PAGO PAGO: HOME PORT
May 30th, 2015
Pago Pago, American Samoa
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Why in the world did we chose Pago Pago as our home port? As a U.S.C.G. Documented vessel, we had our pick of any U.S. Port. As we went down the list of choices, Pago Pago popped out. Since we were in Paraguay at the time, we quipped, “Pago, Pago, y sigo pagando!” (I pay, I pay, and I keep on paying) or the equivalent of B.O.A.T. (Break Out Another Thousand.). Somehow, that seemed fitting. One “Pago” for each hull of the catamaran. But American Samoa looked like such an impossible destination. Would we ever make it there?
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Well, my friends, we’re happy to report that after 5 years, 35 countries and 29,000 nautical miles, DOMINO is securely tucked in her home port.
And what about the port? Are all the nasty stories we heard true?
Is the port filthy? Nope… The fisheries have long ceased to dump fish guts into the harbor and the EPA is keeping tight control on the Star Kist cannery and the Samoan fishery. The tuna fleet is here, spanking shiny in navy blue, and what splendid ships they are, helicopters and all!
Does it stink? Not all day long, but only when the canneries vent their fumes…. About an hour or two a day, and I was reminded of the sardine canneries in Portugal!
Is the bottom a trash pile? It has not been our experience. I questioned Port Authorities on this. Divers have removed the various wrecks that were littering the bottom after the 2009 Tsunami and the 2011 hurricane. For the most part, the bottom is clean… But there are coral heads to watch! If the water is murky, it’s because of the constant rain. But if there is no rain for a day, you can actually see the reef around the Harbor.
Is it noisy? Absolutely! The generators from the power plant on the north shore are on 24/7 and a total nuisance. Anchor or grab a mooring as far as you can from this noise pollution.
What about land pollution? If the streets were once littered with styrofoam containers and plastic trash, it is no longer the case. The town is really clean, thanks to a massive campaign “I’m not your Mama, pick it up!” Or “Leave no butts behind,” and trash cans are everywhere.
Tsunami devastation? Oh, there are still a few telltales of the 2009 tsunami that caused some 50 deaths on the island, but there are many new buildings and an enormous effort in roadworks.
All in all, Pago Pago is extremely convenient. No problem arriving at night; excellent sheltering from bad weather; shopping shopping shopping; and, the main reason for cruisers, the U.S. Post office.
Postal Services - The U.S. Post office is only a short walk from the harbor. Every Friday evening, the flight from Honolulu brings all the Priority Mail From all over the USA. On Saturday at noon, cruisers pick up their packages. First Class mail enjoys an extra delivery on Wednesday. This is U.S. Territory, no tax, no duty, just a customs inspection. To get your goodies mailed to Pago Pago|
Your name
Your yacht’s name
General Delivery
U.S. Post office
Pago Pago, A.S. 96799
In most cases you can get all your stuff within a week if you time it well.
Shopping is easy and you can do it all by bus… Hop on any of the many small busses toward TAFUNA and tell the driver where you want to go… He’ll get you there for $1… Here are our favorite stops on the line:
-“The Mall”. At the Blue Sky building you can purchase your internet and phone cards. $25 for a week of unlimited Wifi access… That’s 7 x 24 hours, so if you disconnect from the Blue Zone network between your sessions, these 7 days easily turn into a month! We found the Blue Sky Wifi signal from McDonald’s was very fast, especially with our WiriePro wifi booster! There is also a Blue Sky kiosk next to the market, a stone’s throw from the dock.
-The mall is also home to a great grocery store with specialty items (bread flour) and beautiful SAMOAN shirts.
Further up the TAFUNA Road, another great stop: TMO… The hardware store made JP super happy as he found the selection greater and less expensive than ACE. Around the corner is TMO beverages, THE place in American Samoa to purchase your liquor. After 18 months in French Polynesia where the booze is, basically, out of reach ($60 for a bottle of Pastis) we found it refreshing to find rum at $18/liter… And indulged! If you spend $500, TMO will deliver to the dock! Round up a couple yachts its and that's not hard to do.
Back on the TAFUNA bus, continue to the NA.. PA store. Some yachts found their happiness there… And who doesn't like to browse the hardware store?
Hop on the TAFUNA bus again… Off to the Cost U Less warehouse shopping. This is the place for yacht provisioning, but the booze is a bit more expensive than TMO. We topped off our provision supplies. Again, great service to the yachties: spend $300 and you get a free ride home. Easy!
In one day we were able to complete all our shopping and get it all delivered at the dock. This has been the best!
