Fakarava to Toau

I just sat down at the computer and turned on the fan that provides some relief from the heat. The breeze it created blew across some gardenias from last night's dinner party ashore, filling the nav station area with their sweet, tropical fragrance. More about last night later in this broadcast.

On Thursday, the supply ship arrived in Rotoava, the small village we were anchored off of. That is the social event of the week with people gathered and milling about as the cranes off load their provisions, fuel and the special-ordered items. The cruising guides caution that things like fresh produce will be gone within twelve hours of the ship's arrival and they were wrong - within four hours the pickings were pretty slim.

Even though the pass at the north end of Fakarava is very wide, we wanted to time our passage through there at slack water, which was supposed to be at 0600. This meant getting up at 0430 and getting the boat underway by 0500 - the problem being that it's still too dark at that hour to see coral heads. Fortunately, the channel from Rotoava to the pass is pretty well marked and we covered the five miles to the pass without incident, timing the pass crossing perfectly.

Since the wind had been blowing at 20+ knots for the last several days, we knew the seas would be big so we elected to go up the leeward side of Toau, giving us a very fast broad reach in flat seas. The down side of that was as we crossed the north end of the atoll, heading for the anchorage of Anse Amyot, we had a beat to weather that rivalled any of the worst Baja Bashes we've done. I shouldn't complain as it was only about five miles of strong head winds.

Anse Amyot would have been a typical pass into the atoll but a coral reef prevents entry into the lagoon, making it a shallow bay instead. The low-lying atoll on either side are covered with coconut palms and the water at the south end of the bay the palest turquoise color. Since the bottom is badly fouled with coral heads, an enterprising couple who live here have installed strong moorings and we were glad to tie up to one instead of taking our chances with our anchor and rode.

Already on moorings when we arrived was the CSY 44 Soggy Paws and the Kelly-Peterson 44 Dream Away. Almost all the cruisers in the Tuamotus know of Soggy Paws as they have written a comprehensive compendium of cruising information for this area. It can be found at http://svsoggypaws.com/files/ and is one of the most comprehensive cruising guides around. It was the first time we met Dave and Sherry, who recently arrived from Hawaii. They told us that Gaston and Valentine, the couple that live here, were cooking dinner that evening for those cruisers who wanted to have a typical Tuamotuan feast. Of course, we said that we would love to attend even though our cash reserves were getting pretty low. I borrowed 10,000 CFP (Polynesian francs) from Corie.

All of us went ashore at 1830, met Valentine and Gaston, and sat outside while they served us a delicious seafood foccacia as an appetizer. Avril and Graham from Dream Away have been cruising for ten years which included sailing up the Gambier river in Africa and sailing around Cape Horn. Their stories kept us slack-jawed. Dave and Sherry have spent quite a bit of time here and have helped Gaston install the moorings.

At about 0300 that same morning, Gaston had walked out on the reef with a bucket strapped to his back. He walked along with a headlamp on and picked up twenty lobsters, tossing them over his shoulder into the bucket. He also gathered about the same number of small crabs. Later in the day, he caught a large tuna. When dinner was served, there were huge plate of barbequed lobster and crab, fried tuna steaks, poisson cru (raw fish in coconut milk and onions - quite good but Ruthie's not crazy about it), rice and bread. For dessert, Valentine had made a coconut cake, which was tender and moist and very good. Gaston and Valentine ate with us, like one big family. Her English is pretty good and she has this tendency to say things with a look on her face of almost horror until it instantly melts into a gigantic smile with a hearty laugh. When the last lobster was eaten and the last tuna steak devoured, the last crumb of cake pressed onto a fork and disappeared, we said our good-byes for the night as we would close friends, kissing each cheek.
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At 5/28/2011 7:08 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 15°48.19'S 146°09.13'W

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Over The Rainbow

I didn't know that it was possible to sail over the rainbow and still be on the planet! You will know when YOU have because: you will see the full spectrum of colors before you, feel a sprinkle of refreshing rain, hear the soft breeze which carries you along, smell the freshness of the air mixing with the land and taste the salt which is in/on/over/under everything! You will anchor in a calm bay and visit a village where you are greeted with warm welcomes, a desire to share all natural riches with you, music and songs from the ancients and a simple life intimately tied to the sea. You will meet new people who you feel you have known forever and share an adventure so full of mystery and wonder that it is hard to find the words that do it justice! Your heart will be full!

