Happy leap day! I only get to say that every 4 years, so it's a treat! Another treat is the hike to the waterfall followed by lunch at Ahu and Teiki's home. As Isabel has made the hike once and I've done it twice, we all dinghied ashore to dispatch Pat and Celine for the adventure. Isabel and I wandered up as far as Ahu and Teiki's place to firm up lunch plans and to put in our order for fruit, veg and meat.
As usual Ahu had an amazing array of fresh star fruit, pamplemouse, mangos, papayas, coconuts, various herbs, and several kilos of freshly killed goat ready to go. Goat meat 1000 CFP (about $10 US) a kilo, pork $1500 CFP a kilo. We asked why pig cost more, as both animals are hunted in the wild, and it turns out pigs are pretty darn dangerous to capture and kill. The Marquesans use dogs to round the animals up and occasionally they lose a dog to the pig's tusks. Teiki apparently kills the animals with a knife, stabbing them in the heart, and I can only imagine what wrestling a wild pig must be like. Anyway, turned out she was out of pork so hopefully we can find some in the local market.
Pat and Celine had a great hike and we all joined to dine around 1330, having a great meal of fire roasted goat and breadfruit, a wonderful salad made from green papaya, mango etc., freshly made limeade and pamplemouse, and some dried mango and guava for dessert. Wow!
Isabel and I had rounded up several things we didn't manage to trade away at Fatu Hiva including a couple of old but still serviceable raincoats and a collapsible crate. We presented those to Ahu as gifts after purchasing a load of fruit and goat meat, and then she felt compelled to pile on with additional herbs, bananas, pamplemouse, and papaya. We had no expectation of compensation, but it's the Marquesan way. They're generous and friendly folks.
Back to JollyDogs for an afternoon snooze - well, everyone but me, as I continued to fabricate new Dyneema slings for the dinghy. Gotta get it all done before we launch for the Tuamotus!
As we armed ourselves with another fresh fruit beverage creation courtesy of mixologists Celine and Isabel, we marveled at the changing nature of the stunning cliffside scenery as the daylight changed and faded. We're all convinced that Ahu and Teiki live in a garden paradise, and we feel fortunate to have spent time with them.
Punters may have enjoyed views of Daniel's Bay a few years back when a segment of the Survivor TV show was produced here. The right camera angles can make the place look pretty uninhabited and remote; in truth it's about a 3 hour hike to Taiohae Bay which sports 4 different grocery stores, as hospital, crappy cell phone service, etc.
Still, an incredibly special place.
----------
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Onwards to Daniels Bay 28 Feb 20
Well, all good things come to an end, and besides there was an icky green algae bloom in Anaho Bay, so after breakfast we made ready to sail around the East end of Nuku Hiva with the objective of arriving in Daniel's Bay by early afternoon. Daniel's Bay is a "must go there" destination in the Marquesas, and for us it would be the last totally spectacular bay we would take Pat and Celine to. It's where we met our great friends Andrew and Julia on SV Hullabaloo, and also home to Ahu and Teiki's organic farm and restaurant. There's a nice hike up to a tall (but pretty darn dry) waterfall, and it's the first place Isabel and I got a close up view of giant manta rays as a pair swam right by JollyDogs during our visit last May.
We bashed out of the bay and once clear of the headland and clear enough of the lee shore up came the main and out came the jib. We had a lovely reach down the East side of the island, then turned for the downwind leg on the South side, dropping sails just shy of the bay entrance. I thought it would fine to leave the main up and motor sail into the shelter of the bay before dropping that big sail, but Isabel likes a lot of maneuvering space and she prevailed. Gotta pick your battles. . .
As we turned the corner into the shelter of the bay we were delighted to find only 2 other sailboats. Plenty of room in the bay for a change, and we proceeded on past the other vessels and anchored in about 7 meters of water. No algae here! In short order we had JollyDogs back into "living and hanging out" mode, and it was nap time. Naps after lunch are one of the joys of the unemployed, made really special if it's one's turn for the hammock. Pat and Celine had retired to their forward cabin so Isabel leaped into the hammock and was out like a light.
Awakening a bit later and refreshed, Pat and Celine had a swim an did a bit of waterline cleaning, while I got to work on a new dinghy sling project. Eventually I found a stopping point, so Pat and I dinghied in to meet Ahu and learn what she had for sale. We were especially keen to buy some goat (Isabel makes an incredible goat curry, just ask David on SV Taipan), some pork to make a Quebecois dish (with leftovers in the freezer for Mike when he comes in April) and to learn just what other delights Ahu might have to offer.
We returned to JollyDogs with news of all the goodies so Isabel and Celine could consider all the delightful things they could feed us. Pat and I are both eating machines, and everyone thinks I have a pet tapeworm as I don't seem to gain weight. I'm just lucky my folks passed on the metabolic rate they did, as eating good food is kind of a hobby for me.
We were pleased to discover the ladies had been messing about in the galley and concocted not only a wonderful star fruit and mango blend for our evening sundowner beverage, but also an incredible vegetarian (well, if you don't count duck fat and lardons as meat) pasta sauce. For after dinner entertainment we deployed the underwater light to see what might come for a visit and were soon rewarded with a swarm of pan size fish. If only ciguatera wasn't such a risk here, we could have netted a mess of them. Guess we'll just have to enjoy the view.
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
We bashed out of the bay and once clear of the headland and clear enough of the lee shore up came the main and out came the jib. We had a lovely reach down the East side of the island, then turned for the downwind leg on the South side, dropping sails just shy of the bay entrance. I thought it would fine to leave the main up and motor sail into the shelter of the bay before dropping that big sail, but Isabel likes a lot of maneuvering space and she prevailed. Gotta pick your battles. . .
As we turned the corner into the shelter of the bay we were delighted to find only 2 other sailboats. Plenty of room in the bay for a change, and we proceeded on past the other vessels and anchored in about 7 meters of water. No algae here! In short order we had JollyDogs back into "living and hanging out" mode, and it was nap time. Naps after lunch are one of the joys of the unemployed, made really special if it's one's turn for the hammock. Pat and Celine had retired to their forward cabin so Isabel leaped into the hammock and was out like a light.
Awakening a bit later and refreshed, Pat and Celine had a swim an did a bit of waterline cleaning, while I got to work on a new dinghy sling project. Eventually I found a stopping point, so Pat and I dinghied in to meet Ahu and learn what she had for sale. We were especially keen to buy some goat (Isabel makes an incredible goat curry, just ask David on SV Taipan), some pork to make a Quebecois dish (with leftovers in the freezer for Mike when he comes in April) and to learn just what other delights Ahu might have to offer.
We returned to JollyDogs with news of all the goodies so Isabel and Celine could consider all the delightful things they could feed us. Pat and I are both eating machines, and everyone thinks I have a pet tapeworm as I don't seem to gain weight. I'm just lucky my folks passed on the metabolic rate they did, as eating good food is kind of a hobby for me.
We were pleased to discover the ladies had been messing about in the galley and concocted not only a wonderful star fruit and mango blend for our evening sundowner beverage, but also an incredible vegetarian (well, if you don't count duck fat and lardons as meat) pasta sauce. For after dinner entertainment we deployed the underwater light to see what might come for a visit and were soon rewarded with a swarm of pan size fish. If only ciguatera wasn't such a risk here, we could have netted a mess of them. Guess we'll just have to enjoy the view.
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Chez Yvonne killer lunch 27 Feb 20
One of the delights of Anaho Bay is a rather grueling but not too long hike over the ridge and down into the the next bay. The town there is called Hatiheu, the bay naturally by the same name. There's a post office (closed), cell towers with 2G data that don't seem to work, a road construction project (in work), quite a few homes and residents, one killer big public mango tree, and a restaurant known as Chez Yvonne. They're known for a dish that involves goat meat and coconut milk. Isabel and I have eaten it there previously and it's good. The scenery around the bay is stunning with multiple giant rock pinnacles, and of course those enthusiastic Catholics had to erect a likeness to the Virgin Mary atop one of them. Must have been a real ass kicker hauling the concrete and rebar up there, not to mention the buckets of paint.
