9:54.47S 139:06.29W Baie Hanamoenoa on Tahuata south of Hiva Oa.
It took only two hours in a moderate sea to arrive at the most beautiful bay with crystal clear water and a white sandy bottom. The world sailing couple Eric and Sue Hiscock of Wanderer fame reckoned this is one of the three most beautiful anchorages in Polynesia.
Torsten pointed to an excellent anchoring area in a line between him and the shore. We let out plenty of chain because of the strong downdrafts from the valleys and joined them both for coffee and beer.
Previously I had busied myself, mincing Rob’s coconut flesh through my herb grinder, adding a little water and sugar and cooking it to prevent fermentation. Then using garlic, potato, white cabbage and limes from Ecuador, swiss chard and tomatoes from Nuku Hiva and lemongrass and Thai Green Curry sauce from the Coop in Oakham I put together a tuna curry and with their friends Silke and Mathias we had a lovely evening together on Zoonie.
We had snorkelled one side of the bay and seen fish and a pacific green turtle but were disappointed to not see any rays as Mathias had earlier.
The next day we dined on Infinity. Hille’s red cabbage with wine, berries and spices was lovely and everyone else had beef ragout made from jars of home preserved beef. The wine, beer, whisky and rum flowed on this our last social with our dear friends.
Their two boats left the next morning, returning to Atuone to collect their laundry and then continue to Fatu Hiva, but not before the always generous Torsten installed lots of software on our Samsung so we can access free charts of the entire world and overlay google earth onto them for pin point accuracy.
Later we rowed ashore and met Stephen, a young Marquesan who is living a solitary life in his hut behind the beach, planting various plants including palms. Notices politely asked visitors to stay on the beach and respect his property but they were not always effective as we learned later.
We snorkelled the other side of the bay for an hour in the afternoon holding hands all the while as the swell was quite strong. Ryan and Tasha were coming aboard for sundowners after they had completed some time-lapse photography of the sunset to include their cat Cheeky Monkey, as were Swiss Andrew and Natalie with Irish Dominic from Juliane.
We watched their progress, Tasha doing her press ups while the camera clicked, and then they were joined by Stephen who also came aboard Zoonie with them. I asked if he ever felt vulnerable living here by himself?
In a quiet voice he told of the visiting yacht sailors who would ignore the notices, unknowingly trample his young plants, pick his fruit without asking and throw rubbish like beer cans into the pristine bay. He would politely ask them not to and be met with threats and abuse. So he summoned help from the village and when he and his friends, standing along the beach outnumbered the ‘visitors’ they left. Good riddance I say.
Just before Stephen left Zoonie he said two things, first was “always keep smiling as happiness is the result” and he asked us to visit him before we leave.
So we rowed first to Juliane to say goodbye, “He’s been preparing fruit for you,” Natalie said. Stephen’s garden stretches from one side of the bay to the other and well back up the valley towards the road and Rob found him walking back towards home eating a slice of papaya, he then gave another slice to Rob.
“Are you alone?” he asked Rob.
“No Barbs is with me.” He seemed quite disconcerted to see me walking carefully through his garden searching for him, “Come, come this way, I have many young plants growing all around.” I assured him I had avoided all his seedlings and then offered him a packet of small shell pasta by way of a parting gift. I thought it would make a change in diet for him, briefly.
“That is not necessary,” he said handing back the box, but I will keep the card.
Gone were the warm smiles from the rosewood face of two nights ago. The expression on his visage, that reminded me of a young North American native, was one of annoyance. I had clearly got that token wrong. He kindly gave us a papaya and two pamplemousse, we wished him well and left him to his solitude.
There was no one about on Cheeky Monkey so we left our card on their table and rowed back to Zoonie.
We left the next day under full sails bound for Tahiti.
09:58:15S 139:13:63W Day 1 Fishing with limited success
On Rob’s third attempt we landed a good size tuna as the shadow of the Marquesan islands disappeared behind us. I donned my leather gardening gloves and took hold of the line and lifted it aboard as Rob held the rod. We have streamlined our retrieval method. Filleting takes place on the deck rather than the chopping board laid on the deck. After all the knife is on the top of the fish so not likely to damage the teak. No more struggling to get the hooks out of the landing net either.
The second fish must have been a whopper as its 3 inch wide jaws bent a horse shoe shape in the wire trace. Since then another identical experience, plus one fish taking all the tackle, has made us realise the fish out here are bigger than our needs and what our tackle can cope with. So we had two days from the fish we caught. I made two suppers with green pepper sauce, we had an appetiser of some raw fish dipped in Balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and lime juice and then a tuna salad for lunch.
The next day, 4th August the Diva was back on stage before 9.00am and there she stayed for 21 hours giving us over 130 miles on a lovely flat sea, but that didn’t last. The weather is building towards a big blow up to maybe 30 knots. It has been eating into the twenties all night.
