French Polynesia

Hiva Oa

The serious leak was from the raw water pump. Jeremy replaced it and the second one leaked as well. At this point in the evening Sal Darago was too close to the boat next door so Jeremy snorkelled to the stern anchor and moved it by dragging it across the rocks underwater. He sustained two nasty cuts. Back on board, he decided to replace the seal on the original water pump and so far, so good.

On Monday 15^th April we took the dinghy ashore, stopping by a Norwegian yacht on the way to find out about Atuona. It’s a good idea to use a stern anchor when tying up the dinghy or it could be damaged by going underneath the dock. There is a tap near the dinghy dock. Some locals drink this water. It has not been treated. Up the hill to the right at the Semaphore Station, Sandra has an internet café and offers WiFi for 24 hours for the price of a cup of coffee. Other services include laundry, island tours, provisioning and acting as an agent to arrange bonds for visiting non-Europeans. We were very pleased to find out that we were still European – at least until October.

We gave our laundry to Sandra. Nearby there is a boatyard and a commercial quay with petrol and diesel pumps. It’s a two mile road trip into town but the local people are very generous in offering lifts to visitors. First stop was the gendarmerie to check in. No problems there. The form was in French and English. Next stop was the bank. One US dollar is worth about 100 PCF, so I have notes in my purse with 10000 printed on them. Imported food is expensive and wine is upwards of £15 for barely drinkable 70cl bottles. Baguettes are the best value along with locally grown fruit and veg. Pamplemousse, a type of massive grapefruit, is grown on most of the islands and is truly delicious. Other stops were the Post Office (usual queues) and the two supermarkets, both well-stocked with food, but no sign of any beer for sale.

Paradise?

Other jobs in Atuona included filling up SD’s tanks with water, filling up with diesel and scraping the gooseneck barnacles off SD’s bottom. We were able to use the WiFi at the Semaphore Station to read lots of messages from home and catch up with emails. We were also able to check the weather.

Our trips into town included a visit to Paul Gaugin’s grave. Unfortunately, a cruise ship, the Paul Gaugin (imaginative?) was in port and many of the passengers were visiting the grave, so it was rather crowded. Jeremy walked away but I stayed to hear an interesting talk by one of the cruise ship lecturers. Jeremy talked to another tour guide and found out some useful information about the Tuamotus.

Back at SD, Jeremy struggled to physically move our stern anchor. It was nearly spring tides and we were in danger of going aground. We had hoped to leave, but our laundry was not ready, so we had to re-anchor bow and stern in deeper water when another yacht left the bay.

Anse Ivaiva, Tahuata

Tahuata

This island is about 12 miles away from Hiva Oa, so it was an easy motorsail. We were headed for the main anchorage at Hana Moe Noe. At least 10 other yacht crews had the same idea, so the beautiful bay was pretty full. We continued a little further south and had Anse Ivaiva to ourselves, until a private motor yacht called Sea Forever anchored behind us. There were a few people on the shore but we were content to relax, swim and snorkel.

Hanamenu, Hiva Oa

Fresh water pool.

On Saturday 20^th April, we motorsailed to this northern anchorage. It had steep rocky sides and a dark brown sand beach. There was another bay with lighter sand around an impressive, pyramid-like headland, which had a shrine overlooking the entrance to Hanamenu. There were a few houses among the coconut palms but no sign of any humans.

We went ashore in the dinghy. I had my walking shoes and clothes in plastic bags in my rucksack and wore my swimming costume. I was unsure about landing in the surf at the beach. Jeremy was confident, but he was the one that was thrown out of the dinghy as the surf broke over us. He wasn’t hurt. We hauled the dinghy up the beach and explored inland.  A well-kept path passed by some houses and took us to an ancient cemetery and the remains of the dwellings of some of the old Marquesans. There were wild horses and pigs. Back near the modern houses a woman spoke to us from her garden. Behind the houses there was a waterfall flowing into a fresh water pool. Nobody seemed to mind us wandering about.

