Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Safely in New Zealand

After our first day of motoring the wind kicked in and we were able to sail. The wind gradually increased until we had 20/25 knots on Tuesday. It wasn't too rough and the boat was flying, in one 6 hour period we covered 50 miles which is very good for us. Unfortunately, the winds continued to increase due to a squash zone. This is not something we had heard about before but now fully understand having felt the effects of one. Basically, there was a high over NZ which was higher than forecast and the low which developed over Fiji was lower and became a tropical cyclone. Due to the big difference between the 2 there was a zone of high winds in the middle and that is what we were stuck in. The winds increased to 30/35 knots and the seas built to about 5 metres. It was not pleasant as we were sailing into it but when the waves were big we had to sail to the sea and not the wind in order to protect the boat.

We were worried about our mast as it developed a vertical crack on the way to Tonga. Fortunately, it is not structural and we got here with it still standing. We did have a number of breakages, first the engine compartment door broke so we had to duct tape the door shut. Secondly, the spinnaker pole attachment broke and was flailing around at the front of the mast. We both had to go forward and lash it down which was a very wet job with waves completely covering us. Next, one of the bolts on our davits which holds the dinghy snapped. We were worried we would lose the dinghy but luckily we managed to find another bolt and mend it. Besides this we lost our fishing gaff over the side and our anchor has damaged the wood on the anchor platform. It sounds bad but we got off lightly compared to some people. Most boats found leaks they didn't know they had and many ripped sails.

Some of our friends were further north and were in the middle of the cyclone. They had winds of 45 knots and big seas. A Kiwi boat was rolled and the crew were airlifted to safety after abandoning the boat. Friends of our on Adventure Bound were very brave and sailed back into the storm to help the crew. It has really set them back and they have still not arrived (since writing this they have come in sefely).

We only had one very bad day and after that the wind decreased back down to 25 knots which felt really light after the 35 knots! We kept the boat sailing well and arrived in Opua Friday evening. The trip took us 5 1/2 days which is good for a 780 mile trip.

We have all been so glad to arrive safely and have spent the first few days on a real adrenaline high. After that fatigue set in and we are still recovering. Everyone at the marina is incredibly helpful and we have been starting our long list of chores. There was also a rally for cruisers with lots of events and seminars the two weeks after we arrived so we have been attending those.

As we arrived in Opua, the first people we met were a couple called Richard and Dawn who are friends with our friends Chris and Dave off CD. They have very kindly loaned us a car which makes getting things done so much quicker. Hopefully we can keep the car until we leave Opua in December and go cruising around the Bay of Islands.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

On Our Way To NZ

As we write this we are motoring across a glassy sea with no wind. Since leaving Minerva reef this morning we have seen a Humpback whale and its calf and a pod of dolphins. The sea is covered with pumice from a recent undersea volcanic eruption. We have 750 miles to NZ and hope to do the trip in 5 days to avoid bad weather.

At our last entry we were leaving Vava'u for the Haapi. We had a lovely days sail with perfect conditions for our trip to the Haapi and we anchored at Paangi at 16.30 having left Lappe island in Vava'u early morning. After clearing in we moved south to Uoleva which was a pretty anchorage but a little rolly. There was a swell coming into the anchorage so we decided to move. The anchorage we chose was a small deserted island surrounded by reef. We anchored inside the reef and did our Robinson Crusoe tour of the island before moving to a more secure and totally flat anchorage at Uiha for the night.

We moved around the Haapi quite a lot visiting different anchorages in search of a nice flat spot. Eventually we found it by an island called Oua. We stayed anchored at Oua for 4 days all by ourselves enjoying the isolation and the snorkelling. We had a great view and could see 20 different different atolls and islands from the boat. We left to clear out so that we could work our way further down the Haapi group before heading off to Minerva for the start of our trip to NZ. After a spending a lovely evening with 'Astarte', Barbara and Michael, and 'SuperTed', Jean and Matt, we left for Hafeava. As we approached the anchorage we could see it was full of boats and it looked uncomfortable with the swell so we headed back to our favourite spot at Oua for one more night.

We knew unsettled weather was forecast but it wasn't going to be anything bad so we headed south to Nomuka. This was a lovely anchorage in amongst the coral. The water was incredibly clear and we were really looking forward to snorkelling the following day. It was not to be - the following day it was raining heavily and blowing 20 knots. We wanted to move to another anchorage but couldn't because the visibility was so bad. About lunch time the rain stopped but the wind increased to 30/35 knots. At this point we had to get out of the anchorage as it was unsafe. We got the boat ready and left. The exit was between a reef and an island and as we left there was a 4m swell with very short waves due to the shallow seas. It was a little fraught for a while as we were in danger of the seas knocking us down. We were trying to get out to deeper water against a 35 knot wind which took all afternoon and then at about 6pm, the wind just stopped. We contemplated continuing to Minerva but the boat was very wet and we just were not ready for the trip so we drifted down to the next island group called Tongatapu over night. We had to motor into the harbour the following morning in flat seas and sunshine! The contrast from the previous day was unbelievable.

The resort at Tongatapu called Big Mamma's was having a birthday party that night and despite our fatigue we went along for a while. We had no Tongan currency but fortunately they would accept anything! We finished getting ready the following day and then left for Minerva the next morning.

The forecast was for light winds and we were looking forward to spending time in Minerva waiting for a good weather forecast to jump to NZ. Forecasts can be so wrong! It took us 3 1/2 days to get to Minerva, a trip we thought would take 2 days. The winds were much stronger than forecast and were on the nose meaning we had to tack into a very lumpy sea. Lots of work and not much fun. The highlight of the trip was catching 2 Mahi mahi at the same time. Both were a reasonable size so we now have fish in the freezer again. We also caught a good sized Frigate Mackerel on our way into Tonagatapu so hopefully the fish drought has now ended!

We entered Minerva early morning with very light winds. It is such an amazing place, an atoll in the middle of no where and about 2 miles across with the reef just dry at low water. We had to clean the bottom of the boat before going to NZ so Mike put on dive gear to do it. After a short while he surfaced as a big shark was getting too inquisitive, so to finish the job I also had to get in the water and do a shark watch while Mike concentrated on the cleaning. Still, job done!

The following day we awoke to a a beautiful still morning. The sea was lovely and blue with visibility in excess of 60ft. We went for a snorkel along the edge of the reef with Anne and Mark from Blue Rodeo and saw lots of fish we haven't seen before. At low tide we went for a walk on the reef and could see the remains of a number of wrecks. It was such a magical and prefect day which was finished off by dinner on board Blue Rodeo.

We were hoping to stay longer but the weather has other ideas. A low is developing directly over Fiji which means Minerva is definitely a place not to be. The low tracks back south towards NZ so we are all trying to get to NZ ahead of it. This means we are sailing a course that everyone tells you not to do, i.e. straight to Opua. Only time will tell if things will work out.

We should have a few days of nice wind after today to help our progress. We will be keeping a close watch on the forecasts to see what is going to develop.

