Janet
May 10, 2012, 5:35 pm, Baie d’Opunohu, Island of Moorea, French Polynesia

As we were getting ready for the sail over to Raiatea, Mark was on deck and began to hear someone yelling and waving to him from the beach. Mark yelled down to me, "I think we found Britt!" We had been looking for Brittany (s/v Zoe) for several days because her mother Heather was visiting and we heard they were flying to Bora Bora and not sailing on Zoe. We thought we would try to have them sail with us for the trip to Bora Bora. Unfortunately, after multiple attempts to contact Britt through Skype, Facebook, email, calling the hotel where they were staying we had not made contact.

Sure enough it was Britt and her mother on the beach and we took our dinghy ashore to say hello. They were on the way to the airport and just happened to see us in the anchorage. After a very brief discussion, Britt and Heather were on the way to the airport to cancel their flights and jump aboard At Last. After getting their flights refunded, they returned the rental car and were dropped off at the beach in front of where we were anchored. We picked them and their luggage up at the beach in our dinghy and brought them on board.

We stayed an extra night in Moorea to get Britt's mother, Heather, acclimated to the boat. She has never been on a sailboat before. We thought leaving for an overnight sail to Raiatea within hours of her getting on the boat might be a bit too much for a first time sailor. In Moorea the next day, we went snorkeling right off the boat in a nearby coral reef. The highlight of the snorkel was finding an octopus and a stone fish, which is a very poisonous fish. Britt and I would have liked that useful information before we had gotten so close. Fortunately, the fish wasn't bothered by our curiosity.

The sail to Raiatea was a bit rolly with waves hitting our beam for the entire trip. Everyone except for me took a good dose of Dramamine before we left on the trip. Despite not much dinner getting eaten due to some queasiness, no one got sick. In fact, Heather was very excited that she never felt one bit of sea sickness.

We spent the next two days exploring the islands of Raiatea and Tahaa. We had a fantastic time with Britt and Heather. I loved all of the help with the cooking and was grateful not to have to do the dishes while they were on board. It just seemed to be the perfect mix of relaxing and getting to know one another better. For a novice sailor, Heather did remarkably well negotiating the boat and dinghy.



We did find an amazing anchorage off the Motu Tautau in Tahaa. (A motu is a reef islet formed by broken coral and sand surrounding an atoll). We struggled a bit with the pronunciation of the names of many of these islands. Tahaa became Tahahahahaha which seemed infinitely easier to pronounce and much more fun to say. While there we had an amazing view of a very exclusive resort where the over the water bungalows started at $1,500.00 a night. We imagined that we might run into Brad and Angelina or the Kardashians while anchored there.

One afternoon we went snorkeling between the motus and we saw so many different types of fish. The coral formed many caves and interesting structures so that you were always surprised by what you would see around the corner. On the way back to the boat we were in about four feet of water and I was on the bow of the dinghy making sure we didn't hit any coral. Suddenly, a reef shark that was about four feet long swam right in front of the dinghy. I could have reached out and touched it!

We have a quick three hour sail to Bora Bora and will arrive there on Sunday, May 13th. We will then have some activities with the fleet and leave French Polynesia. We will have quite a few four or five day sails over the next several weeks. We will be stopping at the islands of Suvarov and Nuie for less than 72 hours each before moving on. The entire fleet will regroup in Vava'u, Tonga the first week of June and then we will have a free sailing period while in Tonga until we reach Fuji and regroup there with the fleet for July 4th. More amazing places to see...

Society Islands

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Janet
May 9, 2012, 5:25 pm, Baie d’Opunohu, Island of Moorea, French Polynesia

After ten days out of the water, we are now back in. I am absolutely thrilled. Mark is relieved that I didn't like the hotel so much that I might change my mind about getting back on the boat. I think that might be why we went to such a modest hotel. Two other wives who stayed in hotels with suites were less anxious to get back on their boats. I am beginning to wonder if Mark didn't pick our hotel very thoughtfully. Isn't my husband smart?

We have found an idyllic anchorage on Moorea Island which was just a quick day sail from Tahiti. The anchorage has crystal clear water. Even by moonlight we are able to see the bottom in twenty feet of water. It's remarkable!