Ancient grave

The next day, Easter Sunday, we explored the adjacent bay, landing the dinghy safely on the beach and walking inshore for a mile or so, following a water pipe. There were a couple of houses near the beach but no humans. We thought we might find a waterfall but the undergrowth became too thick to continue. We drank refreshing milk from a coconut and found a number of wild lemons. As before, there were wild horses and pigs and evidence of an earlier civilisation.

Exploring ashore

On our way back to the beach we heard the wind increase and soon we could hear the waves breaking. Our hearts sank. Someone had left a long mooring line in the bay and we used this to keep us upright as we pulled the dinghy through the worst of the surf. Jeremy hauled himself into the dinghy but the water was too deep for me. He had to drag me on board. I held the long rope, Jeremy started the outboard motor and we made it safely back to SD, giving thanks as we passed the shrine.

Soon we were joined by a local boat that landed a number of people, containers and cool boxes on the beach. Then Sea Forever anchored further out.

The katabatic winds started here

Oa Pou

On Easter Monday we left Hanamenu at 0330 and motored out to sea in the moonlight. We sailed and motored the 65 miles to Oa Pou in variable winds and an uncomfortable and disturbed northerly swell. As we reached Oa Pou with its tall, mountain peaks katabatic winds shot down, making us reef down our fairly small genoa.

Oa Pou skyline above Hakahetau

 The anchorage off the main village of Haku Hau looked uninviting with surf breaking on the rocky shore and no obvious place to land the dinghy. We carried on, although it would be dark soon. The next anchorage was too deep for us and a yacht was already anchored there with little room for another. We continued to Baie de Hakahetau and anchored at 1730, just before sunset.

Outdoor font at the cathedral

 The anchor held but we turned sideways to the swell and SD rocked and rolled. We had a very uncomfortable night and were pleased to have a great sail away from there the next day.

Entrance to the cathedral courtyard, Taiohae

It was 25 miles to Baie de Taiohae, Nuka Hiva.  We dropped the anchor in the afternoon. About 20 yachts are anchored here, three of them British. Jeremy is concerned about increased vibrations from our propeller, but everything seems to be all right.

Adios Mexico. Bonjour French Polynesia

Waiting in Immigration, La Paz

On our return to La Paz, life became extremely hectic. We moved Sal Darago from Marina Cortez to Marina de la Paz next door. Here we took on drinking water and filled up with diesel from the nearby Pemex garage. It was a holiday weekend, so we could not begin to check out of Mexico until Tuesday, 19th March.

Did I mention earlier that I broke a tooth eating tortilla chips at Simon and Erin’s? The Receptionist at Marina Cortez was very helpful in finding a dentist for me just before the holiday weekend. I had to go to Hospital de Fidepaz straight away. The dentist spoke very little English and generally spoke to Jeremy. Half way through the treatment an English speaking nurse arrived and translated. My tooth was fixed for 800 pesos – approx. 32GBP.

Twin headsails

The rest of the weekend passed in a flurry of activity. The laundry was done, the non-perishable shopping was finished. Charts were checked, courses laid and the grab bag filled. The broken solar vent on the bow cabin hatch was replaced with a piece of wood. It can’t leak now! Club Cruceros at Marina de la Paz were very helpful in trying to find out for us which authorities we needed to visit, which order to visit them and which paperwork needed at each office. We got some things wrong.

Here’s a quick run through the checking out procedure:

1. Marina Office – do we have evidence of paying our API (Port) fees? No. We were told to get it from Marina Cortez.

2. Marina Cortez gave us a receipt for our API fees.

3. Taxi to Immigration. Half hour wait. All good. Paperwork stamped. Passports stamped.

4. Taxi to Cruz Roja (Red Cross) for health certificates. Half hour wait then height and weight measured and blood pressure checked. Health form completed and paid 80 pesos each. 