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Friday, October 19, 2012

In Tonga

We left Samoa 10 September and had a fairly rough sail to Tonga. The wind was forward of the beam for the first time in the Pacific and neither of us were used to the motion so we didn't feel particularly well. As we left the channel between Apia and Savaii and, just after sighting a whale, the deck block for our main sail broke which meant we could no longer use the main. We sailed the majority of the trip with just our genoa and staysail. Even so, we made very good time and arrived in Tonga in the evening on 12th.

We anchored overnight at one of the outer islands, Port Maurelle, and had drinks and a fire on the beach with Barbara and Michael from Astarte and a number of other cruisers. The following day we sailed the remaining distance to Neiafu the main town in the Vava'u group and cleared into the country. A long process with 4 people visiting us and a lot of dirty feet over the boat. The main harbour is full of moorings so we picked one of these up and recovered from our trip. Our generator was not working and we discovered we had the same problem with fuel lines as we have had with the main engine. Fortunately, there is a workshop here that could help us out with a spare part and Mike was able to refit the fuel line. They were also able to rebuild our deck block so that we can use our main again.

We moved back out to Port Maurelle for a few days before heading back into town for our whale watching and diving. We had our first days diving on Friday and did 2 dives off the outer islands. We saw lots of soft corals and went into caves but saw very few fish. Saturday we went whale watching with Colin, Liz, Zinnia and Cosmo from Pacific Bliss. The boat took us a long way south and eventually joined up with another boat that had found 2 whales. We took turns getting into the water with them. They would sit on the bottom for a while and we could just see their outline through the water. Eventually they would both come to the surface very close to us. It was scary and exciting at the same time, they are such huge creatures. We had 2 goes in the water before heading back. It was a grey day and the water is quite cold so we were both OK with not swimming any longer. Monday we did our second day diving which we both enjoyed more than the first day. We went into caves and through split rocks and saw amazing corals. There were lots of fish but nothing big and we didn't see any sharks.

The Vava'u regatta started the same day we were whale watching and had a full calendar of events for a whole week. There was a fancy dress pub crawl the first day and it was amazing to see the costumes cruisers carry on their boats! Sunday we went to a dinghy raft up. This is exactly as its name suggest, we went to the end of the harbour and all the dinghy's raft up together. We all took food to share and drinks and spent the afternoon socialising. Towards the end we let go of the mooring and the dinghy's stayed attached and we all drifted down the harbour back to the boats singing as we went! Tom from Barraca provided the accompaniment on his guitar. We discovered that we had met Tom in St Martin 3 years ago so had a good catch up!

There were several talks during the week on the Humpback Whales and on New Zealand which we attended. Wednesday evening we had arranged to take Zinnia and Cosmo to the Baby Grand Theatre to see 'Augustines Circus Spectacular'. This is run by a guy called Billy who is from Bristol. The theatre holds 12 people but unfortunately 16 turned up for the show. We all squeezed in and we had to have the children on our laps which made a very hot theatre even hotter. The show was very funny, its a 'flee' circus, and the audience participation made it a fun evening.

There were a number of yacht races as part of the regatta but due to our rig problems we did not participate in them. We did go to the 'full moon party' which was on a beach at one of the anchorages. It was a fun night with a disco and traditional dancing and a great end to the week.

After all the socialising we escaped to one of the outer anchorages on the east side of the group called Kenutu. The weather has not been good in Tonga, we have had lots of rain and it has been windy and cold. This has meant we have not been in the water as much as we would have liked. Kenutu was very pretty but we were boat bound by weather most of the time. We did catch up with Pacific Bliss and Colin organised a treasure hunt for the children. We had a treasure map and cryptic clues and had to dinghy around the anchorage finding them, including the treasure (beers for us and sweets for the children) at the end. It was very clever and we all had a great time doing it. Afterwards we had a party on the beach and a number of other boats that had arrived that day, joined us.

We left Kenutu after a few days and headed for Lape Island. There was great snorkelling at a site called the coral garden and we also continued our socialising! Lape island held a Tongan feast to raise money for the island and we had arranged to go to it. As the days progressed more and more boats arrived and by the day of the feast the anchorage was full. There were 94 people at the feast and we were amazed they had enough food for everyone. There are only 32 residents on the island normally so we completely out numbered them and it turned into a big cruisers social gathering.

Chris and Rani from Ladybug finally caught up with us at Lape and the four of us went to the coral garden so that we could dive the outside of the reef. We had to swim through the surf from the inside which was not easy with dive gear but it was worth it as the coral on the outside was amazing and some of the best we have ever seen. There were also lots of fish, many which we haven't seen before. We spent a fairly short time outside and then had to swim back through the surf. This was very tiring and by the time we returned to the boat we just wanted to relax!

The day after the feast we left Lape and headed back to Port Maurelle so that we could go to Swallows Cave. Chris and Rani came with us and after anchoring our boats, the 4 of us dinghyed to the cave. Its a large cave that was big enough for the dinghy and there was also another smaller one near to it. We also snorkelled inside the cave and along the wall on the outside. There was little coral but a surprising variety of different fish

The last few days in Vava'u we checked out and stocked up on fuel ready to head to the Haapi group. The Haapi are 60 miles south of Vava'u and are where we will leave from for NZ.

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Sunday, September 9, 2012

Samoa and Goodbye!

We caught the bus to Manono Island ferry which took about 1½ hours but gave us a good look at parts of Upolu that we hadn't seen before. When we arrived for the ferry, they weren't expecting us as for some reason they thought we were coming the day before! Once we sorted that out and confirmed our accommodation was still available, we had to wait half an hour for the ferry. This was a small aluminium boat which chugged across to Manono quite slowly. It seemed to take an age to get there but then no one in Samoa is ever in a hurry!!

We arrived at Sunset View Fales in time for a communal lunch and it was interesting to meet the other guests who were from all over the world. Our Fale (pronounced Far_ley) was basic but OK for the single night we were stopping although the shared outside toilet shower and basin were a bit grubby to our eyes BUT better than the locals probably have!

After lunch we started out to walk around the island but before we got very far there was a heavy shower and we took shelter. Once it stopped we started out again but after a few minutes the rain came down once again. This set the pattern for our walk and although we sheltered when we could, we got pretty wet!! The locals just ignored it altogether and kept on with whatever they were doing but then, they had a change of clothing at home and we did not as we had decided to travel light!! It was a pleasant walk apart from the rain, with friendly people anxious to chat and children wanting their picture taken! After dinner, we talked with the other guests for a while and then decided to get an early night.

The following morning, we had planned to go snorkelling on the nearby reef but there were still lots of black clouds and with no sun, we didn't think it was worth going. So, we caught an early ferry back to Upolu and managed to get a ride to Apia in the back of the chief of Manono's pick up. Bouncy but good views as we went along . We were glad to get back home to have a shower and get some clean clothes!

Later in the week we hired a car in Apia so that we could tour Upolu. We drove down the centre of the island stopping at the Bahai Temple which was very peaceful with lovely grounds. There were amazing views from the top of the island out to the south coast and the reefs. It was very rural with houses dotted along the road. Many were selling fruit and veg from a stand in front of their garden. We visited a few waterfalls and stopped at To Sua ocean trench for a swim. This was a big hole which links to the sea which you go down a path and steep ladder to get into. The drive back was up another inland road and this was even more rural with lots of cattle and steep drops. The last part of the drive was along the north coast along which we had sailed on the way to the marina.