Mark is really glad that I was so anxious to get back on the boat because we sold our house while we were in Tahiti! Yeah!!! Now we can officially call the boat our one and only home. Many thanks to my brother, my parents, Andrea, our attorney and realtor who are all working on our behalf back in East Longmeadow! We often remark that we could not have done this trip without the support of family and friends. We talked to Andrea and my parents today who were at our house with the movers. All our stuff will be put in storage. The official closing is on May 21, 2012.

After several days of work on the house stuff and enjoying being back on the boat, we decided to take our dinghy out and drive around the anchorage. In sail terms it is called gunk holing. Not sure where that come from but it just means going exploring in your dinghy. It being happy hour, Mark and I took martinis and a plate of cheese and crackers. We spent the next hour and an half taking in the sights on the island and watching the sunset. The views were spectacular. I said that this was one of the best evenings we have spent on this trip.



When we got back to the boat, we had a dinner of filet mignon and opened our last bottle of a very special wine we purchased years ago while in East Longmeadow. We toasted to sailing around the world with the one you love. It was just another perfect day in paradise.

We are leaving tonight for an overnight sail to Raiatea which is another island in the Society Islands. It is about a 15 hour sail and we want to get there during daylight thus the departure time.

Society Islands

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Janet
April 23, 2012, 7:02 pm, Technimarine Shipyard, Papeete, Tahiti

We arrived in Papeete, Tahiti after a rigorous sail from the Tuamotu Islands. On average we had about 25 knot winds with waves of 6-8 feet on our beam (side of the boat). We were reefed (sails reduced) for most of the trip and heeled over quite a bit. We have only been on a port tack since we left the United States. We sure would like to lean the other way!
Before arriving in Tahiti, we thought it would be a tropical paradise perfect for honeymooning couples. We were quite surprised to find that the island which is the capitol of French Polynesia feels more like a big city. We took a bus tour around the island and our guide, Lydia, gave us good honest information about the state in Tahiti. Papeete is the capital of Tahiti and it is surrounded by suburbs. Almost all of the people on the island live in the capitol or in the suburbs surrounding the capital. Like most of the islands in French Polynesia, the majority of the island is uninhabited. Unfortunately, Tahiti has lost approximately 60% of its tourism volume since 2008. This drop has left the island's economy struggling. The political situation is also tense because half of the people on the island are pro French while the other half wishes for independence. Although Tahiti does get a lot of financial support from France, the island also has to follow many of the French laws and ways of functioning which may not work for Tahiti. For example, the school year is based on the French school year and the children are off during the summer. The summer is too hot in Tahiti and many locals wish the school break was during the winter when it is more conducive to vacation and spending time outdoors. The people of Tahiti have no ability to change this situation as long as they are a French territory. Because of the split in the government here, our guide Lydia told us, "Nothing is getting done." This statement should sound quite familiar to our friends and family in America. Currently 25% of the people in Tahiti live below the poverty level and an equivalent percent are unemployed. Unfortunately driving around Tahiti, the extent of the poverty is very evident. Lydia also told us that there is a wide gap between the poor and the rich with there being no real middle class. The highest paid people on the island are government workers, hospital workers, and teachers. Schooling is compulsory until the age of 16 but many families cannot afford to send their children to school beyond age 16. The healthcare is free. Locals pay to go to the doctor but the government reimburses them for almost all of the fees. It does not cost anything to be hospitalized. France did build a new hospital recently but the island is having difficulty affording the cost associated with running the hospital. France is also currently building a new prison because the current prison is filled 400% over capacity but the locals are in grave disagreement about where the prison should be built. Lydia did give us an excellent tour of the island. Her history was quite interesting. She was backpacking through Tahiti 19 years ago and fell in love and subsequently married a Tahitian man. She was originally from Great Britain and now speaks French and Tahitian. She was extremely well educated about the history of the island, local customs and the current struggles the island is facing. Unfortunately, on the day of the tour it was pouring rain so we didn't get any pictures of the beautiful waterfalls, huge blow holes, botanical gardens, museums, and an ancient marae. These are sacred Polynesian grounds which were the sight of ancient religious ceremonies.



