hello from fiji

hi,

 

see attached for our latest adventure.

 

mary and mike

Hello from Penrhyn Island

We are now in Apia, Samoa where we have internet access for the first time in a month and thus can now send an update of our travels. We went several hundred miles out of our way to go to Penrhyn Island, on the recommendation of Doug Nelms our sailing friend who was here 15 years ago. Penrhyn Island is the northern most island of the Cook Island group, 600 miles northwest from Bora Bora. The trip was exhausting because the auto pilot gave us problems again and thus we hand steered most of the way – again!

The “island” is really a very large atoll. The volcano that formed it sunk millions of years ago leaving between 20-30 motus along the old fringing reef and another one that grew up in the middle where the old volcano was. Now the locals call the outer motu the island and the inner one the motu. There are anchorages at the last two remaining villages. It is the only island of the Cook Island chain that does not have a chief and clan form of governance. In 1863 four missionaries were tricked into recruiting almost 500 “Penrhyners” to be sent into work the mines in Peru at $5 a head in hope of getting enough money to build a new church. They convinced the chief and nearly all of the men on the island to go. The missionaries got paid $5 per man signed up. However the four of them had to go along also and once on board and sailing away, they found themselves slaves along with the natives. Their once started church is still around; slowly being overtaken by the jungle.

The main village is on the leeward side of the island and has a population of 150. The smaller village is on the windward side with a population of 50. That’s it – there are no more. You must “check into the country” at the bigger village which has a terrible anchorage – full of coral heads and murky water and huge swells being blown up from across the island; whereas the smaller village has a lovely anchorage full of sand and great visibility and a few coral heads that are easily seen.

We arrived about 9:30 am after standing off outside the lagoon for the night. The entrance to the lagoon was easy and we followed sticks in the water to guide us through the corals to the main town of Omoka. The water was deep and dark and we couldn’t see anything, so we had to rely on our depth sounder to show sudden changes in depth, which would indicate coral heads or a period of level sounding which might be sand.

We were greeted by three very friendly Cook Island officers, Taime for customs and immigration; Robin, who sprayed the boat for insects, and is also the “dentist” in town; and Terrence, the doctor – our health inspector. As we often do, we offered them tea and cookies. After checking in, Taime (who wanted to “trade” for almost anything we had) invited us to stay in their anchorage that night and come to the evening’s performance of the Boy’s Brigade, which is apparently a hold over from the London Missionary Society days.

We went and it was a great show – all boys of course. They had just come back from four days of religious retreat and were putting on a show for the locals. Most of the skits they put on were bawdy skits of men and boys dressing and dancing like women! The women in audience just howled with delight.

The following day Mike went fishing with Taime and Junior (using our gas and fishing hooks) and caught 6 cod. There were about 10 boats out fishing in the same area and they were all dismayed at the poor catch. Whereas in the “old” days they would catch 200 cod a piece, they were now just catching 40 a piece. They just couldn’t understand the in’s and out’s of overfishing. They’ve fished out the Neopolitian fish species (“they were dumb and easy to spearfish and good eating”) and wonder where they all went. There are still plenty of fish, clams, lobsters available but managing their ecosystem is simply not on their horizon.

Mary stayed in town and met a lot of people; was invited for visits, tea and coffee and to talk “trading”. Sunday Taime took us to church – CICC (Cook Island Christian Church) – the legacy of the London Missionary Society and really a Congregational Church. The minister made sure he said some key things in English (they speak Maori and English). After attending that church, we went to the Catholic Church, where we joined choir practice and got to sing some of the Polynesian harmonies that are so beautiful. Afterward Alex (the lay priest) took us to his house for a HUGE lunch prepared by his wife Christine, followed by watermelon and homemade “Penrhyn” ice cream. What a treat!

On Monday we moved across the lagoon to Tetautua (the small village) on the east side, where the anchorage is protected from the prevailing trade winds. These were very friendly people who welcome yachties into their lives and wanted to “trade” for everything! We were invited to watch while they prepared the leaves of the coconut palm to make hats and fans. Another day we watched while several people sat on the ground and scraped the insides out of young coconuts for a special meal that was to be prepared for some guys working on the minister’s house. We attended their church and then went to Penui’s house for a visit. He gave us two lobsters to take home for our lunch. They were delicious.

We had a very interesting discussion with a visiting school teacher, named Maru, from Rarotonga. She told us that in absence of the normal chief and clan governance, the church had filled the vacuum and now ruled every aspect of life on Penrhyn. The Congregationalists installed a very rigid form of religious practice and in essence stepped in, filled the gap, and in effect became the chief. Many young island men now want to become ministers, as it means wealth, power and prestige in the community. They usually wind up in Australia or New Zealand.

