July 2019

Date: July 2019

Position: 16 degrees S, 142 degrees W – roughly....

Bon jour from French Polynesia again!

Captain Bonzo here with part 2 of the Pacific update covering the Marquesas and the southern part of the Tuamotos Archipelago in French Polynesia. Timezone: 10 hours before the UK....

After arrival in Tahuata in the Marquesas Islands, and the much deserved rest and alcoholic nourishment, we welcomed friends Roland and Liz on Windward, who arrived just 24 hours after us and chose to join us in the same bay for a little rest before going to check into the country with the authorities. Without trying, we actually met on passage within 4 miles of each other after 26 days at sea, delighted at seeing something else than water! Over a celebratory bottle of champagne, we exchanged passage stories and witnessed one of the most amazing sunsets we have ever seen.

A few days later, after cleaning all the goosebarnacles off, we did a short hop into Hiva Oa and visited the police station in Atuona to check into French Polynesia (very relaxed) and do some shopping!

 Carla’s provisioning was excellent, and we had fresh fruit and vegetables for most of the crossing, but now it was time to replenish and find out what was available. Shopping is normally geared around the arrival of the supply ship every 2 weeks, and we were lucky that it arrived just a day after us. Fresh produce sells out within hours, but fruit is so plentiful that you can just ask a local and they’ll give you whatever their garden offers. Pampelmousse (a large citrus fruit close to a Grapefruit without the bitterness and much larger and can easily weigh a kilo each) is both plentiful and really delicious!

The main harbour in Hiva Oa was rough when we were there and so we opted to move back to Tahuata for some more chilling out – we needed it!

The Marquesas are stunning, high volcanic islands with sheers cliffs and sit in thousands of meters of water, just the top of the now inactive (hopefully|) volcanoes visible. Interestingly, for a tropical island chain, they do not have a coral reef around the islands, protecting the coast from the South Pacific waves and swells. Subsequently, most anchorages are rolly in certain wind conditions, so one has to be prepared to move about and go where the calm seas are – a constant eye on the weather is required and a sailor has to be alert at all times! So, not an easy destination, but the islands are spectacular to look at, the scenery is just very dramatic, and the marine life is awesome.

Back in Tahuata, we had a pod of dolphins in the bay with us for over 24 hours, and after a few failed attempts, managed to snorkel with them and see them underwater – a truly magnificent event and very rare indeed! The crew did a couple of walks to explore the island and after a few days set sail to Fatu Hiva to meet friends Graham and Joan (and sister AA) on “Karma” as they arrived after their Pacific crossing. The bay is called Bay of the Virgins, and the scenery is breathtaking, it’s the picture on all the brochures for the Marquesas. Again, not a great anchorage, but safe enough to leave the boat for a few hours to do some hiking to the local waterfall (water-trickle according to Alex) and the view point above the anchorage. Since the anchorage is open to the ocean swells, on one of the days, out of nowhere, large breakers appeared at the front of the anchorage, resulting in swell running into the tiny harbour and causing damage to our dinghy – fortunately Alex could fix it up with a bit of fibreglass , chewing gum and some gaffer tape..... but be warned, if you are not 100% vigilant at all times, this place bites.

At the same time, it rewards! Leaving for a hike, we spot a garden with more Pamplemousse trees than any other, and after calling the owner out of his house, we explain that we are going for a hike, but would like some fruit when we come back.  We explained that using hands and feet, as the French language proficiency of the crew leaves lots to be desired.... In fact, I am fluent in French, but Alex advised me not to speak up in front of other humans, as they may think it’s witchcraft, and since the locals used to be cannibals not so long ago, he could not imagine what they would do to a talking stuffed dog of a captain. So I kept stumm.

In any case, when returning after 2 hours, there’s a pile of fruit next to the road, and after a lot of shouting to rouse him out of his house, he confirmed that the fruit was indeed for us – 6 large ones! Alex offered money, which he waved off, not interested, but he was really happy with the spool of fishing line (bought in Panama for trading incidents just like this one) and exchanged handshakes with Alex and they shared a lot of laughter – not sure what about , but it seemed to have something to do with Carla carrying 2 Pampelmousse in her arms and the number 4. If anybody gets the joke, do let me know.

We spent a couple of nice days with the team on Karma (who also posted a similar passage time and arrived in one piece, having left some 2 weeks after us  – well done!!) and then left for the north coast of Hiva Oa to explore further. Initially heading for a bay on the NW coast to explore an ancient site (do read up on the Marquesas – these islands supported large, sophisticated  communities and in their prime time sported 10 times more people than they do now. Yes, the Europeans arrived again at some point and killed them all.......), but the anchorage wasn’t fit to leave the boat, so we went further west to another bay, which was delightful! Calm, well protected, and close to a small village (no bakery, no baguettes..:-( ) but full of nice people, who were open, friendly and welcoming. This is actually true for almost all the people we met, and a real asset to the Marquesas.