We have now been out of the water for one week. We are staying in a hotel room in downtown Papeete. Let's just say that it isn't exactly a five star hotel. We are staying there because it's convenient - it takes about 30 minutes to walk to the boat. We have been going to the boat every day to work on our to do lists. We did take one day off to tour the island and another afternoon/evening off for a rally get together. At the event, the seven boats (out of 29) who were double handed for the 21 day trip from the Galapagos to the Marquesas were recognized. It was a great feeling to think that we made it that long at sea, just the two of us.

You would think that we would love being off the boat and in a hotel room. It actually feels like we are back to work. Every day we get up, eat breakfast, walk to the boat, work on the boat until 4:00pm, walk back to the hotel, go get some dinner and then go to bed. I think it's the routine of this that is more discouraging than anything. We were only supposed to be out of the water for three days but it has been raining so the bottom has not been able to be painted. It has rained for the past four days straight. This has been the most rain we have seen since leaving the United States. All of our food is now at the ship yard manager's friend's house because our batteries cannot be charged and our food was about to spoil. We are an American boat and the shipyard's electrical hookups are all European. So no food, no cool drinks, no ice, etc. We are tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. Am I complaining too much?



There are some very good things about staying in a hotel:
1. Flushing the toilet and not having it go into a holding tank which will need to be dumped.
2. Being able to spin around in the shower without hitting a wall.
3. Air conditioning - sleeping in it and better yet getting out of the shower, getting dressed and not sweating before you leave the room.
4. Sleeping underneath a sheet, blanket and a light comforter without getting hot.
5. The best croissants I have ever eaten which Mark often brings to me in bed with a diet coke with lots of ice.
6. Having an ice machine and not having to make ice.
7. Complete silence when you go to sleep.
8. Sleeping in a bed big enough that I can roll over in the middle of the night and not accidently hit Mark and wake him.

Some not so good things about staying in a hotel:
1. European outlets - it has been at least two months since I last used a blow dryer.
2. A television where all the stations are in French or Tahitian - it was fun to flip the channels for a while but that has worn off quickly.
3. Not having what you need - like no umbrella or rain coats to go on the island tour when it was pouring rain.
4. Eating out every meal when you are exhausted at the end of the day. We did find McDonalds last night behind our hotel and took it back to the room to eat. Yes, it tastes about the same as in the United States.

We had quite a bit of fun in both the Marquesas Islands and the Tuamotu Islands so our to do lists were getting a bit long. We also had some things needing fixing that we couldn't do. Here is an idea of what we have been doing:

Ship Yard Work:
Clean and paint the bottom of the boat. Australia is very particular about coming into the country with a clean bottom. They are very concerned about any algae, marine life, barnacles, etc. that you may bring into the country. You need a specific type of bottom paint on the boat and be able to show that the bottom has been painted in the past six months.
Fix a broken stanchion which we broke on the way into the shipyard. We had way too much current and wind coming in. Our stanchion met up with the corner of the concrete dock. Whoops!
Grease and clean the washers on the rudder post. It has been squeaking since the trip to the Marquesas.
Rebolt the jib car which has also been squeaking.
Replace the swim platform with the new one that we received from Island Packet. The new ones have hinged openings where the water can come through the platform in case we take big waves underneath it. Nice service and innovation from Island Packet Yachts as usual!!

Mark's List:
Fix the heads. I broke the lever on the aft head when flushing it quite a while ago. Mark took the working head apart to figure out how to fix the one that was broken. Then we got a spare part from s/v Anastasia. Mark fixed the broken one with the spare part we received, couldn't put back together the one that was working, and then with help from Lee (s/v Samsara) got them both working again and were able to return the spare parts back to Anastasia. It was a saga that lasted for days. Yes, Mark spent 2 whole days breaking and fixing the toilets!
Replace the spinnaker halyard which had become frayed. Luckily we had a spare on board. We still need to go up the mast to figure out what frayed it.
The rest of the projects seem to be exercises in frustration. Mark (often with my help) has tried to fix a bunch of other things but we seem to keep hitting stumbling blocks. Our arch light is broken and needs to be replaced but we cannot find the right part we need. Our steaming light is not turning on. We checked the connections and they seem to be fine but we need to go up the mast to replace the bulb which will hopefully resolve it. We need to tighten the stay sail (for the second time) but it's been raining or too windy to do it. We tried to fix the steering connection at the helm which has been squeaking but we took it apart as much as we could but were unable to fix it. Much frustration, little progress.