Church attendance is mandatory – Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 am in full dress. Then Sunday comes. Sunday is a day of rest and church. The day starts with a service at 6:30 am, announced by the ringing of the bells. Since there are only about 50 people here in the village of Te Tautua, every one can hear the bells. Sunday school follows at 8 am, and then the main church service begins at 10:00. That is the one we attended. After church the people are supposed to rest (as in lay down), have a light lunch, and return for the afternoon service at 2, then at about 5pm there is a singing service. The bells ring for them all. Playing, swimming, walking, fishing, etc. is not allowed, nor open fires. All cooking must be done the day before. We are allowed to use our dinghy to come ashore for services and visiting. No music must be played. This is just one aspect of the fascinating culture we found on Penrhyn Island.

Everyday we were visited by children on a paddleboard. They had been coming out to all the boats for “goodies”. From the Polish boat they learned to ask for “lollies” (lollypops); from the German boat they learned to ask for chocolate. Those boats #4 and 5 for the year left the day after we arrived. We had no idea what a lolly was and had no chocolate but got the idea pretty quick what they were after. So from us they learned to ask for cookies. It was lots of fun and we got to know them pretty well. The children played amongst up to a dozen lemon sharks along the shore. The sharks were attracted to the village due the cleaning of the fish and almost became tame. The children would shoo them away when they came back from our boat with their treats.

The islanders are enthusiastic traders. They don’t have much to trade – old black pearls, weavings, shell necklaces, tiny natural pearls called Penrhyn gold, fans and woven hats. They trade like some people shop. They may have enough flash lights or batteries, but will still ask if you have some to trade, because they stock up. All supplies come in on two supply ships, one from Hawaii, and one from Rarotonga. They come when there are enough orders to fill a ship, so the people often go for three months or more without a delivery. This can result in shortages. Papa Soitu (sigh-too) told us how he mobilizes his people of the smaller village to stock up on basic supplies – flour, rice, sugar – when the deliveries come in. He told us the other day, “My people don’t go hungry. They are going hungry over there” (Omoka). Right now there is no flour, the rice is running out, and the people of Omoka are asking the villagers of Tetautua for rice and flour. Taime begged to buy 5 gallons of gasoline from us because he had run out and had none. Fortunately we had some extra.

Penryhn has lost 80 % of its population to Australia and New Zealand in the last ten years (200 on the island and 11,000 descendants living in NZ or Aus). The people go for jobs and more opportunities in life. They love coming back here to rest and visit, but the young families want more for their children, so send them to live with relatives in Aus and NZ. The young women like to go to NZ or Oz (Australia) to have their babies, and the governments help pay for the transportation. (Cook Islands are a New Zealand protectorate). The pearl industry went belly-up in 2002 and the next year about half the islanders left.

Then it was time to leave so we had to go back to the bad anchorage at the “big” village – they can’t make life easy. We filled out the exact same papers we did on arrival and had to pay our exit fee and anchorage fees. But life is sometimes not fair. Whereas we left this village 10 days prior without a problem, this time we got caught up on a coral head and before you could say watch out, the bow roller just snapped off – getting up against the hard chain and surging waves from across the bay. We were able to save it and get it on board; get the locals to come dive on the chain; and free the chain, etc. But that took over two hours and we left through the pass out to open ocean at sunset licking our wounds. Because of the bow roller, we were now heading to Apia instead of Suwarrow Island 900 miles instead of 400 miles.

We’d recommend Penrhyn to anyone. We had a truly unique experience and one with great memories.

Hello from Bora Bora

Hello from Bora Bora

 

April 12^th we left Port Phaeton and started our sixth year of cruising.  We sailed directly to Moorea from Tahiti in light winds and following seas.  What more could we ask for?  Moorea is famous for its beauty, deep bays, friendly people and tourists – lots of them.  It is so very different than Tahiti (the busy island with lots of traffic, no real beaches, no dramatic bays, etc.).  Moorea is gorgeous; lush green, quiet (well there is a ring road with some traffic), dramatic old volcanoes, nice sand beaches and well done hotels and pensions at all price ranges for the tourists.

 

We spent April 15^th – Mary's birthday – snorkeling, swimming and relaxing on the boat with the anchor in 8m of water.  That night we went ashore and found the only restaurant within walking distance – something they call here a Snack – and ordered a plate each of shrimp and chicken curry.  They were delicious and we actually took some back to the boat.  To do that we had to climb the fence to the park in the dark where we had landed the dingy – the park had closed while we were eating.  Life is an adventure. 

