Magical Marquesas

A glorious beam reach between Fatu Hiva and Tahuata in perfect conditions.

A short daylight passage

Today we left Fatu Hiva to return to Tahuata,  a shortish trip of around 45 miles. We got up with the sun and sat in the cockpit drinking tea whilst the day brightened around us. The Anchorage quiet and sleeping. We had to shatter the piece with the engine whilst we pulled up the anchor and motored the first mile or so, the bulk of the island behind us providing a wind shadow.

Soon however the wind found us and diesel power was replaced by sails. A beam wind of 12 knots, perfect gentle sailing.

Island hopping is different to deep water,  as Fatu Hiva shrank behind us Tahuata was already in site in the distance,  shrouded in a bonnet of white fluffy clouds. The sky is a light blue,  big white cumulus clouds dot the horizon,  passing behind us a dark squall cloud threatens to interrupt our piece but stays away.  The sea is a deeper blue, the odd white crest on the waves but mostly sun sparkling from the surface. 

Unlike deep water we have several other boats in site, 3 sailing and a couple of inter island ferries.  More boats than we saw in 3 weeks and 3000miles during our crossing. 

The crew spend the morning dozing, reading or just watching the world, boobies and fairy turns occasional fly past but so far no dolphins. The watermaker whiring away below topping up the tanks whilst we are in such crystal clear waters.

As we approach the end of Tahuata we anticipate loosing the wind again so will probably end the trip motoring again. 

We will anchor in time for an afternoon swim, the possibility of more dolphins or manta rays and definitely another sunset.

Tim

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Moving slowly onwards

Our second anchorage on Tahuata had fed us well, the following morning we went ashore again and explored more of the settlement,  despite the heat we followed the dirt road out of the village and climbed up to a ridge which gave stunning views along the coast. Then it was back to the boat for more snorkeling. 

The next bay along the coast, Hapatoni, was  our destination the following morning,  this was only a few miles so we were anchored in white sand by 10.30. As we arrived we noticed a pod of spinner dolphins just behind us so Heather and I quickly jumped overboard and swam to join them. We were lucky enough to be able to watch them swim beneath us, a little indistinct in the water but so streamlined and sleek, moving seemingly effortlessly,  they were not in the least interested in us but we saw a couple of " fly passes" before they left. Even if we can't claim to have swum with dolphins we can say they swam past us a few times. How lucky are we to have done even that?

The village of Hapatoni was a quiet sleepy place, we saw few people but those who were about were friendly and cheerful. The modern houses are very obviously built in a place which has been enhabited for a long time. Many are built on the old stone platforms used as foundations for the original wooden dwellings of the islands. These platforms, called pae pae or meae, can be many hundreds of years old, in our wandering we have found many overgrown in the jungle or with a single tiki on them. It just shows how old the civilisation here is, there may not be the historical buildings and structures of our own accent history but there has been civilisation here for just as long. All along the water front here was a raised stone embankment , called the Royal Road. It was built in the 18th century and still protecting the village from the sea as well as being the high street,(and only street).

Our stay here was only short as we had planned a night passage to Fatu Hiva,  the next island in our trip. Before we left though we were invited over to Matilda,  another boat in the anchorage,  for sundowners. These gatherings of cruisers are a lovely social way to exchange news and information as well as meeting new people. 

The passage to Fatu Hiva was uneventful,  the wind was light and from the wrong direction so we motored the 45 miles or so, at least we arrived with full batteries and water tanks due to the abundance of amps supplied by the engine. 

Our approach to the anchorage was not the usual crystal clear waters we are used to,  they had obviously had heavy rain overnight and the river running into the bay was heavy with mud and silt, the steep, lush cliffs surrounding the bay were also running with water, every gully a temporary waterfall adding to the brown water filling the bay. It was however still an incredible sight. The anchorage was quite busy,  a dozen or so boats all swinging around on their chains, the sea bed here shelves so we ended up having to anchor in 22m, a lot of chain to let out.

The Bay we were anchored in is probably the most photographed in the whole of French Polynesia, if you Google Fatu Hiva you will probably get a photo of The Bay Of Virgins. The bay was called something far more graphic until European missionaries arrived and spoilt everything,  they apparently stopped people eating "long pig" as well. 

We went ashore for our customary first wandering with the intention of walking to a waterfall for a swim, we were stopped by a river we had to ford, it was still in spate from the previous nights rain. It was possibly a good thing as the water coming over the falls may have been carrying all sorts of debris to drop on our heads.

Whilst returning to the boat we chatted to some other sailers who had arranged for dinner the following evening at a local house, would we like to join them? well yes of course we would.

So yesterday turned into quite a full day, we started early and climbed to a view point almost 500m above the anchorage, it was very steep and hot even starting at 7am but we were rewarded with increadable views. We  then had a second attempt on the waterfall trail, this time the river crossing proved passable and after an hour slogging through jungle we were rewarded with 70m high falls and a deep cold pool beneath to swim in.

Dinner out proved we'll worth the effort, there were 15 or so fellow yachties present and we were treated to some very local produce. We started with raw fish, fresh from the bay, marinated in lime and coconut served with red banana and then chicken with rice  also cooked with coconut. I suspect the chicken had been quite local as well.  There was also an endless supply of fruit picked within feet of our outside dining table. Our enterprising hosts also produced a veriaty of beautifully made local crafts, she worked on tapa, local designs painted on bark which has been beaten to make a heavy cloth like material and he carved wooden tiki from local woods. We returned to the boat tired and full,  all in all a very good day.