Janet's List:
Clean the entire inside of the boat. Top to bottom. I have made quite a bit of progress but without electricity for the vacuum and without running water cleaning becomes difficult. Sometimes it feels like all I do is clean. Those who know I had Tracy clean our home in MA may not be feeling that sorry for me. It is amazing how dirty a boat gets when you live on it every day! I miss Tracy.

When we get put back into the water on Wednesday we will return to Taina Marina where we stayed for a few days before we were hauled out. It's a very nice marina. There we will finish cleaning the boat, go grocery shopping, do some laundry and then set sail for Bora Bora. We will visit a few islands between Tahiti and Bora Bora. We will leave Bora Bora for the Cook Islands on May 16, 2012.

By the way, we have a new yellow brick GPS tracker which now properly displays our location updated four times daily on the World ARC web site. To see our location just click on the link on the left side of this page "View Location of World ARC Fleet Boat in Real Time".

Society Islands

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Janet
April 15, 2012, 6:12 pm, Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia

We had a fantastic sail to the Tuamotu Islands with lots of wind. We were together with s/v Zoe and s/v Southern Cross the entire way so we chatted with them on the SSB radio once or twice per day. We were planning on going to the island Manihi first but were unable to reach the island before sunset so we kept sailing on to Rangiroa. These islands are the largest group of coral atolls in the world. Each island is a band of land with a lagoon in the middle. Typically, each has a channel which you enter through to reach the lagoon. The channels can carry large amounts of current going in and out. You should only enter the islands during the day due to the incredible amount of coral reefs you need to avoid. When we entered Rangiroa we had about 5 knots of current going through the channel. The lagoon is large enough (78 km long and 24 km wide) that the entire island of Tahiti would fit inside its reef. We anchored in front of the Kiaora Resort which had hotel rooms (huts) right over the water for only $1,000 per night. The view was spectacular and the Resort offered some of the most beautiful sunsets we had ever seen. Happy hour became a must even if a pina colada was $13.00, yes, French Polynesia is very expensive.



The next day in Rangiroa, we went snorkeling at 8:00 am with our friends on s/v Zoe. We got there early so the tide was slack and we wouldn't drift away. The snorkeling area was nick named the "Aquarium" and it lived up to its name. As soon as we tied our dinghies to the mooring balls there were hundreds of fish around our boat. We dropped in the water and the fish weren't very bothered by our presence but instead seemed quite curious. They would come right up to you and some would even give you a nibble. We saw huge moray eels on this trip which usually stay in their caves but instead would swim right below us. The eels were about five feet long and seemed to be 8 -10 inches around. They weren't very attractive but were quite a site. I felt as if we were in the water in the movie "Finding Nemo" where all of the fish were bright colors and beautiful. There had to be dozens upon dozens of different varieties of fish. And yes, we again were swimming with sharks. They are black tip sharks and are reportedly harmless. Mark had one come up to him within a few feet and harmless or not, he has had enough of shark watching. The coral was also magnificent with so many oysters you couldn't count them.

After the snorkeling, we did a drift dive through the channel. This was our first drift dive. You tied yourself to your dinghy with a long line and then snorkel through the channel allowing the current to take you through. Although the fish watching wasn't as good as at the aquarium, it was quite an experience to drift through the channel.

And then, we went into town to see the sites. Most of the towns in the Tuamotu Islands consist of one concrete main street with a church, couple of small grocery stores, a building selling local crafts and a couple of very small restaurants. We weren't planning on going into town so we had little money and not everyone had shoes. We figured we could afford a beer for each of us and a couple of bags of chips so that became our 11:30 am lunch. We sat at the picnic table outside the grocery store and several local men on their lunch break joined us. One gentleman spoke a little English and the rest of us practiced our French. We have been finding everyone in French Polynesia to be very friendly. We enjoyed their company greatly.

That evening the WARC boats in the lagoon were invited over to Zoe for a movie. They had a projector and let out their main sail. They projected the movie "Master and Commander" onto the sail for an 8:00 pm show time. Five dinghies arrived with beer and popcorn. Zoe handed out fresh baked brownies. All of us sat in our dinghies tied to Zoe and watched the movie. What an incredible experience! We have to do this at home with the Cruising Club of New England!!

