Good bye Hana Moe Noe.
Happiest three days of our trip. Joel went ashore to say goodbye and leave Steven with a photo that we took the day before. We had gone in with cupcakes to help him celebrate his birthday (which, as it turns out was actually the next day). Last night, Joel and Steven went dinghy fishing, catching several. Thankfully Steven knows which fish are safe to eat, as many fish around these parts have ciguatera poisoning and are a real danger to eat. Steven gave us fish that he had tried before, and kept one for himself that was an unknown…Joel was went to check that he hadn’t been poisoned overnight! However, we now have 4 fresh fish in the fridge ready to pop on the BBQ with any luck. It is really picturesque here, so quiet and calm. I’m sad to be leaving.
The final Marquesan islands.
We went and stayed on Hiva Oa for 2 nights. Using it as a quick provisioning base before we went to Fatu Hiva, the southern, and most isolated island in the Marquesas group, only accessible by boat. We were determined to get our shot of the anchorage of ‘The Bay of Virgins’ and enjoyed 3 nights in this peaceful village. The steep cliffs rise high on the sides of the anchorage, creating a wind tunnel at times. There were a few other boats already there, and one we knew from Galapagos. The girls enjoyed the company of another little girl, Isobel from Sunrise and we had a playdate with 4 little girls on board one morning! A lovely atmosphere here; everyone is so friendly and helpful.
The passage to the Tuamotus atolls is 575 miles from Fatu Hiva, and so we prepared ourselves for several nights at sea again. The wind was in our favour and made the 4 nights go quickly. These short hops seem nothing now. Thinking back to those first 4 nights at sea in the Caribbean, on our way to Aruba, I remembered sitting there thinking it would never end. I guess we have become sailors, as 4 nights at sea seems like a breeze!
We caught a wahoo on our first day out, so that helped with organising meal preparations for the rest of trip. Coming closer to Rangiroa (our chosen atoll to visit) we started to become concerned with the notorious Pass into the lagoon. The passes into the lagoons in the archipelago (including Rangiroa) are generally narrow channels through the fringing reef with surf on each side and are usually rife with fast flowing outward current (between 1 and 8 knots) and large standing waves at the entrance. We made the decision that if it looked bad (tide going wrong way, waves, or just not our thing) we were going to bypass and head straight on to Tahiti.
We had 4 nights in this picture perfect setting. Anchored off a luxury hotel we could get the same view as the guests, but for free! We had a few trips to shore, snorkelling, beach frolicking and walks to the local shop for ice cream and baguettes.
We enjoyed a wonderful day sail to the West of the atoll. The winds were light and we got the kite out and had such a brilliant few hours sailing across on calm flat water. Perfect! We anchored off a motu (the islands that make up the atoll) and all enjoyed a long walk on the beach, shell scavenging, before a beach picnic. Joel went snorkelling amongst the coral heads, and came back to report he saw two black tip reef sharks (very common around here), which was enough to put me off, so I just stuck my head under long enough to see the plethora of giant clams that are attached to all the coral heads here.
On leaving Rangiroa we sailed the 200 miles to Tahiti in just over 24 hours, one night – which was great, but we arrived in the dark so choose the most straight forward, well lit channel to enter the reef and anchor. The next day we moved to the major Marina in Papeete and began cleaning, provision and maintaining the boat. We’ve been into Papeete town centre a couple of times. Bustling with people, it is a little busy for us but has a few good chandleries to get boat gear, and I have enjoyed browsing (and making a few purchases at various stores). The English section (which was teeny tiny) of a bookstore I found is now without quite a few books as Joel and I needed to replenish our stock.
The marina is full of sailors, mostly heading to New Zealand, some to Australia and a few just wherever they end up. We have met up with people we met in Nuku Hiva (who have now become great friends), and have enjoyed quite a few nights of dinners and drinks at the local marina restaurant and bar. This life isn’t so bad after all! Supermarkets, haircuts, gas fills and even a trip to McDonalds has made one week here already fly by. We are keen to see more of Tahiti soon and will try to head around the west coast around Wednesday and then sail to Moorea (all but 5 miles away) by the weekend. Can’t wait! |