Calou's Blog

Cruising with the crew of CALOU on the Baja Ha-ha and Pacific Puddle Jump

A Rainy Mother's Day

08 May 2011
John
John's Blog Updated. Original post with photos: http://travel.reservationkey.com Latitude: -8.91462 Longitude: -140.09825

Ua Huka anchorage turned out to be quite rough (big swells, waves breaking on shore all around us) so we left after only one night there. Francois and I did swim ashore with boogie boards when we arrived and I had a very brief walk towards town. Visiting the wood sculptors and the maritime museum will have to wait until my next visit.

We left Ua Huka yesterday morning and after four hours at sea we arrived at the biggest town in the Marquesas, Taiohae on the island of Nuku Hiva (which is the second biggest island in all of French Polynesia). We planned to sail, but while I was putting up the swim step I accidentally turned the hydraulic backstay tension adjuster which caused the backstay to loosen. At first we thought the hydraulic backstay had failed so we quickly furled the sails and started motoring. After doing all this we realized the tension adjuster had merely been released and to retension we just need to pump up the hydraulic piece. A relief to be sure since we thought for sure this was another project in the making. Since there was not much wind and the sails were already furled we decided just to motor the rest of the 26 miles we had to go.

We made good time by motoring and got our anchor down in the bay in time to go into town and shop for dinner before the stores closed. Prices seem a little less expensive here. Today we planned to walk around town and have dinner at a nice restaurant for Mother's Day. So far though it has been raining, often in hard downpours only like it can rain in the tropics, so we are still on the boat. At least we have decent wifi internet here so this is a good chance to update the blog and catch up on email.
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Vessel Name: Calou
Vessel Make/Model: Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 47
Hailing Port: The Corinthian Yacht Club, Tiburon, CA
Crew: Bruce, Pascale, Antoine
Extra: Sailing on the 20th Annual Baja Ha-ha, departing mid October 2013 from Tiburon, and continuing to cruise Mexico. This will be our 3rd Haha. In 2011 we sailed the Puddle Jump from Mexico to French Polynesia, then up to Hawaii and back to San Francisco.
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