Thanks to a Kiwi (New Zealand) boat in the anchorage we were alerted to manta rays feeding at the surface in the next bay and the crew managed to swim with these majestic creatures! Manta rays grow to about 5 meter wingspan, and despite the fact these were more like 3 meters wide, it was a great experience that they only had once before in over 10 years in the Maldives – doesn’t happen every day! And since they are plankton feeders, their massive mouth is nothing to worry about.....

Next up, the administrative centre of the Marquesas, Nuku-Hiva, where we spent a few days in Controllers Bay, going for walks and welcoming friends on “Dandelion”, just completing their passage. They had a tough time and we were glad to see them in one piece!

After a few days, we went to the capital for re-stocking and hired a car to further explore the island with the crew of “Windward”. The interior of the island is a shock. High mountains with cool air, pine tree forests, cows and horses grazing, it reminds more of the alps than a tropical island. Totally unexpected, and out of this world beautiful!! Much of the island is dirt “roads” and the four wheel drive car was desperately needed....

After our day out, we moved quickly to Daniel’s Bay, as the main anchorage was quite rolly. Daniel’s Bay is stunning and dramatic, but also well protected and sports a nice walk to a waterfall, a local family that doubles up as a restaurant, and a bunch of people who happily trade some fruit for some cake or other goods they can’t get.

A few days of relaxation followed after the crew went into the river to give the dinghy a wash and fresh water engine flush – they didn’t count on the sandflies being so numerous and suffered for days. In case you don’t know, a sandfly bite is 10 times worse than a mosquito – they itch more, for a week sometimes, become inflamed red lumps that sometimes can bleed and are a major pain in the backside (also called nonos or no-see-ems – if you say it quick, it may make sense :-) Major case of stay away!!

Almost a month had passed since the team arrived in the Marquesas, and it was time to set sail for the Tuamotos Archipelago, 450 miles south of the Marquesas and at a length of 1,000 miles, a similar size to the better known Maldives. Both chains of coral atolls are similar in size and appearance, so having spent 14 years in the Maldives, Alex was keen to get going and explore these new waters.

After consulting the various weather forecasts the team set off with a forecast of favourable winds with some rain and squall activity. On the morning of the 2nd day, the forecast now showed a different picture, with a storm-cell 100 miles across directly in our path. Unfortunately, this later forecast was accurate and we battled through 18 hours of non-stop torrential rain and winds of 30 to 35 knots – from all different directions..... according to Carla, it was bad enough to put you off sailing for life. Alex was on night watch with full oilies, boots and a fleece!!! But as they do, storms pass and we arrived in Raroia with good weather and visibility – which is important in the Tuamotos (TS), as the atolls are littered with Bommies (BS =isolated coral blocks lingering just under the surface), which are typically NOT on any nautical chart, or if they are they could be of different size and the location just out by 50 meters – so good visibility is crucial. This is where Carla’s preparation came into play and we used satellite pictures to plot a course through the BS maze and eyeball navigation (Carla standing on the bow, looking) to safely make our way into the atoll and across.

To make things a little more complicated, most atolls have only one or two entrances (pass), resulting in strong currents and standing waves at the passes – so the timing of the entry and exit is crucial, looking for the time when there is slack water. So you’d think that’ll be at low or high tide, right? Wrong. Slack water is usually after low tide and before high tide, but depends on the strength of the wind (pushing water over the reefs into the atolls), the height of the tide on the day, if it’s neaps or springs and so on. And if there has been a lot of wind pushing waves over the reefs you may not get an incoming tide at all. You get the picture – it’s complicated!

So we arrived about 60 minutes before low tide and saw standing waves of about 1 meter just outside the pass, indicating strong ebbing flow. As we nudged closer, my experience kicked in and I ordered the crew to accelerate in the calm waters next to the pass, enter the pass just upwind of the waves and push through using our strong engine.  Alex was working the steering wheel hard to keep Ari B on course and gunned the engine to a boat speed of 8.5 knots (which we normally never do), giving us 2 knots over ground, so we had 6 knots of current against us!! Wow. Reminded me of the Chichester bar on steroids in a way, which I have run many a time in a variety of boats......

Exciting, but totally doable.

