Here we are in Tahiti
Hello all! I apologize for the long silence. We have been enjoying, most days, our travels from the Galapagos to and through French Polynesia. So much has happened since I last wrote that I will cover our latest adventures in several installments.
Our last stop in the Galapagos was Isla Isabela, largest of the islands, where we spent 10 days anchored off Puerto Vilamil. This was our favorite place. The town is small but had everything we needed, and several nice little restaurants. A lovely white sand beach extends west of the town for several miles, and there are nearby swamps where flamingoes come to feed at sunset. A nice little trail runs through the swamp to the ubiquitous galapagueria: turtle nursery. The anchorage is a short walk from town, in a little bay protected by reefs and small islands; a good place to finish off boat projects. As usual Cheshire's hulls attracted marine visitors, including a group of small penguins who entertained us with their antics. Kayaking and snorkelling was nice, though the water is chilly. Other wildlife included seals, marine iguanas, blue footed boobies, frigate birds, and sea turtles. We were also pleased to find the port captain much easier to deal with than his counterpart in San Cristobal!
We were joined by about 10 other boats while we were there, most going to French Polynesia too. We did an inland tour (on horses) to the Sierra Negra Volcano, and a boat trip to some lava tubes with Hub, Rose, Saraya and Trish of Pathfinder. Henry, owner of the small shoreside bar Club Nautico and his wife provided 2 tasty barbeques to our group. During the passage from the Galapagos, 5 of us with single sideband radios talked daily each morning, comparing progress, damage reports, fish stories, recipes, etc. We called ourselves “The Stragglers” as we are late in the annual migration to the South Pacific; our buddies included Bogtrotter, Pathfinder, Mustang Sally, and Eagles Wings. The others went to the more traditional destination of the Marquesas, just about the same distance as our passage to Gambiers, but not so far south and more down wind. It seemed to take all of us 2.5-3 weeks, with reasonably consistent east to SE winds.
We reached the Gambier archipelago on July 22, 2 fish, 3000 miles, and 19 days almost to the hour from when we left the Galapagos. It is still exciting to watch an island emerge from the horizon, and a bit of a thrill to begin navigation in shallow water and confined spaces again. The Gambiers are the southeasternmost island groups in French Polynesia, 1000 miles southeast of Tahitit and about 300 miles west of Pitcairn island, which was colonized by Fletcher Christian and other Bounty mutineers. The northwest entrance to the islands is well marked and the channel clear. We joined about a dozen boats in the anchorage, mostly French, some of whom we had met before in our travels. Next morning, we were invited to Delfiro for a birthday party, a great way to celebrate our landfall. Our French cruiser neighbors of course contributed great food and wine, including fresh fish, cakes, and other tasty snacks.
We stayed in the Gambiers 2 weeks, doing boat projects, of course, and a little exploring, on foot and with Cheshire. We climbed Mt. Neuf, the westernmost of 2 peaks at the south end of Mangareva, the main island. The views were great, and the trail could easily have been in the Pacific NW, through pine trees and ferns. The last bit was a bit exposed and steep as we had to climb a ridge to reach the peak. We also walked around the island on the road, about 11 miles and 5 hours. We took Cheshire out to an anchorage near the airport at the north end of the archipelago, and had a nice snorkel. Unfortunately just as we were ready to leave, two depressions traveled right over us, bringing several days of rain, squalls and high winds from the direction we wanted to travel, NW, and delaying our departure for 5 more days.
Love D+S
Anchored off Marina Taina, Tahiti
September 16, 2006
Polynesia - Next chapter
We left the Gambier islands on August 9, eager to do a little exploring in the Tuamotus before reaching Tahiti. As we were running short of funds and fresh produce was limited in the stores, we foraged for local produce. Bananas on the stalk, soursop (prickly pear) pamplemousse, limes, and breadfruit were all available for the asking from people’s gardens or farms, and we collected coconuts aplenty when we visited the outer atoll of Totegeguie.
Pamplemousse is French for grapefruit; the Polynesian variety was brought from SE Asia and is sweeter and tastier than any I’ve ever had. Soursop was another pleasant surprise. It appears to be a relative of the cherimoyas we enjoyed in Portugal, with a white, custardy interior laced with fat black seeds. Breadfruits are famous as the reason for the Bounty expedition; Captain Bligh was supposed to bring them back to the Caribbean to plant as a cheap and easy to grow source of starch for the slaves. They are pretty common but I haven’t seen people eating them. We were told to eat them before they ripen. I cut off the peel, dice the insides and steam or fry like a potato. I think you can eat them ripe too if they haven’t gotten too soft. They taste like a mild version of sweet potato, and go well with butter :).