Tim

And Fatu Hiva just gets better & better

Arrived Fatu Hiva

PSSST, want buy some fruit???

Yesterday,  whilst wandering round the village Simon and Sally were accosted by a man in an old pick up truck, he basically said, but in French,  "psssst, would you like to buy some fruit", well, a little fruit is always useful so they climbed aboard and off they went to the fruit farm.

The first Heather and I knew about it was the dingy arriving back at Shimshal,  almost full of fruit, with Simon hanging on trying to keep it all in. Sally had been left ashore as there wasn't enough room for her. 

So now we have 20+ huge  mangoes,  a dozen pamplemouse, scores of lemons and bunches of banana.  No scurvey on shimshal from now on.

Tim

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To the Cross

Vaiatu

Moving on and manta rays

We left the crowded and rolling anchorage of Hiva Oa and moved south, not very far, only about 8 miles, we motored as there was little wind and to put a good charge of amps into the batteries. Out destination was a bay on the west side of the island of Tahuata.  It was deep and sheltered, no Pacific swells rolling in to disturb our sleep,  the head of the bay was a white sand beach, fringed with coconut palms.  As we slowly entered the bay we noticed a flight of manta rays slowly heading out, they passed either side of us, huge and silent. The bay is a favourite amongst crusers, who seem to spend their time recovering after a long crossing and the hectic anchorage of Hiva oa.

After all our Galapagos diving adventures the only big pelagic creature I realy wanted to see were Manta rays,  this bay was known as a place to find them and our entrance sighting was a good start.

Each morning of our stay here Heather and I would get up at first light and snorkle off the back of the boat, we would slowly drift out of the bay into deeper water all the time scanning below for Mantas, we would then cross to the edge of the bay and swim back in along the cliff looking at the fish life and the odd turtle which happened to be passing by. Twice in the 4 days we swam we were rewarded with a manta ray, slowly circling below us, mouth wide open to filter the small marine creatures which make up its diet,  the mantas were probably 3m across but at no time did we feel threatened,  they swim so gently,  not seeming to need any effort to move, yet easily leaving us behind. On both occasions we followed until we were left behind,  the ray drifting off into the gloom.

Our morning snorkeling expeditions generally took about 90 minutes,  we would return for tea and breakfast,  the sun now well up and temperatures rising. 

We did have work to do, some small repairs after 3 weeks at sea, nothing serious and easily done on a steady platform,  the big job was the state of poor old Shimshals hull. Despite fresh antifouling in Panama,  a hull scrub in Galapagos we had a significant build up of weed and a black stain on the gell coat above the waterline. Below the waterline and on the copper coat were the remains of a healthy crop of goose necked barnicals,  the bulk of the barnical dropped off a couple of days after anchoring, they need the flow of moving water to feed apparently but each one left behind a small chalky pad, its own small anchor. So, over the next few days, a couple of hours at a time, we all scrubbed,  scraped,  rubbed and at times scratched at the hull. Every boat in the anchorage was similarly occupied and strains of "never seen it this bad before ", echoed round the anchorage. 

Eventually after some days of hard work Shimshal is once again presentable. The final remaining goose necked barnical remains will have to wait for haul out and a tickling with an industrial pressure washer. 

The rest of our time was spent at leasure, Heather and I have been able to get back to our swimming managing to get a few km in each day . It is a viable way to visit other boats here, the water is clear and warm, it is however difficult it take anything with you. We did have comments from other boats as to the amount of time we spent in the water. 

It was also a sociable time  several of the other boats were known to us and new boats are always interesting to chat with, we had new friends drop by for coffee,  delivered fresh scones to one boat, towed behind a swimmer wrapped in zip lock bags and a dry bag and one evening hosted 22 on board for drinks and nibbles.  Everyone brings their own drinks and contributions to the nibble pile so not to depleat boat stores too much. Shimshal was well down on her lines that evening and there was not much mingling space but great fun. On our final night there we cooked supper for a couple Shimshal first met way back in the Atlantic waters off America. 

We swam to the beach and wandered its golden sands, we couldn't go much further as there is basically jungle behind the beach and no paths. Each evening we sat in the cockpit and watched the sun set. No green flash yet but maybe one day.

Yesterday we decided we should move on, not far, just a few miles along the coast , this time to a bay with the islands settlement.  We arrived in the afternoon into a tricky anchorage,  the weather has become a bit windy and there are strong gusts coming off the hills behind the bay.

Yesterday evening we got ashore for a wander and found a little shack on the waterfront who was cooking that evening so ate well. This morning it is still very gusty and Shimshal is tugging and pulling at her anchorage,  we have just watched a pod of dolphin hunting in the bay whilst we had breakfast and aim to get ashore again for a better exploration and a walk.

Tim

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Shimshal, Matilda and Enki in the Marquesas from Ruffian

Shimshal, Matilda and Enki in the Marquesas from Ruffian

Another OCC gathering

Jamie amd Sunyoung arrove in their nesting tender

Matilda and Enki

Ruffian

Dué

Pacific Wind