Raitea

May 22 - Simone (Francois' sister-in-law of a previous marriage) came to Papeete's Quai d'Yacht at  2 pm with garlands of flowers for each of us.  A sweet gesture.  She waited till we pulled away from the pontoon at around 3, probably glad that we were finally on our way and would not show up at her house again to borrow her car that we'd used extensively during our prolonged stay at Papeete.

We made our way out of Papeete harbor's northern pass and headed for Raitea which lay about 120 miles to the north.  Having spent more time than planned at Tahiti, we decided to give Suwarrow in the Cook Islands a miss.

We arrived at the pass into Raitea's main harbour at 11 am the next day and made for the town wharf.  It was still in the lagoon and as we motored through it, we could see a smal town with widely spaced buildings.  At the wharf, we found a spot between two sailboats that were tied up there.  We tied Skylark up and set about doing the usua arrival tasks.  Futile calls were made to the port authorities, but no one was answering, the day being Sunday.  No way to check in and pay any port fees that might have been levied.

The wharf is by the main road with free public access and a number of somewhat unsavoury looking characters hung out on the benches by the waterfront with some apparent interest in us.  The American yacht to our stern told us that they'd been broken into and had lost 2 laptop computers among other things.  We decided to have someone onboard Skylark at all times.  When Serge, Francois' nephew showed up, Ed volunteered to stay while we went to visit with Serge at his house.  Serge had built his house from scratch atop a hill on a large property all by himself and lives there with his wife Sondra and their two daughters (pictures later).  He has a variety of fruit trees and a large managerie of cats, dogs and chickens all of whom seem to co-exist in relative harmony, or at least succeed in ignoring each other.

Some of Sege's animals

Later in the afternoon, we went with Serge to pick up his family at the home of Sondra's cousin.  It was an extended family compound with a large house on the hill, a beach front home and another house for their son -- all at a lovely sea front setting.

Serge and his family

Back at the wharf, the waterfront was by now deserted.  It was a Sunday evening and there was only food to be had at a nearby Roulotte -- the ubiquitous restaurant on wheels found all over French Polynesia.  Food was served up by a group of transexuals, one of whom was well on his way to becoming a woman, except for the deep male voice when he spoke.  We brought the food back to the boat as we were still uneasy about the security at the wharf.

Some pictures of the lagoon at Raitea:

May 24 -- It was a Monday but a public holiday, and no one at the port was answering the VHF.  So we left Raitea without paying any port fees, having made best efforts to contact the authorities.  We reached the pass, took alignment with the leading marks and set a westerly course for our next destination -- Niue, some 970 miles away.

Tahiti

April 7 -- left Fakarawa at 1530 hours after provisioning at the general store and the boulangerie. Creeping along the edge of the atoll, we approached the pass which looked a little wilder at this time of day due to the flooding tide.  There were white caps and occasional breakers at the pass and a   sailor could be forgiven for mistaking the track through the pass as  a direct path over a coral reef.  The tide gave us an adverse current of around 2 to 2.5 knots and Skylark slogged through the pass under engine with speed over ground of little more than 4 knots.  The Pacific pilots all suggest that transiting the pass when the tide is either flooding or ebbing is safe only if a boat is capable of making at least 8 knots under power.  Our experience made believers out of us.

