We arrived on April 4 just as darkness fell, and about an hour before the nearly full moon rose. Luckily crew from one of the earlier arrivals met us in their dingy at the breakwater and guided us around the dredging equipment at the entry to this small bay and helped us set our stern anchor. All of the boats (about 20 as of this afternoon) are anchored bow and stern as there is little room to swing. We dug out the dingy and motor, repositioned the boat and then headed in to town to deal with the entry formalities. After a 10 minute walk we got a ride in the back of a truck the couple of miles to town.

Alas, entry processing is only done in the morning, so we'll try again tomorrow. A visit to the ATM and bingo we have 50,000 Cfps; a local truck was selling fresh tuna, so now we have fewer Cfps, but dinner was wonderful. There are all manner of boats here from a 70' Deerfoot to 28' traditional designs; cats are frequent. The sailors are from everywhere Australia, Belgium, wherever.

Surprise needs some TLC after almost a week on port tack the algae has grown up on the red stripe and the garage and bow lockers need cleaning and sorting. All will start tomorrow at a slow pace as it is very warm and humid.

It's green here! Tropical foliage grows out of the dark lava rock right down to the edge of the ocean. So far we haven't spotted a lot of birds, just some frigate birds and the ever-present mynas. Tomorrow we'll go on a gecko hunt. Don't worry, they are small and can't possibly do any damage. The dinghy landing ramp is also the launching spot for a huge fleet of outrigger canoes. These are very different beasts from those found in Hawaii. They are much sleeker, with a long stern that looks like the tail of a dragonfly. These canoes are raced throughout French Polynesia in the lagoons, where the waters are less tumultuous than those in Hawaii, hence the lower volume of the hulls.

Trip Summary Departed from: Anchorage at Chacala at 09:50 on March 19 Sighted Hiva Oa at 14:00 and were anchored in Tahauku Bay at 20:00 on April 4 Total time: 16 days, 11 hours (1 hour time difference in local times) Distance sailed: 2963 Hours of engine propulsion: 60 hours % of total time: 15% Highest wind speed sustained: 27 knots Highest wind in squalls: 32 knots Best noon to noon run: 206 nm Least noon to noon: 152 nm Average speed: 7.5 knots

Rain: Little, only in squalls Sunshine/clear skies: 70% of the time

Best "It doesn't get any better than this" moment: Sunset, Surprise gliding at 7.5kn in a 12-15kn breeze just forward of the beam.

Worst "Shit happens" moment: On day 5, when upper rudder bearing began to clunk and exhibit play. Thoughts of having to turn back.

Most dramatic: Watching the 10-12' swell waves overtake us from behind for three days; no one watched where we were going, just the waves.