While we were in Rangiroa, we also visited one of the Pearl Farms. We received quite an education about how they cultivate and harvest the pearls which is quite a scientific process. The farm we visited produced 1/12 of the pearls in French Polynesia. They produced approximately 300,000 pearls per year but only one to two percent of them were of the highest quality. Pearl farms are quite regulated so they are only allowed to use oyster shells that they catch in a special netting. Once the oyster shells are caught they take three years to become ready to make a pearl. In order to make the pearl, the shell is implanted with a round piece of mother of pearl which is made from another oyster's shell from Mississippi. Attached to this round ball is what is called a host. The host is a piece of another oyster which will actually grow around the mother of pearl ball to make the full pearl. This host gives the pearl its color. It takes two years for the pearl to be made. Once the pearl is fully grown, it is removed from the oyster by prying the oyster open by a couple of centimeters. They cannot be opened more than this amount otherwise the shell will crack. Once the pearl is removed, another mother of pearl ball is placed in the oyster but no new host is needed. The new pearl ball is a larger size ball which the oyster can now accommodate. The total number of times that an oyster can produce a pearl is three times. The final time would produce the largest size pearl. We were able to see the dozen technicians at work adding the balls and hosts to the oysters at a rate of 450 oysters per person per day. It was quite fascinating! Then of course we were allowed to shop in their store. I didn't feel the need to buy any Tahitian pearls because they were quite expensive. I did see a necklace I liked and Simone on s/v Serendipity encouraged me to find out how much it cost. I am usually very adept at picking out the most expensive jewelry in the store. The woman handed me the necklace and showed me the price. It wasn't too bad but still too expensive. Then she pointed to a sign which was in French indicating that all of the necklaces in the case were half off. She got out the calculator and punched in some numbers to give me the cost of the necklace in dollars. Suddenly, the necklace was an irresistible deal of the century.

A Pearl Being Harvested from the Oyster


Before we left the Pearl Farm we were given the edible part of one of the oysters which had produced its last pearl. Yes, I had a piece and was more enthusiastic than Mark about trying it. While in Rangiroa, we went to a barbeque at the Kiaora Resort with Magali and David (s/v Ensemble) and I had eaten several oysters which were quite good. The food at the barbeque was very French so we tried all sorts of new things like blood sausage and pig intestine. Since we have been in countries where English is not the primary language for the past several months, we have become accustomed to interpreting menus which are in another language. It's not uncommon for Mark to turn to me after ordering and ask me if I know what I ordered. My typical response is that I am not exactly sure but I am sure that I will like it. It does make for some interesting eating!

Sadly, we left Rangiroa on April 19th for the day and a half sail to Tahiti. We have made arrangements to have our boat hauled out to get the bottom painted. We also have some repair work to be done at the shipyard. Even more sadly, much of our time in Tahiti will be doing work on the boat. We have heard from many people that while circumnavigating you just get to do boat work with a better view.

Tuamotu Islands

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Janet
April 11, 2012, 5:55 pm, Baie Taoihae, Nuku Hiva French Polynesia

Hiva Oa
The rest of our time in Hiva Oa was fantastic. We stayed on the island for longer than expected because we wanted to welcome the last boat (Peat Smoke) into the harbor which had a difficult sail and ended up arriving almost one week later. There were quite a few other boats that also stayed and when Peat Smoke arrived we blew our fog horns and air horns. We made a big production and then quickly helped them anchor. Then we all went aboard their boat with drinks in hand.

We also took a tour of the island with a local woman, Mary Jo, who drove us around. The roads were quite rustic and the ride was very bumpy. We stopped along the tour to see several sites of stone tiki's. The views were incredible and we went to the home of a friend of Mary Jo's for lunch. All locally grown and raised food. Absolutely delicious. We were also able to purchase some of the fruit - their grapefruit is huge and tastes a bit of lime.

Our last day before we left we went to the grocery store for provisions. The stores had quite a bit of food which we were surprised by. It was just very expensive. I paid $8 for a box of Kellogg's cereal. Yikes!!! We also went to the Paul Gauguin museum. He lives and died on Hiva Oa and is buried in the local cemetery. The museum also had a replica of his "House of Pleasure." He was a very talented but controversial man. I encourage you to Google him.