 

We were anchored in Upunohu Bay – the bay where Captain Cook had done all his anchoring over 240 years ago.  Someone named the Bay just to the east Cook's Bay; it became the famous one and the one where all the big tourist facilities were located.  So one day we fired up the dingy and took the two km ride over there just to take a look around.  On this ride, in a 20 knot wind, we came to appreciate our 15 hp outboard and also learned just what the little black and white poles sticking out of the water meant.  Although not in any book, these poles signify the path thru the reef for very shallow draft boats – ie our dingy and similar boats.  It was what Disney would call an E ticket ride – both ways.  We never hit the reef, but came close a number of times, and came ashore in Cook's Bay.  The bay is quite dramatic, very beautiful and an obvious place for all the hotels and restaurants.  We ordered a drink at the Bali Hai Resort and enjoyed the atmosphere immensely.  All told we spent a week in Moorea being wonderfully glad to be out of Tahiti and finally on our way again.

 

Then it was an overnight sail to the island of Huahine; timed so we would arrive with good daylight to see coral heads and the entrance through the reef.  We anchored in beautiful clear water in 2.2 m of coral sand.  It was great.  The main anchorage (recommended by the guide books) is just off the town, near coral heads, has poor holding, etc.  But we only draw 1.4 m and can anchor in more remote areas.  We were only about .5 km from town so it was an easy dingy trip ashore.  The town of Fare is supposed to be a "typical" island village town but we found it to be more like the typical "principal" town of every island.  It had two gas stations, one grocery store, a farmer's market, two banks, and of course tourists stores.

 

We rented a car one day and toured the island.  We met a group of American girls from a private college in Iowa who were also touring the island as a part of their education.  They had been in Tahiti for 6 months and were getting ready to head home and thus seeing the "other islands" just before leaving.  We also saw a huge old Marae site (ancient site of rituals, etc) and the "magical eels" that supposedly protect the bay downstream and stopped for lunch at a "recommended" restaurant.  It was actually a very good restaurant – for lunch – as dinners started at $30 and went up from there.  We ordered the Mahi Mahi sandwich and what showed up was a huge baguette, sliced lengthwise and filled with fish and French fries all in tartar sauce.  The fish was good but the bread was way too much and eating soggy fries in tartar sauce wasn't too thrilling either.  The restaurant overlooked a pretty bay called Avea and it was also recommended as one of the best snorkeling spots in the Society Islands.  We decided to come and check it out.

 

Again we were able to anchor in shallow coral sand on the edge of the deep water and we happened to end up (with the anchor in 2m of sand and the boat over 15m of water) right over the most beautiful deep coral head that was full of fish.  The water was clear to about 15 meters so we could just sit on the back of the boat and watch the fish swimming around.  We stayed three days and snorkeled all over but our favorite spot was right under the boat.

 

Unfortunately we (mike really) became overconfident of our anchoring ability and after a short sail to the island of Raiatea we anchored in 15m of not so clear water over a little mount in the middle of area of 40m bottoms.  The next morning we found to our dismay that the bottom was not sand but rock or coral and the anchor would not come up.  We worked long and hard and eventually the chain came up but not the anchor!  The chain, we had just bought two weeks before leaving for home, had split – leaving about 25 m on the bottom.  This was real depressing to say the least.

 

We motored (no wind) around to the other side of the island where the carenage (work yard and haul out facility) were located on Sunday and waited for the office to open on Monday.  They might have old anchors or even sell new ones.  They did, but the ones they had were sized for the small panga type local fishing boats.  No one had anything like our 55 lb delta anchor.  We next took a dingy trip to the Mooring/Sunsail charter marina where there was a dive center.  We signed up for a refresher dive and hired them for an anchor dive.  Our "check-out/refresher" dive was like "do you remember how to use the regulator – yes – good – let's go" so off we went.  It was an advanced wreck dive to 30 meters.  It went fine except Mike kept signaling that we was low on air and the "dive master" kept signaling that all was fine.  Mike ended up with 20 psi left in his tank and that was cutting it too close.

 

However, a different dive master was the one who did the diving while looking for out anchor.  He found it after 30 minutes and we soon had it on board the dive boat and by the afternoon it was back on our boat.  We now had an anchor but needed new chain again.  The carenage had new chain and so we parted with more money and were soon back in business and much more careful.

 

All this took the better part of a week and since Raiatea is not known for its diving, snorkeling, beaches, or places of interest for tourists we decided that we'd move on to its sister island of Tahaa.  This island is the least developed of the major islands on a par with Huahine.  We stayed on a mooring buoy at the Taravana Yacht Club (taravana means crazy in Tahitian) for three nights in order to be there for the Tuesday night buffet (including Mai Tai drinks) and dance show.  Then it was off around the island for exploring and snorkeling.

