05/18/2007, En Route to the Tuamotus
For the past 18 hours there has been one squall after another with wind varying from 10 to 28 knots. Right now it is blowing 18-22 which would be fine if I were heading downwind but my intended destination requires a close reach. This makes for a and wet ride and lots of rolling. If this continues I will change my destination to an island more downwind, ie farther west.
Yesterday afternoon all three lines had fish on simultaneously during a squall. I gaffed one, a skipjack tuna, but lost it in the process. In the meantime the other two got away. Two hours later, fishing with only two lines, a good sized fish struck and took line like crazy. As I was bringing in the other line to get it out of the way, a small 6 lb yellowfin tuna grabbed the lure. I was so excited because it was the perfect size and is my favorite fish. I was thinking about sushi while bringing the fish onboard and in a careless move on my part he slipped away. Bummer! The other fish was eventually brought in but it was a skipjack and I felt so bad about losing the yellowfin that I let him go. Today it has been too rough to fish.
|
Comments [2]
05/17/2007, En Route to the Tuamotus
The wind has been mostly under 8 knots and it has been difficult to keep boat speed much above 4 knots. The swell is about 4 ft from the SE and the sky is partly cloudy, typical of the trade wind belt. There are occasional rain squalls to deal with also. My noon-to-noon distance was only 94.6 miles for an average speed of 3.9 knots.
Raroia, my destination, is in the eastern Tuamotus and has a well-defined lagoon entrance on its northwest side. The inhabitants of most of these atolls are engaged in the culturing of black pearls, of which I have little interest other than to see how they do it.
All is well onboard.
|
05/16/2007, En Route to the Tuamotus
Sand Dollar weighed anchor shortly before noon today and began the 4-5 day passage to the Tuamotus, otherwise known as the "Dangerous Archipelago". The 70 some islands in this group are really atolls which have little elevation in sharp contrast to the mountainous Marquesas. The Tuamotus are difficult to spot from a ship and in the days before GPS many a vessel perished on coral reefs surrounding the atolls. Today navigation is much safer and some of the approaches even have channel markers.
The wind has been 8-10 knots most of the day and there was one rain squall to wash the boat. Two other singlehanders left Daniels Bay for the Tuamotus this morning but they are bound for Rangiroa, the largest and most populated atoll in the group. I am headed for Raroia which is farther east and less visited.
All is well onboard and it is good to be back at sea.
|
05/15/2007, Daniels Bay, Nuka Hiva, Marquesas
Today was an easy day, filling water tanks, picking some fruit, and resting for the 4-day passage to Raroia Island in the Tuamotus. The wind is forecast to be 10 knots from the east so it should be a beam reach all the way. I hope I don't have to motor but the fuel tank is full just in case. Departure is set for sometime during mid-morning tomorrow. The fishing tackle has been attended to and, with some luck, I may catch a wahoo. That will be a first for me. They are good fighters, have extremely sharp teeth, and do very well on the dinner table.
I did some hiking today and made the trip part way to the waterfall. Other hikers said the view up close was not any better than far away, but what a view!
All else is well and Sand Dollar is anxious to get moving again.
|
05/14/2007, Daniels Bay, Nuka Hiva, Marquesas
Today I sailed the 5.7 miles to Daniels Bay where some episodes of "Survivor" were filmed. This is a lovely bay and very well protected. Two other singlehanders whom I know, one from British Columbia and the other from Turkey, were here when I arrived. We took a dinghy up the river and then hiked inland for about a mile where we saw a few houses with nice gardens and some archeological ruins. The river has some small trout-like fish and I think tomorrow I may return with my fly rod. I would love to identify them. One of the guys barbecued some chicken on his boat and I provided some ice cold beer. What a feast!
Sand Dollar may stay here an extra day as I am contemplating joining the other guys who want to hike to a waterfall reputed to be the 3rd highest in the world.
|
05/12/2007, Taiohae Bay, Nuka Hiva, Marquesas
Susan and Elba on "Infinity", Terry on "Southwind III", and I rented a pickup truck to tour the island of Nuka Hiva. We spent about 10 hours driving at total of 80 miles, visiting several villages, archaeological ruins, and a vegetable farm where we stocked up on tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, pamplemoose, zucchini, and papayas. The mountain ridges had pine forests much like Eastern Washington and the leeward side of the island was much less vegetated than the windward side. It was a very rewarding trip and I would highly recommend it.
Sunday I will take care of boat chores and then on Monday sail to Daniel's Bay, made famous as a film site of the TV series "Survivor" of which I know very little. After a day of two at Daniels I begin the 450 mile passage to the island of Raroia in the Tuamotus. That passage will take 4-5 days.
All else is well. Happy Mothers Day.
|