Back on the waves and the familiar ocean swells, we set course for the fabled island of Tahiti.  It is a relatively short passage of around 470 miles. At dawn, April 10, we sighted Tahiti and the island of Moorea just to its north.  Our timing for a daylight approach through a pass and into an unfamiliar harbor was about right -  in addition to the display on the chartplotter, we could also eyeball the approach to the pass,  The entrance to the harbor is relatively narrow and busy with commercial shipping, especially high speed ferries to Moorea.  We called port control on the VHF for permission to enter the harbor and were given the OK to go in but to standby at the west cardinal mark for further instruction.  Once in the harbor, we could see the main waterfront street of Papeete, seat of government of French Polynesia.  It is a nondescript scene of unattractive, untidy urban architecture, commercial buildings that were a throwback to the 1960's, complete with buzzing traffic as all routes to the city had to flow through this one street. Transit in the winding lagoon is highly controlled as boating traffic passes both ends of the airport runway.  After about 15 minutes holding, port control gave us the go ahead to proceed along the lagoon towards the Marina Taina at Punaauia, but to hold short of the runway.  We waited there while several small planes landed and were then cleared to proceed to the martina.  It was an interesting passage passing by low buildings onshore and the reef to our starboard.  At a number of spots on the reef, we saw some huts with small power boats tied to them.  There were families fishing, some standing on the reef and a number of barking dogs running around on the reef.  It was a strange scene, almost as if these people and their animals were walking on water as we passed them in 10 - 12 meters of water.  There were a lot of sailboats at anchor at designated areas in the lagoon.  They were anchored just off the reef where the water turned from deep blue to lighter shades of turqouise.   We made the Marina Taina at 11:30 and waited for a berth.  It was quite full and we were directed to a tight space alongside the concrete quay.  There was much concern on the small sailboat to our stern (tied alongside) and the larger boat in front of us (tied stern to).  Their owners were at their rails ready to fend us off in case we threatened to hit them, but we moved Skylark smartly into place in one pass using the bow thruster.  There was less than 2 meters to spare at each end when we tied up.  The marina provided a diver to tie the boat off to an underwater point -- to hold off her from banging into the concrete wharf when occasional swells hit the marina.

 Landfall -- Tahiti

view of Moorea from Tahiti

in the lagoon at Tahiti -- a weekend on the reef

park on Papeete's lagoon waterfront

Skylark at the Marina Taina, Punaauia in Tahiti

Our proghram at Tahiti was crowded with things to get down before the crew took a break from sailing to visit with family.  A haulout was booked for a couple of days from May 10 at the yard in Papeete for new bottom paint (in preparation for entry into Australian waters) and for scheduled maintenance such as replacement of the prop seal and various anodes.  Ed left on April 11 for Houston to attend his son's wedding and Francois and I had trips scheduled for Puerto Rico and KL respectively on April 16.  KL was a frantic break for tax returns and personal banking business plus a trip to Singapore for the same reasons.  Back at the Marina Taina on May 7, I awaited Francois' return that night so that we could move the boat to the berthing facilities at Papeete -- the Quai d'Yacht on May 8 so that we could move Skylark to the yard for an early morning haulout on May 10.  The Quai is in fact a small marina with floating steel pontoons and  power and water available from some poorly maintained pedestals.  Electricity at the city pontoon was variable in voltage, in 60 cycles, making it impossible to operate appliaces like clothes washer and microwave.  

The haulout on Monday, May 10 went smoothly and required work was done quickly and efficiently.  A coat of Micron 66 was applied and the Amel U-drive transmission and propeller seals were serviced, new anodes installed at the rudder, line cutter and bow thruster.  The aftermath, however, was a different story... more on that later.

Skylark on the hard

our folding propeller with fresh antifouling

the bow thruster, essential for manouvering at close quarters

Skylark was back in the water the morning of May14.  Ed and Jun, freshly arrived from Houston,  joined us at the yard for the launch and the short trip back to the Quai at which we were tied up by about 11 am.  That night aftyer dinner, I returned to the boat alone.  Francois had gone to spend the night at Simone's (sister of fomer wife) and Ed and Jun were to stay the night at their luxury digs at the Hotel Tahiti Nui.  On returning, I heard the seawater alarm and opening the engine room, found about 10 inches of water -- from an improperly closed sea water filter I'd cleaned earlier at the yard (mea culpa....).  Called Ed for assistance and we determined the cause, pumped out the bilge and rinsed with fresh water.  Damage was minimal given the nature of the problem -- submerged pressure switch for the fresh water system, bottom of the service alternator came in contact with water and shorted out and the sea water pump of the air conditioning system which was mounted low effectively "drowned".  The pressure switch and A/C pump were replaced with locally available substitutes but the 24 volt service alternator made by MasterVolt was not stocked by any vendor in Papeete.  Fortunatelty, a search on the web located a dealer in Auckland, New Zealand and he was able to ship it to us within 3 days.  The search for parts and a technician took the better part of a week but we  were finally fixed and ready to leave on Friday, May 21. Lesson learned -- check all thru-hulls when putting the boat back in the water.  Amel has made it simple by having a single sea water intake for all cooling water requirements on the boat.  We cleared immigration without the services of the WARC agent (simple enough) and set off for Raitea where Francois has a nephew he'd not seen for more than 30 years.  In between, Ed and Jun flew to Bora Bora to spend a few days at a luxury hotel perched on a coral reef.  Francois and I had time to walk Papeete even more extensively while searching for spares.  