Such has been our experience in Tetamanu Village & Sauvage in the south pass of Fakarava Atoll, Tuamotus. You too could share this treausre the next time you want a REAL get-away, low key, rustic vacation. Albeit remote, they do have a website: tetamanuvillage.pf -which I promised one who works/lives there that I would pass along! It also happens to be one of the most famous diving/snorkeling spots in the world! The kitchen of the pension is built on stilts over the water. There is a beautiful lagoon underneath it full of beautiful reef fish and sharks! The cook just throws the scraps of food out the window of the kitchen and all of the sharks and fish rush over to see what's for dinner! There is a deck off of the eating area which sticks out over the coral reef to the edge of the pass through the atoll. The coral reef just drops off, straight down about fifty feet and there is a beautiful wall of coral to snorkel along on one side, but when you look to the pass side, you just look down into this deep blue water and see a steady parade of schools of small fish, sharks, and other big fish like groupers! Neal and I went to the deck one night to listen to Corie and her new local friends play music and I tell you..... sitting on the deck, on the edge of that atoll pass, looking into the water and then up at the most brilliantly starred sky, listening to the ukeleles and these lovely traditional songs, was one of the most precious and magical moments of my life! These people are so kind and gentle, have a huge reverence for nature and seem very, very happy. Corie was invited to take up residence in the village (of about 15 people) (Neal and I did not receive the same invitation) but as difficult as it was for us all to leave, she decided to weigh anchor with us and head north!

As you know, we are now at the north pass of Fakarava and the supply ship has arrived! When Neal posted in his blog that there were no vegetables or fruit in the stores he was not exaggerating! Fruits and vegies arrive once a week on the supply boat (as does diesel) and typically sell out within 12 hours! The typical business mindset here is that when you are out of something, you just close down! No problem! Maybe next time! More is not necessarily better... So how far would you walk for an eggplant or a cucumber? We heard that Monsieur Topaz had a big garden "just outside" of town so we set off with our back pack to find it. After asking directions about five times in our very poor French, an hour and four rain squalls later we found his luxurious garden and were able to buy a packet of eggplant, a packet of cucumbers and a packet of green peppers (which we haven't had since San Diego) for $15.00! Then there was the walk back to the boat..... redeemed by a chocolate ice cream cone near the quay!

Our hearts are full. Every day is not easy, but every day is different and we always learn something new. If it is not about the place we are in, it is about the boat, the weather, ourselves or because we meet someone new! 'Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly, birds fly over the rainbow, why then oh why, can't I?' Hmmmmmmmmm!

R of Rutea
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At 5/26/2011 7:27 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 16°03.57'S 145°37.29'W

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Rotoava, Fakarava

Yesterday, we sailed from the south end of the Fakarava atoll and the tiny village of Tetamanu to the north end (about 30 miles away) and the village of Rotoava. The winds were light for almost the entire way so we had to run the engine but that gave us additional energy to run the watermaker and fully charge the batteries. There's a very good system of markers that line the channel from north to south, eliminating the need for a person to be perched on the bow looking out for coral heads. There were frequent rain showers sometimes eliminating all visibility while at other times the sunshine was very intense. The channel was a little crooked in places and at times less than 800 feet from the shore - which is stunning with thick groves of coconut palms and the almost-clear water.

As we motored through the anchorage, Angus on the sloop Periclees pointed out that there was an available mooring just behind his boat. It was an unexpected bit of good fortune as a mooring eliminates the possibility of getting our anchor and/or chain fouled on a coral head, which around here is always a major concern. It's kind of like getting an upgrade from a camping spot to a free hotel room.

The village here is larger than most villages on the atolls. There's even a stretch of street that is concrete but none of the cross streets warrant stop signs. With three grocery stores we were able to buy many of the provisions of which we were running low although one store was out of eggs and none had any fresh produce. Hopefully, when the supply ship comes on Thursday, we'll be able to stock up on fruits and vegetables but we've been warned that they usually go very quickly. This morning I made an early run to the boulangerie and went wild buying fresh croissant, pan au chocolat, bread and other pastries. Here, too, we had been warned that everything would be sold out if I arrived after 0700.

I'm guessing that we'll probably leave here on Friday (superstitions notwithstanding) and head for Toau Atoll which has the Anse Amyot on the north end - many cruisers say this is their favorite anchorage in all of the Tuamotus. From there we'll either continue north to Apataki or perhaps head west to Tahiti. The adventure continues.
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At 5/25/2011 6:07 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 16°03.58'S 145°37.30'W

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Tahanae to Fakarava

We left Tahanae, with it's fabulously clear water and a calmness that frequently had me wondering if we were hard aground. No, I could clearly see the anchor in about 30' of water, the anchor chain lazily snaking between and over coral heads that clutter the bottom. Hell, I could see the anchor and chain in the moonlight! Even though the ebb tide had been flowing for about two hours already, we had no trouble negotiating the pass into the South Pacific Ocean and we were treated to one of those magnificent sunrises that only seem to occur in the tropics.

