For our last night in the Marquesas we sailed half way round the island of Nuku Hiva to a small bay where we had arranged to meet up with a French and a Spanish boat, Beatoo and Ruby. The French guys had booked the one and only restaurant, Tante Yvonne, for dinner. They had read about it in a French restaurant guide!!
The Pilot book for the area had warned us of large swells in this bay. Having had no successful dry landings for the past week, we were very dubious about it. And sure enough, once we swung into the bay we could see the other 2 boats swaying badly. The guys were all aboard Ruby and I’m sure had already been through a couple of bottles of wine. Have they never heard about waiting for the sun to go below the yardarm? As we circled around, checking out the anchorage, they shouted across to us that the swell was not as bad as it looked. Mmmm – maybe not when you are on the correct side of a few glasses of wine. Anyway, it’s nice to have company and our French and their English is improving all the time so we decided to go for it.
While it was still light, Scott took the dinghy to a small landing dock to see how he might get us ashore. He warned us of a swell of 4-5 feet, with large waves coming astern. The only place to land was on a set of steps carved into a high wall. There was no ramp and no dock. Timing would be everything!!. When time came to go ashore we packed our finery in plastic bags and set off in swim gear in the pitch dark. This has to have been our scariest landing yet. When the swell was down the steps were too high to jump onto. So Scott held off until the swell was up, then scooted forward on a wave and roared “jump” before reversing back so that the dinghy was not bashed against the wall and overturned. We had to land one at a time and could not hesitate for even 1 second when told to jump. Mercifully the steps were not slippery. It was an amazing bit of driving on Scott’s part – and for the first time we actually had a dry landing. I tried not to think about how we would get back on board as, with legs wobbling from shock/fright, I got dressed on top of the wall.
Yvonne, of Tante Yvonne, was also the Mayor of the village. She told us that Club Med were looking to build a compound in the Bay but she turned down the planning permission as she felt the local people would not benefit from it. Club Med provide all food and drink to guests within the compound. Brave decision – but I’m sure it would have provided employment at the very least. On the other hand, the Marquesans are pretty self sufficient. They live well off the land and the sea without even having to farm. Everything they eat is growing wild, in abundance. They are always smiling and we didn’t come across anyone who seemed unhappy with their lot.
We had a lovely evening. As I’ve said before, people on the Arc have an adventurous spirit. They have great stories to tell about their travels and their lives. You would never be bored in their company. I made sure not to drink much bearing in mind the lemmings’ type drop required to get back on the dinghy. We all survived and managed to get back on Sapphire bone dry. A great end to an amazing time in the Marquesas.
(There are some photos further down, but because of slow internet, this blog will be more words than photos, which are painfully slow to load.)
Next morning, 1st April, we set sail for Tuamotu approx 4 days away. With Patricia back on board we now had 5 sailors and so shifts were shorter than for the 3,000 mile trip. We each did 3 hours during the day and 2 at night. Looking at it now that makes 25 hours – something fishy there!! Well, I did 3 and 2. Less than an hour underway we were joined by about 30 dolphin. I never tire of watching their skill at racing with us and playing in the bow waves. Sometimes they launch straight up out of the water like something shot from a submarine. These manoeuvres usually end in a belly-flop. I’m sure they are showing off. The weather for the first couple of days was fantastic. Fair winds and flat water. Of course, it wasn’t to last. The 3rd night we ran into a storm. Lightening directly overhead was absolutely blinding. We changed direction 3 times in an effort to get away, but the system seemed to be going around in a circle. At the front and back ends of these storms the winds are horrific. On my watch, I decided to stay in the middle of the system. Let it piss rain on me, but avoid any squalls at the edges. Eventually, it blew itself out and we went back on course. I think it might have been a baby cyclone, but am no weather expert.
As the Arc is now in a period of free cruising i.e. no formal leg underway at the moment, there is no radio relay. However, there is an informal radio chat at 9.00ameach morning, which we keep forgetting to tune into. On April 2nd Scott and I remembered and tuned in. When they heard we were on, one of the other boats asked us to give some details about the snooker competition on board Sapphire. What? We told them we have had a couple of poker nights – but snooker? We’re not sure where this came out of, but those on the call that morning were very disappointed to find there was no truth to it. We think it must have started as an April’s Fools joke on the radio the previous day. The boat is big – but not that big. Obviously some people think it is!!