Papeete -- Quai d'yacht

 The Chinese presence in Papeete is quite large but this Kuo Min Tang building was a bit of a shocker --did Generalissimo Chiang set up base here when he fled the Chinese mainland.?

...even a patisserie Chinois!

Fakarawa - atoll in the Tuamotus

April 2 – left in the morning for Fakarawa in the Tuamotus archipelago. Conditions were choppy and the wind variable. However, things settled down with an easterly flow once we were clear of the island. In the wee hours of the next day (April 3), heavy seas were encountered with large swells and winds up to 40 knots. We reduced sail to a small triangle in the genoa but were still making 6.5 knots. April 4 – winds and seas more settled. Wind was 15 to 18 knots on the beam giving us a good night of sailing. 

April 5 – approaching the northern pass of the Fakarawa atoll (the passé Garue). We made the pass at around 1530 hours and entered the calm atoll. The passage within the atoll to the village of Rotaova was charted but much of the rest of the atoll was unsurveyed described in the charts as “area non-hydrographie”.. We could see several “motus” or little islands left by volcanic eruptions of a long time past and built upon by coral. After the churning waters of the pass, the atoll was a wonderful change with calm. clear blue water. A scene out of a story book with palm trees fringing low lying reefs.

We took the dinghy ashore to a small beach near the village church. There were coral heads near shore which were hard to see in the fading light..

 Skylark at anchor in Fakarawa's pristine lagoon

The atoll was a good anchorage, an abrupt change from the rolling ocean outside. The water was flat and in daylight, was a permanent backdrop of turquoise and blue. The people were certainly friendly. There were no mre than 1000 inhabitants at Fakarawa, a large number of whom were engaged in pearl farming. The black south sea pearls are highly prized and much of the production is contracted for the Japanese market. The Japanese pearl industry has been decimated by pollution in their pearl farming waters. They are all too aware of this in the Tuamotus and jealously guard their pristine waters. The inhabitants keep the atoll very clean and visiting yachts appreciate the need to do their part by managing boat waste.

The ocean side of the atoll --  not so calm...

Supply ship comes once a week from Tahiti

Sunrise in the lagoon

April 6 – we walked to a family holiday “pension” for dinner. The Polynesian band at the restaurant entrance performed traditional music and sang with a beautiful natural harmony. During dinner, there was a dance performance by a young troupe, grass skirts and all. The thing that struck us was the genuine enjoyment on the part of the dancers – the absence of commercialism made it a great experience.

Dancers perform in Fakarawa

Sunsets on Fakarawa are just as spectacular as the sunrises. The picture below taken from the shore only partially captures the magical interplay of light and reflection on the atoll’s waters

Another day, another sunset in the atoll

Fakarawa, remote as it is without the facilities of the more urbanized parts of French Polynesia, is a truly serene place. The people seemed content and there are few signs of consumerism taking hold. We lunched at a “restaurant” operated from a van with a growth of grass around its wheels that suggested it might not ever move again. The food is best described as simple and wholesome – poisson cru (raw tuna marinated in lime juice and coconut milk), savoury crepes, steak frite… The owner, a French woman, and her staff engaged with customers with an ease that made you feel you’d known them for a long time

Fatu Hiva -- last of the Marquesas

March 31 -- we left Tahuata for Fatu Hivas, some 50 miles south.  The approach was spectacular with jagged volcanic peaksoutlined in the distance...

At the Baie Omoa, Fatu Hiva with the catamarn 1+1

The preferred anchorage at Baie Hanavave, also known as Baie de Virge or Bay of Virgins was crowded with sailboats, leaving little swinging room.  The radio traffic indicated a bunch of them would leave the next day, so we waited at the bay by the little village of Omoa. The holding was not too good and the anchorage was a little rocky in 23 meters of water. Another WARC boat, the French catamaran 1+1 (a Catana 53) was also there waiting for the boats at Hanavave to clear oout. Ed and I went ashore and took a walk in the village. Bought a few items from the local magasin as well as some bread, We had by now established for fact that no matter where you are in French Polynesia, bread was always good and done in the French way.

The next morning, Francois and Marie-Pierre (wife of Christian, owner of 1+1) decided to hike over the hills to Hanavave and meet us there. Ed and I motored to the bay which still had quite a few boats in it and anchored in about 18 meters. It was nice and still and holding was good. As the pictures show, the terrain is spectacular. There was a nice breakwater with a dinghy area and a boat ramp.