With almost no wind, we motored through the morning with the main up but just hanging there. I put a fishing pole out with a small yellow plastic-feather jig (connected with a heavy wire leader) and promptly forgot it was out. As we were about an hour out of Fakarava, a 25-pound tuna hit the lure. With four massive fillets quickly in the refrigerator, I had just got everything clean up in time to enter the pass on the south side of the atoll. There's a very imprecise science to calculating slack water at the passes. With so many atolls and even more variables, sometimes you just have to take pot luck and give it a shot. We did find in one of our cruising guides this formula: 5 hours after moonrise; 4 hours before moonset; 5 hours after moonset and 3 hours before moonrise should find slack water in the Tuamotus. However, we have found it to be wrong on numerous occasions. Regardless, our entrance into the pass was uneventful and we anchored in a pretty good spot with several other cruising boats around, all of whom we know.

On the cruiser's net we had heard that there's a fleet of vaca, reproductions of the 60' sailing canoes that the Polynesians had once used to sail between islands, anchored at the north entrance to Fakarava. They had left New Zealand and are on their way to California via Nuku Hiva and Hawaii. We heard stories of traditional food and dancing but unfortunately we missed seeing them. If they arrive in a port near you, I'd recommend you pay them a visit.

Fakarava doesn't have the same clarity of water nor the calmness in the anchorage that either Tahanae or Makemo had. Even though the wind is mostly easterly at this north/south-oriented atoll, we're still getting small waves from the north when the wind increases above 20 knots making it a little uncomfortable (I admit it: I've been spoiled). On the other hand, there is a small grocery store at the north end and we could really use some provisions. Perhaps tomorrow we'll head up that way. Our friends, Fred and Cinda on Song Line are coming over for cocktails tonight. We'll say a toast to all of you.
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At 5/22/2011 9:43 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 16°30.39'S 145°27.33'W

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Makemo to Tahanea

We had spent three delightful days anchored about eight miles from the western entrance to the lagoon. It was flat calm, beautiful and there were wide patches of sand to anchor in. Still, we felt like moving on so yesterday morning we pulled up the anchor and headed to the western entrance. Not only is the bottom foul with coral heads but it's very steep - either you anchor in ten feet of water or you're in fifty feet. Choosing the latter, we did find a small patch of sand and expertly guided the anchor to a perfect landing. Our friends on Merkava weren't having as good of luck finding a spot as we were so we invited them to share our patch of sand. It did mean that they were going to anchoring very close to us but there was no wind and the forecast said it was supposed to stay that way. I was in the water with my mask and fins on as they approached and I helped guide their anchor to the sandy spot. As I was looking down, I noticed a large shark swimming underneath me. Mark, standing on his deck, shouted to his wife, Yuka, "Hey, there's a shark swimming under Neal!" They both thought this was funny as they know that I dislike swimming with sharks.

Later, in the dinghy, Ruthie and I checked out the entrance itself, just to get 'the lay of the land'. The tide was ebbing so we just drifted along the shore of the pass. The water surface was just about a foot above the coral and with the crystal-clear water, it was like looking at a quarter-mile long aquarium. Beautiful damselfish, wrasse, angelfish, parrot fish, dozens I couldn't identify plus, of course, sharks. We drifted along until we were almost at sea and then we'd motor back to the lagoon side of the entrance and drift back through again. Later, everyone (except me) did the same thing expect in the water while I stayed in the dinghy.

About 0130 this morning, the wind picked up and the sound of the anchor chain dragging across the coral heads was driving me nuts. The sound travels up the chain and the hull of the boat acts like a drum. It's a horrible sound and it kept me awake so at first light I fired up the engine in preparation for us to leave. The tide was at about maximum ebb as we approached the pass and was forming small waves like those on river rapids. There were also huge swirls and whirlpools as the water from a 40-mile long lagoon tried to force it's way out the narrow pass. With Ruthie at the helm, we passed close to a large whirlpool that caught Rutea's bow and tried to yank it in. Rutea rolled hard and swung to the left. "Full power!" I yelled and with her large propeller and barn door-sized rudder hard over to starboard, Rutea rolled just as hard back to the right. Straightening out, we aimed for the center of the pass - the knot meter showing we were doing 13.1 knots. Once we cleared the pass, we got a call on the radio from Mark on Merkava who had been watching our progress on his AIS screen. "You guys hit 14.9 knots through the pass!" he said.