Line of sea birds hitching a ride from the air behind our mainsail
On the morning of 4th April we arrived in Ahe, one of the more north westerly atolls of the Tuamotu and therefore one of the closest to the Marquesas. The Tuamotus are known also as the dangerous archipelago. It is made up of about 70 coral atolls, none higher than a few meters above sea level. They are circled by reefs. Each atoll surrounds a central lagoon and some, but not all, have one or more passes into their lagoon. The pass into Ahe is only reachable 3 hours before moon rise and 5 hours after moon set – or something along those lines. The lagoon itself is about 15km wide. We decided the best time to go through the pass was the start of an outflow, in order to have enough depth. For the non nautical I’ll try to describe this. If you imagine (at almost full tide) the lagoon is a saucer full to the brim of water. Add a little more water (full tide) and the water will spill over the edge. In our case, this over the edge water is spilling through the pass. It is an outflow that we would use to enter and leave the lagoon. When we got in we were very surprised to find we were the only yacht in the whole lagoon.
The Tuamotus are completely different to the Marquesas. The land is not at all fertile and the people live off fish and coconuts. They remind me a little of San Blas – if you can remember that far back. There is only one shop on Ahe and because there is so little to buy it only opens for a couple of hours in the morning. No fresh bread, no vegetables except for green peppers. No fruit. No bug spray – ahhhh. We did get eggs though as there are lots of chickens on the island.
Ahe has at least 8 black pearl farms. It’s a fascinating process which I will go into in the next blog as I hope to visit a pearl farm on one of the other atolls.
When we arrived in Ahe we discovered it was Holy week. We were shocked! We had no idea it was Easter time and hadn’t stocked up on chocolates for the occasion. The population of the whole atoll is only 120. The local school teacher told me there are almost 50 children there. Seems like a lot given such a small population. On Easter Saturday the adults hid clues and Easter eggs all around the village and the children had a big egg-hunt. Tempted as I was, given my love of chocolate, I refrained from hunting myself.
Another dodgey landing at the village in Ahe
Coral reef.
Sapphire sitting at the end of Main St, Ahe.
We were due to leave Ahe in the early afternoon on Easter Saturday. We had the engine on, snubber off and were just starting to lift the anchor when we saw 3 yachts coming through the pass. Turned out it was 3 Arc boats – one of which we are particularly friendly with. So, nothing for it only switch off the engine and invite all 3 boats over to Sapphire for a celebratory drink. They were all in high spirits at the end of their 4 day trip from the Marquesas. Sadly, having spent 3 days in Ahe totally alone, we are on a schedule (John and Gavin have to fly out of Takaroa in a couple of days) and had to leave. So, after an hour or so the party moved off to another boat and we headed for the pass while there was still time.
Or next destination was Takaroa – just one overnight away. It has an air strip and John and Gavin are leaving from there to fly back to theUKfor a wedding. So for the remainder of our time in the Tuamotus we will be reduced to 4.
Celebrating arrival of 3 Arc boats in Ahe
Home!!
We arrived in Takaroa early the next morning. The pass here is very dangerous so we decided to heave-to about a mile outside and take the dinghy in to have a look at the reef, currents etc. Before we got a chance to explore, a local fisherman came alongside and warned us that a boat had run up on the reef the previous day. He told us about a wharf that we could tie up against for 2 days as there was no commercial boat expected over the Easter weekend. This meant we could come through a wider pass and would not have to be at anchor either. This is the first time we have been attached to land since we left Panama City.
It turned out that the boat on the reef was our Spanish friends on Beatoo. They had been swept on to the reef by a swirling current and have lost their rudder. It could have been much worse though. They have cobbled together a makeshift rudder and are currently limping along toTahiti for a replacement. Without a rudder they can’t steer and so hopefully this will last the duration. For now, one of the other Arc boats is accompanying them. But since Beatoo can only do a max of 5kts this will be a pain for the other boat. It is a long way toTahiti and so we are extremely worried about them. Later today, we will head back out to sea, back through the wider (but still difficult) pass when the tide turns. Wish us luck!
Hey Miriam,
I have finally got caught up with the most recent posts and may I compliment you on your eloquence and prose, boarding school must have done something good! I am so envious and full of admiration for what you are doing. Stuck here in my office at 1730hrs in Amsterdam seems positively boring and pedestrian. I loved the pictures but most of all the way you can slow the narrative down to describe what is going on in the moment with you and the gang and the boat. Belated Happy St Patrick’s Day and Easter – I loved the pix of your shenanigans! Do take care and I promise to keep in touch. And remind the crew that a bad day on the boat is better than a good day in the office.
Big hugs, Kev
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