Peder’s letter from – SUWARROW
We sailed from Moorea to Suwarrow. Suwarrow is the nicest and best place in the world. I met Jeremiah and Jonathan and Tino and Vanni and their mum and dad. They are the only people who live on Suwarrow, But they don’t live there all the year. During the syclone season they live on Rarotonga, one of
the other Cook Islands. At Suwarrow they take care of the island, and they teach the sailors who visit how they should behave on the island. I played all day with Jeremiah and Jonathan and Tino and Vanni. We played all around the island and took care of us self. One day we caught some coco nut crabs that we showed to Heidi and daddy and Veronica and John ( mum and dad to the kids). It was a blue crab, but we
		could not eat it. The crab was to small so we let it go in the bush. It is very important to look up while you walk on an island with palm trees. Sometimes the coco nuts fall down. I was careful watching that Tino and Vanni didn’t get hit by any. sometimes they forgot to look up. We played hide and seek on the island and there were hammocks between the threes. We played a lot in the water, almost all day. There was a big
flat rock that was like a slade out in the water when it was wet. We went fishing too, but we didn’t get that many. Dad and I went fishing from the dingy. We almost got a fish, but it fell of the hook. Jeremiah and
	Jonathan and Tino and Vanni had school with their mum as the teacher every day. But not so much when I was there. we played instead. Some evenings the sailors from all the boats made barbeques on the beach. There was a little hut there that us kids played in. when we were tired we fell asleep in the hut. We didn’t need duvets. at Suwarrow it was warm at night too. when we had been onthe island for many days we had to leave. Veronia and John and all the boys followed us in their little boat
all the way to the pass in the reef. Tino blew his shell and I blew in dad’s cow horn until I had no breath left. It was sad to leave Suwarrow. When we hardly could see the island anymore I asked dad if we could turn around and sail back. then I could go to school together with the boys. Heidi and dad and mum could always come and visit me, but daddy didn’t think it was a very good idea… I hope that I one days can go back to Suwarrow, next time Empire is sailing there, maybe….
Peder’s letter from – TONGA
From Suwarrow we sailed for many days to Tonga. The sun and I went on watch together several times. We fished and I had knot school. Ropes and knots are a little difficult. When I have practised some more I can make as many knots as my Dad. We came to Vava’u, a little group of islands in Tonga. While dad spoke to a man in uniform, Terje from Villvind came to Empire in his dingy. We had never met him before, but he had read about us in a magazine. He knew that my name was Peder. I asked if he wanted to visit me, but Terje would like to come later.
	In Neiafu we met Tove and Finn from Xanadu and Sverre Erik from Vagabond Virgin and Ingrid and Frank from Menja. Later Bahati and Don Quijote also came. I knew them from before. In Tahiti Heidi and Dad bought swimming feet’s and diving mask to me. Daddy stropped them up under deck so that I could have them when I had learnt how to swim. One day when I played aft on the bathing ladder I realized that I could swim. It was fun. A man in the boat next to empire threw a ball to me in the water.it was a present to me since I had learnt to swim. That day I also got the swimming feets and the diving mask. Then Bjørnar Bakken mann came to Tonga to sail
with us. On the plane he met the priest from Tonga. Bjørnar and I are pals from before, because we have travelled to empire together, both in Europe and in the caribbean.
Bjørnar was going to sail with empire all the way to New Zealand. Bjørnar thought it was a bit scary to do a so long voyage, but I told him that it’s not that far – and I told him that it’s not scary either. Around vava’u we sailed among many islands. One day we were invited to a feast together with the Tongans. Then we ate the food with our hands. In the evening The girls were dancing for me, but I was a little shy. Next time I am going to dance with them – if they want. In another bay around vava’u bahati and empire threw their anchors again. On shore we dug a hole on the beach and made a fire in the hole. We put a lot of food on top of the fire, before we had a lot
of gras and leaves and sand on top of the food. We could hardly see that it was a fire down in the ground. Later we could take out the cooked food, which was veeery good. This happened on Hillary’s birthday. She was sailing onboard Bahati. Then we set of for New Zealand.
	The ocean was warm when I took a bath at tonga. The water in new Zealand was cold when I was bathing. It took 10 days to sail to New Zealand and Heidi got an infection in her ears underway. Bjørnar said he was a dockside-sailor, but he and dad and I sailed empire to New Zealand. We had a storm before we arrived in New Zealand which gave huge waves in the ocean. We caught an Albacore Tuna on our way to New Zealand. Dad hung it up on deck to dry. We tasted the fish when we arrived in New Zealand, and it was very good. A little navy ship approached us Before we arrived Opua. Dad told her that we were Empire, and then we could proceed to Opua.
When the customs officer came onboard, he took our last pineapple and our garbage. I had already eaten the honey. And then we could walk in to New Zealand. in Opua We had to put on a lot of clothes. It was freezing cold. Tonga was much warmer. Bjørnar travelled back home from Opua, but Shortly after Vigdis and Tore signed on. It hadn’t seen them since i was in Norway, and that was some time ago now. Together with Vigdis and Tore we sailed up the river to Whangarei - and to Auckland, which is the capital of New Zealand.
We visited Auckland Aquarium. I saw biiig sharks in the aquarium, and we drove a lookalike train in to the Antarctic Pinguins. I was also almost on top of Sky Tower, and from there I could see Empire in Bayswater, on the other side of the fjord. After some more days in Auckland Heidi and I flew home to Norway. It was sad to say “sea you later” to Empire, but I was also looking forward to go back to
Norway. At the airport in Auckland I said “sea you later” to daddy, and then Heidi and I flew for 40 hours – and we were back in Norway. I am looking forward to sail onboard empire again – maybe on another ocean…! Ai ai, CAPTAIN – Ship o’hoi