The passage to Tahanae turned out to be very squally. We'd reef the sails for a squall and then shake out the reefs once the squall had passed only to reef again for the next one. Ruthie complained that she had gotten too used to the flat calm water of Makemo and wasn't happy with the current weather. Her mood did improve as the squalls passed and I caught a small tuna. Our entrance to Tahanae was uneventful as we had timed the tides perfectly. After spending almost an hour looking for a sandy patch in which to drop the anchor, I just said, "To hell with it," and dropped the hook in a convenient spot. It might take us all day to get it back up when we decide to leave. There's a school of black-tipped sharks swimming around the boat and I can just hear them saying, "Come on in, Neal. The water's fine!"
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At 5/17/2011 1:15 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 16°51.01'S 144°41.55'W

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Beachcombing

This afternoon, Ruthie and I took the dinghy over to the north shore of the lagoon and walked across the narrow atoll to the Pacific shore. No idyllic beach scene here. Instead of sand there's only miles of broken coral, some of it's the size of gravel and some the size of basketballs plus all sizes in between; all of it very sharp and difficult to walk on. The coral that's still in the water is dead and brown. The surf is small as the prevailing winds are from the east or southeast - only storms bring a north wind.

Which is why all the jetsam is strewn near the tops of the coral berms. In a way, it almost looks like a garbage dump except that it follows a fairly narrow path. The vast majority of what we saw was plastic bottles with the throw-away water bottles the most common. Next most common was the one-quart containers of motor oil. In a way, it was heartbreaking to see this primitive, isolated atoll polluted by trash that has probably traveled thousands of miles, this rugged pristine shore the end of it's line. What we found curious was the number of shoes with flip-flops the most common and ordinary tennis shoes taking the runner-up position. Of course, there was lots of polypropylene rope (because it floats) and other fishing industry-related junk. We found a very heavy duty basket (about the size of a large laundry basket) and some good floats. I have no idea of what we're going to do with them but they seemed like a good find at the time.

We're planning on leaving tomorrow but we still don't know where we're going to go. It might be to Tahanae, which is only about 50 miles from the entrance to Makemo or we might go on to Fakarava which would require an overnight passage but we have friends there we'd like to see. I don't know when we're going to make the decision - it doesn't seem to be too important.

No longer are we laughing at ourselves for the amount of provisions we put on before we left Mexico. While we still have plenty of food, we only have five pasta dinners left from the mountain of pasta packages that we stowed. The lockers that were once packed so tightly now have plenty of space. Whereas we used to say, "Why'd we buy so many of these?" we now say, "We're down to our last package of this." All the cookies are gone as are all of the cinnamon rolls. There aren't any Trader Joe's treats left. Regardless, we're still having some excellent meals. The other night I dipped some butterflied chicken breasts in egg and bread crumbs, sautéed them in butter and olive oil, served them on top of a pile of pasta topped with an Alfredo sauce. Not exactly your typical low-calorie boat meal but we don't eat like that very often. Tonight we're having dinner on board Merkava. Yuka is making sushi rolls.
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At 5/15/2011 3:09 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 16°31.01'S 143°49.26'W

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A few of the Things I've Learned

When we checked in with the Gendarm in Hiva Oa, they gave us a color glossy magazine on cruising French Polynesia. It was filled with ads from restaurants, dive operators, WiFi internet providers, marine chandleries, etc. Of course, there was brief letter from some bureaucrat in the Tourism Office welcoming all of us to their paradise. It encouraged us to have a good time. There are articles about the various areas in which to cruise (there are five of them: Marquesas, Gambier, Austral, Tuamotu and Societies) and there are comments on the level of difficulty, from a navigation point of view, that each one represents. It says that the Marquesas and Societies are easy and for the Tuamotus it says to 'use caution'. My guess is that at some point there was a discussion between the bureaucrat and an editor somewhere as to what word to use. Using 'dangerous' or 'difficult' might scare a potential cruiser from visiting the islands. By saying 'use caution' they can safely claim they provided a warning yet still managed to appease those who earn a living from visiting cruisers. Maybe.

