Checking in to French Polynesia

8º 55.029s 140º 06.188w

Wed May 15 2019

We arrived in the Marquesas on a Monday after 20+ days at sea, having some great sailing along the way, but light winds the last few hours of the passage had our forecast arrival time Taiohae Bay on the South side of Nuku Hiva a bit after dark. Given a choice, we prefer to arrive in an unfamiliar anchorage during daylight hours, so we stopped short at the island called Ua Huka. On the Southwest corner of that island is Haavei Bay, recommended by Jamie Gifford as the most protected on the Southern side given the strong Southern swell conditions and Easterly winds. The sea did flatten as we entered the bay, but the local topography made for some mighty winds whistling through the anchorage. We deployed our Sarca Excel #5 anchor and satisfied with the set we moved on to the more important task of celebrating our arrival in the Marquesas. Naturally that involved one of Isabel’s killer margaritas for the two of us, Thad abstaining having sworn off drink quite a while back. Next came a bit of a nap, then we got about the business of returning the dinghy to service, as the outboard was stowed in our big forward locker and the hull lashed tightly in a steep sideways position. After a quick blast around the bay to verify proper operation we had a nice dinner, enjoyed a lovely sunset and retired early.

Around the crack of midnight (0400 local time) we got underway to Nuku Hiva’s Taiohae Bay with the objective of getting officially checked in to French Polynesia on that Tuesday. With a decent breeze on the stern we deployed the simbo rig and kicked back to enjoy the ride. By 1000 we had set our anchor amongst what appeared to be around 50 other boats! Wow, nothing really remote feeling about this place, but beautiful in any case. A radio call to Kevin at Nuku Hiva Yacht Services followed, as we had contracted his local support through Tahiti Crew in Papeete. As Thad intended to fly to Papeete the following day then onwards to the US on Thursday, we needed to get the check in over with. You can’t check out of the country until you check in, and you can’t leave your arrival location until that process is complete. Kevin initially informed us that it was too late to visit the local Gendarme office, but after some “encouragement” he agreed that if we arrived at his office within 15 minutes we could at least give it a try.

Quick as a rabbit we launched the dinghy, grabbed all our official paperwork and passports and scooted to the wharf. While Thad tied us off, Isabel and I trotted over to Kevin’s office, whereupon he informed us the Gendarme office had ceased all immigration operations for the day. Kevin further informed us that the following day was Victory in Europe Day, a holiday relating to World War II, and a government office holiday in France. Well, as French Polynesia is technically a part of France, the government workers get all French national holidays off. Nuts. Thad immediately got on the phone with his wife Kristin and she did a bit of “airline gymnastics”, moving his inter-island hop to Thursday afternoon. Presto change-o, and Thad’s good to go. Kevin promised that we would be able to do our check in at 0730 sharp Thursday morning and Thad would be on his way by 0745.

In the meantime we were still flying a yellow quarantine flag on JollyDogs, meaning we weren’t legally in the country yet, but as Kevin noted we should feel free to come ashore, just stay the heck out of trouble. All that settled, we wandered down the road to the local bank to secure some “cours de Franc Pacifique, or CFP” as the local currency is called. We had warned our financial institution’s security folks that we would be here, and the bank machine worked a charm, giving us the equivalent of around $300 US. As of this writing, the exchange rate is around 106 CFP per $1.

We wandered on and soon found ourselves in a little restaurant overlooking the anchorage, where we partook of our first meal ashore. Cheeseburger, fries and a local beer for me! Tuna steak burger and fries for Isabel and Thad. Not a bad meal, and as we dined we waited for our heads to slow down the spinning. After three weeks at sea, just setting foot on land is a bizarre experience, as everything seems to be swaying while standing on terra firma, and if you think that’s weird, try standing in a small space such as Kevin’s office or a shower stall. It’s crazy, and for us it has taken days to slowly recover, as the anchorage is a bit rolly and we’re under nearly constant motion on the boat.

After lunch Thad decamped to a local resort where Kristin had arranged a room, and we “had a nap”. After 3 weeks of 3 hours on 6 hours off watch schedules it takes a while to get back to sleeping through the night, but we did our best. On the following day, Wednesday, Isabel and I hiked up to the resort where Thad had decamped, and we enjoyed a long lazy lunch in a beautiful restaurant overlooking the bay. It’s traditional on JollyDogs for the captain to treat the crew to a fine meal out after a long passage, and this met all expectations.

Prior to lunch, Thad showed us around the resort, and we were each treated to a long, luxurious shower. Water conservation is a big deal on a boat, and the opportunity to stand under an avalanche of cold clear water for 15 minutes was absolutely delicious. I guess you had to be there. . .

The following morning we all gathered at Kevin’s office and marched with him up to the Gendarmarie’s administrative headquarters, where in about 10 minutes the process was complete and we all had lovely stamps in our passports. Now we were legal, and after big hugs all around, Thad trotted back to his accommodation to shower, pack and get a shuttle to the airport. Isabel and I wandered down to the bank for some more CFPs and then visited the local market to inventory the variety of fresh local fruit and veg.

It’s been about 8 days since we arrived at Nuku Hiva, and I think we’re recovered. As Helen Marx recently noted, we are now slowly to shifting gears from “doing to being”. We’re itching to visit a couple other bays around the island, so after collecting some fresh fruit and veg from the market and addressing a few other tasks, off we’ll go.

A bit about refueling, local groceries, and the carte de sejour in our next installment. Au revoir!