Local fuel and provisioning costs

8º 49.382s 140º 03.838w

Fri May 17 2019

One of the items we paid Tahiti Crew to procure for us is a “duty free” fuel certificate. It’s good for 6 months and we can renew it. The certificate saves us about 40% in fuel costs, which is nothing to sneeze at.

We arrived in Taiohae bay needing about 100 liters of fuel to top up our main tanks, and we also desired an additional 40 liters in our emergency fuel jerry jugs as a reserve. When we get close to needing that 40 liters, it’s time to accept whatever sailing speed we can achieve rather than behave in an impatient fashion. On the SSB net last night we heard a boat report they were sailing at 1 knot in only 5 knots of wind. Now that’s slow, but they had over 1000 miles to go before they’ll arrive in Hawaii, so they couldn’t be frivolous with fuel.

Prior to departing Mexico we procured 5 jugs from a very helpful Mexican fisherman, each holding 22 liters. We filled all our jugs, and in the course of our journey emptied all of them into the main tanks. Thanks to good sailing weather we arrived with 250 liters of fuel still in the main tanks, enough for 4 additional days of motoring. Now that’s my kind of reserves!

Kevin at Nuku Hiva Yacht Services, acting as Tahiti Crew’s local agent, got our certificate to us after we’d been in country for a week. Once in hand we were ready to rock, and I wanted to fill all our jugs again, so 150 liters of diesel was the goal. The options at Nuka Hiva are either pay Kevin around $14 to haul you and your jugs over to the fuel station, or if you’re feeling brave you can dinghy over to the big giant supply ship quay and tie off, toss your jugs onto the hard and climb up the very impressive solid stainless steel ladder embedded in the cement wall. It’s important to do this on a calm day AND at high tide, as the cement structure is recessed towards its lower extremities and enough surge can cause your dinghy to be sucked below the structure and destroyed, effectively rendering you “dinghy-less”. Imagine the cost of replacing a dinghy and outboard here, and yes, it has happened.

The day before we went for fuel, I assisted the delivery crew on a gigantic Moorings 5800 catamaran (just think aircraft carrier) in refueling their vessel. They had come from the BVI via Panama and were bound for Raiatea in the Leeward Society Islands. Needing 1250 liters of diesel their only real choice was to Med-moor to in front of the fuel dock then use a line to haul the monster fuel hose out to their vessel. No way the two of them were going to be able to do that alone, and as I was up for the adventure and happy to help out, away we went. It is not an event that I’d prefer to repeat in this lifetime, and I’d resist reincarnation if it might be in my next life’s destiny, but hey, we got it done without spilling any and nobody died.

The following day Isabel and I managed to enjoy a calm day at high tide, so we bolted over there with our 7 jerry jugs and while Isabel remained in the dinghy tied off to the quay, I walked the 100 meters over to the filling station where they do cars with all our jugs. I presented our duty-free fuel certificate, only to learn that in addition they needed our clearance paperwork and USCG documentation. Promising to return in a flash, Isabel and I bolted back to JollyDogs for the requisite papers. We were back in 10 minutes and everything proceeded smoothly. The friendly gentleman who did the pumping spoke good English, as did the fellow at the cash register. In just a few minutes it was all done, and one of the other friendly fellows there helped me carry the jugs back to the dinghy, then handed them down to me for loading. We chugged slowly back to JollyDogs, loaded the jugs aboard, and I siphoned about 100 liters into the mains before everything was full. Ultimately it was easy, painless, and quick once we understood the drill.

I was most pleased about the price. With the 40% discount the fuel cost 80 CFP per liter. At the recent exchange rate of 106 CFP per US dollar, that’s about 75 cents a liter, or $2.84 per gallon! Try buying diesel in Mexico or California for anywhere near that price.

During the days leading up to our refueling event, we’ve walked around the local community and visited all the grocery shops as well as the local hardware store. We’ve been amazed at what is available for purchase! As long as you’re not into a lot of pre-processed garbage food like breakfast cereal and potato chips you’re golden. Alcoholic beverages are a bit expensive, perhaps in line with the social costs of their abuse. Some other food items are way up there, but the staples needed to prepare and enjoy delicious, healthy meals are all available and generally in line with US prices. Many items are artificially cheap, subsidized by the French government, so frozen chicken parts, butter and especially freshly baked baguettes are very affordable. You can get Anchor New Zealand butter, canned or refrigerated, and that stuff is great! In our minds it’s a bit of a myth that food or fuel is incredibly expensive here.

We’ve purchased beautiful fresh vegetables at about what we’d pay in the USA. We purchased fresh yellow fin tuna as it was being butchered by the fisherman for $5 a kilo, less than$2.30 a pound! Where we lived in Phoenix that would be something to look for at AJ’s Fine Foods or Whole Foods, where it would likely go for $20 to $30 a pound and not be terribly fresh. The fish we bought was still quivering!

So our initial assessment of Nuku Hiva is that despite the rumours, it’s pretty cheap to be here if you can just get here, but getting here isn’t cheap. Also – if you need boat parts imported to make repairs, prepare for big money and long delays. Might as well just drop your trousers and bend over. Hope you brought lube!