French Polynesia …. vive la France, again

The new crew who joined us in Nuku Hiva were veterans Susanne, Annemarie and surprise arrival Maria

 

They arrived on July 14, which is ‘Bastille Day’, the most festive day in French Polynesia. The official parade in Taiohae was a line up of all what the island had to offer – traditional Polynesian matriarchs, proud Marquesan horse riders and representatives of all tribal, cultural and sports groups.

  

Time had come to leave the Marquesas, these frontier islands with its strong people and next on the itinerary was the 480 miles passage to the Tuamotus. Unfortunately for the newcomers we had a pretty rough journey with winds of 25kn plus and 4-6m waves hitting us broad side, some spilling right into and over the cockpit; but all survived pretty well.

All the islands of Polynesia essentially are remnants of underwater volcanoes, rising dramatically from the ocean floor, some 4 to 6000m below the surface of the water. The constant movement amongst the tectonic plates on the Pacific ocean floor results in these islands drifting westward about 10cm a year, making them sink back into the ocean floor under their own weight. The Marquesas are geologically the youngest islands, their green peaks rising dramatically out of the ocean without any coral growths around them yet. The Society Islands like Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora are in the intermediate stage, having both steep peaks and coral lagoons, whether the Tuamotu atolls have reached the last stage. Their peaks have disappeared into the ocean altogether and what’s left is a ring of corals forming the reef crown around a central lagoon.

The Tuamotus are made up of 76 atolls, and the ‘motus’ or little islets scattered around the lagoons are only some 3-4m above sea level. It is obvious to everyone that their existence is precarious, to say the least and so is the existence of the people living on them. The islets are made up of coral debris, which is calcareous soil, saturated with salt and offer little possibility of growing anything. Apart from abundant fish resources, the people living on these atolls rely heavily on food transported to them from Tahiti via trading vessels.

Some of the lagoons are accessible via Passes. Negotiating these Passes is relying on knowing the tides to be able to judge the in or outgoing currents. The depth and width also contribute to making the passage a more or less exiting adventure. Once in the lagoon the colour of the water is simply spectacular.

Our first stop was the atoll of Manihi where 2 more crew where waiting for us – Alejandra and Eva.

Manihi translates into ‘tourist’ and this atoll was one of the first to have an airstrip and also the one spear heading the black pearl cultivation in the coral lagoons, now a major source of income for French Polynesia. Our first outing was to visit the private ‘motu’ of Xavier Michel, who runs the ‘sailmail’ station for the western Pacific [a means to send and receive emails via HF radio – very important for communication when at sea]. He and his family were the very generous hosts looking after Eva and Alejandra while they were waiting for our arrival. They invited all the crew of the Paso Doble to their motu - what a fantastic and enviable spot they have created ….

Next was a visit to a pearl farm. Fernando, the local baker and entrepreneur and his son were our guides. After collecting the oyster shells in their various stages from their cultivation in the middle of the lagoon we continued to the processing house, perched on poles in the water and he explained to us the lengthy and complicated process of cultivating black pearls. We passed a most interesting and enjoyable afternoon and after learning first hand how to open and incubate the oyster we were able to ‘fish’ for some of the harvested pearls in a flour bowl …. and finally we cooked up the flesh of the opened oysters into a wonderful dinner.

Next stop was the smaller sister atoll of Manihi, called Ahe. Life was even more remote and slower there, the arrival of the fortnightly cargo trader being ‘the event’ everyone is waiting for, followed by an evening of crowning the best father of the island. Eva was roped into being part of the jury.

With not much else to do but walking around the islets it was also time for an open-air hair cut - under palm trees

What followed was a pleasant overnight passage of 90 miles to the largest and most populated atoll – Rangiroa, the best known of the Tuamotus atolls. It was discovered in 1616, almost 150 years before Tahiti. The lagoon is 45 miles long and 18 miles wide, big enough to enclose the entire islands of Tahiti. The lagoon is like an inland sea and with a southeasterly blowing develops easily 1.5 to 2m waves, leaving nothing more than a distant memory of a blue lagoon. There are 2 passes into Rangiroa lagoon; we chose the Tiputa pass and then anchored in turquoise green-blue water off the Kia Ora resort.

