided a 4 digit code to unlock it. There is a beautiful long driveway from the club leading up to the road.
While this is a lovely place to anchor, it is pretty exposed so we still wanted to explore the alternatives.
One option is the Harbour of Refuge. Jimmy, the old salt we met in Pohnpei who knows Guam well, and we very much respect his experience, suggested this as the safest anchorage. The name sounds great, and would be our choice if the weather gets nasty. However visiting by car, it is a bit of a sad and sorry looking place. Surrounded by mangrove is excellent protection but of course with that comes the bugs. It is very compact and the sunken boats in there is a bit off putting, Why don’t they clean this up we ask? Oh we have they say!! What?? If they can’t pursue the owners to get rid of these boats, the government need to do something about it. I am very reluctant to go there, but of course if the weather dictates it, we will.
Agat Marina is another option. It was actually quite nice, but there is not much room. We took a walk around it and I would be happy there. But there are lots of derelict boats that don’t even look sea worthy. Again, if they cleaned them out to make room, it would be a viable option. It was fun looking at the boats though!! I have heard reports that theft is rife there, but not having experienced it I can’t comment.
Agana basin is another small marina but is simply too small for a boat our size, so not really an option. We would be able to just squeeze in if we needed to come out onto the hard but the costs are exorbitant, but is an option in an emergency. Everyone seems to go to the Philippines if they need to do maintenance or be hauled as it is so cheap.
With very few anchoring sites Guam really needs to get rid of its sinking derelict boats to provide cruisers viable options but I get the feeling that this is not really a priority. I think it’s a shame, but it is just part of Pacific cruising!!
For the moment we appear well dug in and the weather is stable so we are staying put. Being so far offshore at least we don’t get the bugs, and we do have enough horizon for a nice sunset. Being so close to the Navy base, every morning at 0800 we get Reveille. The bugle sounds at about 0755, then at 0800 we get the full national anthem. Thank goodness it isn’t at the traditional sunrise! At 1755 there is another bugle warning call and at 1800 we get Retreat, when the flag is lowered in the evening. It is very atmospheric, but does have the effect of waking you up if you’re having a lie in! There is no escaping it though as it is played simultaneous at every military base on the island, and there are a few. Just from our position here we can hear at least two separate ones playing.
Run to Paradise 