by Judy Handley | May 24, 2006 | French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 219, Year 1: A Little Delay in Tahauku Bay, Hiva Oa, Marquesas
Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Weather: Mostly Sunny Weather Has Returned With A Few Showers
Location: Tahauku Bay Anchorage, Hiva Oa Island, Marquesas
We had hoped to leave this afternoon to do an overnight to the next island, Ua Pou. But things happen and we are still here. We got off to a great start this morning. I was doing the laundry and getting ready to head to town with Doug and Sylvia from Windcastle. And then the “tweak” happened. That “tweak” was in my lower back and meant that I needed to slow down and lie flat with an ice pack for most of the day in order to avoid a real back breakdown. About two years ago my lower back started giving me problems, but I found a wonderful chiropractor who was able to help me keep things aligned. But when we left Concord, NH, in October, I had to leave Charlie Saggiotes behind. I asked if he would like to stow away on Windbird, but unfortunately for me, he declined. So today when I had the first indication of a returning back problem, I followed Charlie’s directions-relax, lie down, and use an ice pack . . . then relax, lie down, and use an ice pack again. Taking care of this problem took precedence over moving on to a new anchorage today, so I spent my whole day with an ice pack until about 4 PM. I was tired of relaxing when Sylvie from Windcastle called over to ask me if I would like to go for a walk. I was certainly ready to do something, so off we went to walk to a hotel at the top of the hill above the anchorage. We actually got a ride for the last part of the trip and then spent a wonderful hour sitting in the hotel restaurant that sits atop this part of the island. It was dark by the time we walked back to the anchorage, and Mark was there to pick us up. We had Doug and Sylvia over for dinner and had a great time. Doug is a scientist by occupation, but a musician by avocation. He brought a tape of one of his favorite songs that he has recorded and we had a great time listening. The song was about growing up in Illinois in the 1950’s, and he and Mark enjoyed reminiscing about those times.
Doug and Syliva will leave for Huka Oa in the morning and we will leave for Ua Pou late tomorrow afternoon. My back is much better tonight, so we think we are ready for the overnight sail to Ua Pou.. Mark worked all day carrying jerry cans of fuel and water to the boat, so Windbird is ready to move on. After my late afternoon walk my back is feeling much stronger. Let’s just hope that slow and gentle exercise will keep it that way.
We are thinking tonight about my sister, Patsy, and my grandniece, Jessica. Patsy has been my constant companion on this voyage, e-mailing most everyday. I hadn’t heard from her for a couple of days and found out today that her 15-year old granddaughter Jessica has just been diagnosed with diabetes. Add to that the fact that Patsy is having knee problems. Our every positive thoughts are sent to North Carolina to Jessica and to Patsy. We love you so much and hope that things look brighter soon.
by Judy Handley | May 23, 2006 | French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 218, Year 1: Road Trip to Paumau
Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Weather: Another Liquid Sunshine Day—Sunny Day with Intermittent Downpours
Location: Tahauku Bay Anchorage, Hiva Oa Island, Marquesas
We spent part of today up so high in the mountains that we were in the clouds . . . and then we descended to bays at sea level . . . and then back up and down again. We picked up at our 4-wheel drive rental car on the dock at 7 AM this morning and headed east across the island to the village of Paumau. We asked for a map, but we were told the only map is the one we had picked up yesterday at the tourist center. It is a crude sketch of the island with a dark line running from Atuona to Paumau. Not very helpful, but better than nothing. Our cruising guides said this drive would be 30 kilometers over a winding and rocky road. Well, that was a bit of an understatement! I’ve driven the West Coast of the US through Big Sur, I’ve driven from Montana to Yellowstone across Bear Tooth Pass, and I’ve driven from northern Idaho down the western side of the state on switchback roads that were hair-raising. But today, we drove on roads that make all of these others seem like a walk in the park. Yikes! All I could think was that if my sister could see me now, she wouldn’t be happy. Sorry, Patsy.