Sunday evening we attended a gospel singing exhibition for the start of the Teuila festival. All the locals were dressed mainly in white and they were all in their Sunday best for church. We were given a Lei for around our necks made from orchids and local flowers. The singing was amazing and the choirs were all sizeable. Most of the congregation of the churches must be in the choir! We met another kiwi couple from Christchurch who have invited us to go and see them when we are on the south island. It was interesting hearing about the earthquakes in Christchurch from people who live there.

The following evening we became child minders for Zinnia and Cosmo (10 and 7 respectively) while their parents Liz and Colin had their first night out in 3 years! They are a British family that we have met in Samoa and spent time with. The children were frequent visitors to our boat until another boat arrived with 3 children on board and then we didn't see them!

The Teuila festival has gone on all week and we have had a really good time attending the events. There has been displays of traditional crafts, weaving, printing, carving and tattooing. The tattooing looked very painful and is done by tapping sharp prongs in to the skin. No electricity!! The Samoan men are heavily tattooed around their shoulder, middle and legs and the whole thing takes 12 sessions of 7 hours over 14 days. We have been told its very painful and it certainly looked it!
In the evenings there has been traditional dancing, fire knife dancing (long handled knives set in fire at both ends!!) and some modern dancing and singing. We saw the winner of the 'Samoa has Talent' programme and their winner of the equivalent of the X factor!

One of the best parts of the festival was the traditional Umu. This is the way the Samoans cook using hot rocks. The men do all the cooking and it included Octopus, a whole pig that they put hot rocks inside to help it cook, chicken, fish, lobster, crabs, breadfruit and taro leaves with coconut milk. Everything is cooked in coconut and breadfruit leaves. Once the food was prepared and cooking the men performed a traditional 'Ava welcoming ceremony and then did some traditional singing. This took the whole morning and then we got to taste the food once it was cooked. Unfortunately, all the octopus and pig went to the Government officials in the government building nearby so we didn't get to try any which was a bit disappointing.

While we were waiting for the food to be cooked, we went to collect some sewing we had organised to be done. On the way there we cut through between buildings following other people. As we got to the road, a dog walked by us then turned and bit my leg (KB). Fortunately it didn't hold on but it was very sore and is now very bruised. There was a doctors surgery near to where we were going so we got the bite treated straight away. It put a bit of a damper on the day but we still went back to get our Umu lunch!

Friday evening the festival ended with the Miss Samoa pageant. A group of us dressed up and went along. There were only 6 contestants but it was still quite long. The contestants had to do traditional dancing and answer some incredibly hard questions which they all did very badly on. Still we have never been to anything like it before and it was fun to see.

Unfortunately our time in Samoa has now come to an end as we must leave for Tonga tomorrow. We have really enjoyed ourselves here and wish we could stay longer! We must come back!!

One last thing – we have put some fish and shark pictures on the blog thanks to our friends on Knotty Lady and Gatogo for sharing.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Samoa

We had a great sail to Samoa, there was lots of wind and we covered a lot of distance each day. The swell was uncomfortable but we didn't mind as long as we got to Samoa quickly. It took us just over 3 days to cover the 500 miles. Unfortunately the rivets which hold our vang (aka Kicking strap, which holds the boom down) pulled out of the mast. All the downwind sailing across the Pacific has put a lot of strain on it and it gave up! We have rigged something to get us to NZ where we can get it repaired. Our list of jobs for NZ is getting longer as we cross the Pacific!

We arrived in Apia the capital of Samoa and lost a day! Samoa are the other side of the date line so instead of being 11 hours behind GMT we are now 13 hours ahead. Boats have to moor in the marina which is the first time we have been in a marina since Mexico. Once we were tied up at the dock the officials started to arrive. We were not allowed to leave the boat until we were cleared. We had visits from quarantine, health, customs and the marina. They were very friendly but there was lots of paperwork and we had to supply them all with cans of drinks and snacks! Other than the refreshments clearing in was free! The Samoans are very officious, we can only go to other parts of the islands by writing to the Prime ministers office and having a letter to take with us and we need to write a letter to the head of customs to get duty free fuel and alcohol. That said they are very friendly and welcoming people.

We have been taking advantage of having water and have given the boat a good clean in between enjoying ourselves. Our first week we walked Apia and the water front to see the historic sites. There are also lots of big new government offices which have been paid for by Japanese and Chinese money. They look completely out of place amongst the old buildings and it is sad that they have probably sold their fishing rights in order to get the funding. The Japanese tuna boats are moored 4 abreast in the harbour and apparently a larger ship comes to transfer the catch to Japan from here while the smaller ships go back out fishing again. The Samoans are very religious people and do not see the danger in all their fish being caught, they just say 'God will provide'!

Robert Louis Stevenson lived on the island for 4 years and is buried here. We had a tour of his house though did not do the steep walk to his grave as it was raining and the trail is rough and slippery. The house is out of town and we tried to get there by bus. After waiting over an hour at the bus station with no success we hitched a ride there and back from locals! The same day we also went to see the police parade. Each morning the police march with a band from the police station to Government house where they stand to attention while the Samoan flag is raised to the national anthem. Its strange seeing police, both male and female, in skirts, locally know as Lava lava's. All the locals wear Lava lava's and in the more remote areas we are expected to keep our legs covered so we have both had lava lava's made.

 The last 3 days we have visited the other large island called Savai'i. We got a taxi to the bus station at 5.30am on Wednesday in time to get the local bus to the ferry. The bus ride took an hour and cost about £1 each. The car ferry from Upolu to Savaii left at 8am and again was very cheap costing less than £4 each for a journey of over an hour! We had arranged to hire a car on Savai'i which we collected from a hotel near the ferry owned by a man who grew up near Birmingham and then lived in Croydon! Savaii is much more traditional than Upolu though some of the resident live in houses rather than the traditional open Fales. They are very proud of their land and the gardens are amazing. They are incredibly poor financially but have a plentiful supply of food which they grow. Even though they are poor the island is covered with huge churches. There is a church every few hundred yards and all of them are very grand and very big. Most of the building work on the island is new churches. We visited a number of interesting sites. Blowholes which spout water about 40ft into the air, and that is when the sea is calm! Waterfalls where we went swimming in crystal clear water and lava fields with part buried churches from an eruption in the early 20C. Just driving through the villages was interesting, one village had bananas just hanging under shelters and you could help yourself to as many as you wanted. Also the Samoans bury their dead on their property so most houses had large tomb stones in their front garden.

On our trip back to Upolu we met a Kiwi couple on holiday here. They visited the boat and we had a pleasant evening with them. They live in Auckland and we have an invite to visit when we get to NZ. We are really enjoying Samoa and plan to stay for their annual festival which starts 2 September and lasts for 1 week. We still have to tour Upolu island and visit one of the very small island called Manono which has no cars and will be very traditional. So that is this week taken care of!

