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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Monday, May 28, 2012
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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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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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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