Marquesas Islands
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Yesterday, our domestic clearance out of the Marquesas went well. Fueling went well
also but was a bit of an adventure as usual. After waiting a day and a half for the
construction barge to leave, Solstice and Hokule'a pulled anchor and motored over
towards the fuel dock as a not so subtle reminder to the guy there who we had been
working with to get the construction barge moved. After hovering for 15 minutes or
so, the barge started to move. We decided to fuel the boats one at a time figuring that
it would take all 3 of us (Bill, Jackie and Jake) to fuel one boat. As I mentioned
yesterday, you have to drop an anchor, back up to the dock, and tie off stern lines so
that you can get the boat close enough for the fuel hose to reach. Now this is no ordinary
dock that you would see in a marina, this is a "fiberglass boat eating" concrete wall that
is about 12' tall with steel ladders to climb up and large cleats that are used to tie up
commercial ships. You needed someone in a dingy to pass the stern lines and to transport
the fueling hose back and forth. Let's say Jackie was a just a little nervous having her
home 10-15' off of the wall and sometimes less with the surge. But after about 3 hours,
both boats were re-anchored safely in the harbor, full of fuel, and with very happy crews
that did not have lug jerry jugs all day.
This morning, we had planned on leaving at 9:00 am but I was having trouble down loading
weather information and I was also trying to get a good picture of a large manta ray
(8' wingspan) that had been hovering around the boat all morning. Finally, we had no
more excuses and headed out of Taiohae Bay around 10:30am. We made a brief stop in
Tai Oa Bay (Daniels Bay) which is about 5 miles from Taiohae. Tai Oa is considered
one of the prettiest and most protected anchorages in the Marquesas. We did a
position report here, so go over to the Where's Hokule'a page and check out the
satellite view of this beauty. So now we are off to Manihi Atoll in the Tuamotus. Its
about 500 miles away and we hope to be there sometime on Saturday. We will try to
touchbase along the way.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Well the arrival of the supply ship in Tahauku ended up not being all that exciting,
although Solstice might feel differently. It was however an amazing display of
seamanship as the huge ship was navigated into the tiny harbor and then maneuvered
up to the concrete wharf using only its anchors and prop wash. No bow thrusters and
no tugboats. Definitely wasn’t that captain’s first rodeo.
We left Hiva Oa just before sunset on June 2nd and arrived here in Taiohae Bay in
Nuku Hiva shortly after sunrise on June 3rd. In contrast to Tahauku, Taiohae is
huge (roughly 2 miles deep and ¾ mile wide). Lots of anchor room and a very
protected natural harbor. It can however get a little rolly from the swell that sneaks
in when the southeast trade winds are strong. The views from the harbor are stunning…
large volcanic mountains covered in a thick green canopy.
Over the past several days, we have been working on the boat (imagine that) and
provisioning for the next leg through the Tuamotus. The Tuamotus are very remote
and we won’t have the ability to obtain provisions there. I have actually found that
I really enjoy provisioning. Not for the obvious reasons like being able to eat, but it
is one of the best ways to be able to interact with the locals. You get introduced to
new types of food by watching what they buy, you learn the value and use of their
currency, and you get to practice speaking the language. One of the challenging things
about the Marquesan language is that the vocabulary changes depending on who you
are speaking to. For example, the younger generation says kau tau nui (thank you)
versus the older generation who says vaitau nui (thank you). Each generation is quick
to correct you if you screw it up.
But now we have to start learning a new language as we are hoping to head to the
Tuamotus tomorrow. We still have a few hurdles to overcome such as doing our
domestic clearance out of the Marquesas and getting fuel. They have a fuel station
here where normally you drop an anchor, back up to the wharf, tie off your stern,
and they pass you the fuel hose. However, the wharf is currently under going some
renovations and we have been waiting for a construction barge to leave so that we
can get fuel. We are really hoping it leaves tomorrow, so that we don’t have to try
to haul 100 gallons of fuel to the boat in 5 gallon jerry jugs. Not that we couldn’t
use the exercise but…..
Speaking of exercise (or lack thereof), we were sitting in the cockpit today taking
a break between projects and keeping an eye on the construction barge, when I
decided that I was going to hop on my surfboard and go paddle around the harbor
for a little exercise. As soon as I stood up and starting walking to the foredeck
where the boards are kept, we see a 5’ grey reef shark surface right next to the
boat. The
shark then begins to swim in an erratic pattern with amazing bursts of
speed. Obviously
he was chasing his lunch, but I took it as a sign to move on to the
next project
on the list.
Its about a 4 day trip from here to our first stop in the Tuamotus and we
will
update
you tomorrow to let you know if we were able to get underway.
Jake.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Kaoha! (Hello in Marquesan)
Well now that we have caught up on our sleep, explored the town of
Atuona and had a chance to buy some fresh produce, it’s time to move
on.
I know that sounds kind of crazy, because we spent nearly 3 weeks
sailing here and now only 4 days later we are moving again. But there
is so much to see in the South Pacific.
As you know we are on the island of Hiva Oa anchored in a bay called
Tahauku near the town Atuona. Tahauku is the primary port/harbor
for
the island. Hiva Oa is physically the largest island in the
Marquesas
with the second largest population (in August 2007 the
population was
1,986) and for an island of this size it is amazing that
Tahauku is the
main harbor. It is so small. We are anchored here
with about 20 other
boats from all over the world…. Belgium,
Sweden, Germany, Austrailia,
New Zealand, Canada, France, and
the UK.
After sailing for 3 weeks seeing only Solstice and a few random ships,
it
felt a little crowded when we first got here. Almost like Catalina on a
holiday weekend. The supply ship that delivers food and supplies from Tahiti arrives today, so this should be really interesting.
The island is stunningly beautiful and the people have been so kind and friendly. But unfortunately its time to move on. We are pulling anchors later this afternoon to start on our overnight trip to Nuku Hiva. Nuku Hiva is about 90 miles away, so we should be arriving there just after sunrise tomorrow morning. We will update when we get settled….
Na Na! (See you later in Marquesan)