Rangiroa is well-known for its brilliant diving and snorkeling – and we can confirm that without any doubt. The corals are very alive with colours and fish, big and small. With reef sharks and rays circling around us we dived and snorkeled on the outer reef, through the Passes with the incoming tide and in the lagoon at a spot called ‘the aquarium’. With the weather being as calm as you can get it we had fantastic conditions with clear water and great visibility and couldn’t get enough of it, snorkeling and diving every day. Other activities were surfing behind the dinghy and the main ‘motu’ was also big enough for bike riding and some pearl shopping … and watching the sun and full moon rising

We left Rangiroa with the outgoing tide via the Avatoru pass and headed for Tikehau, our last atoll stop. Only 35 miles away it was a pleasant day’s sail west with the winds from behind and we entered the lagoon via the Tuheiava pass located on the western side, on the following ingoing tide. We were greeted by a school of exited dolphins jumping around the bows. With dusk approaching we hurriedly had to cross the lagoon to the main village Tuherahera [hence nicknamed Too-Hairy-Hairy] on the southern side, following the channel markers closely zigzagging through the coral heads, eventually dropping anchor in the dark in the middle of the channel. We woke the next morning being in a wonderful bay.  We conveniently re-anchored close to the dive shop so we could use their cute dock to land with our dinghy and of course go diving with them. Unfortunately the wind was up during most of our stay on Tikehau, hence the manta rays were absent from their usual feeding ground and we didn’t get to see them, nor the dolphins at the mouth of the pass. However, the diving along the outer reef was still very good.

Leaving Tikehau there with no wind at all. We motored across the lagoon and out through the pass towards Tahiti. The weather forecast indicated winds of 10-15kn from the southeast later that evening. Looking over our shoulders however the sky looked ominous. During sunset the wind slowly started building - to a crescendo of winds with 25-30kn. The sea was really choppy and our course was southwesterly, resulting again in a rather uncomfortable passage. As we got closer around midnight of the second night, the lights of Papeete appeared on the horizon and we shortened sail to time our arrival just after sunrise. By then the wind, clouds and the choppy sea had almost disappeared and we were welcomed to the islands of Tahiti and Moorea by the first rays of sun illuminating their mountainous peaks.

 

Papeete was the first real port since leaving Panama and there was a feeling of apprehension as we prepared to moor stern-to at the ‘Quay de Yachts’, right in the centre of town. After 2 days we had acclimatized again to civilization and the associated noises, enjoying the French touch of freshly baked croissants and brioche for breakfast and a bottle of Bordeaux with dinner. The markets are abundant with fresh produce we hadn’t seen for a while, i.e. salad stuff, fresh herbs and all different fruit and vegetables. The populace is a mixture of Polynesians, Chinese and French and the interracial marriages have produced some examples of extraordinary beauty - all people being very friendly and welcoming.

We are looking forward to a 3-week stay around Tahiti. After a week of scheduled boat maintenance all crew are spreading our wings in different directions - some doing sailing trips around the neighbouring islands, others hiking in the mountains of Tahiti Nui, relaxing at a beach resort and some watching the surf contest at Teahupoo.

Annemarie will leave the boat here, but on August 31 all crew will meet again in Papeete to join up with 3 new crew. We will then continue our journey west on Paso Doble towards the ‘Isle sous le Vent’, the Leeward Islands between Moorea and Bora Bora.

The Big Blue Yonder ...

and big it is – the Pacific Ocean is by far the largest body of water on this planet, covering nearly one third of its total surface. To put it into scale - it is so vast that you could put all 5 [land] continents into it and still have quite a bit of space left over.

It is an ‘ocean of islands’ with over 20.000 of them scattered throughout, mainly clustered together into groups like the Marshall and Caroline islands in Micronesia, the Solomon, Vanuatu and Fiji islands in Melanesia and Tonga and the Society islands in Polynesia, just to name a few of the more commonly known. Looking at the immense distance the Pacific covers you must give credit to the Austronesian people from the SE Asian belt of islands for their efforts in populating it. About 3000 B.C. their early navigators began an unparalleled seaborne expansion into the unknown, exploring and settling this vastness from east to west, making it undoubtedly mankind’s greatest maritime achievement. By about 1500 B.C. the first pioneers in their primitive outrigger-type vessels traversed several thousand sea miles reaching the Caroline islands, then Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. From there the expansion went towards French Polynesia and Hawaii. To make this achievement even more courageous - most of this exploration occurred against the prevailing winds using ‘kavenga’ or star path navigation, a skill refined over centuries and handed down through the generations. As folk legend tells amongst the islanders, the navigator ‘Kupe’ voyaged around 600-800 A.D. from Tonga south west to finally discover last but not least Aotea Roa, the ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ or New Zealand.

Our first destination in the South Pacific was going to be Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas archipelago in French Polynesia. Ahead were about 3000 miles of open ocean. After the last windward passage the pilot charts promised a downwind journey. We set off from Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island on June 5, making a last stop over at Tortuga Bay. After only 5 days in port, the nutrient rich waters delivered to the Galapagos by the Humboldt current made our hulls look like they had grown a beard, with algae and barnacles growing everywhere. After an hour of scraping and scratching it looked again much sleeker and ready for the westbound passage.