Suwarrow

We arrived in Suwarrow on 31 July after our slow sail of 7 days! The final night the wind picked up and we had a good breeze blowing in morning. We had a great sail and arrived early afternoon. As the passage had been fairly relaxing we were well rested and ready to enjoy ourselves. Not long after we had anchored we met up with Anne and Mark from Blue Rodeo and we spent a pleasant evening on their boat hearing all about the atoll over a few drinks!

The following morning the 2 rangers (Harry and Anthony) who live on the atoll came to the boat to clear us into the Cook Islands. It was very relaxed and informal with only a few forms to fill in. The anchorage is quite tricky to anchor in with lots of coral and we were not happy with where we had anchored yesterday so decided to move. This was a mistake!! First our chain was wrapped around coral which Tucker on Convivia very nicely helped us to untangle and then we anchored 4 times and each time were unhappy with our location. Finally we set the anchor in an OK spot which was lucky as by this stage our anchor windlass decided to go on strike. It was soon OK after a rest and a bit of cleaning!

After providing the mornings entertainment to the other boats in the anchorage we went snorkelling with Blue Rodeo. They took us to a lovely coral garden about 2 miles from the anchorage. It was a bumpy ride in the dinghy but worth it. The coral was very pretty and we saw turtles, sharks and hundreds of fish. On the way back we also went to another spot to see manta's.

The rangers were checking for rats on one of the Motus at the south end of the atoll. They laid traps and then returned to the motu over 3 days to see if they had caught any rats. On the second day the assistant ranger, Anthony, let us and Nicki and Dennis from Knotty Lady go with him to the motu. Most of the traps had been destroyed by Coconut crabs and no rats had been caught. We all had a picnic on the beach and a good wander around. We were allowed to catch one coconut crab which Dennis dug out of its den. That evening we had a BBQ on the beach and all tried the crab. It was tasty but there is not a lot of meat for such a big animal. It was a lovely location, at one point there were only 4 boats there and the 2 rangers. Towards the end of our stay more boats were arriving and there were 10 when we left.

We had a relaxing time walking around the motu near the anchorage (this is the only place we were allowed to go ashore without the rangers), snorkelling and having beach BBQ's in the evening. Anthony took the guys out fishing and we all provided a dish to accompany the fish barbeque. Just before we left Barbara and Michael arrived on Astarte. Barbara had caught a lovely tuna which they shared with us on our last evening. Barbara had also made us mini chocolate cakes for our sail to Samoa. Barbara is becoming famous among the cruisers for her chocolate cake! It was sad to leave such an idyllic location but time is marching on and we needed to continue west.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Bora-Bora to Suwarrow Island - Day 7

Well, the promised wind did not arrive until the morning so progrees overnight was slow. We have been making better time today and sailing at 2 - 3 knots. A big improvement over 0! Just being in motion makes us both more cheerful and the boat is quieter, the rigging works less and it's a lot more comfortable. If the current breeze holds we should arrive tomorrow!!

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Monday, July 30, 2012

Bora-Bora to Suwarrow Island - Day 6

There is even less wind than yesterday and the sea is mirror calm. The stars were reflecting in the surface of the sea overnight and today the boat and the clouds have a perfect reflection. The forecast promises wind tonight so we are waiting expectantly for it to arrive.

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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Bora-Bora to Suwarrow Island - Day 5

Apart from some rain showers and some brief winds that accompanied them, the wind continued to drop. By morning there was none and we have spent the whole day drifting slowly under a cloudless blue sky. Apart from the continuing long swells, the sea has been flat but we have seen no birds, fish or anything else! Karen has spent a while baking cake and scones but we have spent most of our time reading in the shade of the cockpit. We are both anxious to complete the last two hundred miles and a bit annoyed that the forecast winds when we left BB did not materialise. Even when looking just a few days ahead, the forecasters are doing little better than guess it seems!!

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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Bora-Bora to Suwarrow Island - Day 4

A quiet night but the wind dropped steadily and by 7am we were having to motor. Light winds came back about 2 hours later but we are having to sail away from our direct line to make use of them. If we sail the direct route, the swells roll the boat and the little wind just spills from the sails! Frustrating!! It's been hot and sunny all day but the lack of breeze makes it essential to stay in the shadiest spot we can find. What we thought was going to be a 4 to 5 day trip looks like taking 6 or 7 unless we get some more wind!

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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Bora-Bora to Suwarrow Island - Day 1

We went ashore to clear out and buy some last minute fruit and a few things. We decided to have lunch out at the Mai Kai restaurant at the marina and had a really enjoyable meal and certainly the best steak in a long while!

We slipped our mooring around 1pm and headed out through the pass. Once clear of the island we set course to pass close by the neighbouring island of Maupiti under poled out jib and preventer stayed main. The wind was 20+ knots and we crossed the 25 miles in around 4 hours despite a confused sea (not unusual between the islands. Once safely past we set course for Motu One the next island to avoid and about 140 miles away. The swell was running high and we had a rolly first night and little sleep. Fairly usual for first nights!

Despite the wonderful starlit sky, we had too little comfort to sit and enjoy it. As the night progressed the wind continued to swing east and we opted to follow it round rather than rearrange the sails, poles, etc in the dark and with such a swell. Something for tomorrow!!

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A Sour End To French Polynesia!

As planned, we moved to another anchorage on Huahine called Haapu. It is a deep bay surrounded by a coral shelf and nestled amongst a few mountains with a small village. As predicted the winds increased and tended to funnel through the gaps in the hills which was fine until the wind decided to change direction. We had just gone to bed and could hear a rumble under the boat. As we  were investigating our depth went from the 50ft that we had been in for a few days to 5ft! The rumble was our hull hitting the coral shelf. As the wind turned it had pushed us over the shelf as we had 200ft of chain out. Fortunately there was no damage done other than a bit of anti-foul removed and we had a late night having to re-anchor!

Chris and Rani from 'Ladybug' had joined us at the anchorage so we had a final meal with them before we headed off. The weather was horrible for a few days with lots of torrential rain and gusty winds so we were pretty boat bound and getting bored. Even though the weather wasn't wonderful we decided to sail to Taha'a, the next island along. We had a fast sail as there was 25-30 knots of wind but we had to go around the top of the island and enter the reef on the west side as the swells (4-5m) were to big to go through the east coast passes.

We stayed overnight in a very deep anchorage and decided to leave the following morning for Bora Bora. It was Bastille day and we had hoped to see some of the celebrations. The sail to Bora Bora was quieter than the previous day and we arrived at lunch time. The water around the main island is very deep so we needed to find a mooring to be able to get to town. But with the bad weather, all the boats had backed up in Bora Bora so we could not find a mooring and missed all the celebrations. Instead, we anchored around the back of a sizeable motu west of the main island. It was pretty but the weather was horrible. The wind was funnelled down the mountain which dominates the centre of Bora Bora and we had gusts of upto 50 knots. We could not leave anything in the cockpit as it would blow away. Empty cans were picked up and levitated from one end of the cockpit to the other!

