Remote Island Life on Aitutaki, Cook Islands || COUCHSAILORS Sailing Journal #18

[@COUCHSAILORS]

We know, we know. Our audio sucks. We want to give a big thanks to our latest Patreon supporters, Andrew and Scott, for getting us a bit closer to new gear! Let us know in the comments if you have tips on what audio gear we should be choosing!

[@brettney72]

vids are great But as you know your audio is terrible you can do a certain amount of adjustment in editing by lowering the music and increasing the audio with the remove background noise feature But falling that use subtitles

[@sentimental7167]

COUCHSAILORS Sailing Videos If you have a music programm you can do final mastering after editing your films on the audio by using compressor and limiter software plug-ins, they should be available for many DAWs. This way, you can balance different audio sources. When you do voice overdubbing you should get closer to the microphone, thus having less back ground noise from the room. Prior to publishing check on different equipment and headphones. You might have to invest in better microphones for your camera, wind protection and a hand recorder for additional audio. Besides, really enjoy your easy going way of doing your journey, keep it up well!

[@paulmorrow3053]

Thanks guys for sharing!! Appreciate you not showing just good times and sunsets!! Keep it real!! Keep going!!

[@hanaleitoi177]

ayyy you guys were in the truck with one of my brothers....lol..

[@njdualsportadv8552]

jose great video man.......i will be out there ...hopefully soon

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Thanks! Credit mostly goes to Gina though!

[@jbankemper]

Like the Cisco shirt. I am an AM for Cisco and we are doing a large Meraki rollout. Watching all your videos, started at the beginning. I saw Riley from SLV make a cameo previously. Enjoy!

[@COUCHSAILORS]

John Bankemper Nice! I used to sell into latam/Caribbean for meraki and Gina worked in marketing and social media. You can tell your meraki counterpart that you're a fan ;)

[@OutOnTheReef]

great job guys love your channel. please be safe out there.

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Thanks for watching!

[@timlamarre8680]

"Where There Is No Doctor"--I learned how valuable that book could be back in my Peace Corps days. The fever charts were really helpful for diagnosis. It is also cool for browsing through to check out more scary health mishap scenarios. In any case, you two look happy and healthy. One question--would you be happy with a 4hp dingy motor or do you advise more hp?

[@COUCHSAILORS]

We started off with a 5HP 2 stroke and that was fun for one person. I'm a huge fan of our 15hp 2 stroke but that's because I like to go fast and go long distances and be prepared for 2-4 people. I think a Yamaha 8HP 2 stroke would also do the trick though and currently have ads up in NZ to see if anyone will trade. It's a size that you can still move around with one person without struggling too much. And yes, that book is great, but sometimes it has so many possibilities that they scare us a bit when it usually turns out to be something simple...

[@LuckyAdventurer]

I Love Rarotonga and Aitutaki.

[@fatherthomas1575]

love it, you keep it real, from onboard shower woes, to bad ports, kinda wished the navigator would throw a dime on the sailing parts, rigging, plots, and any seaward issues, for us planning a trek. Some say the old currents are changed, and the old books are off ? is that your experience? Ps you're the only one who mentions anchoring prices, kudos on that too.

[@MrMusinus]

so, you are out and about sailing now thesedays? happy trails, safe travels etc! much loce and peace.hey, about anchor, i ve been thinking about if it is possible to attach a camera to a pulley on a roap with the anchor to see more, how is that in practialdoing you think=?

[@COUCHSAILORS]

You mean to see if the anchor is dragging? Hmm... it would be do-able but that would be some very boring footage. Also, there's the issue of waterproofing at such deep depths for that long as well as battery and transmission. Do-able, but not sure it would be very practical. The old school sailors that say "less is more" would cringe at this idea! Haha

[@bobbybaldeagle702]

Next time don't be thinking negative when your going to pull your anchor up... Things seem to go much better in life in general when you work on trying to always have a good and positive outlook on everything... Even when things go wrong the positive way of looking at it is. Thank God it wasn't worse... In all my years of life one thing I learned from my grandmother was, is that things are going to happen most of the time the way we expect them too... The old saying is, " You shoot for the moon and hope to hit the wood pile" and Happiness is a inside job. Your attitude is what makes your life happy or not. And when you are determined that your going to be happy and things are going to work out in your favor no matter what happens. nine times out of ten it does. I don't know why it works it just does... I'm now in my golden years of life, and when things are not going good for me I do an attitude check. How have I've been thinking lately... My wife of 40 years is good at calling me out when I get stinking thinking.... So that shows you that even I don't always have a good outlook, BUT most of the time I do and life as ugly as it can get at times is always good IF I choose to see it that way... I hope this small bit of info helps... You kids are so young and deserve a fun and happy life always... I taught my two boys to live this way growing up and let me tell you them boys are BLESSED!!! Even in the bad times they have learned to find the happy side of the ugly... Thanks for another great video... looking forward to your next one...