Naturally we had to drag Pat and Celine over there and as they're always up for a vigorous hike, we figured we'd have a bit of breakfast to sustain us then launch out for Hatiheu to time our arrival for a nice look about then a relaxing mid-day meal. We huffed and puffed our way up the saddle at the ridgeline, then made the more gradual descent to sea level and the little village of Hatiheu. We observed the concrete crew as they beavered away on a waterfront road improvement project, then wandered on down towards the Western end of the bay to see if the cell tower was up to the challenge of delivering a few text emails.
Nope. Oh well, perhaps Yvonne will be in the mood to feed us a little lunch. As we began our short walk back in the direction of the restaurant we spied an old fellow picking the fruit of a nearby tree - something we couldn't identify. Naturally Pat and Celine chatted him up to learn that he had diabetes and a concoction of that fruit and some other plants helped him control his condition. Many of the Marquesans are really heavy, especially the women as they get older and I'm thinking diabetes is probably rampant among the population.
Eventually the conversation ended and off we went to say hello to Yvonne, where we were seated and presented today's menu. Gosh, goat curry and poison cru looked awfully good and as we knew the portions were ridiculous we elected to split a dish of each among the four of us. Our version of Chinese dim sum. Pat and I showed the bad judgement to enjoy a large Hinano, the Tahitian lager that only tastes good on a hot day after a tough hike. Pat also ordered a small Hinano for Celine, then muttered to me that she always wants to "just have a bit of his" and the only way to properly deal with that is to order her one even though she'll claim she doesn't want it. Isabel showed superior judgement and stuck with the lemonade, a more refreshing and sensible alternative. I've always known she was smarter than me.
The meal was outstanding, and I almost had to arm wrestle Pat for the last piece of fried breadfruit. He had declared that he hated breadfruit before the meal, by the end of our degustation Yvonne had completely changed his mind.
All good things must come to an end, and eventually we settled up and began the very very very steep climb back up the trail to the ridge top. Have I mentioned that having a beer with lunch puts me to sleep, and certainly doesn't enhance my hiking abilities? Anyway, all our bodies protested but we eventually summited and began the knee abuse otherwise known as descending back to Anaho Bay. When we arrived the dinghy was still there, we recovered to JollyDogs and everyone got a nice swim and a good shower. Apparently I'm not the only one who appreciates our CruiseRO high output watermaker. . .
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Naturally we had to drag Pat and Celine over there and as they're always up for a vigorous hike, we figured we'd have a bit of breakfast to sustain us then launch out for Hatiheu to time our arrival for a nice look about then a relaxing mid-day meal. We huffed and puffed our way up the saddle at the ridgeline, then made the more gradual descent to sea level and the little village of Hatiheu. We observed the concrete crew as they beavered away on a waterfront road improvement project, then wandered on down towards the Western end of the bay to see if the cell tower was up to the challenge of delivering a few text emails.
Nope. Oh well, perhaps Yvonne will be in the mood to feed us a little lunch. As we began our short walk back in the direction of the restaurant we spied an old fellow picking the fruit of a nearby tree - something we couldn't identify. Naturally Pat and Celine chatted him up to learn that he had diabetes and a concoction of that fruit and some other plants helped him control his condition. Many of the Marquesans are really heavy, especially the women as they get older and I'm thinking diabetes is probably rampant among the population.
Eventually the conversation ended and off we went to say hello to Yvonne, where we were seated and presented today's menu. Gosh, goat curry and poison cru looked awfully good and as we knew the portions were ridiculous we elected to split a dish of each among the four of us. Our version of Chinese dim sum. Pat and I showed the bad judgement to enjoy a large Hinano, the Tahitian lager that only tastes good on a hot day after a tough hike. Pat also ordered a small Hinano for Celine, then muttered to me that she always wants to "just have a bit of his" and the only way to properly deal with that is to order her one even though she'll claim she doesn't want it. Isabel showed superior judgement and stuck with the lemonade, a more refreshing and sensible alternative. I've always known she was smarter than me.
The meal was outstanding, and I almost had to arm wrestle Pat for the last piece of fried breadfruit. He had declared that he hated breadfruit before the meal, by the end of our degustation Yvonne had completely changed his mind.
All good things must come to an end, and eventually we settled up and began the very very very steep climb back up the trail to the ridge top. Have I mentioned that having a beer with lunch puts me to sleep, and certainly doesn't enhance my hiking abilities? Anyway, all our bodies protested but we eventually summited and began the knee abuse otherwise known as descending back to Anaho Bay. When we arrived the dinghy was still there, we recovered to JollyDogs and everyone got a nice swim and a good shower. Apparently I'm not the only one who appreciates our CruiseRO high output watermaker. . .
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Return to Nuku Hiva 26 Feb 20
Departing Ua Huka the forecast promised a deep downwind sail from Ua Huka's Haavei Bay to Anaho Bay on the North Side of Nuku Hiva. An opportunity to play with the Parasailor - our super deluxe creamin' high tech spinnaker-like object! Pat and I scurried about on the foredeck rigging lines and verifying nothing was twisted while Isabel started worrying about everything that could go wrong. She isn't fond of spinnaker things in general and neither is Celine. The boys pressed on with their preparations nevertheless. We motored out from the anchorage and away from the lee of the island to where we thought we'd have unobstructed wind, and things were looking great! Ten to 12 knots true wind on the stern and light seas - up went the Parasailor and Voila! Well we got the guy and sheet set, adjusted the halyard a bit, tweaked the guy and sheet a bit more, then about that time the wind pooped out and the Parasailor became a useless flaccid blob of nylon flapping about and threatening to snag on something and tear.
Isabel declared it was time to snuff the beast and (begrudgingly) she was right, so down came the sock. As I was securing everything so we'd be ready to achieve another Parasailor erection once the wind returned, the wind did return but blast if it wasn't now just aft of the beam. Perfect sailing conditions for a nice gentle reach, and Isabel immediately began the campaign to stow that darn Parasailor and get back to some good ole common sense sailing.
She won. Sometimes I really hate it when she's right, but, well, she was right.
Well, at least we know it's really the Parasailor in that sock, and not somebody's old laundry. Also, Pat and Celine got to see it fly, and I got to prove that I could still rig it properly. It's been a bit of a locker queen for quite some time, and honestly, if it doesn't start seeing more use somebody's going to get a great deal on a gently used Parasailor, just like we did. Thank you again, Thad and Kristin.
Anyway, we had a lovely reach over to Anaho Bay, and along the way were joined at first by a few large dolphins who elected to frolic just forward of our bows. We all went forward and stood on the tramps to enjoy the show, and remarkably in the distance we could see more of their kin leaping out of the water and making a beeline for JollyDogs. Guess word got out that the whole clan should come over and entertain the humans for a bit. It was great for us, they seemed to be having a lot of fun - everybody won!
Finally stowing sails and motoring into Anaho Bay Pat and Celine were thrilled at the stunning scenery; Isabel and I were reminded of just how beautiful this place was. We found a spot, dropped the hook, and began to celebrate another day in paradise.
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Isabel declared it was time to snuff the beast and (begrudgingly) she was right, so down came the sock. As I was securing everything so we'd be ready to achieve another Parasailor erection once the wind returned, the wind did return but blast if it wasn't now just aft of the beam. Perfect sailing conditions for a nice gentle reach, and Isabel immediately began the campaign to stow that darn Parasailor and get back to some good ole common sense sailing.
She won. Sometimes I really hate it when she's right, but, well, she was right.
Well, at least we know it's really the Parasailor in that sock, and not somebody's old laundry. Also, Pat and Celine got to see it fly, and I got to prove that I could still rig it properly. It's been a bit of a locker queen for quite some time, and honestly, if it doesn't start seeing more use somebody's going to get a great deal on a gently used Parasailor, just like we did. Thank you again, Thad and Kristin.
Anyway, we had a lovely reach over to Anaho Bay, and along the way were joined at first by a few large dolphins who elected to frolic just forward of our bows. We all went forward and stood on the tramps to enjoy the show, and remarkably in the distance we could see more of their kin leaping out of the water and making a beeline for JollyDogs. Guess word got out that the whole clan should come over and entertain the humans for a bit. It was great for us, they seemed to be having a lot of fun - everybody won!