The anchorage was not very comfortable and we did not have a lot of sleep for a few nights. We were stuck on the boat again as going anywhere in the dinghy would have been very wet! At this point we did not think much of Bora Bora, we could have been in Wales on a warm day!

The weather improved and boats started to leave for their next destination freeing up moorings near the town. This allowed us to move to town where we stayed a few nights. We had a meal out with Nicky and Dennis from 'Knotty Lady' and the next evening we went to see one of the local dance groups perform. We had missed all of the Heiva Festival, which is the island dance festival, so it was nice to see the dancing. The dancers are so fit and we sat in awe as to how they moved their hips so fast with such little effort!

After a few days we moved around to the south east side of the atoll and anchored in a big lagoon area. The water was shallow over sand and was a an amazing blue. There were a number of Austrian and German boats anchored as well as Yvonne and Bruno from 'Momo', a Swiss boat and they invited us, along with Knotty Lady, to a beach BBQ. The following day we went diving with Knotty lady inside the atoll close to where we were anchored. It was a nice dive with lots of coral and we saw Manta rays which was our reason for doing the dive. They swam around us a few times and then disappeared.  The same day we also went snorkeling with Knotty Lady behind the motus on the south side of the atoll. There was a very pretty coral
garden and lots of fish. The fish were obviously fed by the tourist boats as they followed us around and were very tame.

Unfortunately, today we have realised paradise is not always as it seems when we discovered our fishing rod has been stolen out of its holder on the side rail of the boat. It was only tied on but they cut the line rather than untying it! So that is the end of our fishing unless we can buy another rod in town.

We are leaving our idyllic spot and moving back around to the town tomorrow to do a final shop and clear out of French Polynesia. We are heading to Suwarrow on Tuesday which is about 600 miles. After that we plan to go to Western Samoa.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Tahiti to Huahine

Our fuel problem went from bad to worse. Island Packet could not supply a replacement and while trying to fix the one broken part, 2 others also broke. So we had to start from scratch and take the hose into a shop and ask for new parts. Fortunately we managed to get something that works, its not perfect but should get us to NZ. Once we had a working engine we left Tahiti and headed to its sister island Moorea. Moorea is only 20 miles away from Tahiti but very different, it was much quieter and very mountainous. We anchored first in Cooks Bay which was a deep bay surrounded by tall peaks and very pretty. The only down side was that the road ran around the bottom of the bay so there was some  traffic noise.

While there we did a walk to a view point called Belverdere. It was a lovely walk, but all up hill, to a view of the 2 main bays on the north side of the Island, Cooks and Oponuhu bays. We had a picnic at the top before heading back down. It was probably somewhere between 8-10 miles and we were very tired when we got back to the boat. After a few days we moved around the corner to Oponohu bay which was quieter but not quite as pretty. Then we anchored on the outside of the bay just inside the reef. It was a lovely quiet spot and the first night we were the only boat there sitting surrounded by reef and mountains. The following morning we were joined by Chris and Rani on Ladybug and the 4 of us went along the inside of the reef to see what is called Stingray City.

Stingray City is actually a shallow sandy area inside the reef where the tourist boats feed the stingrays. We arrived early before the boats with our tin of sardines to feed them. As soon as we dropped the anchor there were rays all around the boat swimming right to the surface. There were so many that it was difficult to get out of the dinghy and stand up. Unfortunately, they didn't like our tinned sardines so went back to relaxing until they heard a tour boat arrive. Then they all went over to the boat and the guide was feeding them fresh fish. The rays were climbing all over him trying to get to the food, it was amazing. The guide did not mind us joining them so we swam over and the rays were rubbing against us, it was a very strange feeling. Eventually, the sharks also arrive and there were about 6 black tips just patrolling around us. We sat watching the rays from the boat for a while and they were practically coming out of the water. A great experience.

We spent the remainder of the day with Chris and Rani and then bid farewell to them as they were returning to Tahiti and we were continuing on to Huahine. We left for Huahine late afternoon the following day. It was an 80 mile trip and we had to arrive in the day to go through the reef with good light. It was an uncomfortable sail with fairly light winds but we arrived at the entrance at about 7am. We had decided to stop on the east side of the island and anchored in 10ft of water behind a long motu which ran to the southern tip of the island. It was an idyllic spot. We were the only boat and the water was crystal clear and very still. There was a continuous flow of current so the boat just sat in the same position for 3 days. We did not move and it was flatter than being tied up in a marina.

While anchored on the east side, we did a drift snorkel from the south end of the motu back to the boat. There were patches of nice coral but also a lot of dead. We saw one area which was covered in sea anemones with lots of Nemo's living in it! We also tried to paint our toe rail again as the sea was so flat but the rain stopped that. After 3 days of solitude we have moved around to the west of the island to the main town Fare. Our friends Barbara and Michael on Astarte arrived here at the same time and we are looking forward to dinner with them this evening. We have also been into town and stocked up on fruit and veg. We have had our first bananas since the Tuamotus and we have gone at least a week without Pampelmousse (a very large grapefruit but sweeter and juicier)!

Tomorrow we are moving to another anchorage further south of where we are which hopefully has some good snorkelling. It looks as if the winds will be building over the next few days so we want a quieter place than where we currently are!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Toau to Tahiti

We had a short sail to Toau from the north pass at Fakarava. Both passes were easy to navigate and we anchored near to the south pass of Toau behind a Motu (small island) which gave us good protection. The following day we went to snorkel the pass with Chris and Rani from Ladybug. The wind had increased over night so the pass was rougher than when we came through it and it was difficult trying to make headway through the pass against the wind and the current. When we finally got in the water the current was running at about 3 knots. We all held on to the dinghy and were whisked back into the atoll. It was interesting but we passed everything so quickly that it was difficult to see.

The second time we did the pass a group of grey sharks were very interested in us. They were much bigger than the ones we had seen in Fakarava and we were definitely being looked at as a food prospect! It was quite unnerving and we were all glad the 4 of us were together with the dinghy. There is a second pass at Toau so we also snorkelled that one. It was shallower with interesting topography but no big fish. Between the 2 passes there was a Motu with a lovely coral garden in front of it and we enjoyed snorkelling that more than the passes.

The following morning we left the pass with a strong wind which made the pass very rough. This was our most exciting exit so far! We headed to the north of the atoll to a place called Anse Amyot. The owners have installed mooring balls inside a quite lagoon and also cook meals on request. We joined a number of US boats we have been sailing with off and on, in the lagoon while Ladybug continued to Tahiti. A number of us did a dive on the outside of the atoll. The coral was pretty but the fish were disappointing and we did not see a single shark. Inside the atoll the owners have a fish trap and this was full of lots of fish, sharks, and rays. It was sad they were trapped but it let us see lots of fish up close.

In the evening we joined the other boats in the lagoon for a pot luck dinner ashore and then we left the following morning for Tahiti. We had a great sail covering 220 miles in 32 hours and arrived at Point Venus (where Captain Cook observed the transit of Venus in the 18th century)just after dark (18.30). We were lucky enough to see a transit of Venus ourselves when we were in Fakarava. We anchored overnight and then moved to the Tahiti yacht club the following morning where we are currently moored on a mooring ball. We lost another fishing line to a big fish and the “zip – ping!!” the line makes as it rips out and then breaks is getting depressing. We probably need to upgrade to bigger gear to cope with the fish here in the Pacific but that will have to wait until we reach New Zealand.