The important thing is that we are back safely on the boat and we had a great, but “invigorating” day. The drive ended up to be 42 kilometers one way, and obviously, it was a little more windy and lot more rocky and muddy than we expected. I grew up in West Virginia where red clay mud was a normal part of life. And today I was certainly reminded of what it means to drive and walk through this kind of mud. Here we have torrential rains that immediately turn back into bright sunny days, and today was no exception. We had more rain on our way home as we drove up, up, up into the clouds from sea level, but by this time we knew the terrain and the rental car we had was fantastic. After driving for what seemed an eternity, we reached a small village on the coast. Not Paumau. We drove up another mountain and down into another valley and another village on the coast. Not Paumau. We then drove up another mountain, around another mountain, and down to another village on the coast. This one was Paumau. We stopped for directions, but the language barrier is huge and we obviously didn’t quite understand. We drove to where we thought we should be, parked the car, and started walking to find the sacred me’ae platforms and tikis for which we were searching. We found a young man along the way and asked where we might find the tikis. He only understood “tikis” and he immediately stopped what he was doing to lead the way, and I don’t think we would ever have found the site without his help. The archaeological site for which we were searching is the home for five huge stone tikis on the Me’ae Iiopona. Tikis are stone carvings dating back some 500 years or more that are representations of god-like ancestors.. These tikis are found sitting on me’aes, which are platforms and other structures such as walls, enclosures, pavements, etc., all constructed of large volcanic stone. The ma’ea was considered a sacred area and the more important ma’eas were the homes of the tikis. The ma’ea in Paumau is home to the largest tiki in all of the Marquesas-Takii. So tikis are stone carvings, ma’re are the sacred stone platforms on which the tikis sit, and paepaes are other stone foundations which were the base of tohuas, or homes. In the Marquesas, the ma’re were the sites of human sacrifice and many of the stones around the ma’re are carved to represent the sculpted heads of victims. This is all from a civilization past, but for me, visiting these sites is like visiting the ruins of Ancient Greece and Rome. It is part of history that begs to be recorded.
When we returned to Atuona, we actually had time to drive to the other side of island to a village named Ta’aoa. Here we found a lovely little stone church overlooking the ocean and we drove to another ma’ea. This one was huge with many layers and many platforms outside of the main ma’ea. From here we could see a waterfall tumbling from the top of a very high mountain. It was a very serene and beautiful area.
All of what we were visiting today was from a time past. When the missionaries arrived in the Marquesas in the mid 1800’s, things started to change drastically. Tikis and religious sites were destroyed and churches were built. Today the people here live in villages that are very much like rural communities in the United States. The one difference is that the French government has somehow made sure that there is no abject poverty here. People live modestly, but not poorly. Even in a village that seemed to us like it was at the end of the earth, they have television, washers and dryers, and a store that sells all the necessities of life. And almost every family owns a 4-wheel drive vehicle that looks brand new. There is no place to go, but the short distances they travel, they travel in style.
by Judy Handley | May 22, 2006 | French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 217, Year 1: Crowded Anchorage and French Bureaucracy—Right Here in Paradise
Date: Monday, May 22, 2006
Weather: Liquid Sunshine Day—Sunny Day with Intermittent Downpours
Location: Tahauku Bay Anchorage, Hiva Oa Island, Marquesas
We are sitting in this idyllic bay with about 25 other boats. When we arrived there were only about eight boats, but as the evening wore one, more and more boats arrived. I don’t think I’ve ever been in an anchorage this crowded in New England. We have to have a bow and stern anchor out so we don’t swing and hit other boats. Most of the boats that came in last night were either French or South African and many of them obviously know each other as they partied together last night and are doing the same tonight. Antoine, very French, has been calling Michelle on the VHF radio all evening and driving me crazy. I sure hope he gets together with her!