Since the entering of our first pass in the Tuamotus occurred after a 4-day, 500-mile passage, I was no more than cautious. At that point I was craving sleep badly and was looking forward to having calm water to anchor in - something we hadn't had since we left the marina in Mexico. I had envisioned a narrow pass with water boiling from the tidal currents. My imagination would paint visions of Rutea being spun by the powerful current and her rudder unresponsive even under full engine power. I'd try to make contingency plans as to what I would do under those circumstances: Stay calm, don't shout, perhaps deploy an anchor, etc. But as we approached the entrance to the pass I saw that it was quite wide and the water appeared to be flat calm. Granted, the northeast entrance to Makemo is probably one of the easier entrances to make in the Tuamotus but the guide books don't say that. It was a huge relief to be able to enter the area just west of the pass and anchor. While Ruthie and Corie went into the village (they got a ride in with Mark and Yuka on Merkava), I slept very hard.

Our anchor wasn't well set so after Ruthie and Corie returned we decided to move to a spot on the southeast edge of the lagoon that she had read about on another cruiser's blog. We had the coordinates of the recommended spot but nothing else so we took off towards it just the same. Here was where I had to face another one of my concerns: The guide books are filled with warnings about the coral heads throughout the lagoons in the Tuamotus. Rising up from nowhere, these coral formations are as hard as concrete and could easily cause serious damage to a sailboat. What the guide books don't say is what they look like, what one should look for. As we began our 8-mile crossing to the other side of the lagoon, I stood on the bow (as per the suggestion of the guide books) and strained to see one of these evil coral heads. Every time the water changed shade, I would point for Ruthie to steer the boat away. It wasn't until I actually saw a coral head that I was able to relax.

The water here is extremely clear with visibility of easily 40-50 feet. As the water gets shallow, the color changes from a deep blue (reminds me of the color of our old Mercedes station wagon - called Midnight Blue) to the palest shade of blue imaginable. Since the coral heads are near the surface, the color difference is striking. This was a huge revelation to me. No longer were the coral heads these predatory demons out to sink the boat but rather something that you had to keep your eye out for. If you can't see them, then they're harmless. The angle of the sun to the boat's direction of travel makes them easier or more difficult to see but in the early afternoon we had no trouble navigating our way across the lagoon, dodging many coral heads on the way, to a beautiful secure spot where we are now. Of course, attempting to navigate at night would be lunacy.

One of the other things I learned is that I'm afraid to swim with sharks. Yesterday we took the dink out to a coral head and began to snorkel around, Ruthie and Corie went first while I kept the dinghy nearby. Ruthie returned and while I was donning my mask and fins, Corie came over and said she spotted a shark. Ruthie put her mask back on and stuck her head under water. "I saw it!" she exclaimed, a big smile on her face. Corie dove back down. I wasn't too worried about it at the time so I slid over and began to swim around the coral head. It was beautiful and the spectacular fish around me breath-taking. But then I looked down and about 20 feet away was a 4-foot reef shark, looking at me. At least, it looked like it was looking at me. It's movements were slow and didn't seem to be agitated. But I was uncomfortable. I started to head back to the dinghy even though I had only been in the water a few mintutes. I looked back at the shark. Now there were two of them looking at me. I poked my head out of the water and motioned for Ruthie to come over in the dink. She slowly turned the dink in my direction. I made a much more emphatic motion her to come more quickly (I did not say a bad word but the thought had come to my racing mind). I tried to be nonchalant as I climbed back aboard. What an education!
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At 5/11/2011 9:17 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 16°42.58'S 143°27.87'W

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From the Southeast corner of Makemo, Tuamotos

So have you been able to find the Tuamotus on Google Earth yet? Formerly known as The Dangerous Archipelago, because they are so hard to see from the sea, the Tuamotus are some of the oldest islands... well...er... atolls in the South Pacific. Formerly volcanic islands, the volcanos eroded away and coral reefs were formed around the volcanos feeding on the nutrients of the eroding volcanos. As the extinct volcanos continued to sink from their own weight, eventually only the coral reefs were left and where the volcano peaks used to stand are now large lagoons! The lagoons are about a hundred feet deep with interspersed coral heads reaching all the way up to the surface in some spots. When sailing across the lagoons, someone has to stand up on the bow to watch for the coral heads because some are just under the surface of the water and all of them are unforgiving to a boat that doesn't see them! Oh- FYI the water temp is 82.6 degrees and the air temp was about 80 today!

We are anchored in more hues of blue than I ever knew existed! We can see exactly where our anchor chain and anchor is laying in the water and on the bottom. Unfortunately we can see that the chain slipped underneath a coral shelf when we were backing down on it, so we may have to stay here forever! I understand that a major past time of cruisers visiting the atolls is untangling anchor chain from coral heads. Fortunately we are near several boats who have dive gear on board...