With the Tuamotu Archipeligo coming up we would prefer to take the passage through in daylight, so we divided the distance by the desired speed to get us there first thing tomorrow morning for the 70 mile passage. So first we do the maths and now there are two reefs in the genoa to get her speed to around 5.5 knots.
Historically the archipelago has been given the well-earned name of ‘The Dangerous Archipelago’, because not only is it very beautiful but the islets are composed of coral with narrow passes into the central basin-like lagoons, cross winds, outgoing currents and coral heads make safe entry an obstacle course. A successful entry is rewarded by coral rims supporting a frill of palms and white sand providing good holding for anchors. The snorkelling in these clear blue waters is idyllic.
Before Mr Google, satellite navigation, engines and chartplotters most cruising boats avoided them. But cruising sailors’ confidence is growing sometimes faster than their skills and what is dangerous now is the assumption that modern devices and technology is making cruising here possible and safer. Successful cruising here is dependent on the skill of the yachtsmen and the conditions at the time.
I was not at all keen to make a stop-over in these atolls, but as Rob expressed an interest I was prepared to try for an entry into one of the lagoons. However the latest weather forecast put an end to that idea. I was not happy for Rob’s sake but I was relieved.
I may have mentioned Torsten’s visit to install software onto our computer so we can use accurate and free charts we have scanned from the internet. Overlaid with Google Earth these have opened up the world of cartography to the small cruiser. When we get to Tahiti we will buy a GPS mouse for the computer so we can see our position on the chart.
This is a real alternative to paper charts and the chartplotter, so in the event of theft, damage, including electrics wipe-out from a lightning strike, computers and IPads with the right software are a good backup to traditional and modern methods.
When we chatted about the culture of the Tikis, Torsten asked if I had ever read Eric von Daniken’s books including Chariots of the Gods. Well many years ago I did. Eric believed he had evidence from all over the world that beings from outer space may have come to earth and developed cultures for example on Easter Island, the Peruvian Nazca Plains, The Mayan temples etc. It might explain the huge masks the Marquesan Tikis appear to be wearing over their eyes. I must see if they are on Kindle and have another read.
16:06.47S 147:58.46W. The Enhanced Trades
Today, the 8th August is day 6 and for the last three days we have been experiencing what are known as the enhanced trades which typify August.
Last night the wind rose howling and screaming to 32 knots, Force 7, a near gale. We pulled in and let out the genoa a few inches at a time, more times than I can remember and we are still due to arrive off Papeete, Tahiti first thing tomorrow. The seas have not risen with the wind. Probably because of the protective and submerged Tuamotu Mountains, so life below goes on as normal, like Moly and Ratty in their burrows.
Rob has just crawled to the foredeck to tighten the anchor chain on the windlass because it was clanking. The anchor is firmly secured with a stainless rod through it so no risk of losing it.
I had another go at bread-making but the dough did not rise like the wind so I divided it into 8 balls, rolled them flat and dry fried them to make pitta bread. Undeterred I wanted to know if the sachets of yeast were at fault so I made a starter solution with warm water and sugar and as it frothed so well I quickly sieved the rest of the old flour into a bowl and made a small loaf. That did rise and made a reasonable little loaf, not the usual house brick.
I sliced some and we had it with brie and home-made plum jam for lunch.
We researched Bora Bora where one anchors off the Yacht club within the coral lagoon, Niue where we pick up a buoy in the open roadstead and have to winch the dinghy onto the concrete quay each time we land because of the swell, and Tonga, our final stop before we plan our gauntlet run to New Zealand to meet an expected low half way, where there is still plenty of sea room.
Niue was the first island in the world to have wireless Wi-Fi and we gather we can receive it on board on the mooring provided our antenna is up to it. We shall see.
On leaving the Marquesas we had almost the same distance to go to NZ as we had from Bahia across to Nuku Hiva, 3535 miles, but Zoonie has already eaten well into it as if it were the perfect sponge cake.
Yesterday we sat in the cockpit for sundowners during a timely lull and it was really pleasant. Blue everywhere, white fluffy clouds and foaming wave crests and there was nothing in the sky like a broadening band of ominous cloud to suggest another blow, but it came anyway!
We reached our waypoint at the start of the passage between the Tuamotu atolls Ahe and Rangiroa as planned, just as the sun rose yesterday, having controlled Zoonie’s speed with reefing on the way. We could see Ahe, just, a feint grey shadow interspersed with palm trees as we sped by in 24 knots of wind. We hoped there was no one on the inside waiting to negotiate the narrow passage out. Some of the atolls have marked anchorages, in others you take your chance with eyeball navigation and Mr Google if possible.
The lighter the water the shallower it is. It’s best to approach around midday when the current out is slackening. But to have the sun behind one is only possible if the entrance is at the right angle to it. Many of the coral stacks are uncharted and touching one can easily hole a boat.
Next year when we are back up amongst the islands we will have plenty of practice coral hopping around Fiji. In the meantime we are twenty four hours from Tahiti and still waters, bars, restaurants, a swimming pool and internet.