Ua Pou to Fakarava

Oa Pou

This is another island of the Marquesas. We spent two nights here, on our own, in a small sheltered anchorage. We burnt our rubbish on the shore, had a look at a washed up outrigger canoe and explored the shoreline. The undergrowth prevented us from going inland and all we saw were some goats on the cliffs, which rose steeply on both sides, and a local fishing boat out at sea.

The snorkelling was good and Jeremy enjoyed being washed into and out of caves. I stayed further off, having a greater sense of self-preservation. It didn’t stop me being stung by a bluebottle jelly fish, which took up residence near our dinghy. Jeremy was stung first and it got me across the mouth and round the neck as I swam towards the dinghy. Liberal amounts of vinegar numbed the pain. We both had red wealds of sting marks on our shoulders. Paradise has its nasty side.

Oa Pou to Taou Atoll

We left Oa Pou in flat, calm weather and passed a pod of “sleeping” dolphins on our way out of the anchorage. I have never seen so many perfectly still dolphins resting on the surface with just a few swimming about like sentries.

The calm lasted for several hours, but once the wind came up, it didn’t stop rising until we had 2 reefs in the mainsail and very little genoa flying. The rest of the journey of 4 nights and 5 days was unpleasant with many squalls, which sometimes whipped up a big, uncomfortable sea. At the end of my night watch, just before 2am, one of these squalls arrived suddenly with 30 plus knots of wind and heavy rain. I took the genoa sheet off the cleat to start reefing it in and the sheet was whipped out of my hand, even though it was wrapped round the winch several times. By the time I’d reefed enough in to get the boat under control, most of the sacrificial strip on the foot and leech had been ripped off.

We arrived safely at Toau Atoll in the Tuamotus Archipelago a few hours later. A closer examination of the genoa showed it was the stitching that had ripped and we spent a long day hand sewing it back together again.

Toau Atoll

We had a wonderful welcome. Our friends, Oscar and Graciela, on Zenitude (the ones who towed us when we damaged the prop shaft at the end of the Panama Canal) came on the VHF as we approached. Two dinghies came out from other boats to help us tie up to a mooring buoy. One couple, David and Marion, from Kilkea, we recognised. We had been in a minibus together in Trinidad last November, on a trip to the Asa Wright Nature Centre with Jesse James. How amazing to meet up again half way round the world!

Toau is beautiful. One family lives at the anchorage called Anse Amyot. Valentina and Gaston welcome yachts. They have put down the moorings to save the coral and you either pay for the mooring or have dinner in their restaurant on the edge of the water. We chose to have dinner. Three nights in a row, we were welcomed ashore. First we had “happy hour”, which lasted 3 hours. Several yachties went ashore, shared snacks and drank wine or beer. Valentina saw the cocktail sticks I’d taken ashore with a bowl of olives and said she’d like some. The next night when we went ashore for dinner, I gave her most of the cocktail sticks as a gift. Twenty people sat down to a lobster dinner at two tables, one French speaking and the other English. A 39th wedding anniversary was being celebrated and Valentina made a cake. We had a great night out and really got to know the other crews in the anchorage. The following day was American Independence Day. It was also Valentina’s niece’s birthday, so we were all invited ashore again for a Pot Luck supper. We each took a dish to share and our own drinks. Jeremy played volleyball for the first time in 30 years and suffered for it later. I played at the end as it started to go dark. The locals beat us but the visitors put up a good fight. After supper, Valentina and her father played guitars and all the family sang Polynesian songs as the BBQ fire died down. We sang Happy Birthday to Sidonie in 4 languages and shared her birthday cake. When we were leaving and thanked Valentina she said, “This is your home.” What a wonderful lady.

Toau is the friendliest place we’ve been to in the Pacific. The snorkelling was as good as anywhere we’ve been and we’ve even seen sharks close up in the fish trap in the lagoon. No-one is keen to let them out! We were sad to leave but it was time to find a shop and some fresh fruit and veg. We needed to top up on diesel as well.

Fakarava Atoll

It’s just over 40 miles from Toau to Rotoava village on Fakarava. We motorsailed into a headwind and the squalls we had experienced before kept hitting us. The northern pass into the lagoon is a mile wide but the wind and tide whip up a white sea of waves at the entrance. No-one has tide tables and we arrived at the entrance with wind and tide against us. We crept in at 1.5 knots and then motored 4 miles to the village at a more reasonable speed. Fakarava is the second largest atoll. It has an airstrip, a hotel, 3 shops, a bank and a post office. Civilisation indeed! We’re anchored in front of Gryphon II; an English boat crewed by a couple from Suffolk called Chris and Lorraine. There are about 16 boats anchored here, so it’s a popular place.

Yesterday the supply boat came in. It comes once a week and the whole village seems to go to the quay to meet it. We took our jerry cans ashore and bought 50 litres of diesel from the boat. Many locals were doing the same. We were able to stock up with cheese and fresh fruit and veg once the shops had taken their deliveries. Jeremy was reminded of his young days in Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland, when the boat used to come in and was met in a similar way.