07/02/2012, 16 03.560'S:145 37.261'W, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
We came in the north pass of Fakarava at about 10 am. And we were anchored by 11 am. Beautiful lagoon!! Off to do some snorkeling.
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07/02/2012, 15 41.032'S:145 26.077'W, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
Enjoyed a very bright moonset a couple of hours ago, Followed by sunrise a few minutes ago. We are amongst the Tuamotus, watching some of them slowly pass by on radar. We have yet to actually see on. We are expecting to be at the North Pass of Fakarava at about 11 am where we will take a look at the conditions of the pass. The passes into the various atolls can have strong currents Up to 8-9 or more knots depending on the tide, the seas and the wind. As the seas are small, and the wind is light, and the north pass at fakarava is wide, we are not expecting strong currents. Having spent time in the bahamas going through the many cuts to and from the banks to the the deep water--we've had a bit of training. If the cut is passable when we arrive, we expect to be at anchor around noon today, and snorkeling within minutes thereafter.
Position is as of 1600z (6am local UTC - 10). SOG 6 kts. COG 204 Mag.
Take a look at the google earth position map once we are at anchor, you ought to get a cool view of the atoll and the others nearby!
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07/01/2012, 13 53.850'S:144 06.828'W, the ocean
We are about 1 day out from Fakarava. Second biggest atoll in the Tuamotus. Third biggest atoll in the world. We are very much looking forward to some snorkeling and diving!! The weather has been nearly calm. So we have had to motor rather than sail.
Yesterday we had a fun surprise. Out in the middle of nowhere we found Ruby Soho. Another sailboat, that we first met in Shelter Bay in Panama. They first spotted us on AIS. A few hours later we were 20feet apart. They threw us some freshly made rolls, and we threw them some freshly caught Mahi, and a bit of sail repair tape.
Its kind of strange and fun to see other boats out here in the middle of the ocean--especially when its people you know! We knew they were out here as they left Daniels bay, Nuku Hiva the night before we left. But we didn't expect to see them out here. Maybe we should call them Ruby SlowPoke heh heh.
It would be funnier if we were sailing rather than motoring.
Our position is as of 6:30 local, 16:30zulu. SOG 5.6kts. COG 204 Mag.
We should spot our first atoll in the Tuamotus group sometime early this afternoon. At least I hope we spot it!!! After all, tuamotus means dangerous islands, because they are low lying and hard to see. Plus large portions of the atolls are really just shallow underwater reefs.
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06/30/2012, 12 15.385'S:142 51.533'W, the ocean
We've finished our second night, and started our third day. We will hopefully be at anchor on Monday sometime. We are now headed towards Fakarava as the wind didn't cooperate to go to Rangiroa. Oh well, the diving is supposed to be better on Fakarava, and the pass is easier to traverse. Position is as of 8:15am local (same as Hawaii) and 18:15zulu. SOG a whopping 5kts. COG 204Mag.
We caught a nice Mahi Mahi yesterday. But didn't feel like eating fish. Very nice sunrise this morning. Brilliant blue sky with orange clouds and the stars still visible in the sky. No light pollution. It is fairly sickening to see all the lights of cities. What a complete idiotic waste.
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06/29/2012, 10 23.029'S:141 20.793'W, the ocean
First overnight for this trip is now over. Position is as of 16:25zulu. SOG 5.5kts COG 206Mag. Wind about 12kts on the stern.
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06/28/2012, 08 56.614'S:140 09.833'W, Nuku Hiva
What a fantastic day yesterday. One of the highlights so far. We anchored in Anse Hakatea (aka Daniel's Bay). This bay housed one of the survivor tribes in the Marquesas season. Up from the sister bay next door--Hakaui, it is about and hour and a half to two hour hike up to the Hakaui Cascade which is supposedly the third highest in the world. The hike is stunning. The valley is surrounded by Cliffs/Mountains that rise very sharply from the valley floor. The valley itself is a mixture of fruit trees, and rainforest.
The hike starts by going through the very small, very remote village of Hakaui. We were first met by Teiki and Kua who invited us to stop for dinner on our return.
Next we were stopped by an older woman, Monet, who served us coffee, citronade, and fried bananas. The crew of Ruby Soho happened to walk by and stopped for coffee with us as well. They were on there way down from the waterfall, while we were on our way up.
The hike was amazing. It took about an hour and a half to get to the waterfall through a rugged and immensely lush valley. As you get near the waterfall there are warning signs for falling rocks, and some hard hats are available by the side of the trail. Unfortunately, due to the geography, you can't see the waterfall from its base. It is hidden behind ridges and rock formations. So I would say the waterfall on Fatu Hiva presents a much more dramatic arrival. But we hopped in the pool to cool down and had a look around. You might be able to find the waterfall with some serious rock climbing requiring equipment. And as it was getting late, and we heard a couple big rocks fall, we left fairly quickly. We were able to get sight of the upper reaches from farther way--spilling off the top of the mountains a couple of thousand feet up.