 

This island likes to promote its "coral gardens" and in many ways that is what it is like.  A big area between two motus (islands themselves on the outside of the main island) that is fairly shallow with small coral heads all over the place that you can snorkel in between.  They are nice but – seen one – seen them all.  They just didn't stack up to the beauty of Avea bay and the number of fish.  We stopped by Vahine Island resort for lunch and then proceeded to anchor again in 2.2m of water off the largest motu and went exploring and looking for the supposed "great snorkeling".   We never found it.  That night the wind really came up and the next day the whole fleet of the Tahiti Pearl Regatta came sailing by us.  It was blowing 30 knots and we decided not to move for the day.  The next day it was blowing 40 knots and we just stayed put again.

 

It finally stopped and we moved to Hurepiti Bay; got a mooring ball from (and signed up for a tour) the Vanilla Island Tour company.   The fellow who leads the tours is a botanist and a vanilla farmer.  The island is known as the Vanilla Island where about 90% of all Tahitian vanilla is produced.  For four hours he showed us the island and explained how each vanilla plant has to be hand-pollinated because they don't have any hummingbirds on any of the islands.  We asked about all the Acacia trees we'd seen on all the islands.  They were imported early on and are now taking over the landscape of the islands.  While pretty they are drastically changing the scenery and eliminating native species.

 

Then a short sail to Bora Bora.  Everyone (locals) we had talked to had discounted spending any time on any island other than Bora Bora.  We came to understand why.  This place is gorgeous.  The old volcano has sunk low enough to fill in with sea water with about two-thirds of the old ring left above and showing.   Of that, two thirds is really dramatic with solid rock faces and jagged peaks.  A million pictures must have been taken of this place.  Around the outside of the volcano are multiple motus with coral sand, aqua blue water and breathtaking views of the mountain.

 

The concept of the "over-water" bungalow was probably born here and now it is way overdone.  Beautiful beaches are now off limits as they are blocked by hundreds of bungalows (at least $700 per night) and most were empty.  It must be an ego thing with the hotel companies with each major chain deciding that they must have a presence here – regardless of whether they are profitable or not.  The recent hurricane (February) did damage some and the world wide economy probably has something to do with it also but the shear number of rooms and nightly charges would be enough to scare away most ordinary folks.

 

We used the Bora Bora Yacht Club for our base of operations.  We stopped there upon coming in, upon coming back from the east side of the island, upon back from the south side of the island and while awaiting the return of wind.  Yep, from 40 knots on Tahaa to 2 knots on Bora Bora.  You never know in the game of sailing what you are going to get.

 

We snorkeled and fed fish out of our hands.  So many would come that we could not see each other.  We found yet another advertised "coral garden" and went to see it.  Its main attraction was the tropical fish that swarmed up yet again when we broke up stale French bread.  We followed the tourist boats out to the reef one day and found ourselves standing waist deep in and amongst about 40 Tahitian Sting Rays.  They were so used to tourists standing among them not one had its tail up and its very dangerous stinger out and ready to attack.  Since we had encountered others on the other side of the island that did not like our presence, this was a real change and we enjoyed it so much that we returned on our  own about four days later and had 10 of them to ourselves.  We petted them and they in turn rubber their white undersides against our skin.  We brought bread to feed them but they just follow the fish that eat the bread and seem to simply be curious about these fish that stand and rub them and don't try to hurt them.

 

We went scuba diving again.  The first dive was down directly in the mouth of the ancient volcano.  It sounds better than it was as the mouth is probably 4 million years old and has filled in with sand.  We saw some eagle rays and lots of trigger fish.  The second dive was outside the reef near the pass into the island.  There we swam with Lemon Sharks and they did not look friendly at all.  One was pregnant, about 3 m long, with at least two cleaning fish clung to it and one yellow damselfish right in front of her nose – kind of leading the way around.  The dive master assured us that this was a very healthy reef and therefore the sharks had plenty to eat and not to worry.  But each time they came around we all just sat and watched until they had passed.

 

We went to the famous restaurant "Bloody Mary's" where Mary order a $12 bacon cheeseburger – "the hamburger in paradise".  It opened in 1979, long after the movie South Pacific which created the fiction.  Turns out that the movie was based on Michner's book about Bora Bora but set on the Island of Bali Hai.  The US did build a base here to fuel boats on their way to pacific war so the basis of the story has a ring of truth.   Historians have called the building of the base here the most disorganized and unsuccessful USA venture during the entire war.   It seems that someone had the idea that the base should be jointly and cooperatively built and controlled by both the Army and the Navy.  It got built but the stories of errors and misunderstandings are many.

 

We hiked up a mountain and found two of the old cannons that had been placed to protect the island from a Japanese invasion.  They say that the cannons were fired twice for practice and never used again.  But the view was great.

 

We'll leave here as soon as we get at least some wind.  Our next internet access point is 1500 nm away in Apia, Samoa so it could be a while before the next post.