Tahiti is a busy city and very different from the small islands we have become used to. We have been into town a few times to clear in and visit customs although this meant lots of walking and aching legs!. We have also had the novelty of a big Carrefour supermarket where we have been able to buy lots of items we haven't seen since we left Mexico. Needless to say we have purchased lots of cheese! We have also been able  to buy duty free alcohol which has just been delivered to the boat. Unfortunately, we cannot touch it until we leave French Polynesia! At the moment we do not know when that will be as we have a problem with our fuel connection to the engine and Mike searched town for a part unsuccessfully. Until we find a solution we are going nowhere! We will probably have to get it shipped from the States but will not know until next week.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Diving With Sharks!


We never managed to dive the pass at Kauehi as when we got there the sea was too rough to leave the boat. Instead, we went back to our quiet anchorage and then left the following day for Fakarava. The trip to Fakarava was only 40 miles but as we needed to leave in good light and arrive in good light we had to travel overnight. The winds were very light, so we literally drifted south overnight and hove to for 6 hours while we waited for dawn and finally arrived at the south pass at Fakarava about 6.30am.

Trying to time the entrance through the passes for slack tide is a bit like trying to do magic, it never works! Fortunately, with light winds the passes seem to be OK at any state of tide so we had breakfast while the waiting for the sun to be higher in the sky so that we could see the coral and then made our way into the pass. The channel focuses the tide and although we had only a couple of knots of current overall, we had 5 in one spot!

We anchored just inside the pass so getting to it in the dinghy to dive was very easy. The first day we left it too late to snorkel as the ebb had started. You can only swim safely with the flood so that if anything happens you get swept into the atoll rather than out to sea!

The following day we planned a dive with a few other boats. We were very fortunate as our friends on Ladybug were willing to snorkel and tow our dinghy so that we did not have to dive dragging it on a 100 foot rope. This day we were a little early and the current was fairly strong but the dive was amazing. In the centre of the pass there were hundreds of sharks just drifting in the current. We held onto coral on the bottom and watched them for quite a while. Due to the current there were very few fish visible but the coral was very pretty.

After our dive we all snorkelled back towards the anchorage with the dinghy in tow. Around the corner of the pass towards the boats the current picks up and was whizzing us along. It was as if someone was fast forwarding a video as everything was going by so quickly. We were impersonating 'superman' flying through the water! When we got tired, we all climbed in the dinghy and headed back to the boat for a rest.

The following days we did the same dive another 3 times and also snorkelled on the opposite side of the pass. We never saw as many sharks as we always timed the dive to have as little current as possible but this meant we saw lots more fish. There was one area in particular which was a little lagoon with a pass through it and the coral on either side was only a few feet deep. In this area we saw huge Napoleon Wrasse about 4ft long, numerous sharks and thousands of little fish. It was like our own private aquarium. The last day a pleasure boat was in this lagoon with clients and they were feeding the sharks only about 20ft away from where we were standing. Amazingly none of us felt threatened by the sharks. As soon as they got anywhere near they turned and swam the other way. It's nice to know that for reef sharks they are more interested in fish than people!

The wind turned so that the anchorage became uncomfortable so we moved to a quiet corner of the atoll and anchored off a palm tree lined beach. We stayed here for a few days having a rest after all our swimming of the previous days. Then we sailed to the north end of the atoll to the village which is where we are currently anchored. There are a few shops here so hopefully we will get bread and will go looking at pearls. There are lots of pearl farms here but at the moment we have no idea how much they cost!

Once we have shopped we plan to move to the next atoll called Toau. We will hopefully do more diving and snorkelling. We will have a week there before heading to Tahiti for a 2 day cruisers gathering.

Monday, May 28, 2012

A Banana Boat to the Tuamotus!

While in Taoihae we finally met up with friends Barbara and Michael from 'Astarte'. We met Astarte in Providencia 2 years ago and have not seen them since we left Panama last year. They came through the Panama canal this year and sailed to the Marquesas from the Galapagos. We were hoping to meet up with them sooner but their crossing was very slow due to light winds. We spent a lovely evening catching up and Barbara had made us one of her excellent chocolate cakes. After Taoihae we went opposite directions. They call us their advance party as we give them reports on anchorages before they go there! They have chosen to go to a different atoll in the Tuamotus so we are not sure when we will see them next.

We left Taoihae and sailed to Daniels bay as planned. We sailed into Daniels Bay and had a bit of a shock. The bay had a very narrow entrance with a big surf running in and we had to turn sharply to starboard (right) to the anchorage behind the headland. We rounded the corner with all our sails up and there in front of us were all the anchored boats. The sails had to go away very quickly to slow the boat down whilst we looked for a spot to anchor. It was a lovely bay completely surrounded by tall 'mountains'.

The first day there I (KB) went for a walk to a waterfall with Chris and Rani from 'Ladybug'. The start of the walk was nice and through the village which was lined with fruit trees. A few of the locals had set up to sell fruit to cruisers which was very unusual and enterprising. It started to rain almost as soon as we set off and the locals warned us of falling rocks near the falls when it is wet. Ladybug were not deterred so we continued on. The walk was picturesque but the terrain was very muddy and uneven. We had to cross the river a few times and other times we were walking across stones surrounded by water. The last river crossing was fairly deep and the water flow was pretty fast with all the rain so I declined to cross it. Instead I decided to sit and wait, but alas, this was not to be as I was being eaten alive by mosquitos. So instead I walked back to the beach by myself and never saw the falls. By the time I got back I was very wet and covered in bites! We returned to the boat at 5pm to a worried Mike who had otherwise had a nice day relaxing and reading his book! On this occasion he had made the right choice!

Before we left Daniels Bay we decided to go and purchase fruit and veg. To do this we opted to take the dinghy up the river rather than walking the 20 minutes from the beach carrying heavy fruit. Going into the river, the water was low over a sand bar so we had to walk in places but with the help of locals we found our way up river and purchased our fruit. We thought the exit would be easier as the tide had risen. It was better in that we could motor over the bar but then we were faced with breaking waves. The first wave completely soaked us but was OK but then we were looking at this big wave coming towards us and breaking as it did. Mike accelerated the dinghy to get over the top before it did and we almost flew into the air. The dinghy went vertical and we are not sure how it didn't capsize, water came over the stern and then we slammed down the other side. We quickly accelerated into deeper water. We were shaking with the adrenaline rush, were completely wet but we did not loose any of the fruit! Nothing much was done the rest of that day!!

The following day we left and sailed to Ua Pou, another island 20 miles south of Nuku Hiva. The wind was bad for sailing to the Tuamotus so we were moving south to wait for good weather. The anchorage on Ua Pou was very tight and we had to set a stern anchor to hold us in position. The island was very pretty and we had a nice walk around the village. We purchased mangoes and limes from a lady but could not get any bread or bananas. The bakers apparently closes at 6am as they have sold out by then!