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Thank you for this. Older is definitely wiser. We'll try to apply this more often moving forward.

[@seailive]

Good advice #Bobby Baldeagle I was about to unsub, with all that negative attitude, especially all the negative rant when arriving in the Cook Island Harbour, Ive sailed there several times and love the place, every time something exciting happens, like the north wind that enters straight into the harbour, during winter it is never going to last long. But just couldn't believe anyone would cut off the thermostat sensor, just because. Have no idea how you brought up the anchor with a halyard, best way is to motor over it, around it, back up on it, it will come out. I would be checking all the stainless steel shackles used in your rig, you know stainless becomes brittle with age. Best to replace them.

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Hey, I'm not going to hide this, but if you think that north wind coming in through the Raro harbor entrance is "exciting" in a positive way, you are an impressive salty sailor, my friend. I stupidly cut off the sensor by mistake when I was scraping off the ice build up from condensation instead of waiting patiently for it to melt on its own. Bringing up the anchor with a halyard was also not the right thing to do in hindsight, I don't even know what led us to do that. Oh well, you live and you learn. We might complain a little because we have a lot to learn. We're just happy to be off the couch!

[@freerangewhanau]

Jeeze, this was a rough wee period for you guys! All the best for the trip down to NZ if you haven't got here yet!

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Haha, thanks! Cruising is always like this though....

[@sm6wet]

I just found your sailing channel and this is the first episode I Watch. Wow you visit paradise Aitutaki and you only make a brief stop.........? Why? Then moving onwards to Palmerston and then to Beverage Reef - This is the exact route I would go. But then what? Beverage Reef is inside Niue Waters so you officially have left Cook Islands and can come back again for a new visa period. If I were you I would go up to the North Cooks and visit Manihiki, Suwwarow, Rakahanga and Pehnryn. I go about every second years to Cook Islands for holiday and usually spend most my time in Aitutaki, the people and the athmosphere is great. It is my favourite Place to visit around the World after visiting 73 countries (according to DXCC list) so I Think I have some places to compare to. To bad of the food poisoning, I Heard it is rare in Cook Islands but it do happen. To bad you could not find the spare on Aitutaki and that the boat shop was closed. You should have tried to talk to Des, a English expat since many years living on the Island, he is married to the local Queen so everyone should know how to find him. He probably has parts or know people who has it. Why were you all boats anchored outside the reef instead of in the marina? Where you really there now in March 2017? Normally this is the end of cyclone season and genarally CI dont allow cruisers this period, also there is way to Little flowers and greenary in your clips for being in Aitutaki summer. By the way, if you seen wales in March your really lucky as they are usually near Aitutaki October and November. Some corrections on your video - there is not 2000 inhabitants on the Island, this was a long time ago since so many Cook Islanders choose to expat to NZ or Australia. I would reckon Aitutaki is perhaps 2000 counting all the Tourists so perhaps 1000-1100 is more correct. There are no sewage dumped in the lagoon in Aitutaki (In Rarotonga the do in Muri) but not Aitutaki and if the resort your filmed is doing that then they are doing it illegally. Water and sour is free in Aitutaki as is also garbage so there is no need for anyone to pestisize the lagoon. I Think the sign may have been for Another reason, perhaps the current is very strong there or as you can see in the Picture, many Sharp corals. Maybee the sign was put up for some reason and the same someone forgot to take it down. The scraped coral air strip you show in the Picture is no longer used. If you would have travelled a bit east from where you filmed the air strip you would have found the new one. The snorkel Place near the air strip is almost the best on the Island, but you have to walk 100-200 meters up from there. Now, best on this Island, but best in Aitutaki is out in the Eastern lagoon about sw of One foot Island. I hope for your own sake that you took your dinghy or a lagoon Cruise out there because if you did not visit there, well, then you really did not visit Aitutaki. The fish you seen is a Giant Trevalli, they are very common in the Eastern part of the lagoon and has gotten used to people feeding them so some will even allow you to pet them. Be holding your GoProo tight thought as it happens they Think it is food and they might want to grab a camera for lunch. Cheers from Sweden and your new subscriber