We had hoped for southerly winds to permit us to head on course, northwest towards Tahiti. But the winds stayed west, forcing us to sail north, and combining with lumpy seas to make progress slow and us queasy, even “iron stomach” Captain David! After 2 days we reached Reao atoll, and circled it longing looking for a pass or an anchorage off the reef. There were some houses and a quay on the north side, but we didn’t feel comfortable tying up or with any other option. Fortunately the winds had backed so we could head west towards Amanu atoll.
This atoll is just north of Hao, which is the regional center and also the base from which the French nuclear testing was conducted. We were told that testing was discontinued, Hao was considered, and, I think, selected, as an alternate landing site for the space shuttle. This required lots of reinforcement of the already long and spacious runway.
Amanu is another lovely atoll, its palm fringed shores beckoning as we approached in the afternoon sun. However, it was 5 PM by the time we reached Fafameru Pass on the west side, well after the recommended midday timeframe for checking out new anchorages in coral country. The settled weather meant that another night at sea would not have been a hardship, but the pass looked navigable so we decided to go in. We cleared the pass, and headed for the indicated anchorage just south of the village.
The chart indicated a gradually rising depth from about 60 feet to the shore coral reef. Our depthsounder said that it was 80 feet all the way to the reef, which we could not see completely as it was to our west, and sunset was imminent. We crept shoreward, hoping to find a slightly shallower spot. Just as I was about to release the anchor, I saw coral under the trampoline. Yikes! Then I felt the port daggerboard hit the reef. David had the boat in full reverse, and using the whiskerpole to push, we managed to get the boat off the reef. Alas, the port rudder had also found the reef, and was jammed up against the hull, so we could not steer. Somehow we backed ourselves away from the reef, found an 80 spot, dropped the anchor and all 150 feet of chain, plus some rode, and hoped it would hold. Not our most stylin’ entrance!
Next morning, after a damage assessment, David decided to drop the port rudder and straighten the shaft. So we went into the village, where the backhoe driver had a collection of steel pipes available for loan. We were assisted in our quest by the charming Daniel, an older man who had left Amanu for Tahiti at the beginning of the nuclear testing program, and had returned to retire. Many other Amanuans did the same, which is why at least 1/3 of the buildings are abandoned. Because the village is so small, older children must leave and live on Hao for the secondary school term. Daniel tried to teach us Paumotu, the local language which is similar to Maori and has more consonants than Tahitian Polynesian, and told us many stories.
After a couple of days, we got the rudder post straightened and back on, and went off for a celebratory snorkel. When leaving we discovered that our chain had fouled in a coral head, so raising the anchor took over 2 hours, several dives by the captain, and some abuse of the windlass. Our antics were monitored by our onshore friends, who had offered to look up a local diver to help us. Just as we freed the anchor, we saw a man wading out towards us with a mask and snorkel. We waved and motored forward to show we were OK, then set off towards the pass with many farewell waves for our friends. We would have loved to spend more time there, but needed to keep pressing on towards Tahiti.
September 26, 2006
Tahanea and Tahiti
Needless to say, we were much more cautious as we approached our next atoll, Tahanea. We set a course that took us around several other atolls, which looked good until we realized we’d be in channels less than 10 miles wide in the dark. This may sound like a lot of room but lee shores can come up quickly, especially when squalls move in and the wind shifts. But all went well and we made a textbook landfall and anchorage in a lovely lagoon just west of the pass.
Unfortunately, the passage of a low pressure system, followed by reinforced trades, known locally as maramus, brought 48 hours of strong winds and waves, gusting into the 30s for the day after we arrived and confining us to the boat. The reinforced trades are often caused by a high pressure system to the south, a bit like the Christmas winds in the Caribbean. We got out and explored the nearby island, a nature reserve, stocking up on coconuts and seeing some interesting crabs and moray eels in the low tide area. Black tipped reef sharks. Too soon, it was time to leave for our final approach to Tahiti.
We chose to spend a night on the remote SE coast of Tahiti Iti, the peninsula that is almost separate from it’s bigger sister, Tahiti Nui where Pape’ete is. Watching the dramatically steep mountains emerge from the clouds, and become densely green as we got closer, is still thrilling. Despite breakers on both sides, Aurorua Pass was straightforward, and the coral reefs inside were well marked. We chose a lovely bay north of the pass to set the anchor, then after lunch headed out to snorkel and explore. The anchorage was so still it was almost eerie, as though the boat had grounded!
The next day, we motored most of the way to Pape’ete, then around to the popular anchorage off Maeva Beach, on the NW side. This involved passing near both ends of the runway to the airport, for which you needed VHF clearance. I am glad we were not there when a jumbo jet was due, though maybe David would have preferred that!
A month has passed remarkably fast as we repaired the boat, and shopped for provisions and other necessary or desirable items that would be hard to find until New Zealand. David was able to fix the slow leak in the port side that had resulted from our reef encounter in Amanu, and refair the daggerboard. I restocked our non perishables, did some cleaning and took care of electronic business with the wifi internet connection available through the marina.