Once inside, the current subsided and with Carla on the bow, we made our way across the atoll to the east side with good protection from the prevailing winds. Stunning is an understatement – this place is amazing, the colours and contrasts are fascinating and the water is so clear, we could see the anchor hit bottom in 13 meters. The next day friends on Bagheera arrived whom we had met in the Marquesas and Carla was delighted to go for a dive with them, Ari B trading water for a refill of her tank. After that we moved to the NE anchorage which turned out to be even more stunning, well protected and rich in hunting, so we stayed over 2 weeks. We met up with a great couple on sailing vessel Miraj and introduced them to land crab and octopus hunting, but despite spending many hours on the reef, even at night, the crew did not get any lobsters. Even the lobster trap, manufactured from a laundry basket and some netting they found did not work. But the area was great for walking on the reef, exploring the passes between the small islands (motus) and having a generally chilled out time.

A word here – I am not a coward dog – but I would not have entered the water here with Alex and Carla. There are literally hundreds of sharks (blacktip) – they are not supposed to be dangerous to humans, as they are typically only a meter or meter and a half – but a stuffed dog? I would have been munched immediately. They even destroyed the lobster trap, trying to get at the bait! Every time anything enters the water, they are there and come right up to you, seeing if there’s a meal to be had. Even when hunting octopus in shallow water, they came so close that Alex used his spear to prick their skin to send them away. Needs some getting used to!!

After almost 3 weeks in Raroia, the team (together with boats Miraj and Kisu), set sail to the 75 mile distant atoll of Makemo, a day sail normally, but due to the tides and currents in the passes, I calculated that we had to go overnight, leaving around four pm and arriving on the morning slack tide at 07.30. Well this time it worked out and we arrived on time and entered the lagoon with only minor current against us and anchored in front of a lovely village just half a mile from the pass. We were in luck, the supply ship (only coming every two weeks) was on the jetty. Shops! Fresh bread! Frozen goods! A little fruit! Unfortunately the promised fresh vegetables never arrived, but Carla managed to source apples, oranges, kiwis, potatoes, onions, eggs and some frozen meat. And fresh baguettes, pain au raisin and pain au chocolat! Ari B is still well stocked on staples from Panama (remember the food shortages in Panama after Carla hit the shops??)

One special activity in the TS is diving the passes that go into the atolls – due to the current, coral and fish stocks are rumoured to be amazing, so after getting the boats in the anchorage organised, we had dive partners for Carla and a boat that would fill her tank afterwards. Many calculations later, the time for inflowing current was calculated for about 08.30 next morning. So, everybody up early, in the dinghy, into the pass at 07.50, wow, lots of current going out, large waves. 08.15, 08.30, 08.50, 09.15, 09.30. Still outgoing tide, today there was no slack water or incoming tide. Nobody knows why. Even the local fisherman had agreed on the time for incoming tide. Damn! But we still got a dive done on the calmer sections of the pass with Alex on the surface as support – and Carla reported it was stunning, absolutely amazing!

Considering we are in the South Pacific, one might expect calm seas, light winds and balmy conditions. Well, there are those days, but most aren’t actually – at least so far. Low pressure systems coming off New Zealand and passing south of us bring 48 hours of revolving winds (full 360 degree shift in two days) which are a pain in the backside, as few anchorages here have 360 protection – so you need to move with the weather – and these systems also bring some rain and squally weather, so we had a mix so far.

In fact, just the day after the dive, we had to move, as the LP system passed through and the forecast showed a large and strong high pressure system coming off NZ. Well, high pressure, right? Good weather, light winds etc , right? Wrong again. Large HP systems create a squash zone to their north (where we are), bringing enhanced trade winds and squally conditions. So after the dive we went to the east side of the atoll to seek protection – which seemed adequate, but not brilliant behind the reef to break the waves, but no island to break the wind. 4 other boats joined us and we hunkered down. Starting gently with 25 knots we had time to walk, hunt and explore before the wind got strong Monday night.

We recorded a gust of 46 knots overnight, with winds mostly 35 to 40 knots (bft 8 to gale force 9). On Thursday evening, I cancelled all shore leave, and after a brief lull it continued to blow up to 40 knots. We had 60 meters of chain out in 8 meters of water with a 12 meter snubber as a shock absorber. Anchor watches at night. Alex sleeps in the cockpit with fleece and jacket on. Thanks to the wind generator we had more power than we needed and I kept the crew busy doing boat jobs, watching movies and cooking. Carla sourced a frozen chicken when we were in town so we even had a roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings including sage and onion stuffing and bread and butter pudding for dinner! On the 4th of July the American boats wanted to celebrate Independence day but we were all boat bound – the cruising life is not always easy.....party later we guess! The wind doesn’t abate until 7th July, Alex’s birthday, and it was also the skipper of Alia Vita’s birthday, so the 5 boats all prepared some nibbles and we had a combined birthday and end of bad weather celebration on Alia Vita.

We are now back in the town anchorage, normal weather conditions have resumed and all is well. The village has festivities for the whole of July with local music and dancing....PARTY!

Until then

Au revoir

Ari B out

Celebrating our arrival in the Marquesas with friends Liz and Roland from S/Y Windward