The coral rim of the atoll is dotted with motus or mounds of coral where there are coconut palm trees growing and a mangrove type tropical tree. I don't know how anything can grow in the coral sand- really- there is no dirt anywhere. Coconuts must really be hearty. In between the motus are reefs of- you guessed it- coral and we can see huge waves crashing on the outside of the reef from where we are anchored. When the seas get big, the waves come right over the reef into the lagoon. There would be no protection here from a tsunami.

Believe it or not there is a village of about three hundred people on this atoll! We went ashore when we first arrived and the village is neatly laid out on a grid with concrete streets, a school, a church and a couple of well stocked grocery stores. The community is completely dependant on The Supply Ship for everything, except fish and water, which is collected from the rain. Oh yes, they have their own coconuts too! The main industry here is pearl farming and copra (from coconuts). Every single person we met on the street said hello to us (or rather bon jour!) and a few kids tried out their English!

This afternoon, after cleaning "the beard" off of the hull of the boat, we set off in the dinghy to find one of the BIG coral heads and do some snorkeling. One of us stayed in the dinghy while two of us snorkeled (then we traded spots) and we swam in circles around a HUGE head of coral. All around the coral were hundreds of brightly colored Tangs, Angel Fish, Butterfly Fish, Hawaiian Sergeants, Moorish Idols and Parrotfish. The coral itself had clams and all kinds of sea shells attached to it! We were having a great time until two sharks.... yes... reef sharks, came wandering through! They were totally uninterested in us but we just felt like we were in their space and wanted to give them lots of it! Snorkeling session, ended!

I feel like we are anchored in a post card or in a sailing calendar! Every time I go out the hatch the beauty which surrounds us takes my breath away. The brilliance of the day, the dark squall clouds which drop huge stinging drops of rain, the colors of the water and the colors under the water, the night sky with a milky way so bright that it casts a glow on the water all announce what an incredible planet we live on! I think I also know my place as a human in this incredible scheme of the universe, and I don't think it is at the top. All three of us, Neal, Corie and I, feel very fortunate to be living in this close encounter with nature and we feel a huge respect and humbled.

R of Rutea
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At 5/11/2011 6:46 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 16°42.57'S 143°27.87'W

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95 Miles to Go

At 1330 on May 5th, we finally left Nuku Hiva and the Marquesas Islands and pointed Rutea towards the Makemo Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago. The winds was from the east and we were heading almost due south, the skies were clear and the seas calm. It was glorious - near ideal conditions. That held all through the night and the following day. Yesterday, though, it began to cloud over and the wind lightened. Once Rutea's speed got below four knots per hour, we reluctantly fired up the engine. Our guide books say that fuel is hard to find in the Tuamotus so we're trying to be as conservative as we can.

Just a couple of hours before we left Nuku Hiva, I sent out an email to all the boats cruising the South Pacific for whom we have an address that I was going to start an informal radio Net. Surprisingly enough, that night five boats checked in and the next night even more. Last night three boats checked in that I had never even heard of, much less have their email address. There is a certain section of the cruising community that really likes to keep in touch with other cruisers. The social aspect of cruising can be very pervasive, if you want it to be. Of course, there's also those who don't want any part of the community at all.

We're deliberately holding Rutea's speed low right now to time our arrival at Passe Arikitamiro, one of the two entrances to the Makemo Atoll, which is about 10 miles wide and 40 miles long. Here's the situation: As the tide comes in or goes out, all that water is trying to get in or out through one of those passes. If you add some South Pacific trade winds in the opposite direction of the water flow - which can flow at up to 9 knots per hour - you can get some impressive standing waves. All the guide books advise entering the passes at slack water but still, every year more than one cruising boat comes to grief while negotiating a pass. I can tell how hard it is to be patient after a long passage: The skipper and crew are anxious to get to some calm water, drop the hook and probably go for a swim. To sit outside an entrance for maybe up to 6 hours could tempt anyone to just go for it.

