Lele/Leluh Harbour - General Info
COVID-19: OPEN PORT
- See Biosecurity for further details.
Description:
The island of Kosrae is beautiful, with the only forest of Ka trees in the world. The ruins of past civilizations are staggering. Enormous basalt blocks weighing tons assembled sometimes in 20 feet tall walls.
Cruiser Highlights:
Visitors can dive, snorkel, rent kayaks, go fishing, hike, windsurf, mountain bike and more… The few waterfalls are most of the time deserted and some are spectacular.
Good provisions are available here and getting around is very easy as a friendly local will normally pull over and offer you a ride.
Lelu Harbour, protected by the reef and Lelu Island, is the harbour of the capital Tofol, and is on the eastern side of the island.
Entrance Notes or Cautions:
The best time to arrive here is Monday to Friday after 08:00 to avoid any overtime charges.
Position:
05º 19.48’N, 163º 02.10’E (pass into the harbour)
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Related to following destinations: Federated States of Micronesia, Kosrae, Lele/Leluh Harbour
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I sailed into Kosrae October 2017 and stayed about 10 days, not long enough. Smith Sigrah and his family welcomed us with open arms. Checking in was a breeze. Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Port Authority came to meet us. The whole process was done by smiling officials and cost $50USD.
The island is lush and beautiful. The hiking incredible with lots of WW2 relics to be seen, not to mention ancient ruins. The best part about Kosrae was the hospitality of the warmest people I have met anywhere in the world.
Ace Hardware is a fully stocked hardware store with just about everything you could possibly need. Across the street, there is a grocery store fully stocked as well. The local grown vegetables are super tasty.
Don’t forget to visit Green Banana Paper Co. for a tour. Matt Simpson the owner is turning waste into wealth by recycling banana trees to create paper and beautiful wallets. His company is providing jobs for over 20 locals.
I can’t wait to visit again and will be spending way more time there in the future. Thank you, Kosrae for being such a magical place.
-Jay
I had sailed into Kosrae Harbour 14 years ago and found the island delightful. It is relatively high: 1800 feet-especially when one sails from Kiribati or Tuvalu-with sharp peaks, dark valleys, huge trees everywhere.
The main harbour, Lelu, is well protected, and one can anchor 200 yards away from an ACE hardware and a well-stocked supermarket, in 30 feet. As I had dinghied ashore for the first time, a man came out of a house and told me I could tie my dinghy to his dock.
Then he lobbed a mandarine to me as a welcome gift. He was Mr Sigrah, the manager of the Ace Hardware. I had come for few days, and stayed 3 weeks. The inhabitants were friendly, smiling, and their hospitality equal to the best I had experienced in the Pacific.
The hikes were first class. Waterfalls, relics of 2nd World War, exotic plants, reefs, wrecks to dive, deserted beaches. It seemed like this island had everything. It was even difficult to hike alongside the road, as the Kosraens would stop and invite me to climb in their car whenever they saw me walk.
I left finally because I had to, and very often regretted not having spent more time. Nearly 15 years later, I was planning another cruise in the area and went on the Noon site to check the latest info about the island.
I was extremely surprised to find a couple of articles which were pretty negative and found out it had been triggered by exaggerated fees charged to few yachties. The decisision to jack up the prices was apparently taken by one person, and one who obviously had no knowledge of the cruising world.
The fees had been lowered, since, and the man responsible for the exorbitant fees had left but I could not find very recent information. We decided, my friend and I to give it a try, and sailed in, coming from Tarawa.
Not much had changed and the harbour was what it used to be. We were surprised to find out we were the only boat, but for a 31 footer belonging to Mark, an American resort owner-operator. The clearing in was done at the main dock. It was fast, efficient, done by competent smiling officials.
We were boarded by a quarantine officer who advised us to keep our few veggies and fruits in the fridge. Mister Sigrah is no more, but his son Smith, who is the manager of the ACE hardware was there to welcome us at his pier.
I had already exchanged few emails with him and he had been very helpful in facilitating my acquiring the cruising permit one is supposed to secure via internet before arriving. We now have been 1 week on Kosrae.
The island is even more beautiful than I remembered, the Koreans friendlier. Maria and Mark who own and manage the Tree Lodge resort are friendly and helpful and their resort blend in a mangrove forest, where one can have meals at the water edge.
So, why are we the only yacht in the harbour? 14 years ago we were 7. Probably because of the bad articles concerning the exaggerated fees. I find it very sad and unjust to imagine yachts sailing within sight of this island and giving it a miss.
It is unfair also for the inhabitants, who are very proud of their island, their hospitality, their way of life, and would love to see the yachts again anchored in their harbours. Smith Sigrah is definitely the man to contact if you are interested in anchoring in Kosrae.
He is also very curious about what could make Kosrae a perfect stop on somebody’s cruise and welcomes any input the sailing community may have. His email address is: kosraeace@mail.fm
Have a nice stay in Kosrae. I guarantee you will!
Caramel&Claude on Koukouri.
Posted on behalf of SV The Lark:
I was asked to pass on the following information by Smith (Manager of ACE Hardware and cruisers friend).
Firstly; Kosrae port charges are now reduced, now the lowest in FSM (we stayed for two months and our exit charges were $51.00 USD). I know there were some instances of high port charges, but there has been a complete change of management.
Secondly; There were some instances (late 2016 and early 2017) of delayed cruising permits for yachts entering into Kosrae (not our experience).
I was asked by Smith to include his email and Kosrae Immigration on all FSM Cruising Permit applications to Pohnpei immigration (i.e. CC Smith and Kosrae Immigration). Smith has agreed to chase up all applications at no charge to Yachties.
For example:
TO: ImHq@mail.fm
CC: kil@mail.fm ; Kosraeace@mail.fm
Note the Port Authority are not very good at answering emails.
Email addresses are:
jessewilly8@gmail.com
wkinere@gmail.com
william_tosie@yahoo.com
The fee charged by Port Authority is arbitrary and could be $10 per day, or $15.52 per day for a 40-foot catamaran. Don’t wait for PA to answer your VHF call.
The Kosrae legislature will decide soon on a new fee structure, which SHOULD eliminate the daily fee, possible $50 or $90 plus quarantine. Smith is the one who organizes everything and is a great host.
Do not enter the harbor at night, and ignore or turn off your chart plotter. Google earth is fine, but Navionics and CM93 charts show you crossing the reef. Here are email addresses for port authority personnel.
Please contact them to determine the current fee, before you arrive. Maybe one of them will answer.
It is a beautiful place and would be a shame to miss it.