Photos of the haulout in Tahiti

These photos show our adventures in Port Phaeton during our haul0out.

Hello from Baie Phaeton

 

Hello from Baie Phaeton,

 

Well it's been a good seven months since our last update.  We left Tahiti on September 2^nd, 2009 and flew home.  We spent six months in the USA, mostly in the Monterey Bay area of California.  Kristin and grandson Aidan live in Monterey and we house-sat in Aptos so were close enough to commute and got to see them a lot.  David and Jenny flew out from Cleveland and Charlotte (NC) for Christmas and we had a grand old time at Kristin's itsy bitsy apartment.

 

Mary got involved with the Peninsula Scottish Fiddlers, did some gigs, met some great people and in general had a great time.  We paid a short visit to Texas and some property we own there, saw our accountant and went bicycling on a great bike path in Austin. The month of February found us in San Diego buying – what else – boat parts and supplies.

 

We arrived back here on March 2^nd at 11pm and by the time we got the car rental, checked through Customs and Immigration and arrived at our hotel for what was left of the night – it was 1:30 AM local time or 3:30 AM San Diego time.  It had been raining but stopped just long enough for us to find the hotel.  A wall of humidity was greeted us.

 

We drove to the boat, an hour away (40 km), in the rain; and for the next 3 ½ days all it did was rain.  Buckets and buckets and buckets!  We found the boat fine but full of mildew.  We extended our hotel reservation another night just to give us enough time to clean out enough of the mildew to set up house keeping.  For ten days we cleaned mildew.  The sun came out on March 7^th and the weather started to change – after all it was getting close to Fall here (March 21^st).

 

We were in the Marina here in Baie Phaeton.  It is considered the best Hurricane hole in all of Polynesia.  Hurricanes rarely occur here – only when and sometimes if it is an El Nino year.  Well this year was an El Nino and Hurricane Oli did come awfully close – passing just south of Tahiti.  The winds only got up to 50 kts (it takes 64 to be considered hurricane strength).  But of course that was not all.  This year Tahiti experienced two tsunamis – one from Samoa and the other from Chile.  The water rose and fell 20 cm from the Chile quake.  But the boat did fine – just lots of mildew.  Just to add to the experience though, the summer here was the hottest on record for the last 52 years and one of the rainiest on record.  The heat cooked the glass in about half of our outdoor instruments which will make navigating more interesting for sure.

 

We spent three weeks cleaning mildew, doing boat chores, and adapting to the heat, humidity, bugs and prices.  At the end of the first week a local "marina cat" adopted us and welcomed herself to our meal leftovers.  In return she slept on board, left us more fleas, and killed a wandering rat one night and of course left it for dining pleasure the next morning.  The marina had two identical restrooms but only the "hommes" was ever open and unlocked.  Each contained a shower, a toilet (with no seat) and a sink.  But they did have hot water.  We'd shower off the sweat each night.  Two nights Mike had to share the shower with a 6 inch land crab who had wondered in under the broken door bottom and did not like getting clean with fresh water.  He kept aiming his one big claw at Mike the whole time.

 

After having the boat damaged in six places during our haulout in Guaymas, we were very worried about coming out again here.  But the staff here really know what they are doing with catamarans and all went fine on March 23^rd when we finally came out to have the bottom painted.  The last bottom paint job in El Salvador had been a big disappointment, as the bottom paint came off just days after being put on.  Eric, Mary's nephew was with us for two weeks, dove in the water and came up asking why the bottom of our boat was red on the sides and white on the bottom.  So for the next nine months we'd dive on the bottom every 10 days scrapping off barnacles and waiting for the next haulout. 

 

All went well with this haulout.  The French love sailing so they know what they are doing but when you work 7 ½ hour days and 4 ½ days a week things can take a while to get accomplished!   We found damage in the kick-up rudders, damage in the daggerboard, and bridge deck paint from the Mexico job falling off.  All was fixed and we were back in the water on March 6^th.  But we only went 8 meters – 'cause we had to wait for the finishing touches to the daggerboard.  At 9am Tahiti time, on March 8^th, we officially left the marina and tied up to a mooring ball where we put up the screecher, put on the dingy outboard and tested out the water maker.  So basically, it ended up taking six weeks to get the boat ready for another season of sailing and this is only two weeks more than what we told everyone (never really believing it ourselves of course).

 

Of course no story of Tahiti is complete without mentioning the cost of doing business here.  Our radar was fixed locally while we were gone and the total cost for the fix was more than the cost of a new one.  It included 26% in local taxes!!  And that is with a strong US dollar.  We can tell the dollar has strengthened.  A six pack of Budweiser that sold for $23.40 last August (and was the most expensive beer sold here) is now only $13.20 (and is now the cheapest beer sold here).  Just couldn't bring ourselves to buy Budweiser though and bought a six pack of Heineken for $15 and have been savoring one beer every three days to make the six pack last!  But real shocker was buying 16 gallons of gasoline and paying $91.  Ouch!!