Since I completely failed to make any preparations for Mother's Day, I stood Ruthie's watch for her this morning and made a fairly organized breakfast. She commented that she can't recall spending Mother's Day in a more remote part of the world. Happy Mother's Day to all that have delivered babies and then went on to raise and nurture them. You guys must be nuts.
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At 5/8/2011 8:19 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 15°12.87'S 142°55.05'W

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At Sea Again

After spending a very busy three days In Taiohae Bay preparing to leave the Marquesas for the Tuamotus, we are once again under way! You wouldn't think that you would need three days to 1.Get fuel, 2.Get fresh fruit and vegies, 3.Go to the store and 4.Do the laundry (or more accurately- have it done!) but we hustled the entire time and almost ended up eating our first "at sea" dinner while we were still at anchor! Corie said it would have been easier to eat while anchored but you know, I made that meal ahead of time to eat under way! Like we have tried to describe before, everything takes much longer to accomplish by dinghy while living anchored out! For example! The fuel dock in Taiohae Bay is a long, concrete wharf with very large fenders intermittently attached where they might fend off a very large ship (much larger than ours...). As the surge is fierce along the dock, we decided not to pull up to the wharf for fuel, but to instead carry fuel via the dinghy, out to the boat in jerry jugs (six jugs at a time). Some people are able to do this single-handedly but it definitely takes all three of us to accomplish the project- one person to stay in the dinghy to hold it off of the concrete and two people to climb up and down the ladder on the concrete wharf (avoiding the crabs on the wall and whatever else may be clinging to it!) with the jerry jugs and then carrying the jugs back and forth from the gas pumps (across a dirt lot FULL of mud puddles) back to the ladder. Since the tide has dropped three feet by the time we have all the jugs filled with diesel the descent down the ladder into the dinghy with the full jugs is treacherous! Neal rigged up a rope to lower the jugs, Corie caught the jugs and stowed them (while bobbing up and down in the surge) and I held the dinghy off of the concrete wall (while bobbing up and down in the surge) trying not to touch any crabs or other creepy crawly things! Back out to Rutea to transfer the fuel to the fuel tanks and then back to the fuel wharf to repeat the whole procedure one more time! Total time... about four hours! We started early in the morning because... EVERYTHING closes down in the middle of the day for two hours... even the gas stations!

Anyway, I could go on and on.... we barely got our laundry back before we wanted to leave because the laundry service does not have dryers.... everything air dries and the air is very humid! Takes forever and the towels are crunchy! No problem though, while we were hanging out at the dinghy dock, waiting for laundry to dry we were able to eat another crepe from the truck/crepery and watch the sharks in the water battle over tuna scraps the fishermen were throwing into the water (right by the dinghies!) as they cleaned their fish! Yes, that would be six foot black tipped and white tipped reef sharks. Corie taped some awesome video of it and posted some photos somewhere.... We were very careful NOT to rinse our feet off in the water before stepping into the dinghy this time!

Time to weigh anchor for the Tuomotus! Bow anchor- no problem! Stern anchor- a huge pain in the... well.... stern! Because the breeze often comes in perpendicular to the swell in the bay, a stern anchor is needed to hold the boat into the swell so you don't roll gunnel to gunnel while anchored. The challenge is that the stern anchor is 45 pounds at the end of fifty feet of chain which is at the end of a hundred feet of rope! Did I say that the anchor is well set in mud and that there is NO windlass to help pull it up or protection to keep it off the side of the hull????? Did I say there is a ten knot breeze on the beam while we are trying to get the anchor up? Neal and Corie pulled in the line with heroic effort. Once they got to the chain, however, they needed to get creative. Neal rigged up a rolling hitch to the chain (to hold it up to the boat) and attached the mizzen running back shackle to the chain while Corie tightened up the running back to haul in the chain. Neal was sprawled on the deck with his head under the life lines of the stern pulpit and Corie was standing on a pile of line to give her some height. They pulled in that chain about two feet at time, repositioned the rolling hitch and the mizzen shackle and pulled it in another two feet, until forty feet were up and they could tell the anchor was off the bottom. Hand over hand, they hauled in the last of that chain and anchor together, lifting it over the life line until it was safely on the deck! I couldn't believe the strength and tenacity they both had to get that anchor on board- it was amazing! Oh yes, I had an important part too! I hosed the mud off of the anchor just before they pulled it on deck!

The Marquesas were spectacular! As we left the bay a ten foot Manta Ray glided by the boat. Waves crashed against the dark sentry rocks at the bay entrance and white, billowy clouds loomed up against a brilliant blue horizon. In a mere 503 miles we will enter Arikitamiro Pass on Makemo Atoll in the Tuomotus. We will be introduced to a completely new South Pacific habitat and way of life- even more remote than the Marquesas. Once again, everything will be new and different and we will be on a new learning curve. What I do know is that we will still be on "island time" and we will just take it slow and one wave at a time!