Nature's own stone sculpture

...and "Tikis" everywhere

The church at Hanavave

the village horse and....

the village pig..

So here we were on April Fools day at Fatu Hiva, anchored nicely. However, every now and again, the wind would come roaring down the hills and whistle loudly through the rigging and cause Skylark to swing hard on her anchor. Besides 1+1, 2 other ARC boats, Ciao and Lady Lisa were there. There was also a sailboat from Russia with a couple on board, Alexandre and Angelina. Their sails had been destroyed on the way over, their engine was inoperable, a tough situation to be in. Christian of 1+1 gave them an old sail that he’d kept on his boat which could be modified for their use.

That night, we went to dinner of local food at a Marquesan house – an informal affair at 1700 CFP per person. Our party consisted the Skylark crew, Christian and his wife Marie Pierre and the Russians who’d been invited by Christian to join in. The dinner was at the home of Cathie, a local woman who prepared a meal of Tahitian raw tuna, fried chicken, papays salad and fried breadfruit. The food was served up in generous quantities and a great time was had by all.

Tahuata, Marquesas

It's been a while since our last blog post.  Blame it on poor or non-existent internet conectivity in French Polynesia, Niue and Tonga.  But we are back, hopefully, with what appears to be a strong connection here in Suva, the capital city of Fiji.

March 29 -- left Atuona on Hiva Oa for Tahuata some 25 miles south of Hiva Oa. The seas were churning in 15 –20 knots of wind, influenced no doubt by the land masses of the isl;ands. We motored through an adverse current making 3 to 4 knots of boat speed, and perhaps 2.5 knots over the ground. This short trip took a little longer than we’d anticipated. We decided to head for the village with its small breakwater and landing area. The cruising guides all suggested the holding would not be too good. In any event, we dropped anchor at about 20 meters depth but this fairly close to the shallows with coral heads. We heard the constant roar of the breakers on the coral and wondered if we should have gone the bay to the east where three other sailboats were anchored.

Francois and Ed took the dinghy ashore and explored the small village. Other than for a small magasin (general store), copra and noni fruit operations and some wood carvers, there was little on offer. I stayed on Skylark. A small boat with a couple of islanders onboard approached and as best I could understand their French, they suggested the bay to the east would be safer as winds were expected to rise around where we were. When Francois and Ed returned, they reported the natives were friendly and they’d met a man who did wood carving, copra and possessed a rare coffee table book with a pictorial history of the island.

With the swells constant and the uncomfortable sound of the roaring breakers we decided to move to the bay east of us. It was much better there, a quiet, protected bay. There were three boats there including a well restored Westsail 32 from Alaska. The scenery was great with coconut trees covering the steep slopes.

Our peaceful little anchorage at Tahuata

The hillslopes of Tahuata have a dense cover of coconut trees left there by nature for the benefit of the island's inhabitants...

We could see fires in several spots among the trees. It seems that the islanders semi-process the copra in situ and bring down the product through the rough terrain in sacks (on their backs) for further drying before sale and shipment. Some fires burned through the night.

That evening, large numbers of shark-like fish were all over the bay stirring the waters in some sort of feeding or mating frenzy. The fish frequently came to the surface. Ed and Francois went for a swim – to take a look as there appeared to be no danger of being attacked. The fish were not large (perhaps one meter long) and were otherwise preoccupied with what they were doing. There were however some other sea creatures that stung as they swam around.
The next day, Tuesday, March 30,, Francois and I dinghied back to the village and took a walk. We looked up the man Francois had met the previous day and he showed us some of his bone carvings. I bough a small carving with the Marquesan cross on it for Miew Ling and also took the opportunity to scan the famous coffee table book. The man was quite pleased with the interest we showed in his island and way of life. He gave us a frozen shoulder of pork from a pig he had hunted recently and a large bunch of bananas. He would not take any payment for them and even walked us back to the dinghy carrying the bananas for us. The night was restful but the smell of smoke from the fires among the coconut tress were quite pungent. One fire seemed to burn out of control and was rather large.

The hand of bananas -- gift from a kind islander

Next stop, the island of Fatu Hiva, southern-most of the Marquesas before we head to the Tuamotus.