With our friends Rae and Sharon from Mustang Sally, another catamaran who hails from nearby Vancouver, we drove around Tahiti Nui on day. With our guide, we visit museums, maraes, and waterfalls. Paddling is very popular here; there seems to be a canoe club about every 100 yards on the shore. Some were just out having fun, while others were clearly training seriously for the big races that are held periodically.
Pape’ete would seem small in comparison to many cities, but felt large to us after several months in more sauvage places. Buildings such as the Catholic Church, the town hall, and the Chinese temple are testimony to the mix of cultures found here. Everything we really needed could be found, but usually at prices 1.5 to 5 times what we might have paid at home or in Panama. The groceries stocked a grand array of goods, mostly European, and with a big price gap between subsidized essentials, eg the house brand of canned tomatoes, and luxury goods such as cheese, lots and lots of good cheese. I had to hike several times to the small Wing Khong grocery to track down Thai curry paste, but fortunately it was a good place to buy other oriental treats too. We tried fei, a local banana relative that is red; it is somewhere between a banana and a plantain in sweetness. Restaurants were expensive, but we did visit the more affordable roulottes at the downtown quay. These are vans or trucks with small kitchens inside, and tables outside for patrons. My favorite, the Red Balloon, served large and tasty savory and sweet crepes.
We met up again with our friends from the Galapagos, with whom we had a great book swap and hors d’oeuvres party. It was bittersweet, since some of them were heading towards Australia on a different route. So this was possibly our last meeting with Pathfinder, Medusa and Champagne Traveller. We enjoyed their company and stories of their adventures in the Marquesas and northern Tuamotus, and wished them well on their way.
Now we are in lovely, calmer Moorea, the backdrop for movies such as South Pacific and Mutiny on the Bounty. The snorkelling here is the best since the San Blas, with lovely pink coral and clear water, and hiking is dramatic and accessible. In a few days, we will sail over to the Leeward group of the Society Islands, and hope to visit Huahine, Raiatea and Bora Bora before leaving on our next passage to Niue and Tonga. So many islands, so little time, guess we will have to come back some day!
Hope you are enjoying a lovely fall wherever you are,
Love D+S
October 16, 2006
Leaving French Polynesia
We are presently in Bora Bora, hoping to leave French Polynesia tomorrow or sometime this week for points west. The current plan is to head for the tiny island nation of Niue, 1000 miles away and bypassing the Cook islands, and then the Vava’u group of Tonga.
I’ll have more to tell you about our travels in the Leeward islands, mostly good. Happy Halloween, many treats and no tricks for you!
David and Susanne
October 27, 2006
Pit stop in Aitutaki
Coming in to Aitutaki is a bit tricky. The pass is very narrow and there was a strong outflowing current; we were very glad for the extra power in our 25 horsepower outboard! The anchorage here is small and we could not get our faithful Delta anchor to bite, so we pulled up to a local fishing boat to raft. We tracked down the owner who doesn’t mind our presence for a couple of days.
People here are very friendly. We were visited yesterday by 2 charming young ladies, Tina and a girl whose name sounds like Mary but isn’t. Like our visitors from St. Lucia, they found the boat and our travels very interesting, and swam off the back. Last night there was a birthday party and dance show at the local cafe, so we went up after dinner and enjoyed it for a while before a delicious full night’s sleep. The local language is a Polynesian dialect. “Hello” is “Kiaorana”, very similar to Tahitian. But everyone speaks Kiwi accented English; our first English landfall since Trinidad! This is quite nice, especially for David. The countryside is pleasantly green and rolling, and little things such as different styles of boats and shop products remind us that we have finally left French Polynesia.
While we are here, we hope to explore a little bit, and maybe attend one of the church services which are renowned for beautiful singing. We hope to be able to leave mid day Sunday and push on to Niue, which is not quite 600 miles away. With good winds this should take us about 4 days. We heard that a Canadian boat, Ume, just went up on a reef on the east side of the island and is a total loss. Fortunately the crew are OK. So we will want to take good care to approach in daylight!
Love
David, Susanne, and Cheshire the cat
Monday, November 06, 2006
Now in Niue
We left Aitutaki on Monday, October 30, which meant we had to check in for 1 day! It was a great stop and we could easily have spent twice the time there. The island is only 7 square miles, so it is easy to walk almost everywhere, but there are enough roads to make for a variety of hikes. With Johanna and Patrick of Vidora, I hiked up Mt. Piraki, maybe 1000 feet, for a nice view of the lagoon, then around the top of the island. Delicious fresh produce was available at Tauono’s gardens, who, it turns out, has visited Olympia and knows someone I had met in the Park Service. Small world, indeed!