R of Rutea
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At 5/6/2011 7:28 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 10°50.61'S 140°57.11'W

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D'Hatiheu Bay

Baie D' Hatiheu 

I awoke with a start yesterday morning as I heard a very loud, deep 'thunk' and I immediately suspected that our rudder had hit a submerged rock. The wind had veered to the north, which was odd because the bay runs east and west with steep sides on both banks and we had swung too close to the southern shore. Unfortunately, the water had become a very murky brown which I presumed indicated a heavy rain ashore and Andy from the catamaran Savannah said that those are the worst conditions for sharks - unable to see well their favorite prey, they might snap at anything. Regardless, I donned my mask and made a quick inspection of the rudder and skeg which I found to be OK. I wasn't worried about Rutea's bolt-on cast iron keel.

We hoisted a full main as we departed from Daniel's Bay only to find 26-28 knots of easterly trade winds and the matching seas. Since we were embarking on a clockwise circumnavigation of Nuku Hiva, we'd soon be in the lee of the island so it didn't concern me too much plus it gave Corie a good upper body workout on the helm. Sure enough, just a couple of miles further and we had rounded Cap (sic) Motumano, the winds calmed and the seas flattened out enough for me to make an organized breakfast. However, I knew that once we rounded Pointe Hipahaapapa on the northwest corner of the island we'd find the same boisterous trades that we had on the southern side. This time I tucked a single reef into the main and with the engine still going, we proceeded to bash into 12 miles of uncomfortableness. It took four hours to cover the distance to Baie D'Hatiheu and I was tempted to pull into any one of the bays we passed along the way. The track on our chartplotter looks like a saw blade.

The bay immediately east of D'Hatiheu is called Anaho and is know as the calmest bay in the Marquesas but we'd heard and read such good things about D'Hatiheu that we decided to at least check it out. The sides of the bay are almost parallel and probably a half-mile apart. After dropping the anchor exactly where the guide book says (Ruthie likes it that way), we launched the dink and headed for the small quay. The swell action at the quay was not to be taken lightly and it took us several attempts to get everyone on shore and get the combination of the small anchor (to hold the dink away from the concrete quay) and the tension on the painter correct. We ambled up to the village, bought ice cream and looked for a restaurant that the guide books said was very good. We did find one restaurant but there wasn't a sign or name anywhere so we continued to walk but after a complete (but very short) tour of the village, we concluded that the one we spotted must be Chez Yvonne as it was the only one. I entered and an elderly woman appeared and through my disastrous French, I booked us a reservation for 6pm.

Tiki at Tohua Hikokua

Another point of interest in the guide books are some Polynesian ruins nearby. After asking a few people directions, a small boy walked us to the right road and we found several statues and 'paipais' or ceremonial platforms made of large stones. It is said that human sacrifices took place here. In search of still more archeological finds, we proceeded up the road and ran into a small group of people who appeared to be led by a guide. It turns out his name is Pierre, spoke pretty good English and said to meet him later at Chez Yvonne if we wanted to see the local museum. The ruins we found this time were striking and awesome, with one ancient sculpture of a bucket of human heads. However, instead of lingering, the mosquitos encouraged a quick tour and we headed back to the village.

Pierre was at the Chez Yvonne and after finding the key to the museum, gave us a personal tour of the small building and it's artifacts. He explained the art of Polynesian tatoos, who gets them and why. There was a drawing of the ruins we had just seen with an interpretation. Grateful for his time, we invited him to be our guest at dinner. He showed up with his wife, Marie Noelle, who is a historian. Since she had studied in Chicago, her English was very good and it was delightful to be able to ask questions of a French national about French Polynesia: "Do the Polynesians resent being a French colony?" Answer: What's to resent? The French government provides infrastructure in the way of roads, schools, health care, communications, etc. Question: We see every home, regardless of how humble, with a relatively late model car or truck - what do these people do to afford them? Answer: They can't afford them. They have a poor concept of credit. Question: How do Polynesians feel about French nuclear testing into the mid-90's at the Bikini Atoll? Answer: They were poorly informed by the French government but the cancer rates have not exceeded those of anywhere else. We talked for hours about a broad range of subjects. We thoroughly enjoyed their company.

The dinner was very good (I had Pork in Rum Sauce, Ruthie and Corie had Shrimp Curry and Pierre and Marie Noelle had poisson crue, a local dish made of raw fish). All five us us walked in the dark to the quay where the tide had receded significantly. I had to climb down some rocks, jump into the dink while hoping to avoid getting drenched by a passing swell. We bade a hasty 'au revoir' to Pierre and Marie Noelle and returned to Rutea.
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At 5/1/2011 6:14 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 08°49.56'S 140°05.13'W
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