5. Taxi to the Port Captain’s Office on the other side of town (closes at 2.30). Form in Spanish filled in. Wording on form challenged. It said “depart to…” instead of “depart from…” Jeremy asked politely if the word could be changed as Immigration had already stamped the papers.  This was done but the API receipt was not acceptable. Go to the API Office on the Malecon, a 20 minute walk. No taxis around. The officer spoke English.  20-30 minute wait while a form was filled in, printed, stamped and copied. Taxi back to Port Captain’s Office. Time 1.50. Our Health Forms were not the right ones. Go to the Maritime Health Department, but first go to an Internet café and print out the required form in Spanish. A shipping agent helped here.

6. The Maritime Health Department was close by. We arrived a few minutes before 2pm. We were sent to the other side of a large building where the Receptionist said they were closed. I’d had enough. It was like a scene from the John Cleese film Clockwise. Jeremy said it wasn’t yet 2pm. A man ushered us through the building and our form was signed and stamped.

7. Almost running now back to the Port Captain’s Office. Stepped inside at 2.20pm. “Wait just a minute….” The last customer left the office. The door was locked at 2.35pm. We waited. Forty five minutes later we were given our zarpe (clearance). We could leave Mexico the next day.

Lunch was very late. Fresh food shopping was even later. Supper back on SD was around 10pm. Crossing the Pacific Ocean in a small boat can’t be more stressful, can it?

Beautiful Cabo San Lucas

We motored out of Marina de la Paz at 8.30am on Wednesday 20^th March, waved off by our neighbour, Peter. Jeremy called the Port Captain’s Office on the VHF radio. It was a beautiful but windless day.

After passing Cabo San Lucas, we saw a ketch called Windarra on the AIS and gave them a call on the VHF. We’d met the Skipper in Marina Cortez. We were quite close to them for a day. When the wind picked up they sailed out of range. There were a few ships around as well. We had to sail west at first to avoid a wind shadow south of Cabo San Lucas. We turned south and Jeremy put in a course to cross the Equator at 128 degrees longitude. The wind was rarely constant. The NE Trades when we got them were often light. We tried many sail rigs. The ITCZ (Doldrums) was scary with lots of lightning and frequent squalls. We celebrated our 44^th Wedding Anniversary on 29^th March exchanging cards just after midnight in the Pacific Ocean under the stars, the romantic moment marred only by the strong winds whipping up a big sea.

Sunset - there could be trouble ahead?

We argued, we cursed, we laughed, we prayed and probably went through every emotion at some point during the trip. The dolphins came and cheered us on. The last ship we saw was heading for South Korea. That was on Thursday 4^th April. We saw no other vessels until we approached the Marquesas Islands on Sunday 14^th April.

EQUATOR

We crossed the Equator just after 0600 on Sunday 7^th April. It was our 6^th Equator crossing. We toasted Neptune with whiskey, brandy and biscuits. We were out of the ITCZ and in the SE Trades. Hurrah! Except that the winds stayed light and we ended up motoring. It was very hot. To be naked was to be overdressed. In bed with no covers, sweat dampened the sheets and pillow cases. The squalls continued. The lightning was worse. Heavy rain fell. We filled up our drinking water bottles and one of our tanks. Sometimes we heard the Pacific Puddle Jumpers’ Net on our SSB receiver, so there were other boats out there somewhere.

On watch

A reasonably sized fish

After days of calm weather the wind began to blow until we had a gale at 0500 in the dark. Jeremy was on the helm desperately reefing down as the sideways blown rain hit him like a volley of bullets. I spent my watch sweltering in the saloon with the hatches closed, popping up every 10 minutes to check for ships. There were none. Our trusty Hydrovane wind vane steered the boat in the horrible conditions and kept us running before the wind. By 1030 we were motoring as there was no wind. Where were the constant SE Trades?

Land Ahoy

They arrived at sunset on 12^th April and blew us the rest of the way to the Marquesas. We were low on diesel, our fresh food had all been eaten and we’d had no luck fishing until our last evening, when Jeremy caught a small tuna. We ate it for lunch on 14^th April anchored bow and stern near Atuona, Hiva Oa, Islas Marquesas, French Polynesia. As we napped in the afternoon the bilge alarm sounded indicating a serious leak...

At the Semaphore Station, Hiva Oa