Finally stowing sails and motoring into Anaho Bay Pat and Celine were thrilled at the stunning scenery; Isabel and I were reminded of just how beautiful this place was. We found a spot, dropped the hook, and began to celebrate another day in paradise.
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Thoughts about charitable giving and investing 26 Feb 20
When Isabel and I were both working for a living we paid lots of taxes. Uncle Sam still takes his cut and Florida gets a little, but our taxable income is less now so we fall into a lower tax bracket. Taxes are part of life in a civil society, and although like many cruisers we have a bit of Libertarian in us, we also believe a civil society must include strong civil institutions, law and order, protection of national interests, promotion of sustainable environmentally friendly economic growth, etc. The citizens, residents and visitors that benefit should help pay for it.
Back then US tax policies encouraged a fair bit of charitable giving, and we did our best to maximize the tax benefits while contributing to causes and institutions we wanted to support, also bellying up to the bar when an important cause surfaced regardless of the tax implications. Heifer International offered a way to help folks in the poorest countries of the world, closer to home we supported children's schools for the arts, National Public Radio, etc. and it made us feel like good people. Now we're pretty removed from that life and can't even itemize our taxes. We look for other ways to have a positive impact on people we may never meet. For the people we do meet in these foreign lands, we do our best to represent the best of our native cultures and be the kind of folks they might like to have as friends. Learn a few local words, smile, wave at cars going by as we walk down a road. Can't hurt.
Conscious capitalism is a concept that's becoming more prevalent around the world, and these days in US at least it seems that visionary leadership seems to be the domain of the emerging business world. Companies much younger than me understand the advantages and strengths of a diverse work force. They seem more likely to exploit resources in a more sustainable fashion, working on solutions to problems just now appearing on the horizon, imagining products and services that will create a better world. Their founders and employees recognize that older generations have handed them a "turd in a punch bowl", staggering national debt, a disregard for the environment with a return to filthier air and water standards, foreign policy that continues to produce blowback, ad nauseum.
Part of our investing philosophy is about promoting a vision for a better future as both a supplement and an alternative to charitable donations. Where is technology headed and what companies are trying to solve the world's toughest problems and working to improve everyone's life on planet Earth? We essentially make loans to folks we've never met so that they can grow a company, fund research and development, and hopefully solve a hard problem. With luck perhaps we get repaid at an interest rate better than what a bank savings account offers, or our personal metric of beating the S&P500 aggregate return.
Loaning money to a small company working on bleeding edge treatments or cures for such things as cancer is pretty risky, with plenty of potential to lose everything. Consider the comparison to charitable contributions; in both cases our money disappears but when we become partial owners of a small company our investment might not only return our capital with interest, but also a cure for some form of cancer or other nasty disease. Our earlier charitable giving was purely based upon the faith that the administrators would use our money as they claimed they would, operating with low overhead and not paying themselves exorbitant salaries. Nowadays we use a service that researches and recommends our flavor of investment opportunities, and we donate money to various causes including a cruising friend's GoFundMe campaign to buy books for school children in Fiji.
Recently we watched Netflix documentary "Inside Bill's Brain". The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation using its vast resources to benefit the poorest people in the world. Wow - worth a look. Be like Bill.
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Back then US tax policies encouraged a fair bit of charitable giving, and we did our best to maximize the tax benefits while contributing to causes and institutions we wanted to support, also bellying up to the bar when an important cause surfaced regardless of the tax implications. Heifer International offered a way to help folks in the poorest countries of the world, closer to home we supported children's schools for the arts, National Public Radio, etc. and it made us feel like good people. Now we're pretty removed from that life and can't even itemize our taxes. We look for other ways to have a positive impact on people we may never meet. For the people we do meet in these foreign lands, we do our best to represent the best of our native cultures and be the kind of folks they might like to have as friends. Learn a few local words, smile, wave at cars going by as we walk down a road. Can't hurt.
Conscious capitalism is a concept that's becoming more prevalent around the world, and these days in US at least it seems that visionary leadership seems to be the domain of the emerging business world. Companies much younger than me understand the advantages and strengths of a diverse work force. They seem more likely to exploit resources in a more sustainable fashion, working on solutions to problems just now appearing on the horizon, imagining products and services that will create a better world. Their founders and employees recognize that older generations have handed them a "turd in a punch bowl", staggering national debt, a disregard for the environment with a return to filthier air and water standards, foreign policy that continues to produce blowback, ad nauseum.
Part of our investing philosophy is about promoting a vision for a better future as both a supplement and an alternative to charitable donations. Where is technology headed and what companies are trying to solve the world's toughest problems and working to improve everyone's life on planet Earth? We essentially make loans to folks we've never met so that they can grow a company, fund research and development, and hopefully solve a hard problem. With luck perhaps we get repaid at an interest rate better than what a bank savings account offers, or our personal metric of beating the S&P500 aggregate return.
Loaning money to a small company working on bleeding edge treatments or cures for such things as cancer is pretty risky, with plenty of potential to lose everything. Consider the comparison to charitable contributions; in both cases our money disappears but when we become partial owners of a small company our investment might not only return our capital with interest, but also a cure for some form of cancer or other nasty disease. Our earlier charitable giving was purely based upon the faith that the administrators would use our money as they claimed they would, operating with low overhead and not paying themselves exorbitant salaries. Nowadays we use a service that researches and recommends our flavor of investment opportunities, and we donate money to various causes including a cruising friend's GoFundMe campaign to buy books for school children in Fiji.
Recently we watched Netflix documentary "Inside Bill's Brain". The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation using its vast resources to benefit the poorest people in the world. Wow - worth a look. Be like Bill.
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Touring Ua Huka 25 Feb 20
Our reach from Hiva Oa to Ua Huka was blissful, and we whupped some butt. Arriving at Vaipiee Bay we entered a rather narrow high walled canyon - one other boat, a French Outremer 51' anchored in the prime spot. We had been briefed by Patrick on SV Lollipop that a stern anchor and a single file kind of anchoring scheme might accommodate up to 3 boats in the narrow bay. We dropped the hook and deployed the stern anchor, settling about 50 meters forward of the Outremer. We could have sworn we'd just sailed into a canyon in Moab, Utah as there was a lot of red rock, although we've anchored in various Mexican Baja locations with similar geology. A bonus here was hundreds of wild goats scampering along the cliffs, seemingly playing chicken. I reckon one occasionally falls to their death, but I found myself envious of their agility and fearlessness.
A walk around the small village yielded a good bit of inte and a cold Hinano. We elected to rent a car for the following day to see all that could be seen. The best cultural museum in the Marquesas was reportedly up the road a few kilometers, along with a shop packed with local carvings for sale. Apparently Ua Huka is known for their wood carvings.
The next morning our little 4 door 4wd pickup was delivered the wharf where we had hauled the dinghy onto the hard. The rental lady provided a great briefing regarding all the sights and attractions then we were off. First to the cultural museum which we found to be closed due to an ill attendant. Nuts. We pressed our noses against the windows and oogled an amazing array of antique artifacts and reproductions. Nuts. Onwards to Hane, the next town along which had the shop with carvings for sale and a museum of old photographs. The darn museum was closed, but capitalism reigned supreme and the shop was open for business. Pat and Ceiline have been hunting a special carved bowl for a friend, alas nothing tickled their fancy or dented their wallet. Maybe on Nuka Hiva.
We drove along the coast until we ran out of road, then returned to Hane to park and hike to a Tiki carbon dated to have originated around 600 BC. Those Polynesians sure got around and unbelievably they sailed thousands of miles upwind to the various locations they settled. Tough people. We found the trailhead and shortly arrived at the ancient and holy grounds where locals were tidying things up for the visit by passengers from the cruise ship Aranui the following day. We met the president of the tourist committee who spoke great English and he offered us the verbal history of how the various Marquesan islands were named. Fascinating! We removed our shoes before treading on the holy ground, studying and photographing the old Tikis. Awesome.
Our guide also called his son and arranged to have the museum opened for our visit, and in about a half hour we were inside the building enjoying close up views of the contents. Outstanding! Onwards to the botanical garden where we wandered among a large variety of native trees, encouraged to pick all the fruit we wanted, so out came the bags and in went star fruit, mangos, guavas, limes and pamplemouse. Doesn't get much better than this.
