SV JollyDogs Status Monday May 6th 1912 Nuka Hiva, Marquesas time

8º 56.595s 139º 35.750w

Tue May 07 2019

We had a great sail but through the night and this morning the wind was either gone or weak so more motoring and motor sailing than preferable. Due to our forecast arrival at Nuka Hiva at or after sunset, we elected instead to anchor at the Southwest end of Ua-Huka in a lovely spot near the beach, palms, big red cliffs, all the stuff. It’s settled enough, but the geography creates a wind accelerator around here so it’s whistling more than at sea, but the seas are pretty flat so we’re content.

We celebrated our arrival at around 1145 local with one of Isabel’s famous margaritas followed by a good nap. This afternoon we got the dinghy out of “stowage” mode, fished the outboard out of the forward locker and put the little Takacat back in service. Runs great lasts long time and our little Yamaha 9.9 started on the second pull.

We’ve refueled to empty all remaining jerry cans, rearranged gear in lockers to clear the decks and cockpit, and had a quick swim to rescue Thad’s cap. Impressive current running. A cursory look yielded a clean waterline and what bottom paint we could see, but there are a few little barnacles on the gel coat on the insides of the amas. Will don a mask/fins/snorkel in a day or two and give everything a better look.

We’ll launch out of here before the crack of dawn to be on our way to Nuka Hiva. We’ve pinged the agent there about getting cleared in tomorrow. Thad’s got a flight to catch to Tahiti on Wednesday, then onwards from there to San Francisco on Thursday. We’re really going to hate to see him go; he’s been great company and he’s an extremely competent sailor. We’re going to miss his Spotify play lists as well!

Helen and Ralph – we lift our tiny shot glasses of Don Julio to you and toast your continued health and vitality! Here’s to another 5 – 10 years of MoonDrifter wandering around Western Mexico!

Mike and Tami – thanks for looking up such things as exchange rates and time zones for us!

Bradley Nels, thanks for being our emergency lifeline! Glad we didn’t have to pull that trigger!

Jamie and Behan, words escape us, but you know what this feels like. Can’t wait to see you here!

We’ll put a summary of the trip together in the next few days. In the meantime we’re experiencing an odd mix of delight to be here, a sense of relief that some potential risk is behind us, and an odd sense of emotional let down following such a momentous event. This passage has taken years of prep and planning, and holy crap we’re here! With any luck we’ll enjoy French Polynesia for the next couple of years, and we look forward to the occasional visitor(s) when it works.