Tahuata
From Hiva Oa we went to the small island of Tahuata. The bay had the most beautiful blue water that we have ever seen. The water was so clear that we could see our anchor in the sand 25 feet on the bottom. We had 2 sharks and 2 manta rays visit us. We went there to clean the bottom of the boat which was full of gunk and barnacles from the long passage. We had a wooden kitchen tool to scrape the barnacles and sponges to scrub off the green gunk. It was not pleasant and became a worse job when I got out of the water and realized that I had been stung by multiple jelly fish. I counted about fifty stings on seven different places on my body. Very itchy. Mark didn't get stung and apparently he didn't because he has hair on his body. I told Mark that either I couldn't clean the bottom of the boat again or I was going to grow the hair out on my legs. I was able to find some jelly fish ointment in the medical kit and it has become my new beauty routine along with the Neosporin for all of my cuts and scrapes.



We stayed in Tahuata for three nights and had the anchorage to ourselves the last night. It was our own little paradise.

Oa Pou
The next island we went to was Oa Pou. Our time there was a bit traumatic. The first morning we saw several of the boats boarded by the Coast Guard/French Customs. Luckily they did not board our boat but in talking with other boats they searched the entire boat for undeclared alcohol and illegal drugs. They are concerned about the amount of alcohol people bring into the Marquesas because locals will try to barter their goods for alcohol. The Coast Guard warned us not to participate in this type of exchange.



We quickly went to shore when we determined the officials went back to their main boat. We were having a discussion about whether to tie the dinghy to the dock or land it on the beach, when we were caught unexpectedly by a big wave. The dinghy filled with water and I went overboard. We were both very wet and sandy but decided to walk through the town in this horrible condition because we were planning on leaving the island in just a few hours. On shore Mark got blisters on his feet and was trying to walk on the hot pavement without burning his feet - not easy. And then he stumbled a bit and broke the strap on our backpack. In the end we decided to get back to the safety of the boat and pull up anchor asap.

Nuku Hiva
We arrived in Nuku Hiva on Good Friday which made things a bit difficult. The locals take much more time off for holidays and many things were closed. We were able to arrange to fill our fuel tank which we were warned was incredibly challenging. We had the crew from Southern Cross help us - two people on board with us and Kathy on land doing the paperwork for the fuel, catching the lines and paying for the fuel. The dock was a huge cement dock to which you needed to back your stern up to. We needed to what's called Med moor which means drop an anchor about 200 feet from the dock and back our stern toward the dock and throw two lines off our stern and tie them to the dock. It can work well but the water was so deep that our anchor did not set. So basically I held the boat off the dock with the motor while we filled the fuel tank. The swells were quite large so our boat bobbed up and down during the entire process. We even had to throw a line ashore and tie the fuel hose to it to then pull it on board. Many of the other boats ended up hitting the dock and damaging dinghy motors, wind vanes and chipping fiberglass. With Southern Cross's help we went through the process undamaged. We long for a floating dock with rubber rails in a protected anchorage. From what we hear, we may be waiting quite a while.

Our dinghy motor has not been working since being on Hiva Oa due to water getting into the engine. Mark spent the next day trying to fix it while Kathy from Southern Cross and I went into town to explore. When I returned to the boat Mark was almost down emptying the oil from the dinghy and replacing it. He also changed the spark plugs and cleaned the entire engine. I helped him drop the dinghy in the water and it started on the first try. He did a victory lap and everyone on Southern Cross cheered him on and they sounded their fog horn for him. These fixes become incredible victories and causes for huge celebration.

On Easter morning eight of us made it to the 8:00 am service at the Catholic Church. The primary religion in the Marquesas is Catholic. The service was almost entirely in the native Marquesian language with only the Bible readings in French. We did have a bulletin and several of us made every attempt to follow along. The music was beautiful with only a drum to accompany the singing. Many of the congregants, both men and women, were dressed all in white. Everyone who attended found the service very memorable.