We went into Atuona very early this morning with Doug and Sylvie on Windcastle to make sure we got officially checked into French Polynesia before the crowds arrived. We went to the gendarmerie and all he had to say to us was, “Go to the bank and get your bond.” We got our visa for French Polynesia in Panama and they took copies of our credit cards and indicated that we would not have to post a bond. But not so. Everyone, except those from EU countries, have to post a $1,100 bond per person onboard. You get the money back when you leave Bora Bora, but the French government wants it in the meantime. We went to the bank, but to no avail. We know we have the money in the bank, but there was no way the bank here could access it. Others that we have talked to who were here last week ran into the same problem. So basically, we are all just going to the ATM machines and withdrawing as much money as we can in a 24 hour period and doing this over and over until we have enough cash to post the bonds. Once we have the money, we can officially check in. Most of us are headed to the island of Ua Pou, and will try again to check in there. What a hassle, but we all seem to be in the same situation and that helps a bit. We all started out with a good supply of US dollars, but everything has cost all of us more than we had expected, and that cash supply has dwindled. Eventually, we will get enough money to post the bonds and hope that the officials will bear with us in the meantime. Doug and I also spent some of our time in the Post Office, taking our number, and waiting to be served. We needed phone cards and stamps, and with a great deal of patience, we got both. I needed a phone card to call locally to arrange for a rental car for tomorrow. We want to explore part of the island by land as it is easier than anchoring and landing a dinghy in many of the bays. I was successful in making the arrangements, or least I think I was, so tomorrow morning early we should head off to explore archaeological sights. More on that tomorrow night.
Mark and I spent the rest of the day sightseeing. We walked up the hill in town to visit the cemetery where Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel were both buried. The cemetery overlooks the town of Atuona and the view was spectacular. Both of these Frenchmen came here practice their art, one a painter and one a song writer and singer, but both chose this location. We walked back down to town after visiting the cemetery and went to the Gauguin Museum and Cultural Center. None of Gauguin’s original paintings are here, but the prints are most authentic looking and the museum is nicely done.
After leaving the Cultural Center, we visited the supermarkets in town and checked out the possibilities for purchases. We then started the two-mile hike back to the bay where we are anchored. You hope that a local will pick you up and give you ride in the back of their truck, but getting a ride wasn’t in the immediate picture this afternoon. When we reached the top of the hill and could look down on our anchorage, we stopped and sat on a roadside bench and enjoyed the view of the ocean and a late afternoon rainbow. As we started back down the hill, we finally got a ride and met some interesting folks from a tall ship in the outer anchorage. The boat is Soren Larsen from New Zealand and it is a training vessel. We met crew, Pauline from Ireland, and a young lad from the Shetland Islands. They said that there are about 17 crew aboard and about 15 passengers who are learning to sail. These folks will go with them to Tahiti and then another group will join them.
It is absolutely pouring rain as I write this. We are hoping that a front is moving through and the trade winds will return with this weather change. That will certainly help us on the next leg of our journey to Ua Pou. But before then, we have an early start tomorrow to complete our explorations of this island. It is time to send this log and head to bed. In tomorrow’s log we will report on the ma’res, paepapes, tikis, and tohuas that we should see-and I will explain to you what those things are.
by Judy Handley | May 21, 2006 | French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 216, Year 1: From Tahuata to Hiva Oa
Date: Sunday, May 21, 2006
Weather: Beautiful Warm Days with Cool Evenings; A Little Rain in the Afternoon
Latitude: 09 degrees 48 minutes S
Longitude: 139 degrees 02 minutes W
Location: Tahauku Bay Anchorage, Hiva Oa Island, Marquesas
We started our day with a two mile dinghy ride to Vaitahu Bay from our snug little anchorage in Hanamoenoa Bay. Just as Mendana and Captain Cook before us, we made it to the bay, but unlike them, we were not able to land. The wind has actually returned after a long absence and the concrete dock where we were going to land was constantly awash with surf. The only beach in town was also being pounded by surf, so we decided to abort. I was disappointed, but safety is always first. We did get a picture of the church and hopefully of the wooden statue of the Virgin above the church entrance. But that is as much of Vaitahu as we saw this morning.
When we returned to our anchorage, we stopped and visited with Jamie and Lucy on Savoir Livre. We finally learned why a British couple is on a boat flying a South African flag and has a French name. Jamie and Lucy are probably in their late 30’s or early 40’s. Jamie is a retired stock broker and worked all over Europe, in New York City, and in South Africa. When they decided to “retire” and sail around the world, they bought their boat in South Africa and sailed it to the Caribbean. They are a couple who exude energy and warmth and we really enjoyed visiting with them this morning. They were part of our little radio net as we made our crossing and it was great to finally have time to do more than just say hello. While we were visiting, Peter from Shoestring, another South African boat who was part of our radio net, came over to invite us all to come to the beach tonight to cook dinner over a beach fire that he volunteered to build. We had already decided to head for Hiva Oa in the afternoon. Otherwise, we would have loved to join the beach party. I’m sure there will be others.