Rani and Chris found another local who sold them a big bunch of bananas which we agreed to share. When they were delivered to the wharf the guy had removed them all from the stalk so that they were all individual bunches in 2 boxes. Some we hung up and others we put into string bags and hung. We also picked quite a few oranges from trees in the police yard while we were clearing out of the Marquesas!

With bananas all stowed we left for Kauhei atoll in the Tuamotus on Friday 18 May. We had good winds the whole way and arrived after 3 1/2 days. We broke our recent fishing duck with the landing of a tuna we estimate at 25 pounds. It's the biggest one we have caught and was completely different to the smaller ones in that its body was almost completely round. It had a lot of meat on it and we ended up with 13 pounds of fillets.

Our fast passage was slightly wasted as, unfortunately, you can only enter the atolls at slack tide and in good light. This is because the currents run very fast through the passes and also so that you can see coral heads. So we had to wait offshore until the following day. Slack tide was predicted to be about 10am but we went through the pass at 9.30 with only 2 knots of current against us. The pass we had chosen is one of the easier ones to go into with regard to current. The bad ones on other atolls can have big standing waves and upto 9 knots of current, not a place we want to be!

We anchored in a very quiet spot in the SE corner of the atoll. It was very pretty and reminded us of the San Blas Islands in Panama. Regrettably, the snorkelling was not good there so today we have moved in search of some better snorkelling.

The bananas did not survive the journey. After 2 days they started falling to the floor. They could not support their own weight and part of the skin pealed off so the bananas landed on the floor partly open. By day 3 they were looking very black and smelled very ripe. We did our best to eat them but there was about 60 bananas and there are only so many you can eat in a day! The morning of day 4 we got up to discover the bananas were oozing and dripping all over the floor. After this we made 2 cakes, have 3 trays of sliced bananas drying in the sun, and the rest we fed to the fish. So, having had lots of bananas now we have none!

We plan to anchor near the pass tomorrow so that we can dive and snorkel the pass at slack tide. This is apparently the best place to see big pelagic fish and lots of coral.

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Saturday, May 12, 2012

Still In The Marquesas

We managed to paint the toe rail in Anahoe after a false start. The first morning we managed about 8ft before it rained so we have to now re varnish that section! The following day we did get the remainder done.

2 mornings we snorkelled in the bay, the coral and fish were very pretty. We spent ages watching a turtle feed and saw mantas that were about 12ft across. They are very inquisitive and swim close to us which is a little diconcerting.

One evening us, Ladybug and Knotty Lady went for a meal at the local pension on the beach where we had amazing octopus. The following evening we all had a BBQ with the owners and the guys had a jamming session. Chris from Ladybug plays the Ukulele, Dennis from Knotty Lady the guitar and the owner also played the guitar.

We left Anahoe and arrived in Taoihae which is the main town. The anchorage is big and full of boats and it's the most uncomfortable place we have stayed because the swell rolls the boat all the time. We can't wait to leave. We have re-filled our diesel which involved taking the dinghy to a tall wall, lifting the cans up to the dock, walking to the garage and then lowering them back down by rope. All while someone stayed in the dinghy to hold it off the barnacle encrusted wall and to stop it being sucked under the ledge by the swell. It took 2 trips but mission was accomplished.

There are a few shops here so we have re-stocked on Brie and got a few veggies. Although fruit is everywhere around us when we walk, buying it is difficult and expensive. We have purchased a whole stalk of bananas which is now hanging at the back of the boat waiting to ripen. We purchased some yellow fin tuna from the local fishermen at the dock yesterday, given our fishing isn't going well. As the fishermen prepare the fish they throw the waste into the sea to a crowd of sharks waiting below. Interesting to watch but you certainly need to make sure you don't fall in!

Internet access here is very slow but we have managed to sort our email account which was hijacked recently. Sorry to all of you who received an email from us with a possible virus attached.

Tomorrow we are heading a short distance to the next bay called Daniels bay. We will spend time there getting the boat ready for our sail to the Tuamotus. Hopefully the sail will take us 4-5 days as its 500 miles.

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In The Marquesas

We had a good trip around Hiva Oa with the crew of Ladybug and Zulu. We were collected at 8am and taken to an archaeological site on the west of the island. Then it was a long drive to the NE where we visited Puamau. The drive was lovely, the roads wound around the bays and across the mountains with spectacular views. The Tikki at Puamau are supposed to be the biggest outside of Easter Island. After seeing the site we had a lovely lunch cooked by locals in the village. We tried breadfruit and incredibly sweet pink cooked bananas along with prawns cooked in coconut. We had lots of stops during the day to pick fruit and got back to the boat early evening having had a lovely day.

We left Hiva Oa the following day and sailed to Fatu Hiva. It is a short sail but into the wind. We also had a number of squalls which slowed us down. Fortunately the wind was east which meant we could sail and we reached the island fairly early. The Bay of Virgins (Hanavave) in Fatu Hiva is very pretty with steep cliffs and a deep valley. The cliffs look as if they have been carved into faces but it is just erosion. The wind funnelled down the valley meaning the wind would go from nothing to 30 knots very quickly. One boat dragged its anchor and had to re-set it multiple times to get a good holding.

While we were in Fatu Hiva it was Mike's birthday. During the day we hiked to a lovely waterfall with Chris and Rani from Ladybug. The road wound up the valley before we headed into the bush and had to scramble over rocks. It was worth it though. The waterfall dropped about 300 feet into a pool and we all had a swim in the cool clear water. After a beer, we headed back down the valley and went scrumping for bananas! The locals were very friendly and we went into a house where they do bone and wood carving. It was pretty but expensive so we didn't buy anything.

In the evening Chris and Rani from Ladybug plus Karen and Jim from Sockdolager came over to our boat and we had a cheese and wine party. Sockdolager had just arrived from Mexico, they have a 24ft boat and the trip had taken them 37 days!

After a few days rest, we left Fatu Hiva and sailed to Tahuata, another of the islands in the Marquesas. We anchored in Hana Moe Noa, a bay with golden sand and lovely clear water. This is the first time we have been able to see the anchor since reaching the Marquesas. The first day we went ashore to explore but got attacked by bugs, one of which stung Mike's leg so we retreated back to the boat! We spent a few days snorkelling around the rocks and swam with Manta rays. We could see them feeding so got in the water near them. They were very curious of us and swam very close, it was amazing as they were about 6-8ft across. The last day we took advantage of the clear water to clean the side of the boat. Most of the barnacles had dropped off but the side was covered in algae. We also cleaned the propeller and plates under the boat. We were creating a big food source so were soon surrounded by fish. This was OK until the resident 8 foot shark showed up at which point we stopped cleaning and got out of the water!