While on Nuku Hiva we visited a nearby bay for a hike to a water fall. Nine of us went over to the bay on s/v (sailing vessel) Zoe. By the time we got to the beach for the hike it was later in the afternoon so we weren't able to hike the whole way. We did get to a lookout point where we had a magnificent view of the waterfall. The walk was beautiful. Homes along the way had incredibly groomed lawns with a plethora of flora and fruit trees. There were horses, dogs, cats and goats along the walk. We also needed to hike through a cold water river. Amazing. When we got back to the beach we were picked up and brought to s/v Matilda to drinks. Heather was playing the song "At Last" as we arrived! What a great day.

Steven and Kathy from Southern Cross called us the next day from the Pearl Lodge stating that we needed to get up to the Lodge and join them. They said that a car from the Lodge would pick us up at the dinghy dock in ½ an hour. We scrambled to get ready and arrived at the Lodge for a swim. The infinity pool overlooked the bay. We all swam and drank wine for the afternoon and then decided to stay for dinner. The dinner was magnificent and we asked to see the chef after the meal. He came out and we were surprised to see that he was the gentleman who picked us up at the dinghy dock. He also drove us all back to the dinghy dock. It was an amazing afternoon/evening with great friends from Southern Cross and Zoe.



We provisioned today and are on our way to the Tuamotu islands. We will be sailing along with Southern Cross and Zoe with two other boats on the way tomorrow. It will be a 500 mile sail which will take 3.5 days. We are a bit discouraged to hear that other boats that are making the trip now do not have wind. Our GPS tracking system that updates the World ARC web site (Yellow Brick Tracking) stopped working a few days ago. It started to report that we were heading back to the Galapagos. Don't worry we are not turning around. We will update the World ARC website daily as best we can from the boat. But we are heading southwest from here.

We are currently sitting at Henry's café called Café Vaeaki on the dock finishing the blog posts. They have been our gracious hosts for a barbeque, a breakfast birthday party and many other meals. We cannot recommend their food and hospitality enough. The photo gallery has been updated with all the photos of the Marquesas Islands. Enjoy!

Marquesas

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Mark
March 27, 2012, 11:52 am, Baie Tahauka, Hiva-Oa French Polynesia

We arrived at Tahauka Bay in Hiva-Oa on Saturday, March 24 at 5:41pm eastern time (1:11pm local) almost 21 days since we left the Galapagos. The picture above is a portion of the bay showing At Last and some of the World ARC fleet. Overall, we feel very good about the trip. Janet keeps commenting about how much she likes the long passages but she was glad to see the island rise above the horizon at dawn that morning. We spent most of the last three days motoring with the engine due to lack of wind so this part of the trip was relatively uneventful. The main excitement was waking up in the main cabin and realizing I was sleeping with a fish. The flying fish must have a contest to see who can find the smallest opening in a boat and try shooting the gap like Jordan shooting a 3-pointer with nothing but net.



We arrived just in time for a massive down pour in the bay where the World ARC fleet is anchored. But the skies cleared also just in time for the islanders to host a formal ceremony welcoming the fleet to Hiva-Oa. The festivities included very authentic Polynesian dancing by a local dance troupe and a feast of native fruits, breads, vegetables and other delicacies. Toward the end the dance troupe got the entire fleet to join them in the dancing.



Most of the fleet spent Sunday at a Bed and Breakfast nearby owned by Alex, a Frenchman, where we listened all day to a local band playing native music. It was more like a jam session of ukuleles, guitars and other instruments. I plan to post a video on the internet when I can. We enjoyed a huge barbeque, Polynesian style and the party lasted from 11:00 am till the wee hours in the next morning for some of the younger in the fleet. This was just what the crews needed after such a long trip.



Monday was a day spent shuttling fuel in jerry cans from the dock to our boat, and a trip to town for grocery shopping and a visit to the stores (two) to see what is available. Today we will spend time doing laundry, cleaning the boat, and taking time to celebrate a birthday in the fleet at Alex's again.

The islands are breath taking, the people are very friendly and we can already tell that we are going to have quite an experience here. By the way, this port is the second largest and busiest in the Marquesas. There are only four boats here that are not with the ARC. It will feel like we have these islands to ourselves for the next two months except for Tahiti where there are more tourists.