The first 12 hours were spent motoring, and then we found a favorable current with some southeasterly winds. What followed was more than expected – 6 days of continuous winds of 15-20kn on the beam with currents going west pushing up the record of our daily average to 180 miles and we started to dream of getting there in half the time. Of course it was too good to be true and the reality of the doldrums returned. We were becalmed, 3 days of virtually no wind and a mirror like ocean had us gently motoring.

Collecting flying fish off the deck is a regular job, but one morning proof of the abundant sea life was lying neatly on our galley floor – a pair of suicide squid. There was no other way they could have entered but for a small gap in the deck’s hatch above the stove. Once checking outside we found their companions – spread all over the deck. Unfortunately most of them managed to expel their ink while being swept onto the deck. We looked down the hulls and - what a mess!!

We turned off the engines and came to a complete stand still, a wonderful and luxurious experience one doesn’t often afford oneself.  Then we spent another hour scrubbing the deck and hull-s [a cat’s disadvantage, it does exist] before listening again to the amazing stillness, while having a dinner of fresh squid pasta and gazing at the most brilliant sunset.

Sunsets come in all different shapes and colours and are ever so photogenic. One thing however you just can’t capture on screen is the experience of observing a full cycle of the moon. While being in the routine of regular night watches it is a   magic spectacle to watch the moon changing shape from full to new moon and back to full, noting the time delays every day and the effect it has on the night sky. Out here on the ocean it would be a paradise for anyone with a telescope –if only the boat wouldn’t rock so much ….

We also had another interlude with our electrical supply – and much less appreciated as it happened just during dinner!!! For still unknown reasons the reliable starboard engine alternator started to smoke and as a result of overheating burnt out. Compared to the last port alternator repairs off the Moroccan coast [never to forget ….] at least it was completely calm and the exchange happened in ‘civilized’ circumstances. Now we run out of spares and need to get some new alternators shipped to Tahiti.

The trade winds came back again, with a vengeance. With our 2 jibs poled out like butterfly wings we flew west with gusts up to 25-30 kn. Then it all calmed down again and it seemed as if we wouldn’t get any closer, almost going … under.

By then we were ready for another swim and hull scrub. You wouldn’t believe that at continuous speeds of 6-7 knots algae and barnacles would be able to attach themselves, but they bloody well do!!! and lots of them. Another 2 hours spent scraping the hull-s and scratching open the various water inlets.  Doing this in the middle of the Pacific with some 5000m of water underneath is an awesome if not eerie experience. We started motoring again and 2 days later out of nowhere, without a change in the weather pattern, the wind started again.

Back to the routine of watches, eating and sleeping – and fishing. It took 2 days, but with a homemade lure […. Karsten, we miss you] we snagged a beautiful mahi mahi. It is something very special to be able to catch a fish and turn it into a superb dinner [thanks to August and Christian] – there and then, fresh from the ocean - the essence of life.

On June 27 at 1541h the rugged peaks of Fatu Hiva, the most eastern island of the Marquesas peeled themselves out of the horizon. We finally dropped anchor at 0240h in the middle of the night without being able to see much of what many cruisers previously described as one of the most beautiful and spectacular anchorages in the world – ‘Hanavave Bay’, also known as ‘The Bay of the Virgins’.  

After so many days at sea arriving in the dark felt a bit like having ‘sex with the lights out’, but the morning after made up for it.

For the record, the total distance covered from the Galapagos to Fatu Hiva was 2998nm. It took 24 days and our highest daily mileage was 182nm, the average speed was 5.9kn and our max speed was 13.2kn, clocked by August on the helm sometime in the middle of a night with force 7 winds.

Being penned up for so long on 50 sqm our legs were itching to stretch out. The very next day we organized for some Marquesans to take us in their boat to Omoa Bay at the southern end of the island. We marched 18km through the lush tropical vegetation, crossing ridges in the clouds, 680m above sea level. The timing was perfect as we descended into our bay with the moonlight guiding us.

After attending a fabulous early Sunday church service where the entire community gathered, singing vivaciously throughout the entire service, we left Fatu Hiva on a high note and set sail for Hiva Oa, the next bigger island to the north to clear in at the Gendarmerie. It was this island Paul Gauguin spent the last few years of his tortured artist life creating the famous paintings so inspired by living in the South Pacific and in particular with the Marquesan people. We also took the opportunity to explore some ‘maraes’, the very spiritual and sacred sites of the Polynesian culture on the remote and rugged northeastern coast in search of some the largest stone tikis in the South Pacific, some more than 3m tall.

Our last leg was a short overnight sail from Hiva Oa to Nuku Hiva, the largest island of the Marquesan archipelago and the final destination of the longest passage on our itinerary. We are looking forward to some ‘new blood’ on board coming from Switzerland. August will leave us here after 2 months [he’s turned a bit fishy …] – thank you very much August for your terrific company and your wonderful spirit. It will be with us forever.