 

Our last hurdle is checking out of Tahiti via the port captain and being permitted to sail on to Moorea and then all the other islands.  We anticipate a hard time of it, since we left and the boat didn't.  Just might be too complicated for officialdom.

Io Arna from Tahiti

Io Arna (hello) from Tahiti

Io arna (your ah na)! It seems like a long time since the last update, but since our PC went down last week there is no way of knowing just how long it's been. This is being typed on our Apple – the backup. Its speakers quit working months ago; so no more music or movies.

Anchorage in Ahe, Tuamuto Islands Anchorage in Apataki, Tuamoto Islands

We left Nuku Hiva plenty ready to move on. Taiohae, the capital of the entire Marquesas, was disappointing. Two grocery stores, one hardware store, one restaurant, and one snack shop for a population of 2,100 was it had to offer. The anchorage was crowded and rolly so it was great to be sailing again as we headed for Ua Pou 30 miles south and with good winds. Unfortunately the area had one of the strongest currents we had ever encountered and we could not go upwind enough to make our destination of Hakahau.That island's capital, with a population of 1000 had 5 grocery stores, one hardware store, one bakery, a computer store, a couple of boutiques for locals and tourists and friendly people. We arrived on July 11^thand were hoping that we'd find some sort of Heiva celebrations going on. Heiva is basically anywhere from two weeks to a month of singing, dancing, games for kids, etc. where each of the islands groups and islands within those groups celebrate their heritage. It also happens to center around July 14^th, Bastille Day, the French Independence Day.

The celebrations had been going on for a week already we were informed and the night of the 13^th we sat with six French cruisers, ate BBQ ribs and watched local dancers from around the island strut their stuff. It was a fun family atmosphere, with kids wondering in among the dancers and a female dog almost in heat leading a pack of "very interested" males in and out of the dance area. We had a great time. The 14^th was a bust. The French put up the flag and had a speech and then provided a live band and a free breakfast/lunch to anyone who turned out. Most of the town did. That was it.

A retired French teacher who taught English swam up to the boat and asked if we'd like a tour to the wild side of the island (the east side). We said sure and two hours later we were in an old jeep heading over the mountains and to the windward side. No one cruises the east side of any of the islands, as the trade winds always make very rough and dangerous. We ate lunch besides huge crashing waves on an isolated beach and then were invited to his house for coffee. He talked the whole time and we learned a lot about the natives and the French government. It is so easy to take advantage of the French that almost all do it some way or another. One example: you want a house; the French pay 90% of the cost; find/make you a job and pay you so you can pay the final 10%. So, you work for a year, living in your house, and then it is yours!The job is over and you go back to doing whatever you want.

The island is known for its giant, solid rock, monoliths and one of the most striking islands anywhere. On our trip we saw some of them but, as with most island climates, the tall mountains are almost always shrouded in clouds. From the anchorage we could see a couple of big ones and early one day before the clouds formed we saw one more. As we were leaving for the Tuamotu island group, the clouds parted for a minute and we got a picture of lots more.

Sunset looking at Moorea, Society Islands Mary climbed the mast to look for coral heads

As had been the case ever since the Galapagos, we had crazy seas and strong winds. The sailing was tiring as the slamming under the bridge deck really got to us. It had taken five different tries at fixing the autopilot but Mike finally won and we had "auto" back helping again. So we could sleep, read and eat a meal together again – it was great. We were flying at 8-9 knots but the boat was taking a terrible beating so we slowed down and life was better. Our goal was a small atoll named Apataki and as we turned southwest from south the winds and the seas conspired against us. With 40 miles to go and sailing as fast as we could on the course we would arrive in 8 hours dead tired. So we changed direction and went to Ahe. It was also 40 miles but now a down wind run to the NW and we made it in 5 hours.

The Tuamotus are a long island chain of atolls – old mountains that have sunk over the millennium leaving the fringing coral reef behind. The water inside can be crystal clear and depending on how fast and how far the mountain sank the inside can be deep or shallow and full of coral heads that are extremely sharp.Anchoring can be a real problem cause you don't want to get your anchor wrapped around a coral head – you'll never get it back!

None of the atolls where the cultured Black Pearl industry was in gear had good water clarity and, due to an ever-expanding population, the much advertised over abundance of fish to be seen and caught, etc. is no more. The big allure now is snorkeling in the passes that lead inside the atoll and the ability to have an anchorage all to yourself.