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Hello! We're simply reporting what we heard through word of mouth from the people we talk to, so we don't know the accuracy of things like the sewage dumping, population count, etc. You are correct in the cyclone season comments and actually, our boat is currently safe and sound in Whangarei, NZ. This video was originally filmed around August but it takes us some time to go through the video footage, edits and finally find stable internet to upload the videos in HD. The reason we had so little time is because of what you see at the end of the video! The anchorage is not safe since the winds were blowing onto the reef. We couldn't go inside the pass because we draw 2.1m and it's too shallow for our boat, so we didn't have a choice other than to leave for Palmerston! Thanks for watching and subscribing! The next episode will feature Palmerston, we hope you like it!

[@sailingnomad4963]

Seems that anchor dragging has been causing headaches, there is an old technique where a weight is lowered down along the chain. This weight holds the chain closer to the sea bed so the anchor tugs more horizontally on the anchor. It also has the benefit of greatly reducing the amount of chain rode needed and tightens the swing circle to avoid those coral heads. Or it may be easier to upsize or anchor or switch to a fancy new Mantis or Rocna. Cheers!

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Thanks for the tip! We've actually been doing the opposite and tying fenders to the chain so that it can swing above the coral without damaging it/getting stuck and shortening our scope. We're ready to get rid of our CQR after hearing other boats with the same issues we're having... A Rocna anchor is on our never ending wish list!

[@njdualsportadv8552]

yo jose ..i have done the same thing with the laser temp reader..its off by 6 to 8 degrees

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Desperate times, desperate measures! But you're right, it's not accurate enough for body temperatures, but good enough to know if the engine is overheating!

[@njdualsportadv8552]

whats with the cisco shirt jose..talk about that

[@COUCHSAILORS]

I used to work for Meraki that then got acquired by Cisco. I'll take free shirts any day... haha

[@njdualsportadv8552]

well man ..if there is a network issue out there ...i bet you can fix it man..man cisco should sponsor you Bro!!!

[@COUCHSAILORS]

I agree! So far, all I've gotten is a lousy t-shirt. Haha

[@markbernier8434]

Experience has taught to have a complete spare fuel tank for the dink complete with hose. If you can't find the space for the tank at least a spare tank fitting and a complete fuel line. Sooner or later you or your gear will fall on the wrong spot. Those lines and fittings get brittle when they are left in the sun.

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Yep, we now have that! I wonder why our waterline dropped another 1/2 inch?

[@johnlord7854]

Looks like another pair of hands might be useful !!! Hope you made it ok :)

[@COUCHSAILORS]

You're right! That's why we're looking for crew! www.couchsailors.com/sail-with-us/

[@johnlord7854]

COUCHSAILORS Sailing Videos I know someone who may just be able to help !!! :)

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Haha, glad you're still interested after seeing this video!

[@johnlord7854]

COUCHSAILORS Sailing Videos All good, I think we may make a good team :) How are things today ?

[@burtestrella828]

nice sponsor

[@Brandon-rq6jg]

Totally unfair comments about alleged wastage in the water. The likely reason for not swimming in the area is because of a local restriction called Ra'ui which is a period of replenishing for fish and other marine life. There's a whole lagoon to swim in as opposed to the strip of reef you snorkeled in. Pretty disappointing that a tourist feels entitled to swim wherever he wants when it was pretty clear you weren't allowed there in the first place.

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Hey Br! We wish we were joking about that. Turns out it's actually what the hotel told their patrons. Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time we had seen this. In Mexico it happened pretty regularly. But hey, they say s**t happens right? ;)

[@czerinabutterflyprincess3463]

Your commentary of Aitutaki was very negative, It is not remote at all, Freight arrives to Aitutaki on a monthly basis actually. The large silver fish was a Trevelli. There are flights between Raro and Aitutaki normally 2-3 times per day. There are outer Motu (Islands) that have some of the best beaches and water in the world. You obviously did not see any of them.

[@COUCHSAILORS]

Czerina Butterfly Princess well have to agree to disagree. Especially if you’re definition of “not remote” is an island with monthly freight and 2-3 prop plane flights a day 🤣