Mexico to Marquesas Day 17 - Weeere Heeere!
15 April 2013 | 09 48.138S:139 01.848'W
Jeff
It's 7:00AM Seattle time and 3:00AM Marquesas time. Make that 3:30 Marquesas time because they have their hour on the half hour. Yes. I said that right but let me say it another way: Where everyone else in the world (as best I know) starts their time zone on the hour, (relative to Greenwich Mean Time or UTC) in the Marquesas, they start their time on the half hour. That would be like crossing into the Mountain Time zone in Idaho at Noon and instead of moving your clock to 1:00PM, you would move it to 12:30.
I'm bound to like this place. It's already a little quirky and we haven't even got off the boat.
Why do I say we're "kind of here"? Because at the moment we are sailing alongside the island in darkness. We have not arrived at the anchorage - which is good. (We already discussed why, right?) The anchorage is still 12 miles away and sailing along at 5 knots, we have at least another 2 hours to go before we arrive in the vicinity of the anchorage.
Right now I'm waiting for the "can you smell the land' moment, but it hasn't happened quite yet. I thought it did for a moment, but decided no, that's just my morning application of deodorant. This place certainly cannot smell like Tom's Lemongrass.
I remember coming into San Francisco last year and a mile or two before going under the Golden Gate Bridge, the cedar spice aroma of Redwood and Eucalyptus trees was powerful, overwhelming and incredibly welcoming. So far, it seems that we are sneaking into Hiva Oa in the quiet darkness devoid of sights and smells.
Fast forward 4 hours.
We are here, anchor down. The air is sweet! The land is bright green and the boat has stopped moving. I repeat: THE BOAT HAS STOPPED MOVING. 17 days start to finish, almost to the hour.
For the moment, we are all onboard Double Diamond, just taking it easy. Our yellow "Q" flag is up, which lets the local customs folks know we are ready for check-in. We think all we really need to do is collect our documents, walk the mile or so into town to the Gendarmerie and present ourselves. But for the moment, we're going to sit here and take a deep breath and then make plans for how things should unfold for the day.
Our first task will probably be to load the outboard on the dinghy, ride the dinghy over to the wharf, tie it up, then get out and see if we still know how to walk. Updates to follow.
Position: 09 48 138S, 139 01 848W, Boat Speed: Zero, Nada, Ain't Got No, Course: Floating Around the Anchor Every Which Way, Wind Speed: Gentle Breeze w/Palm Trees Swaying, Temperature:87, Humidity: 61% Barometer 1010 rising. Seas: Flat Calm. Ahhh.