If it had not rained constantly for 2 weeks, we would easily have stayed. The bay itself is quite pretty in the sunlight. Thursday Taco Tuesday at the Mexican place in Pago Pago, at the bottom of the bay, is THE cruisers rendez vous and we bumped into old friends…. ELYSEUM who had watched us get zapped in the San Blas; RAVEN who had sided by us in Portobello; SILVER LINING, our neighbor in Tahiti, en route to FIJI and Thailand… There are only about 3,000 yachts that circumnavigate and we are bound to bump into each other. In fact, KAYA’S SONG, currently in FIJI, requested some supplies from ELYSEUM who delivered coffee and dill pickles to our boarding platform, goodies now secured in Domino’s hold, scouring FIJI in search of Kaya…. That’s how we shop!
Sick of the rain and with a forecast for no wind, we raised anchor for our FIJI passage. WAIT!!! Pago Pago Harbor was not willing to let DOMINO leave, yet. The chain would not come up. Maneuvering right, left, more chain, less chain, nothing helped. JP donned his emergency dive tank…. Uh oh… We might have to abandon chain! The ½” links had been swallowed by the bommie that bloomed 2 meters above the mud-and-gravel bottom. Twenty minutes and a tank later, JP asked for the hookah. It took him 2 more hours of diving into mud and feeling his way through the bommie’s crevices before he yelled “raise the anchor, quick!” Cut, bloody, exhausted, JP hopped back into the cockpit while I cancelled the professional diver who had just arrived on the dock to save us! We owe Howard a beer for being so responsive on a Saturday afternoon… If you see him, please buy him a round of beer, we’ll pay you back when we bump into you!
FYI – Pago Pago harbor
Good anchorage at 14*16.343 S – 170*41.6806 W - good mud
Bad bommie at 14*16.414 S – 170*41.674 W
Moorings on a 1st come 1st serve basis. The port services assured me that divers inspect them regularly. Some appear to be newer than others. A your own risk!
Divers : Sean Gregg – 688-7722
Howard – 733- 4167
Formalities –
•Port Captain Cpt. Silila is THE CHIEF. Whatever you do, report to him first and last. He also operates the tug, so he’s quite busy. He’s a sweetheart, really, get to know him!
•Health will want to fumigate your boat. Having a fumigation certification on hand will clear you and save you $$$.
•Agriculture will want to see you too!
•Port operations, downstairs at the port building, will log you in and out
•Port operations, upstairs, will prepare your bill
•Cashier, downstairs, will take your money ($25 x 2 plus $2/day on a mooring or at anchor)
•Customs, downstairs at the port building, will stamp you clear ($50 x 2)
•Immigration is downtown, a 10 minute walk away. They are willing to stamp you in and out at the same time if you only stay a few days, especially if you want to leave on a weekend.
•Cruise ship in town? You’re not supposed to access the port when cruise ships are docked. I did since it was a Friday and didn't want to wait till Monday to leave.
It’s only with a 3-hour delay, under pouring rain and a 29 Kt wind hitting us at the headland that we left Pago Pago, keeping an eye on the reef where the Taiwanese long liner #68 had crashed a few days before, spewing some of its 40 tons of fish into the waters… fish that the locals were trying to salvage, to the horror of the EPA and EMC tactical unit.
Past the south point of American Samoa, we found the sun, at last, no wind, calm seas, and turned DOMINO WSW, towards FIJI 620 miles on the horizon, and enjoyed one of he most placid crossings ever.
Till next tale…
Dominomarie
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| DOMINO is home |
May 30th, 2015
Pago Pago, American Samoa
Why in the world did we chose Pago Pago as our home port? As a U.S.C.G. Documented vessel, we had our pick of any U.S. Port. As we went down the list of choices, Pago Pago popped out. Since we were in Paraguay at the time, we quipped, “Pago, Pago, y sigo pagando!” (I pay, I pay, and I keep on paying) or the equivalent of B.O.A.T. (Break Out Another Thousand.). Somehow, that seemed fitting. One “Pago” for each hull of the catamaran. But American Samoa looked like such an impossible destination. Would we ever make it there?
Well, my friends, we’re happy to report that after 5 years, 35 countries and 29,000 nautical miles, DOMINO is securely tucked in her home port.
And what about the port? Are all the nasty stories we heard true?
Is the port filthy? Nope… The fisheries have long ceased to dump fish guts into the harbor and the EPA is keeping tight control on the Star Kist cannery and the Samoan fishery. The tuna fleet is here, spanking shiny in navy blue, and what splendid ships they are, helicopters and all!
 |
| Just a sunday and the bay shimmers at sunrise |
Does it stink? Not all day long, but only when the canneries vent their fumes…. About an hour or two a day, and I was reminded of the sardine canneries in Portugal!
Is the bottom a trash pile? It has not been our experience. I questioned Port Authorities on this. Divers have removed the various wrecks that were littering the bottom after the 2009 Tsunami and the 2011 hurricane. For the most part, the bottom is clean… But there are coral heads to watch! If the water is murky, it’s because of the constant rain. But if there is no rain for a day, you can actually see the reef around the Harbor.