In Ahe, we anchored inside a lagoon, which was a lagoon inside the atoll, which is very rare. The water was clean and clear and we did some snorkeling. But the locals have grown very used to cruisers and the tourist industry over the years and so we were observed by them and nothing more. Ahe once was known as a very crusier-friendly atoll with lots to see and lots of fish. We met a cruiser that been there 36 years ago and he could not believe the change in the environment. The people remembered him and celebrated his return so that was great but nothing could bring back the "choose which fish you want and throw the fish hook in front of him" era.

The weather turned in the right direction and we left Ahe and again headed for Apataki. We went to the first anchorage and settled in with three Belgian boats. They left two days later and we had the place to ourselves. Went beach combing, snorkeling, swimming, etc. We were protected from the 30-knot winds so life was good. But as in all things sailing related, the list of stuff to fix never went down. The port engine had decided it didn't want to start and the radar the same. So, while we were planning on spending six weeks in the Tuamotus and hauling out at a brand new facility in Apataki, we instead headed for Tahiti where we thought we could get everything we needed done.

White dresses and straw hats in church - Papeete Local guitar player - Papeete

For the first time we had nice winds and nice seas and we had a great pleasant sail from Apataki to Tahiti. Having read the biography of James Cook, it was inspiring to see Point Venus, Cook Bay, etc and think he'd been here in the late 1700's. Tahiti is the largest island in all of French Polynesia, is bordered by its own fringing reef and is slowly sinking. Papeete is the capital of the entire group as well as that of the Society island group. It is a big city almost like any other. But unlike most large cities we found everyone here helpful and friendly – despite the fact that we were in essence tourists. Due to the worldwide recession and some stupid decisions by the government here the tourist trade is way down and many hotels have 80% vacancy. So all is not well in paradise. Word has spread everywhere about the extreme cost of coming here. A six pack of Bud = $20; grapefruit = $1.5 each; small watermelon = $40. A simple lunch is $20. So, it has lost its allure and tourists in the know are hitting other islands – the Samoas, the Fiji, etc.

We spent two weeks or so on a mooring ball outside of the major marina and the water was crystal clear down to 15 meters. It was especially amazing at night when the moonlight would light the bottom and it seemed we were floating on top of a gigantic swimming pool. We met our friends from the Marquesas and they gave us an "around the island tour". But like they said, once you've done this there is basically nothing else to do. The beaches are far and few between and far fewer locals go the beach than you'd expect. Don't know what they do but it isn't what the tourist brochures advertise.

We'd heard about the great singing at Polynesian churches so we went to the major Protestant church (actually known as the birthplace of Papeete). The women mostly dress in white and wear straw hats. The singing was as advertised – it was awesome!

We are now in "wind-down" mode as we get the boat ready for the cyclone season and get ourselves ready to head back home to avoid the cyclone season (and, of course, to visit lots of family and friends). We return in March of 2010 and will continue the journey and adventure then.

Hello from Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands

Hello from Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia

 

The last update was from Hiva Oa in the same island group so what's up with that?  It sounds like we are still in the same place.  Well we are – sort of.  The Marquesas have six islands that are inhabited with 3 in the south east and 3 to the north west.  We started at the main island in the southeast – Hiva Oa.  Took our time getting used to paradise and then went to the other two islands: Tehuata and Fatu Hiva.  The anchorages were spectacular and the famous no-see-ums (named "no-no's" here) never appeared.

 

We anchored beneath vertical cliffs in a small bay called HanaTefau on Tehuata just a dingy ride away from the village of Hanataponi.  We went here because of the great protection from the big east winds and southeast swell that was making Atuona unbearable.  The swell was so big in that bay that a big steel barge broke loose and destroyed the landing dock all the boats and tourists use for entry.  Anyway our first night in Tefau was pure magic – all stars, no swell and no wind.  We went dingy snorkeling the next day.  That is where you put your face in the water over the dingy and your partner drives you around the bay.  It is easy and fun.  Saw some great corral and some interesting fish but not the amount you think you're going to find in paradise.  The weather changed and for the next couple of days the winds were coming in over the mountains from all directions.  One moment we'd be facing north with 25 knots and just a minute later the wind would have clocked around and we'd be facing south.  This went on and on and on……

 

So, we decided to move to Fatu Hiva.  The French say this is the prettiest anchorage in the world so we had to check it out.  Well it was more awe-inspiring than pretty to us.  It was drop dead gorgeous.  With multiple volcanic plugs sticking up right at water's edge, catching the fading sunlight, etc. it was a sight we will remember a long time.  The early French named it the Bay of Verges (penises) but the moment the missionaries arrived they added an "i" to the name and changed it to the Bay of Vierges (virgins) and that name has stuck.  The people of Fatu Hiva – all 700 of them seem to have been tainted by the various cruisers that have come to visit.  It is the only island where the children beg for candy and the local men want to trade anything for Rum while the women want candy or for you to buy some Tapa from them.  We traded for nothing as we were warned that the men once drunk on rum beat their wives.