Returning to JollyDogs we readied for departure then Pat and I did very manly things, getting that darn stern anchor off the bottom into the dinghy. I had helped Phillipe from the French Outremer do the same thing the previous day and it nearly killed us both. When the Aranui comes into the bay everyone else gets kicked out as they kind of take up all the room, even mooring the stern of the ship to various bollards installed in the rock cliffs. Wish we could have seen that, but instead we motored out and around the corner, anchoring in Haavai Bay within a few meters of where we first arrived in the Marquesas with Thad last May. Darned if Pat hadn't had the same experience 35 years ago, arriving as crew on a Bowman 70.
Wonders never cease.
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
A walk around the small village yielded a good bit of inte and a cold Hinano. We elected to rent a car for the following day to see all that could be seen. The best cultural museum in the Marquesas was reportedly up the road a few kilometers, along with a shop packed with local carvings for sale. Apparently Ua Huka is known for their wood carvings.
The next morning our little 4 door 4wd pickup was delivered the wharf where we had hauled the dinghy onto the hard. The rental lady provided a great briefing regarding all the sights and attractions then we were off. First to the cultural museum which we found to be closed due to an ill attendant. Nuts. We pressed our noses against the windows and oogled an amazing array of antique artifacts and reproductions. Nuts. Onwards to Hane, the next town along which had the shop with carvings for sale and a museum of old photographs. The darn museum was closed, but capitalism reigned supreme and the shop was open for business. Pat and Ceiline have been hunting a special carved bowl for a friend, alas nothing tickled their fancy or dented their wallet. Maybe on Nuka Hiva.
We drove along the coast until we ran out of road, then returned to Hane to park and hike to a Tiki carbon dated to have originated around 600 BC. Those Polynesians sure got around and unbelievably they sailed thousands of miles upwind to the various locations they settled. Tough people. We found the trailhead and shortly arrived at the ancient and holy grounds where locals were tidying things up for the visit by passengers from the cruise ship Aranui the following day. We met the president of the tourist committee who spoke great English and he offered us the verbal history of how the various Marquesan islands were named. Fascinating! We removed our shoes before treading on the holy ground, studying and photographing the old Tikis. Awesome.
Our guide also called his son and arranged to have the museum opened for our visit, and in about a half hour we were inside the building enjoying close up views of the contents. Outstanding! Onwards to the botanical garden where we wandered among a large variety of native trees, encouraged to pick all the fruit we wanted, so out came the bags and in went star fruit, mangos, guavas, limes and pamplemouse. Doesn't get much better than this.
Returning to JollyDogs we readied for departure then Pat and I did very manly things, getting that darn stern anchor off the bottom into the dinghy. I had helped Phillipe from the French Outremer do the same thing the previous day and it nearly killed us both. When the Aranui comes into the bay everyone else gets kicked out as they kind of take up all the room, even mooring the stern of the ship to various bollards installed in the rock cliffs. Wish we could have seen that, but instead we motored out and around the corner, anchoring in Haavai Bay within a few meters of where we first arrived in the Marquesas with Thad last May. Darned if Pat hadn't had the same experience 35 years ago, arriving as crew on a Bowman 70.
Wonders never cease.
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Reaching for Ua Huka - Vaipaee Bay 23 Feb 20
Well Hiva Oa was pretty good. We all managed to catch up with our internet related junk; banking, emails, boat insurance and such. We wandered into town where Pat and Celine sorted out their departure flight back to Tahiti, so we'll make sure we're anchored at Makemo atoll in the Tuamotus by the 17th of March so they'll get a bit of a look about before boarding their Air Tahiti ATR-72 on the 19th. We'll call upon Raroia atoll first, about a 450 nautical mile passage from Nuku Hiva. Should be about 3 days of easy downwind sailing. Hah.
But for now, Hiva Oa is done and dusted. We popped up like slices of toast about 0300 to make our quiet departure from Tahauku Bay around 0350, slightly ahead of schedule. Winds were light as we motored out of the big bay and around the lee of the island, but at about 0600 just like clockwork as we emerged from the Northwest shadow of the island the wind filled in nicely and we were off. We had spotted an AIS target on the chart plotter, a monohull named Aegir heading apparently for the same destination. Well, it's a small anchorage with room for only a few boats, so RACE ON!
When we initially gave chase at 0600 our foe was about 5.1 nm ahead of us. It's 1120 now and we're just reaching their port beam. They put up a good fight but JollyDogs is a good girl and she's running like a racehorse today on full main and jib. We rolled out the screecher and really gave the competition a clinic \until the apparent wind started tickling our personal limits. With about 24 nm to go I'm pretty sure we'll be on the hook and kicking back by the time those folks roll in, but now that they've noticed us they do appear to be trying a lot harder. Too bad JollyDogs doesn't have a "stealth mode".
It's one of those almost perfect days, with the true wind on the aft starboard quarter and the apparent wind just on the beam. It's sunny with some puffy clouds and we've got some light wind chop with the occasional 1 meter longer period swell, altogether a darn good day for a sail. Pat has already nailed one fish, a meal size skipjack tuna, now he's on the aft deck fidgeting and hoping for a big yellow fin tuna. Celine is messing about in the galley doing some magic and Isabel is reclined and reading something "cerebral". John Prine is playing on the stereo.
It doesn't get much better than this.
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But for now, Hiva Oa is done and dusted. We popped up like slices of toast about 0300 to make our quiet departure from Tahauku Bay around 0350, slightly ahead of schedule. Winds were light as we motored out of the big bay and around the lee of the island, but at about 0600 just like clockwork as we emerged from the Northwest shadow of the island the wind filled in nicely and we were off. We had spotted an AIS target on the chart plotter, a monohull named Aegir heading apparently for the same destination. Well, it's a small anchorage with room for only a few boats, so RACE ON!
When we initially gave chase at 0600 our foe was about 5.1 nm ahead of us. It's 1120 now and we're just reaching their port beam. They put up a good fight but JollyDogs is a good girl and she's running like a racehorse today on full main and jib. We rolled out the screecher and really gave the competition a clinic \until the apparent wind started tickling our personal limits. With about 24 nm to go I'm pretty sure we'll be on the hook and kicking back by the time those folks roll in, but now that they've noticed us they do appear to be trying a lot harder. Too bad JollyDogs doesn't have a "stealth mode".
It's one of those almost perfect days, with the true wind on the aft starboard quarter and the apparent wind just on the beam. It's sunny with some puffy clouds and we've got some light wind chop with the occasional 1 meter longer period swell, altogether a darn good day for a sail. Pat has already nailed one fish, a meal size skipjack tuna, now he's on the aft deck fidgeting and hoping for a big yellow fin tuna. Celine is messing about in the galley doing some magic and Isabel is reclined and reading something "cerebral". John Prine is playing on the stereo.
It doesn't get much better than this.
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Provisioning at Hiva Oa 21 Feb 20
We found a pretty good size grocery store at the main town on Hiva Oa. They had stuff. Nearby there was a couple of ladies selling fresh fruit and veg from their pickup trucks. Mini farmer's market. Walking the 2 ½ miles into town we passed a roadside table loaded with fruit and veg and a money jar, prices listed for each item. Love that honor system. There was a big pumpkin that Isabel wanted, but as it weighed several kilos we had to hope it would still be there upon our return.
Not long after as we were wandering along the road to town we heard a horn beep. A local fellow had pulled over to offer us a ride. Quickly forgetting our resolutions to "get more exercise" we accepted and were on our way. Our driver's name was Nano, and his wife worked for the local bank, apparently on a 7 year rotation from Tahiti. Nano used to work for the Hinano brewery - that's the local swill lager that French Polynesians think of as beer. As my dad said, "they should have left it in the horse", but I must admit to having quaffed more than one on a hot afternoon. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. . .
Anyway, Nano was super friendly and spoke good English, so being the only one in our foursome who can't speak fluent French I enjoyed some interaction. Nano grew up on Huahine, one of the Leeward Society Islands, and when I commented we were planning to go there for the Heiva festival in July he discouraged the idea, noting that Bora Bora put on a much better show. That aside, he did note that Huahine is a "must visit" beautiful place, and he taught us to pronounce it correctly. It's just painful how some cruisers say the names of local islands, and we're guilty too but at least we're on a "continuous improvement program". How's that for leftover corporate lingo still rattling around my brain?