On the way back we stopped and had dinner with Teiki and Kua. These two are amazingly hospitable people, and the dinner of avocado/coconut/watercress salad with banana vinagrette, roasted breadfruit, fried bananas, some other sort of bananas, and goat in coconunt milk followed by pamplemousse and mango for desert--was amazing. Teiki has a lot of traditional tatoos including over half of his face and head. Very interesting and warm people. The also sell first rate fruit at about 1/3 the price found in town. This is a must stop place!
We are now getting ready to cast off for the tuamotus....
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06/27/2012, 08 54.823'S:140 05.896'W, Nuku Hiva, Isla Marquises, French Polynesia
Time to move. We are going to make a last run for baguettes and other supplies, mainly baguettes. Then we are going to head to Daniel's bay to anchor and walk to the big waterfall (which is actually up the river flowing into the bay just west of there which isn't good for anchoring). We'll collect some more fruit along the way. Then we plan to head to the tuamotus late this afternoon. It should be about a 4 day passage to Rangiroa. Though we could stop sooner at maybe Ahe or Manihi. Anid if the wind angles are not good, we have other options. But Rangiroa is the starting plan. Its possible we don't leave until tomorrow, but we'd like to leave today. So--no more pictures for a while :). This picture is of the bay on the north side of Nuku Hiva where we had lunch yesterday.
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06/27/2012, 08 54.823'S:140 05.896'W, Nuku Hiva, Isla Marquises, French Polynesia
Yesterday we took a day tour of the island. Our guide, Richard, drove us all around the island while describing a great deal of Marquesan history, as well as all the flora and fauna.
One of the highlights was a trip to one of the archaeological sites on the island. The picture is of a large, four to five hundred year old banyan tree which was a part of the archaelogical site. It was located right near a house belonging to one of the priests of the time. There is a picture from the mid 1800's of the tree containing hundreds of human skulls decorating it. At some point when the site was excavated, lots of human bones from some of the early french, who fought with the marquesans, were found in bone pits which surround the area.
Another highlight was lunch on the north side of the island at a small place where we feasted on Wahoo grilled and fried, Pork in a tomato sauce flambe'd with rum, Goat in Coconut Milk, Goat in curried coconut milk, bread fruit and manioc.
We also collected piles of papayas, mangoes and limes.
Today, on the other hand was a work day. Stephen and I spent most of the afternoon getting gasoline and diesel. We tried to bring the boat over and med moor to a big cement wharf used for the supply ships. But the swell was too big and our windlass has been acting up so we were a bit too uncomfortable with the arrangement. So we had to Lug about 70 gallons of diesel and gas to the boat. The wharf, having been built for ships, was pretty high off the water so we had to raise and lower the jugs by hand with a rope. And to make it even more fun. Gas and Diesel run nearly $8 a gallon. Though we were able to get the diesel duty free--reducing the diesel price about 40%.
Tomorrow we are due to hike the 2 hour hike to big waterfall. Though, its been raining a lot, and the area is supposed to get a bit sketchy in wet weather, as it loosens rocks that can fall from the heights.
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All is well in England. I'm in the middle of mission planning, Kate is working on her book, and my middle daughter is coming to stay with us for three weeks beginning mid-July. (I am also going on a 10-day "Adventure Training" with British Army...sailing 40' monohulls in the Baltic, starting next week.)
Bob
06/23/2012, 08 54.823'S:140 05.896'W, Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, Isla Marquises, French Polynesia
Apparently our anchorage is not one to swim in. We are still in Taiohae Bay, Nuku Hiva. The dock where fisherman clean their daily catch is very nearby, and they throw the guts into the water. The sharks hang around like eager dogs around a table. Unfortunately, the bay is not that clear because of run off from the lush mountains surrounding it. This means that we aren't getting great photos of the sharks, and it also means we can't swim. Its not good to swim where you can't see the sharks and they can't see you. Apparently there are a fair amount of shark incidents around here as the predominant species are Tiger Sharks and Black Tips--both on the more aggressive end of the spectrum. Especially the Tiger sharks.
FYI--we've finally had good enough internet access to load our Galapagos Album--so check out the Photo Gallery link. We probably won't do one for the Marquesas until we sail into the Tuamotus or into Tahiti--so don't get your hopes up.
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06/21/2012, 08 54.823'S:140 05.896'W, Taiohae, Nuku Hiva
Today we moved about 25 miles north from Hakahau, Oa Pou to Taiohae, Nuku Hiva. This is the capital of the Marquesas. So we might find a restaurant and eat out.
Yesterday we loaded up on more fruit while on Oa Pou. More Pamplemousse, more mangos and more bananas. We still have a ton of limes.
The picture is of the waterfall on Fatu Hiva--absolutely stunning, and a very refreshing place to swim after the hike. It is over 200 feet tall, and hard to capture on film in a way that shows how dramatic it is.
While we are Nuku Hiva, we plan to hike to another waterfall--but this one is over 900 ft of freefall. Incidentally, this waterfall is accessed by a hike up an anchorage in Daniel's Bay -- which is where one of the Survivor seasons was filmed.
We'll try to post a comparative photo of the Nuku Hiva falls....
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