We then pulled up anchor and motored into the wind the ten miles to Tahauku Bay on the island of Hiva Oa. This is the first time we have had to go into the wind since our crossing from Norfolk to St. Martin, but thankfully this was a short trip. We need to be in the town of Atuona in the morning to officially check into French Polynesia, and Tahauku Bay is the closest anchorage. As we approached the island of Hiva Oa we could see the steep ridges and valleys that fall right down into the water. We had been told various stories about Tahauku Bay-crowded and dirty-so we were a little reluctant to come here. To our surprise, it is actually a really lovely place. It is more of a town than we have seen here to date, certainly not like a village. The mountains rise up around us and the little bay is delightful. We are probably five miles from the town of Atuona, but the “suburbs” here are quite upscale. It reminds us of the Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington-just warmer with palm trees. Atuona’s claim to fame is that that artist Paul Gauguin came to live here in 1901 with his 14-year old mistress, Vaeoho. He died two years later and is buried here in a cemetery overlooking the town. Chanson singer, Jacques Brel, also lived here between 1975 and 1978. He is buried in the same cemetery. Let’s hope we get out of here before we become casualties of Hiva Oa!
As we sat here this afternoon, we both realized just how lucky we are to be here doing what we are doing. There is no way for me to describe the beauty we are experiencing. Every time we move to a new anchorage, a whole new world opens up to us. It is really overwhelming. The beauty, the people . . . all more than we could ever have dreamed.
by Judy Handley | May 20, 2006 | French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 215, Year 1: Lazy Day in the Marquesas
Date: Saturday, May 20, 2006
Weather: Beautiful Warm Days with Cool Evenings—No Change
Location: Hanomoenoa Anchorage, Tahuata Island, Marquesas
Another lazy day in paradise. The anchorage here grows on you quickly. It still is not the most beautiful place we have been, but it is certainly beautiful and peaceful. We started our morning by making whole wheat dried blueberry pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast. And then Tom from Quantum Leap came to visit. Almost as soon as he left, Graham from Minaret came to visit and to tell us that he would be moving on today. Graham is a Seven Seas Cruising Association Commodore and writes articles on a fairly regular basis for Blue Water Sailing. He also writes for New Zealand publications and makes enough money this way to buy the new computers and camera gear that he needs to support the writing habit. We have only talked with Graham and his wife Lynn a few times since first meeting them in Fatu Hiva, but they are definitely folks that we would enjoy getting to know better. They have been cruising since the early 1980’s when they first sailed around the world with their young children. Their kids are now grown and Graham said this morning that he figures they have a good 10 years of cruising still in them.
After the morning visits, we headed out to go snorkeling. We stopped by Aqua Magic to say hello and then did a circumnavigation of the anchorage to decide where we would like to snorkel. The weather changed overnight and the anchorage is now getting a pretty decent swell from the south. Unfortunately for our snorkeling plans, this swell was causing quite a bit of turbulence in the waters of the anchorage which resulted in cloudy water. Between yesterday’s snorkel and today’s, we did see a few fish that are new to us. Our problem is identifying what we are seeing. We only have one book that covers reef fish around the world and we are just learning how to use it. Today I saw something that I think was a Moorish Idol. Yesterday I saw a Big Long-Nosed Butterfly fish. Both of these were new sightings for us. We also saw other fish that we still can’t identify, but we will keep working at this.
We spent the late afternoon with Mark reading and me researching and writing my “Marquesas Cruising Notes” that will guide us as we head further north in these islands. We had sundowners on Aqua Magic and made plans to visit Vaiata, the bay just south of here, with them tomorrow. It is about two miles south and if the weather permits we will both go in our dinghies rather than pull up anchor and take our sailboats. We then hope to head north to Hiva Oa and anchor there tomorrow night. We received an e-mail from Windcastle this evening and they are there. We hope to meet up with them tomorrow night and then officially check into French Polynesia in the town of Atuona on Monday morning.