We scored some pretty good groceries in town including a few bottles of quaffable white wine and a box of "tastes better with food" red wine. Walking back we lucked out, finding some nice star fruit growing on the roadside, then got that pumpkin too! Our last stop was the gas station by the anchorage, where they sell diesel, petrol, motor oil and such, and an amazing array of groceries including beautiful fresh lettuce, fresh baguettes and pastries, and even gourmet ice cream!
I swear I'm not making that up!
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Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Not long after as we were wandering along the road to town we heard a horn beep. A local fellow had pulled over to offer us a ride. Quickly forgetting our resolutions to "get more exercise" we accepted and were on our way. Our driver's name was Nano, and his wife worked for the local bank, apparently on a 7 year rotation from Tahiti. Nano used to work for the Hinano brewery - that's the local swill lager that French Polynesians think of as beer. As my dad said, "they should have left it in the horse", but I must admit to having quaffed more than one on a hot afternoon. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. . .
Anyway, Nano was super friendly and spoke good English, so being the only one in our foursome who can't speak fluent French I enjoyed some interaction. Nano grew up on Huahine, one of the Leeward Society Islands, and when I commented we were planning to go there for the Heiva festival in July he discouraged the idea, noting that Bora Bora put on a much better show. That aside, he did note that Huahine is a "must visit" beautiful place, and he taught us to pronounce it correctly. It's just painful how some cruisers say the names of local islands, and we're guilty too but at least we're on a "continuous improvement program". How's that for leftover corporate lingo still rattling around my brain?
We scored some pretty good groceries in town including a few bottles of quaffable white wine and a box of "tastes better with food" red wine. Walking back we lucked out, finding some nice star fruit growing on the roadside, then got that pumpkin too! Our last stop was the gas station by the anchorage, where they sell diesel, petrol, motor oil and such, and an amazing array of groceries including beautiful fresh lettuce, fresh baguettes and pastries, and even gourmet ice cream!
I swear I'm not making that up!
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
JollyDogs pleasures us with a downwind sail 18 Feb 20
Our trip from Tahuata Southeast to Fatu Hiva put us pretty hard on the wind, at times not even laying the course. Wind was up and down with several squalls and the seas were 1 - 2 meters forward of the beam, so the ride was rough and lumpy. We began with a full main sail, then reefed, then reefed again and furling part of the jib to manage the big gusts in the squalls. By the time we had arrived in Fatu Hiva Celine made it clear that she wouldn't be interested in a trip to Gambier if those conditions prevailed. In truth she wasn't alone, as none of us was up for a 5 - 6 day beat to windward, regardless of the prize at the journey's end. We're out here cruising for goodness sake, the very definition of which is "downwind sailing is the rule, not the exception". Beating to windward is hard on JollyDogs and it's hard on her crew - that's a point of sail for your racing folks, thank you very much.
We were hard on the wind for 2 - 3 days back in October returning to the Marquesas for cyclone season. Wasn't fun, and we're still sorry Shawnee had to spend her hard-earned holiday enduring that trip. Darned weather just didn't cooperate with us, as generally we should have had much more favorable conditions. If there's anything I truly hate when flying or sailing, it's having to operate to a hard schedule. Makes things hard at times, and generally increases risk of mishap.
We were keen to sail to Gambier, but the nearly 800-mile voyage was only to be attempted with a favorable long range forecast which simply refused to appear. That factor combined with an evolving family situation back in England helped us rethink our plan, and now we're going to lurk the Marquesas before enjoying a nice downwind sail to the Tuamotus. There's plenty we haven't explored here, and while Pat sailed through here about 30 years ago, Celine hasn't seen any of it.
Yesterday we would up our time at Fatu Hiva and said goodbye to lovely Hanavavae Bay. We spent the day sailing at about 120 degrees apparent wind up to Hanatefau Bay on the West side of Tahuata. This is a place Isabel has been Jonesing to visit, and finally we're here. Pat and Celine got to see what JollyDogs does in good cruising conditions, and we blasted along at up to 10 knots surfing down waves with full main and jib in up to 20 knots true wind and 1 - 2 meter seas on the starboard stern quarter. Fun fun fun, easy on our girl's rig and Chevy the autopilot.
One of our operational procedures out here is to be very careful about sailing in the lee of these islands. Our course line had us very close to shore on our departure from Fatu Hiva and our arrival at Tahuata. There are several canyons on both islands where the Easterly wind gets seriously amplified before exiting on the West side of the island. It isn't uncommon to experience steady state winds of 10 knots with gusts above 30, so our tiny brains say "diesel is cheap, sails are expensive". We motored until we were away from Fatu Hiva then deployed full sails and had a great day. Arriving near the South end of Tahuata we fired up the diesels and came head to wind, dropping main and furling jib before motoring on to the lee of Tahuata and several miles up the coast to our preferred anchorage. Good thing we did too, as the wind direction was all over the place, and passing a couple of those "amplifiers" found us in winds rising from almost calm to 26 knot gusts in just a few seconds. No time to throw in a reef in those conditions!
Anyway, we had a killer sail (and motor) trip logging almost 45 miles at speeds up to 10 knots. Nobody got wet and nobody got beat up. We fished without luck, but as they say, a bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work.
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We were hard on the wind for 2 - 3 days back in October returning to the Marquesas for cyclone season. Wasn't fun, and we're still sorry Shawnee had to spend her hard-earned holiday enduring that trip. Darned weather just didn't cooperate with us, as generally we should have had much more favorable conditions. If there's anything I truly hate when flying or sailing, it's having to operate to a hard schedule. Makes things hard at times, and generally increases risk of mishap.
We were keen to sail to Gambier, but the nearly 800-mile voyage was only to be attempted with a favorable long range forecast which simply refused to appear. That factor combined with an evolving family situation back in England helped us rethink our plan, and now we're going to lurk the Marquesas before enjoying a nice downwind sail to the Tuamotus. There's plenty we haven't explored here, and while Pat sailed through here about 30 years ago, Celine hasn't seen any of it.
Yesterday we would up our time at Fatu Hiva and said goodbye to lovely Hanavavae Bay. We spent the day sailing at about 120 degrees apparent wind up to Hanatefau Bay on the West side of Tahuata. This is a place Isabel has been Jonesing to visit, and finally we're here. Pat and Celine got to see what JollyDogs does in good cruising conditions, and we blasted along at up to 10 knots surfing down waves with full main and jib in up to 20 knots true wind and 1 - 2 meter seas on the starboard stern quarter. Fun fun fun, easy on our girl's rig and Chevy the autopilot.
One of our operational procedures out here is to be very careful about sailing in the lee of these islands. Our course line had us very close to shore on our departure from Fatu Hiva and our arrival at Tahuata. There are several canyons on both islands where the Easterly wind gets seriously amplified before exiting on the West side of the island. It isn't uncommon to experience steady state winds of 10 knots with gusts above 30, so our tiny brains say "diesel is cheap, sails are expensive". We motored until we were away from Fatu Hiva then deployed full sails and had a great day. Arriving near the South end of Tahuata we fired up the diesels and came head to wind, dropping main and furling jib before motoring on to the lee of Tahuata and several miles up the coast to our preferred anchorage. Good thing we did too, as the wind direction was all over the place, and passing a couple of those "amplifiers" found us in winds rising from almost calm to 26 knot gusts in just a few seconds. No time to throw in a reef in those conditions!
Anyway, we had a killer sail (and motor) trip logging almost 45 miles at speeds up to 10 knots. Nobody got wet and nobody got beat up. We fished without luck, but as they say, a bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work.
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Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Inland exploration at Fatu Hiva 18 Feb 20
Living on a sailboat provides ample opportunity to enjoy the coastal scenery and the people who live in villages adjacent to the protected anchorages. What is lost without a bit of effort is the opportunity to explore and enjoy the inland terrain with its magnificent scenery and sometimes really cool archeological sites. There's a nice but a bit too easy hike up to a waterfall from Hanavave Bay, absolutely worth the price of admission. The waterfall terminates in a small but deep pool which offers a refreshing swim after the exertions required to access the site. It's important not to look too closely into the pool, as sighting one of the rather large freshwater eels might put one off from taking a dip.