We finally have some internet access and will be contacting our friends and family, catching up on email and updating the blog more regularly now. We will post the photos of the passage and our time here in Hiva-Oa to the gallery before we leave to visit the next island in the Marquesas on Friday.

PS; These are some stats for those who are interested. Our track shows we traveled 3,056 nautical miles through the water in 484 hrs averaging 6.3 knots. 822 nm of those miles were spent using the engine for 124 hours averaging 6.6 knots (speed over ground) and using .75 & 1.1 gals/hour at 1800 & 2000 rpm. We averaged 152nm/day and on our best day sailing we made 180 nm. At the time of our arrival, there were 10 other boats behind us. At the current time, there are still three boats that have not arrived and one is not expected till Friday.

Injuries and equipment failures for the passage. For Mark: a broken toe and 2nd degree rope burns on one hand from releasing the spinnaker sheet too quickly under load. (I should have worn my gloves). Nothing other than a tiny burn on a wrist from the galley stove for Janet. For At Last: a spinnaker halyard that almost chaffed trough but was lowered just in time before the spinnaker went into the ocean, some very concerning squeaks with the rudder post and steering gears that need attention, and of course the broken autopilot bolt that is still requiring us to tighten every eight hours of use. We are working with Dockside Electronics and Hellier Yacht Sales in Connecticut, USA to help us ship some parts to resolve the autopilot problems. For the rest of the fleet, equipment failures include a broken shroud, a broken forestay, broken jib foil, several blown spinnakers (at least 5, I believe), several broken spinnaker halyards resulting in spinnakers landing in the ocean, failed electronics and GPS units, autopilot problems, a cracked rudder post support bracket where the rudder passes thru the hull, blown fan belts, and more. I hope the World ARC fleet, who keeps a record of the equipment failures, publishes this information for the benefit of others who will do this trip someday.

Marquesas

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Mark
March 20, 2012, 5:14 pm, 09 34.6'S:129 33.6'W, Still in The Middle of the Pacific Ocean

I apologize in advance for the sailing jargon/lingo in this blog but I cannot help it because I am really into sailing lately. We have been on the water for more than 16 days now. We have another 4-5 days to go but for each of the last 4-5 days, we have had 4-5 more days to go. Reason being, the winds are gradually dying a little more each day. So we are going slower and slower. Right now we are sailing, so to speak, in 8 knots of wind doing 4 knots only because we have a 1 knot current pushing us to the Marquesas. Thank you Neptune!

To keep the sails from loudly flogging/flapping due to the rolling waves, we have headed up wind and then down wind and are zigzagging our way along. This does not help the progress but it gives us a moment of quiet to sleep. The forecast is for the wind to continue to die down for the next several days. We are waiting for the last possible moment to turn on the engine in order to conserve fuel. We just received an email from WARC Rally Control that the dockside fuel station in Hiva-Oa will not have any fuel for the fleet upon our arrival. The nearest port to get fuel is another 100 miles north west. Talk about testing our light wind sailing patience (not skill).

We do a sail change at the end of almost every shift (every three hours) hoping to find some way to make the boat go faster. But we are not all that successful. We put as much sail out as we can as you can see from the picture above, where we have the jib, stay sail and the main sail deployed. Right now we are flying the spinnaker and jib together. Last night at 3 am a squall came up from behind me and I was soo thankful to have 12-15 knot winds push the boat along for thirty minutes. Normally one would try to dodge the squalls. We look forward to them.

Otherwise, life is good aboard At Last. Janet is really becoming quite the sailing chef and that does a lot to keep our spirits up. She made an apple, raisin and cinnamon cake yesterday. It is all gone now. Our daily routine is sleep, tighten the autopilot bolt that is still giving us trouble, do laundry, cook, sweat, shower, and eat. Oh, I forgot about sailing the boat. The sun is really intense here and it is hot!! The lack of wind makes the boat all that much hotter below.

I thought of a comparison for the trip that everyone might relate to. Imagine traveling with one other person from Juneau, Alaska to Miami, Florida in a minivan doing only 7 miles per hour. You are not able to stop at all and have to cook, bath, steer and change the oil and tires while underway. That is pretty much the picture.

We look forward to getting to the Marquesas and getting access to email and skype to catch up with everyone. Till then....wish for us wind, any kind will do.

Marquesas

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