South Pacific (part one)
Across the South Pacific
Marquesas
Click here for a map of French Polynesia.
We left Villamil on the Galapagos island of Isla Isabela on May 14 and during the next day came up the Bolivar Channel between Isabela and Fernandina. We did not see any whales but were rewarded with sightings of flightless cormorants, basking sharks and sunfish.
And so our passage began - during the 28 day voyage we saw 7 boats including one Japanese or Korean fishing boat which was on a collision course with us: having called them on VHF (and got no reply) we took avoiding action, only to have then turn round and follow us for a while! We caught 3 mahi mahi and a tuna, one of the mahi mahi being closely stalked by a large hammerhead shark - we took extra care not to fall in! So we were able to eat fish for about half the days on board and really enjoyed that, although the killing of them was not a pleasant experience...
Marquesas Landfall
The weather ranged from calm to rough seas with over 40 knots of wind - pacific it was not! Apart from bruises the only damage sustained was water in the main saloon when a deck hatch had not been closed properly, autopilot failed, automatic bilge pump stopped working and mainsail stitching came undone. The fresh fruit and vegetables lasted very well - only a few of the 60 oranges went rotten and had to be thrown out; we triumphed over the stalk of bananas when the last ones were all ripe by slicing and sun-drying them. Due to rough conditions and slackness of the galley slave, bread was baked only once but was delicious! 28 days and 3000 miles later we made landfall at Hanavave Bay, Fatu Hiva on the Marquesas Islands. Once safely anchored euphoria set in. Having been greeted by friends from previous anchorages, taken showers and washed hair, been given tea and had an attack of verbal diarrhoea we really enjoyed sleeping in the aft cabin with clean sheets and without pitching and rolling.
The Hanavave anchorage is very dramatic with cliffs on either side, rock pinnacles by the beach and high jagged mountains behind. On shore we appreciated new birdsongs, the smell of flowers, fresh bread, and friendly people. The village shop had a limited range of goods (mostly cans) so we bought some canned (NZ) butter, and onions. Our acquisition of fruit was a little more complicated - an old T-shirt and lipstick in exchange for 8 oranges and 3 coconuts; another lipstick for 2 bunches of bananas. We hosted a couple of dinner parties and went via 4WD truck with 10 others over the mountains to the village of Omoa. Then the wind rushing down from the mountains really picked up - anchors were dragging and the boat in front of us picked up our anchor chain and the fun was over. Time to move on. As we left the bay on June 15 the wind was so strong that we were making 4 knots with no sails up and 2 anchors in series plus 6 metres of chain still hanging in the water! Jim finally managed to get them on board in time to see the wind gauge register 50 knots. This was not how we imagined the Pacific! A brisk sail brought us to our current location, where we checked in at the Gendarmerie. We were pleased that we had nothing to pay - first time for ages, but then we are in French Polynesia. Rosie was able to send her letters (written on voyage) to the children, and 2 hours was spent on the internet checking on the mail, bank and credit card statements and how El Nino is progressing. The savings in checking in, however, soon disappeared with eggs at 500 CPF a dozen (2.75) and some bananas and 3 grapefruit for 900CPF (5.25).
At the time of starting to write this on June 20 we are anchored in the Baie de Tahuku, Hiva Oa; Ile de Marquises. A gentle breeze is blowing and the sun is shining, both facilitating the drying of the washing done earlier today at the stone trough thoughtfully provided at the dinghy dock. We are in the company of 18 other yachts in the bay surrounded by steeply ridged mountains covered in forest. Most of the sailors are, like us, taking their ease having made the crossing from the Galapagos, before heading further west. Now its June 26 and we are preparing to move on. A week has flown by - enjoying exploring this lovely island by walking, hitchhiking and by car hire yesterday. The latter enabled us to get to the Lipona Archaeological site - stone tikis (of chiefs, warriors) and stone platforms with flowers and fruit trees all around. We also collected, from the roadside, a great store of bananas, mangoes, limes, pamplemousse, coconuts and another fruit (name unknown)! This should keep us going through the Tuamotu Islands to Tahiti.
That's it for now; We have repaired sails and bilge pump, got a fluxgate compass from a friend to fix the autopilot, and are almost ready to go.