We did that short hike our second day in the bay, but as Pat and Celine are pretty physical people we decided we needed to expend a bit more effort to offset the amazing meals Isabel and Celine were producing. Visiting with Edwin to make a small modification to my ukulele, we discussed our desire to get a boat ride to the nearby village of Omoa so that we could hike the 10-mile road back to Hanavavae. Turned out Edwin had a boat and for the equivalent of about $28 US he would happily transport up to 7 bods to Omoa the following morning. Yachtzee!
So Monday morning at 0830 we were off for the approximately 20 minute ride South down the extremely rugged coastline to Omoa. Arriving there we found a much larger village than Hanavavae with a big church, a nicely stocked store, and what appeared to be a local festival ground under construction. The interior of the church revealed beautiful carvings and decorations, and the store offered up junk food that Isabel and Celine couldn't resist. Isabel refused to pay $7.50 for a can of Pringles, instead purchasing a couple bags of prawn flavored crispy things. I can't recommend them.
Anyway, properly provisioned we were off to walk the 16 kilometers to the Hanavavae waterfront. The road climbed from sea level to over 2000' elevation, still well below the highest peaks in view. It was really steep for the first 5 kilometers or so then got a bit more gentle before we finally arrived at a picnic area near the highest road elevation and about half way along the walk. We had been joined by the occupants of several other boats who had arranged their own (and much more expensive) boat ride, and we all sat down to refresh ourselves with food and water. In all there were 12 of us, and we had a jolly good time before continuing on.
Getting started again was a bit challenging, reminding both me and Pat of our ill spent youth and our various injuries, but after a few hundred meters all joints were functioning and we resumed our somewhat aggressive pace. We wandered along a ridgeline for a while with stunning views of the inland mountains and valleys to the East and ocean vistas to the West, even passing some men operating heavy equipment to repair the road before finally beginning down towards Hanavavae.
I don't know about you, but I'll happily take the cardio of a steep uphill climb over the abuse my knees suffer walking for miles down a steep grade. Remember when we were kids, and had to walk to school and back in the snow, with no shoes, and it was uphill both ways? Anyway, it would be nice to find a trail someday that would offer a steep cardio climb followed by a much gentler descent. Maybe when pigs fly.
Eventually we arrived back in the village of Hanavavae and limped on to our faithfully awaiting dinghy. After a good swim and nap it was time for an extended happy hour to celebrate conquering the mountain as Pat entertained us first with his banjo then with Isabel's guitar. A couple of rum cocktails, a gin and tonic, then a bottle of quaffable white wine paired with our seared ahi tuna and the night was over.
Next time it might be a good idea to forego the gin and tonic. . .
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We did that short hike our second day in the bay, but as Pat and Celine are pretty physical people we decided we needed to expend a bit more effort to offset the amazing meals Isabel and Celine were producing. Visiting with Edwin to make a small modification to my ukulele, we discussed our desire to get a boat ride to the nearby village of Omoa so that we could hike the 10-mile road back to Hanavavae. Turned out Edwin had a boat and for the equivalent of about $28 US he would happily transport up to 7 bods to Omoa the following morning. Yachtzee!
So Monday morning at 0830 we were off for the approximately 20 minute ride South down the extremely rugged coastline to Omoa. Arriving there we found a much larger village than Hanavavae with a big church, a nicely stocked store, and what appeared to be a local festival ground under construction. The interior of the church revealed beautiful carvings and decorations, and the store offered up junk food that Isabel and Celine couldn't resist. Isabel refused to pay $7.50 for a can of Pringles, instead purchasing a couple bags of prawn flavored crispy things. I can't recommend them.
Anyway, properly provisioned we were off to walk the 16 kilometers to the Hanavavae waterfront. The road climbed from sea level to over 2000' elevation, still well below the highest peaks in view. It was really steep for the first 5 kilometers or so then got a bit more gentle before we finally arrived at a picnic area near the highest road elevation and about half way along the walk. We had been joined by the occupants of several other boats who had arranged their own (and much more expensive) boat ride, and we all sat down to refresh ourselves with food and water. In all there were 12 of us, and we had a jolly good time before continuing on.
Getting started again was a bit challenging, reminding both me and Pat of our ill spent youth and our various injuries, but after a few hundred meters all joints were functioning and we resumed our somewhat aggressive pace. We wandered along a ridgeline for a while with stunning views of the inland mountains and valleys to the East and ocean vistas to the West, even passing some men operating heavy equipment to repair the road before finally beginning down towards Hanavavae.
I don't know about you, but I'll happily take the cardio of a steep uphill climb over the abuse my knees suffer walking for miles down a steep grade. Remember when we were kids, and had to walk to school and back in the snow, with no shoes, and it was uphill both ways? Anyway, it would be nice to find a trail someday that would offer a steep cardio climb followed by a much gentler descent. Maybe when pigs fly.
Eventually we arrived back in the village of Hanavavae and limped on to our faithfully awaiting dinghy. After a good swim and nap it was time for an extended happy hour to celebrate conquering the mountain as Pat entertained us first with his banjo then with Isabel's guitar. A couple of rum cocktails, a gin and tonic, then a bottle of quaffable white wine paired with our seared ahi tuna and the night was over.
Next time it might be a good idea to forego the gin and tonic. . .
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Poking around Fatu Hiva 18 Feb 20
Hanavave Bay offers stunning scenery, but it also offers some nutty wind conditions. The canyon that opens up to the bay goes quite a way to the East as the terrain slowly climbs into some rather large mountains. Predominant winds are out of the East, so anchoring on the West side of the island obviously offers protection from the big winds and swell. BUT, terrain can do icky things with wind, and Hanavave Bay is one of those places that the intrepid cruiser gets to enjoy those interesting terrain effects. For days we enjoyed the spectacular views of goats scampering about on giant rock pinnacles and various shades of green foliage, but we also got to enjoy some rather amazing and sustained wind gusts that whistled down the canyon and out over the water. The SUPs remained in the rack as we were certain we might blow out to sea. Fortunately, with only a couple hundred meters of fetch the water remained fairly flat even during the biggest of blows.
Fatu Hiva is an island whose inhabitants like to trade their fruit for "stuff". They're quite fond of bits of rope, crayons for the little ones, hats of all descriptions, perfume and cosmetics, anything that is difficult to obtain locally. Not a lot of folks on that island, so not a lot of stuff to buy, but the supply ship does come occasionally. We visited back in October with Shawnee and met several lovely folks who loaded us up with plantains, pamplemouse, limes, coconuts, bananas, and mangos. We had something to trade with most folks, including a ragged slightly mildewed old Tilley hat that became the talk of the town, but one fellow named Patrice loaded us up with plantains for nothing in return. I think he had a thing for Isabel and Shawnee.
Some things seem only available for purchase, such as a liter of honey or local crafts such as "tapas", which are pieces of artwork - images created on sheets of bark from a specific tree. I purchased a beautiful handmade ukulele from a local craftsman named Edwin. If I never learn to play it at least it'll look great hanging on the wall.
This visit we came with our old main halyard which I had cut into two sections. Patrice got a length just for being so nice to us last time. Edwin got the other section and in return we got a smokin' deal on a boat ride to the neighboring village of Omoa so we could hike the 10-mile road back to Hanavavae. A flight attendant on our recent British Airways flight from London to San Francisco had given me all the extra coloring books in their stores after the onboard children were entertained, and these we delivered to various folks with small children. That was a big hit. We took Marie a 50-foot section of garden hose and a collapsible crate which she found absolutely mystifying; in return she loaded us up with coconuts and papaya and pamplemouse. Marie got a little odd this time, acting like our most recent trade gifts were to compensate for a previous exchange, and "what were we going to bring next time" to cover the latest gift of fruit. I think she was having a bit of a go at us, and we decided not to return as we felt we were even steven.
The evening before our departure Patrice's daughter saw us wandering about and told us she would prepare a box of fruit for us to collect the following morning, no trade required. I reckon she and Patrice felt we were way ahead on the wheelin' and dealin' and wanted to end up square. We dinghied in before our morning departure and collected a ridiculous amount of bananas and other bits, and most delightfully 16 ripe plantains which are just gorgeous sliced and fried up in butter. The variety of plantains they grow turn a lovely orange color when they ripen. Oink. Patrice was feeling so excited about his new piece of rope that he even dug a couple of baguettes out of the freezer for us to enjoy with our lunch.