 

While the anchorage was unique in its looks, it shared a trait with a lot of the other islands – the anchorage is at the bottom of a great volcanic valley.  Thus every night we'd get winds from 35 – 40 knots blasting down on the 8 boats that were there.  We endured about four nights and said heck with this, let's go north to those other islands.  We left at 10 am one day and arrived at the same hour the next day on the north side of Nuku Hiva.  We had very rough seas, 30 knots of winds the whole way and even though we drifted behind Hiva Oa and Tehuata to escape the winds (a nice reprieve) we still did the 140 miles in less than 24 hours.

 

Anaho Bay is rated the finest anchorage in all the Marquesas.  It was a good one with no swell from the big seas at all.  But, the east winds still managed to blow like crazy and so we had it a little better; no fetch; no swell, good holding but lots of wind.  This anchorage is one of the few in the islands with a sand beach and here is where we finally came to know the famous "no-no's".  We anchored outside the coral and took the one pass into the beach where Mary got eaten and Mike went unscathed.  We traded a home made coffee cake for 13 grapefruit on steroids called Pomplemose.  These things are so big that we could only eat half at a time and then had to use our steak knives to cut them up into edible pieces.  And boy, are they good eating. 

 

We hiked east to an isolated beach one day and then, the next day, west to the adjoining bay and town of Hathieu.  In Hathieu we met two locals and an American who was scoping out the area for a nano-technology based fertilizer plant.  One thing led to another and soon we were being fed every kind of fruit known to the Marquesans, given a bed to "rest" on, and a shower – a real shower (the first real shower in over 5 months).  We saw the "sacred mountains" and visited an old ceremonial site before heading back.  On the way back, we picked 33 mangos growing wild.

 

The next day our new friends plus the governor of the entire island and two more came to visit us on our boat.  It was a great experience and what all cruisers dream about; or at least we do.  We now have locals to visit in Papeete and relatives on the island of Huahine when we get there.

 

The winds were still howling but we grew restless anyway, so out into the winds and downwind the coast to a little known anchorage of Hakaaehu Bay off the Pua Valley where no oceanic plotting has been done.  It was perfectly protected from the winds and just a little swell and we had it to ourselves for two whole days.  While we were hiking a pickup truck stopped and basically said "how'd you like to take a ride to our watering spot over in the next valley?"  We said yes, and climbed in back with two guys and a 10 year old girl and for the next 30 minutes saw the countryside from the back of the truck.  We got to the springs and Mike joined in the bucket brigade to fill buckets while Mary talked with the wife of the driver.  Once the water was all loaded the driver proceeded to find papaya and fill our backpack.  Then back to his house where he showed us his almost completed solar house and gave us more papaya, some pomplemose, a coconut, some mantioc (tapioca root), a breadfruit, and some stuff we have yet to name but it makes great French fries.  With another great experience under our belt we headed for south side of the island and the anchorage with Hauii Falls, the world's third highest waterfall.

 

The winds were still fierce and the ride around the west end of the island and up the south side for the last 2 miles was brutal.  We arrived in Hakatea Bay tired and ready for a good drink.  Up and early the next day found us hiking up the Hakaui valley for 3 hours to the waterfall.  After getting lost once we asked for the correct path and found it and just kept going – there are no arrows, no signs, etc like there are in the States and Canada.  You can see the whole waterfall in thirds but never the whole thing all at once.  Anyway we made it and Mike took a celebratory swim in the pool at the bottom after being warned that even pebbles falling straight down from 350 meters can really hurt.  Then back to the boat and off to our last stop on this island – the Capital of the Marquesas – Taiohae.  The town has a whopping population of about 2,000 (that's one fourth of the entire Marquesan population) with two grocery stores, one restaurant and one hardware store.  The folks aren't nearly as friendly here as in the outlying areas probably because there are so many boaters that come here and the cruise ships stop here too.

 

We'll be here for just a few days to do some small re-provisioning and then head to the last island – Oa Pou and then on to the Tuamotus.   We really mean small re-provisioning!  A can of Coke is $1.60 and a can of beer is $2.90!  So getting a six pack is a major purchase.  We spent $8 for two loaves of bread and $5.5 for a small cauliflower and a small bag of tomatoes today at the local veggie stand.  The grocery stores don't even attempt to sell fruit or veggies.   We'll try to get some water and some fuel and be on our way.  The next internet location is 550 miles away so it will be some time before we finish our story on the Marquesas Islands and begin the story on the Tuamotu's. 

 

Mike and Mary McCluskey
S/V Carpe Vita
www.mikemarymccluskey.blogspot.com