Life out here is tough, but someone’s got to endure it.
by Judy Handley | May 19, 2006 | French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 214, Year 1: Leaving Fatu Hiva
Date: Friday, May 19, 2006
Weather: Beautiful Warm Days with Cool Evenings—No Change
Latitude: 09 degrees 54 minutes S
Longitude: 139 degrees 06 minutes W
Location: Hanomoenoa Anchorage, Tahuata Island, Marquesas
We found out yesterday morning that our logs have not been posted on the website since last Sunday. So I e-mailed my son who manages the site. The problem being that he is in West Africa. I figured there was no way he could fix things until he returned next week, but with the miracle of e-mail and the internet, I heard this afternoon from a friend in Concord, New Hampshire, that we are back up and running. I will say it again, “I love e-mail and I love the internet.” And a great big thanks to Justin, who we know has better things to do with his precious time in Africa than work on our website, for taking the time out to get us back online.
Today we motored from the island of Fatu Hiva to the island of Tahuata in the Marquesas. It was 48 miles, anchorage to anchorage, and we made it in about 9 hours on glassy seas under a clear sky. Our landfall, Hanamoenoa, is a small bay on the northwest corner of Tahuata and is uninhabited. When world sailor Eric Hiscock wrote about his adventures in the South Pacific, he said that this bay was the third most beautiful in all of Polynesia. The cruising guides say there are white beaches and clear water here. I find it nice, but not spectacular. There is a sand beach, more yellow than the bright white beaches in the San Blas in the Caribbean. The beach is rimmed in palm trees and the green hills rise up all around. There is a great little blowhole in one corner of the bay and the snorkeling is good, but certainly not the best we have seen. I would say the water is just a tad cloudy around the edges where it is shallow enough for snorkeling, but it is crystal clear in the middle of the anchorage. We can actually see our anchor more than 25 feet down. The setting is absolutely serene and the sunset tonight was beautiful, but on a scale of 1 to 10 of all of the places we have seen to date, I would rate this as a 6 or maybe a 7. Hanavave Bay on Fatu Hiva gets a 10+ from me. When the pictures are posted on the website, you can judge for yourself. And as we continue our travels, I might well change my rating, but for now, from what I have read and the pictures I have seen, I would not say this is one of the most spectacular places we will see.
We motored past two other bays on our way here. The first one was Hapitoni Bay and the second one was Vaitahu Bay. There was one sailboat in Hapitoni Bay and none in Vaitahu, so we headed on north to Hanamoenoa in hopes of catching up with our friends Doug and Sylvie on Windcastle. Unfortunately, they are not here, so we will have to keep searching. There are ten boats here: Minaret and Heartbeat from New Zealand, Savoir Livre and Aqua Magic from England, Remis from Germany, Quantum Leap, Espri, Hawkeye, and Windbird (us) from the US, and a boat named Shoe String for which I am not sure of the port of call-England, New Zealand, or Australia.
We will probably go back to Vaiahu Bay tomorrow even though it is not known as a calm anchorage and it is very difficult to get ashore there. Before we make our decision, we want to talk to some of the people here to see if they stopped there and if so, to find out how they found the anchorage. I do want to see the Eglise Sante Marie de L’enfant Jesus Catholic Church there. It was built sometime in the last 20 years to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of missionaries. The stained glass and local wood carvings are supposed to be beautiful. From the sea, it looks shockingly like a port compared to what we have seen here to date. Both Omoa and Hanavave on Fatu Hiva are just little hidden indentations on a coast line that you could easily miss if you didn’t have the GPS coordinates. On the other hand, as we passed Vaiahu, the church and other buildings in the town were very prominent. There were also homes high on the mountains around the town that were very easy to see. Vaiahu was the first point of contact between Polynesians and Europeans in the South Pacific. Spanish explorer Mendana anchored there in 1595, followed by Captain Cook in 1774. I suppose Windbird needs to anchor there in 2006.