Altogether a really interesting cultural exchange with a bunch of nice folks living in a spectacular location.
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Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Fatu Hiva is an island whose inhabitants like to trade their fruit for "stuff". They're quite fond of bits of rope, crayons for the little ones, hats of all descriptions, perfume and cosmetics, anything that is difficult to obtain locally. Not a lot of folks on that island, so not a lot of stuff to buy, but the supply ship does come occasionally. We visited back in October with Shawnee and met several lovely folks who loaded us up with plantains, pamplemouse, limes, coconuts, bananas, and mangos. We had something to trade with most folks, including a ragged slightly mildewed old Tilley hat that became the talk of the town, but one fellow named Patrice loaded us up with plantains for nothing in return. I think he had a thing for Isabel and Shawnee.
Some things seem only available for purchase, such as a liter of honey or local crafts such as "tapas", which are pieces of artwork - images created on sheets of bark from a specific tree. I purchased a beautiful handmade ukulele from a local craftsman named Edwin. If I never learn to play it at least it'll look great hanging on the wall.
This visit we came with our old main halyard which I had cut into two sections. Patrice got a length just for being so nice to us last time. Edwin got the other section and in return we got a smokin' deal on a boat ride to the neighboring village of Omoa so we could hike the 10-mile road back to Hanavavae. A flight attendant on our recent British Airways flight from London to San Francisco had given me all the extra coloring books in their stores after the onboard children were entertained, and these we delivered to various folks with small children. That was a big hit. We took Marie a 50-foot section of garden hose and a collapsible crate which she found absolutely mystifying; in return she loaded us up with coconuts and papaya and pamplemouse. Marie got a little odd this time, acting like our most recent trade gifts were to compensate for a previous exchange, and "what were we going to bring next time" to cover the latest gift of fruit. I think she was having a bit of a go at us, and we decided not to return as we felt we were even steven.
The evening before our departure Patrice's daughter saw us wandering about and told us she would prepare a box of fruit for us to collect the following morning, no trade required. I reckon she and Patrice felt we were way ahead on the wheelin' and dealin' and wanted to end up square. We dinghied in before our morning departure and collected a ridiculous amount of bananas and other bits, and most delightfully 16 ripe plantains which are just gorgeous sliced and fried up in butter. The variety of plantains they grow turn a lovely orange color when they ripen. Oink. Patrice was feeling so excited about his new piece of rope that he even dug a couple of baguettes out of the freezer for us to enjoy with our lunch.
Altogether a really interesting cultural exchange with a bunch of nice folks living in a spectacular location.
----------
Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Happy Valentines Day from Hanavave Bay Fatu Hiva 14 Feb 20
Well I can't fix a broken heart and fortunately I don't need to right now. I can fix lots of other things, and fortunately owning and maintaining a sailboat gives me lots of practice. Between Shawnee's visit last September, Pat and Celine's right now, and Mike's upcoming visit we've got a steady stream of spare parts finding their way to JollyDogs, our version of "just in time" replenishment. Thanks to old college roommate Tom and Laurie from SV Trovita we've had addresses to ship stuff to that Pat and Celine can collect. I tell you, the logistics of nomadic boat life can be complicated! Let's see, where to begin. . .
Last August the electric anchor windlass switch at the helm station started misbehaving, not working at all or sticking, but only occasionally, not consistently. Shawnee brought a new one and that problem went away. Recently the anchor windlass footswitch up on the bow started acting funky then failed hard yesterday. Pat and Celine brought a new one which I'll install in the next couple of days. When we departed Nuku Hiva on January 26th to sail down to Hiva Oa we had a nice overnight sail. Naturally Isabel had a shower before turning in after supper, and wouldn't you know it, the house freshwater pump failed just as she finished. Well that's just great - it's just about dark, we're on passage in sloppy seas and now I get to swap out a water pump? Of course I've got a spare ready to go, and in about half an hour that task is complete and Isabel can now go to bed. Once I've got a few spare minutes I dismantle the malfunctioning water pump and replace the internal electrical switch that tells it to turn on and off. Here we have a $250 freshwater pump with a $2 switch that fails about once a year, so I've got about 5 spare switches on board. Takes about half an hour to remove the bad switch, solder the wires on the new switch, reassemble and test the pump. Done, and now we've got a fresh spare ready to go.
We splashed after the haul out last week, and as we were motoring in the anchorage hunting for the perfect spot the starboard engine raw water pump decides it's time to leak like a sieve. Gee whiz. Whip out the spare (and brand new) raw water pump and an hour later it's installed and I'm looking for rebuild kits online as I'm now out of spares. Amazon Prime is my friend, and in minutes a rebuild kit is on the way to a pal's home where Pat and Celine can collect it before flying out to join us.
Monday I rebuilt the raw water pump; once again we've got a spare.
I had a swim and then rinsed off with the outdoor shower, only to find the nozzle had a big crack in it. Crap! Amazon prime again, and in the meantime magical JB Weld to the rescue, and in 24 hours the shower is back in service, the repair working great.
Silly me tied the dinghy up to the concrete pier at Hiva Oa during a rising tide. Darned if the dinghy didn't find its way under the pier, the outboard fairing getting cracked while banging on the structure. I've got West Systems Epoxy and fiberglass cloth on board so it's an easy repair.
We paid about $250 to have what we thought was a failing alternator rebuilt at the best electrical shop in Papeete. About 40 running hours later it failed! Gee whiz. It turned out I had misdiagnosed the problem and it was actually the external 3-phase rectifier that had failed. Shawnee brought spares and I fixed that, but this new alternator problem was more difficult to troubleshoot as the regulator fuse was blowing. Now I'm more of an expert at rebuilding alternators myself.
I constantly wander around the boat looking at rigging or machinery or electrical systems and imagining what will break next. I ponder my navel for a bit, consider what spares I've got on board and what I better get ordered, then think about who's visiting next. All visitors get to bring a suitcase of parts, part of the joy of visiting JollyDogs.
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Last August the electric anchor windlass switch at the helm station started misbehaving, not working at all or sticking, but only occasionally, not consistently. Shawnee brought a new one and that problem went away. Recently the anchor windlass footswitch up on the bow started acting funky then failed hard yesterday. Pat and Celine brought a new one which I'll install in the next couple of days. When we departed Nuku Hiva on January 26th to sail down to Hiva Oa we had a nice overnight sail. Naturally Isabel had a shower before turning in after supper, and wouldn't you know it, the house freshwater pump failed just as she finished. Well that's just great - it's just about dark, we're on passage in sloppy seas and now I get to swap out a water pump? Of course I've got a spare ready to go, and in about half an hour that task is complete and Isabel can now go to bed. Once I've got a few spare minutes I dismantle the malfunctioning water pump and replace the internal electrical switch that tells it to turn on and off. Here we have a $250 freshwater pump with a $2 switch that fails about once a year, so I've got about 5 spare switches on board. Takes about half an hour to remove the bad switch, solder the wires on the new switch, reassemble and test the pump. Done, and now we've got a fresh spare ready to go.
We splashed after the haul out last week, and as we were motoring in the anchorage hunting for the perfect spot the starboard engine raw water pump decides it's time to leak like a sieve. Gee whiz. Whip out the spare (and brand new) raw water pump and an hour later it's installed and I'm looking for rebuild kits online as I'm now out of spares. Amazon Prime is my friend, and in minutes a rebuild kit is on the way to a pal's home where Pat and Celine can collect it before flying out to join us.
Monday I rebuilt the raw water pump; once again we've got a spare.
I had a swim and then rinsed off with the outdoor shower, only to find the nozzle had a big crack in it. Crap! Amazon prime again, and in the meantime magical JB Weld to the rescue, and in 24 hours the shower is back in service, the repair working great.
Silly me tied the dinghy up to the concrete pier at Hiva Oa during a rising tide. Darned if the dinghy didn't find its way under the pier, the outboard fairing getting cracked while banging on the structure. I've got West Systems Epoxy and fiberglass cloth on board so it's an easy repair.
