Tahuta, Hiva Oa, Ua Huka, Ua Pau

It is Friday May 5th and it feels like the last couple of days have been a perfect example of how, no matter the plans, winds and waves win out.

Last you heard, we had left the anchorage in the southwest corner of Tahatu near the small village of Hapatoni. We had been entertained by neighbours in the anchorage, by a master carver in town and his stories of the history of the Islands as well as a serenade using his “nose flute”. We left in search of baguettes to the next anchorage heading north – capital of the Island, Vaitahu.

Although the entire population of this islands is about 650 people, the main town is famous as the location at which Spanish explorers first landed in the Marquesas about 430 years ago. We three jumped into the dingy and headed into town to re-provision. Enroute to town, a neighbour on a triamaran named Trinity who was with us in Hiva Oa and in the first anchorage here on Tahuta waved us over and warned us that the pier was sketchy and the local ferry used any dingy tied up there as a fender. As a result Bill decided to remain with the dingy while Sharon and I went into town to do chores.

We had a letter from the Gendarmes when we checked in that needed to be posted to Tahiti, which we had been unable to do as a result of the May Day holiday. Without all the detail, let’s just say there was a lot of back and forth through town trying to dump garbage (unsuccessful), buy an envelope, mail a letter and buy some fruits and vegetables. Along the way we got rained on and saw that Bill had abandoned the pier and was circling offshore. When we regrouped later we discovered he had his own adventure as a couple waves picked the dingy and Bill up and dropped them on the pier, and a minute later up from the pier and back in the water. Deemed unsafe Bill, had retreated to the safety of the sea.

Sharon and I completed our chores (baguettes were sold out) , visited a famous church with beautiful carved doors and constructed from stones used as ballast stones in old sailing vessels (according to one of the books Sharon read).

On the way out of town we were flagged down by another “master carver” with a house full of puppies intent on eating my sandals (and no, unlike Lola we dodged the bullet and did not bring one back with us). Joseph (Teti) Barsinas informed us that he was related to the royal line of chiefs in Niku Hiva on his grandfathers side and to the chiefs of Tahatu on his grandmothers side. Sharon and I each ended up buying a necklace in the shape of the traditional bone fishing hooks (like on Disney’s Mona), we were offered fresh eggplant from Joseph’s garden, and headed back.

We raised anchor and continued north to an anchorage that was described in the books as the “most beautiful”. It was very crowded (14 boats) and we ended up on our third try getting a good bite with the anchor. Nature delivered a beautiful double rainbow and we went in on the dingy latter to explore the beech. It was indeed beautiful.

Yesterday the plan was to head to Ua Pau and we got off about 7am, but we quickly determined we had 68 nm to travel, winds were lighter than expected and we would arrive in the dark. A quick change of plans and we headed to an anchorage on the north side of Hiva Oa (yes the island we started on). We arrived about 11am dropped anchor as the only boat in the anchorage, with the day wide open before us.

Bill decided it was time to fix the dingy. Greg will recall this was the same dingy we left Costa Rica with that was on life support at that time. The renowned Dingy Bob in La Paz did a masterful job 2 years ago patching it, so it survived but could not hold air for more than a couple hours. Dingy Bill applied all the tricks he had learned from Bob, and hopefully it will remain functional until a new one can be found in Tahiti.

Because the dingy was receiving medical attention, it was an uneventful evening. We rousted at 6am this morning and departed for a more easterly island called Ua Huka. This one sounded interesting as it was overrun with more goats and horses than people. This was still a 60nm sail, but we would be in by 2:30pm.

We arrived at Ua Huka, which had some of the most striking and colourful hillsides we have seen. Unfortunately the anchorage we targeted had significant ocean swells and was not considered safe. The subtle difference of how waves wrap around a headland can make what appears on the map as a good anchorage not so accommodating when you get there.

Unfortunately, each anchorage we tried along the west side of the island had large swells and surf. We are only 35 nautical miles to the other island Ua Pau, so we have pulled in most of the sail and and pointed southerly then will head back west to arrive in the morning. Supper is cooking, Sharon is in the racks to charge up for her watch until 1:00am.

On the lighter side of life, we have a beautiful full moon over the ocean – called the “Flower Moon” for May. The stars are out and seas not so bouncy. The adventure continues!