The sail to Nuku Hiva was 80 miles so we left at 3am after having a sleep. The first part of the sail was good but by mid morning the wind had dropped. We needed to make 5 knots an hour to arrive in daylight and this was looking unlikely so we decided to head to Ua Pou a closer island. Unfortunately, the wind direction made that a very uncomfortable and slow sail so after a few hours we decided to change course again and head to Nuku Hiva. We used the engine to ensure we arrived in daylight which we nearly did. We headed into a bay called Controlleur Bay which is on the SE corner of the Island. It is a big open bay and we reached the entrance at sunset. As we got close to the entrance we caught 2 fish, one got off the line and we lost our lure to the second one. So far since we have been in the Marquesas we have lost more lures and line than we have caught fish!

Once again it was a very pretty bay with a very lush fertile valley. The local people were very friendly and we met a few of them through other boats who had been in the anchorage for months. The village had organised a dance and get together for the visiting cruise ship and we were all invited to go and watch. There was local food including coconut water to drink from green nuts and the adults and children did traditional Polynesian dancing.

We had a walk though the village which has a vegetable growing area and there were Mangoes and bananas everywhere. There was also a Tikki site (the old pre Christian religious sites) which we also walked to. We brought cauliflower and beans from the market garden which we chose and they picked for us. The ultimate in fresh vegeteables.

The following day the bay became uncomfortable as a large swell was rolling in. It was not possible to go ashore and all the boats had to move out into deeper water. We decided to leave along with 2 other boats, Ladybug and Knotty Lady. Ladybug is a Canadian boat but Rani is originally from Walsall. She has been cooking us some wonderful meals including amazing curries. Knotty Lady is Australian though Nicky is from Scotland. We keep meeting up with the same boats as we are all visiting the same places which is nice and very sociable. Knotty Lady have been keeping us supplied with Bananas as they had too many although we did give them a banana cake recipe which they have tried and like!

We all arrived in Anahoe bay on the NE corner of Nuku Hiva at the same time. It is fairly sheltered and quiet so we are hoping to top up the varnish on our toe rail before it all disappears. So far we have done some of the preparation missing out on a hike with the other 2 boats. While we were working we noticed another boat in the anchorage having problems lifting his anchor. We went over to offer assistance and discovered he had tangled rope around his propeller while trying to free the anchor. Mike used 2 tanks of air and spent the rest of the day diving to getting the rope from around the shaft. Then this morning we untangled the anchor from the coral. Mike dived on it, I snorkelled above to pass directions to people on the bow and between us we got the anchor up.

As a thank you we had drinks on aboard the boat we had helped along with another French couple who are on their third circumnavigation and have been sailing for 40 years. It was a very pleasant evening but it is a pity we do not speak more French which would have made it easier even though they all spoke good English. It would also be nice to be able to talk to the locals more. Rani speaks good French so it is always nice to go places with Ladybug!

We hope to spend a few more days here and complete the painting before heading to Daniels Bay and then to the capital Taiohae to refuel before heading to the Tuamotus.

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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Across The Big Blue!

After finishing our shopping and preparations, we departed La Paz on Tuesday 13 March. There were a number of sad good-byes, especially with Wendy, Bobby and Peanut. The first night we spent at Ballandra bay before moving down the coast to Los Muertos and then to Fraillies. We had a few days at Fraillies doing last minute preparations before heading to Cabo San Lucas. We arrived on the Sunday evening hoping to clear out and leave on the Monday but unfortunately, it was a public holiday! So we did more shopping thanks to Debbie and Don off Buenavista who took us for a last visit to Costco and the chance to top up the beer!

Tuesday morning we cleared out of Mexico which was very quick and fairly painless and then with great relief, set off on our crossing. Once we were out of the bay there was a good wind and we were happily sailing along at 6 to 7 knots. By 6pm the next day the wind had completely died and we had 3 very slow days covering only 30 miles on one of them! After feeling a little queezy on the first day, we soon settled back into passage life and our watches.

As we got further south, we started to pick up the NE trade winds and our speed improved. The winds were still fairly light so we only managed between 100 and 140 miles per day. All too quickly we were through the trades and into the doldrums. They were particularly far north so we were no where near the equator when we lost the wind. After that we had to sail whichever direction the wind would allow us to keep the boat moving. Once we were across the equator we had a few squalls but nothing serious and we were usually able to get a good bit of speed and distance from the higher winds. There was a good current with us the majority of the way which made our passage a little shorter. We were not that far from Hiva Oa before we picked up a consistent east wind to get us here.

For us it was a very uneventful passage, we never saw any wind higher than 25 knots and did not have to reduce sail once in the whole 2400 miles. Each morning we had a chat on the SSB with the few boats that had left when we did and they seemed to hit lots of squalls and 2 of them had some damage to sails and the boat. Every evening there was an SSB net where we would give our position and conditions so we were always in contact with other boats.

Highlights of the trip were a couple of encounters with big schools of dolphin, a sighting of a whale or mostly, his/her breath (very smelly!), a few wonderful starlight nights with the Milky Way spread across the sky and the joy of sailing downwind with 2 jibs!!

The fishing went from one extreme to another. We caught a number of small tuna which we threw back and then one morning the line screamed out. Mike looked behind to see a 10ft Malin leaping into the air trying to get the hook out of its mouth. It pulled all the line off the reel and it just pinged off. That was the end of our lure and 300ft of line! It all happened so quickly we did not even have time to slow the boat down! Our next fish was a tiny tuna, quite a contrast. We did manage to catch a good sized Dorado close to the Island. As we were trying to deal with it, we had torrential rain and some of the strongest winds of the trip!

We arrived in Atuona on Hiva Oa on Thursday 12 April, the crossing had taken 23 days and we sailed 2389 miles. The anchorage is very small and we have both a bow and a stern anchor out to keep the boat in place. The first few days we had to move the stern anchor a number of times to keep the boat away from the harbour wall. The second night just as we were going to bed there was a knock on the hull. Another cruiser had come to tell us our stern anchor was not holding and we were heading towards the wall and with our bow heading for another boat. We pulled in the line to discover we had lost the anchor! So, with help, we deployed another one and after ensuring it had set we went to bed. The following morning we trawled the bay to find our anchor which miraculously we did manage to recover.

The Island is incredibly green and very mountainous. As you walk along the road there are huge numbers of fruit trees. The town is about 2 miles walk from the anchorage so our legs are getting some exercise after not being used for 3 weeks!

Tomorrow we are going on a tour of the Island to see a few archaeological sites with 2 other boats then the following day we are moving on to the island of Fatu Hiva which is supposed to be even more beautiful.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Ready to Go!!

It's been a while since our last post but in that time we have returned home to the UK and back to La Paz. We had a great time at home but very tiring and cold!! Our return to LP was a long trip and we took a while to get over the travel but what was worse, we brought a bad cold back with us from the UK which has only just gone.

We have continued with various boat jobs and done an awful lot of shopping as we provision for the crossing. We have so many stores on board that we are well down on our water line. Of course, a lot of this is beer and wine so it should get consumed fairly quickly once we are in an anchorage again.

It's going to take us 3 to 4 weeks to reach Fatu Hiva the first island in the Marquesas and we don't expect too much internet access in the islands. It may be a while before another update!!

After that, we will work our way through Polynesia to Tonga and then on to New Zealand in early November. We are both looking forward to some great sailing along the way and to some beautiful anchoarges and good diving!