We paid about $250 to have what we thought was a failing alternator rebuilt at the best electrical shop in Papeete. About 40 running hours later it failed! Gee whiz. It turned out I had misdiagnosed the problem and it was actually the external 3-phase rectifier that had failed. Shawnee brought spares and I fixed that, but this new alternator problem was more difficult to troubleshoot as the regulator fuse was blowing. Now I'm more of an expert at rebuilding alternators myself.
I constantly wander around the boat looking at rigging or machinery or electrical systems and imagining what will break next. I ponder my navel for a bit, consider what spares I've got on board and what I better get ordered, then think about who's visiting next. All visitors get to bring a suitcase of parts, part of the joy of visiting JollyDogs.
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Bashing to Fatu Hiva 13 Feb 20
While we were anchored at Tahuata, Pat and I spent an afternoon inspecting some critical running rigging. The main sheet and reefing lines run through the boom, and I thought I had seen some chafe on the number 2 reefing line, the only original rope on the boat. The boat yard chandlery at Hiva Oa had good quality double braid so I had purchased new rope to replace this reefing line but I really didn't want to install it without either identifying or eliminating all sources of chafe on the old line. We began by poking the borescope into the boom and looking around for anything evil. Nothing found, we moved on to pulling the old line out while simultaneously running a messenger line. A thorough inspection of the rope revealed very minor chafe, likely the result of 12 years in service, so in went the new line. We removed the number 1 reefing line which was only about a year old and didn't find anything ugly on it, so back in it went. Finally we inspected the main sheet end to end and satisfied ourselves that all was well. I replaced the main sheet track line a couple months ago and it's in great shape. Dismantled and greased all the winches a week ago. We're ready to sail!
Our ultimate goal to sail to the Gambier, first we needed a hard shake down sail and to spend some time at Fatu Hiva in the "Bay of Virgins", formerly named the "Bay of Penises" until some silly Catholic missionaries threw a fit. Kind of like Weaver's Needle East of Phoenix, Arizona. . .
The weather forecast looked good but we were going to be hard on the wind for the 35 mile trip with 1 - 2 meter short period seas forward of the beam. Not fun in any boat, and a point of sail JollyDogs simply doesn't appreciate. Nevertheless, an opportunity to shake down the boat and ourselves, and to see how Pat and Celine liked catamaran sailing. Voila was an Island Packet 35', a lovely and seaworthy boat but a monohull, and things feel a lot different on half a boat.
We began with full main and jib but soon encountered our first squall. Eureka! An opportunity to reef while on heading and see if the new low friction rings I installed reduce any friction in the single point reefing system. Isabel incrementally releases the main halyard while I grind in the reefing line and soon we're smashing along in 25 knots with the reefed sail looking good. We endure some crazy showers and wind, then back to sunny skies. Plenty of green water on the foredeck but no leaks of note and all is secure up there. It's not long before another squall appears, this one with even more wind so we repeat the procedure to install reef 2 with similar results. In comes about half the jib as well to balance the boat and we continue smashing along into the 2-meter seas.
Well, this isn't fun, but it serves to remind me and Isabel, and to inform Pat and Celine that we definitely don't want to beat into wind and seas the 800 miles from Fatu Hiva to Gambier, so if we don't get a good forecast we ain't going. There are plenty of nice places left to visit in the Marquesas and we'll be happy to launch for the Tuamotus by early March, so we'll just have to be Zen about it all.
Anyway, we aren't laying the anchorage but we're hopeful the wind will come round a bit, and with any luck once in the lee of Fatu Hiva we can motor sail more easily. It happens! We start pointing a bit more towards the destination and soon the seas lay down, then the wind starts dropping and finally we can motor sail easily towards our anchorage. Arriving about 1500 we find 4 other boats in Hanavave Bay, and after about 3 tries we're anchored in about 60 feet of water, a good set with good separation from the boats and steep terrain to starboard. Wow is this place beautiful! Shawnee, remember the goats up on the rock cliffs?
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Our ultimate goal to sail to the Gambier, first we needed a hard shake down sail and to spend some time at Fatu Hiva in the "Bay of Virgins", formerly named the "Bay of Penises" until some silly Catholic missionaries threw a fit. Kind of like Weaver's Needle East of Phoenix, Arizona. . .
The weather forecast looked good but we were going to be hard on the wind for the 35 mile trip with 1 - 2 meter short period seas forward of the beam. Not fun in any boat, and a point of sail JollyDogs simply doesn't appreciate. Nevertheless, an opportunity to shake down the boat and ourselves, and to see how Pat and Celine liked catamaran sailing. Voila was an Island Packet 35', a lovely and seaworthy boat but a monohull, and things feel a lot different on half a boat.
We began with full main and jib but soon encountered our first squall. Eureka! An opportunity to reef while on heading and see if the new low friction rings I installed reduce any friction in the single point reefing system. Isabel incrementally releases the main halyard while I grind in the reefing line and soon we're smashing along in 25 knots with the reefed sail looking good. We endure some crazy showers and wind, then back to sunny skies. Plenty of green water on the foredeck but no leaks of note and all is secure up there. It's not long before another squall appears, this one with even more wind so we repeat the procedure to install reef 2 with similar results. In comes about half the jib as well to balance the boat and we continue smashing along into the 2-meter seas.
Well, this isn't fun, but it serves to remind me and Isabel, and to inform Pat and Celine that we definitely don't want to beat into wind and seas the 800 miles from Fatu Hiva to Gambier, so if we don't get a good forecast we ain't going. There are plenty of nice places left to visit in the Marquesas and we'll be happy to launch for the Tuamotus by early March, so we'll just have to be Zen about it all.
Anyway, we aren't laying the anchorage but we're hopeful the wind will come round a bit, and with any luck once in the lee of Fatu Hiva we can motor sail more easily. It happens! We start pointing a bit more towards the destination and soon the seas lay down, then the wind starts dropping and finally we can motor sail easily towards our anchorage. Arriving about 1500 we find 4 other boats in Hanavave Bay, and after about 3 tries we're anchored in about 60 feet of water, a good set with good separation from the boats and steep terrain to starboard. Wow is this place beautiful! Shawnee, remember the goats up on the rock cliffs?
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A limited maintenance test flight 11 Feb 20
Anyway, after a couple days of resting up from the long flight and provisioning for the hinterlands, we felt like it was time to go somewhere. Having just done major service on both fossil fuel propulsion systems, I wanted to spin the props for a few hours then give everything a thorough inspection. We're a little boat so one of the bunks has to be the "garage" where we stow excess rations, kite boarding gear, ditch bag, you name it, and with Pat and Celine occupying the starboard ensuite queen berth forward that meant that the aft ¾ berth would be piled high with stuff. Well, that's where the starboard engine lives.
We motor in to Hanatefau Bay and try to anchor properly. While it's true that some cruisers don't seem to have our same sense of "personal space" we try really hard to have 150 feet or more spacing between us and other boats. Between rocky bottom close to shore, nutty winds moving boats in all directions and the generally crowded conditions we finally admitted defeat and moved on to Vaitahu Bay, the anchorage by the larger village. There we set the hook with lots of swinging room and in a flash Pat donned his mask/fins/snorkel and hit the water to inspect the anchor set. Firmly buried in a lovely sandy bottom - we'll sleep well tonight!
The village at Tahuatu isn't the best place to moor a dinghy at the local concrete key as there's a lot of surge and ample opportunity for dinghy damage or destruction. I elect to deliver Pat, Celine and Isabel ashore for a walk about, then return to JollyDogs to play Mr. Goodwrench. Catching up on my favorite Market Foolery podcasts, after about 20 minutes of moving stuff the back bunk is dismantled and the starboard engine compartment revealed. No oil leaks! No water leaks! No foreign objects in the raw water strainer! No debris or water in the fuel filter! Fuel suction pressure looks great! All fluid levels full, at the same level I had left them before the journey! The sail drive oil looks like it just came out of the jug - i.e. no saltwater contamination. Life is good!
Replacing everything with even better organization, I'm satisfied we can motor for quite a few hours without having to repeat this procedure. Sooner or later I'll get around to installing some closed-circuit TV cameras in there so that I can monitor for leaks. Maybe that's something our next guest Mike can bring in April. You reading this Mike? Hello?
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