Is it noisy? Absolutely! The generators from the power plant on the north shore are on 24/7 and a total nuisance. Anchor or grab a mooring as far as you can from this noise pollution.
 |
| Tuna fleet at the dock |
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| Lush greenery, little busses to visit the island, and clean clean clean streets and homes |
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| Mothers Day... sons and grandsons on the line and a rainbow overhead |
Postal Services - The U.S. Post office is only a short walk from the harbor. Every Friday evening, the flight from Honolulu brings all the Priority Mail From all over the USA. On Saturday at noon, cruisers pick up their packages. First Class mail enjoys an extra delivery on Wednesday. This is U.S. Territory, no tax, no duty, just a customs inspection. To get your goodies mailed to Pago Pago|
 |
| Big or small, the mail gets here |
Your yacht’s name
General Delivery
U.S. Post office
Pago Pago, A.S. 96799
In most cases you can get all your stuff within a week if you time it well.
Shopping is easy and you can do it all by bus… Hop on any of the many small busses toward TAFUNA and tell the driver where you want to go… He’ll get you there for $1… Here are our favorite stops on the line:
-“The Mall”. At the Blue Sky building you can purchase your internet and phone cards. $25 for a week of unlimited Wifi access… That’s 7 x 24 hours, so if you disconnect from the Blue Zone network between your sessions, these 7 days easily turn into a month! We found the Blue Sky Wifi signal from McDonald’s was very fast, especially with our WiriePro wifi booster! There is also a Blue Sky kiosk next to the market, a stone’s throw from the dock.
-The mall is also home to a great grocery store with specialty items (bread flour) and beautiful SAMOAN shirts.
 |
| MacDonald's yellow building... fries and Wifi |
 |
| New tool toy for the boss... a Puller... go figure! |
Hop on the TAFUNA bus again… Off to the Cost U Less warehouse shopping. This is the place for yacht provisioning, but the booze is a bit more expensive than TMO. We topped off our provision supplies. Again, great service to the yachties: spend $300 and you get a free ride home. Easy!
 |
| When in A.S. gotta have SPAM... lite for less fat... |
If it had not rained constantly for 2 weeks, we would easily have stayed. The bay itself is quite pretty in the sunlight. Thursday Taco Tuesday at the Mexican place in Pago Pago, at the bottom of the bay, is THE cruisers rendez vous and we bumped into old friends…. ELYSEUM who had watched us get zapped in the San Blas; RAVEN who had sided by us in Portobello; SILVER LINING, our neighbor in Tahiti, en route to FIJI and Thailand… There are only about 3,000 yachts that circumnavigate and we are bound to bump into each other. In fact, KAYA’S SONG, currently in FIJI, requested some supplies from ELYSEUM who delivered coffee and dill pickles to our boarding platform, goodies now secured in Domino’s hold, scouring FIJI in search of Kaya…. That’s how we shop!
 |
| One of the more gorgeous fabrics I found in A.S. |
 |
| This one will make a nice quilt |
FYI – Pago Pago harbor
Good anchorage at 14*16.343 S – 170*41.6806 W - good mud
Bad bommie at 14*16.414 S – 170*41.674 W
Moorings on a 1st come 1st serve basis. The port services assured me that divers inspect them regularly. Some appear to be newer than others. A your own risk!
Divers : Sean Gregg – 688-7722
Howard – 733- 4167
Formalities –
•Port Captain Cpt. Silila is THE CHIEF. Whatever you do, report to him first and last. He also operates the tug, so he’s quite busy. He’s a sweetheart, really, get to know him!
•Health will want to fumigate your boat. Having a fumigation certification on hand will clear you and save you $$$.
•Agriculture will want to see you too!
•Port operations, downstairs at the port building, will log you in and out
•Port operations, upstairs, will prepare your bill
•Cashier, downstairs, will take your money ($25 x 2 plus $2/day on a mooring or at anchor)
•Customs, downstairs at the port building, will stamp you clear ($50 x 2)
•Immigration is downtown, a 10 minute walk away. They are willing to stamp you in and out at the same time if you only stay a few days, especially if you want to leave on a weekend.
•Cruise ship in town? You’re not supposed to access the port when cruise ships are docked. I did since it was a Friday and didn't want to wait till Monday to leave.
 |
| Always a sad sight... boat on the reef |
It’s only with a 3-hour delay, under pouring rain and a 29 Kt wind hitting us at the headland that we left Pago Pago, keeping an eye on the reef where the Taiwanese long liner #68 had crashed a few days before, spewing some of its 40 tons of fish into the waters… fish that the locals were trying to salvage, to the horror of the EPA and EMC tactical unit.
 |
| Too much rain, not enough sun.... time to go west! |
Till next tale…
Dominomarie