Patrick and Johanna arranged a special tour for us on the glass bottom boat run by Lawton, who had guided them into the harbor. He took us to the giant clam and oyster breeding areas, about which he is pretty knowledgeable since his brother is the fisheries officer. We snorkelled a bit, observing several new species of fish. Then we went off to Maina or Little Girl island where red tailed tropic birds nest, and Tapuaeta’i or One Foot island. The lagoon is large and shallow and coral heads were everywhere, so we were happy to leave Cheshire safely at the dock and let Lawton do the driving.
For you Survivor fans, this is where the Cook Islands episodes was filmed. Now the same location is being used by a British variation called Shipwreck. Over three months, contestants come one at a time and stay in turn at two islands, who compete to have them join their “tribe”. At the end, the tribe with the most members wins. It sounds a lot more positive than the elimination approach of Survivor; maybe I will have to catch an episode in NZ. These projects have brought much welcome business to Aitutaki; many of the boaters have been hired and kept busy for weeks.
We saw several dance groups, which consisted of both adults and kids. The kids were the most fun to watch; some were quite good and the rest made up their lack of technical skill with enthusiasm. On Sunday, Susanne and Johanna walked up to the Cook Islands Congregational Church, the oldest church on the Cook Islands. Our arrival occurred on Gospel Day, the anniversary of the arrival of the missionary John Williams in 1821 on Aitutaki, which ensured a four day holiday and a special feast after the church service. The famous singing was quite enjoyable, though it seemed to take a few ”imine” (hymns), for the congregation to warm up and really get into it. Everyone has their own hymnbook, which only contains the words in Cook Island dialect; everyone knows the tunes and their parts in the 3 or 4 part harmonies by heart. I sat next to an older gentleman named Ricky, who allowed me to share his hymnal. The tunes were not hard to follow along, so I sang with them; it was great fun. Ricky says I did quite well for a visitor! They use a call and response pattern reminiscent of traditional African singing, with the men leading.
But it was time to press on to Niue, so off we went. Sea conditions had improved but the winds had lightened a bit, so it looked like 5 days instead of four for a while for our 600 mile passage. But the winds built over our last 2 days, and so did the waves. We had considered slowing down to ensure a daylight landfall but decided to go for it, since we confirmed with another boat that it was possible to come in at night, and we wanted to see our friends Rudi and Andi of Uhuru before they left. On Friday the winds were in excess of 20 knots, it’s hard to tell exactly when it is from behind, and the waves were 12-15 feet. With our genoa poled out and full mainsail, Cheshire romped along. David saw the GPS register 18.2 knots while I was driving, and the knotmeter showed peaks of 13-15. This enabled us to cover 198 miles over 24 hours, and reach Alofi harbor about 4 in the afternoon. We were directed to check in immediately, so our helpful neighbors got us onto a mooring and swept David off to the docks, and we did not have to inflate our dinghy. I got busy slicing potatoes as there was to be a potluck in an hour on shore. Phew, a whirlwind arrival! But it was great to arrive in time for another party, and a hi/bye with Uhuru who left the next day.
Niue, (pronounced Noo-way) is similar to Aitutaki in many ways. The population is the same size, about 1800, with many expatriates primarily in Australia and NZ. Sadly, this has left many empty houses. Everyone waves on the road, I suspect most people are related to each other, and is friendly and helpful. While Niue is internally self governing, like the Cooks it is politically affiliated with New Zealand which manages external matters such as defense, food and materials. Both Niueans and Cook Islanders have New Zealand citizenship, and the New Zealand dollar is used.
A number of years ago, the Niue Yacht Club began to put down moorings in the harbor, which together with free internet and the nice atmosphere has made this a popular stop for yachts. Since there is no protected place to leave a dinghy, one hoists it in the air with a small crane onto the quay. Free hot water showers are available with a key deposit, in the nicest such facility I have seen since Trinidad. Tomorrow I shall do laundry at 20% of the price I paid in Bora Bora, while enjoying delicious ice cream and Wifi at Mamata’s cafe.
We plan to rent a motorcycle and spend a couple of days exploring. We also hope to help Trish and Dean of Ume, the wooden boat that hit the reef a week or two ago, as they are still moving stuff from the boat to storage. They are Canadian neighbors from Vancouver, and have sailed most of the way from the Galapagos without an engine. Theirs died 800 miles out. Some local fishermen will try to get Umeoff the reef in the next few days, and if so she may well be repairable as the damage appears to be in a small area near the keel. It’s interesting that this is the second boat we have encountered this season that has run onto a reef, under similar circumstances: a night approach from the east, probably due to skipper navigational error.
Well, I have gone on at some length, but I wanted to share these two delightful places with you while they are still fresh in our memory. If you are looking for a nice relaxed Pacific vacation, either of these places would be a treat.
Love
David, Susanne, and Cheshire the cat
