Land Ho!

Hiva Oa is in view under the clouds in the west.
 

What a welcome site: Hiva Oa, Marquesas, French Polynesia! Tom had been scanning the horizon for hours in search of the first site of land on our 20th day at sea. He was excite to see the island of Mohotani, which is uninhabited and charted as a restricted area. It lies about 15 miles southeast of Hiva Oa. You can usually spot land by looking at the clouds as they hover over the land masses.

The 3 Musketeers! No razors used on the crossing.
 

Our 40" long by 24" girth Yellow Fin Tuna!
 

Shortly after that, Tom saw Hiva Oa, the location of our anchorage and clearing in office. The sun was settling low in the west so you could only see an outline under the mass of clouds. We were still several hours away as we had less than four knots of wind, but the current was boasting our speed over ground so we continued under sail power. There is a penalty for motoring so we were determined to sail since we could not make landfall before sunset anyway.

This dinghy dock is dangerous!
 

Hiva Oa is one of two clearance locations in the Marquesas group. Since it is the most eastern, it is where most yachts enter after a 2900+ mile crossing from the Galapagos. Last year this tiny island saw over 700 visiting yachts. The real yachting season for them is April through July. This island rises straight out of the sea with no coral beds or sandy beaches. It is very deep right up to the edge of land until you reach the back of the harbor.

The World ARC "office" just off the dinghy dock.

We sailed right up to the last 24 miles when the wind died. It was in the middle of the night, too.
We continued on toward the finish line with several lookouts as we did not want to hit any fishing nets or small fishing boats, which are rarely lit. We crossed the finish line and went back out to sea to wait for daylight and to make water. Dennis had estimated it would take us 22 days and 14 hours and we were just under 21 days at sea. That was good time since the winds were light and variable all the way.

What to do now? It's always something

Unfortunately, our high pressure pump for the water maker kept kicking off the generator - so no fresh water! That was very disappointing since we all needed showers – badly! It also restricts how much water we can use each day. Dennis and I can live on a tank of water for two weeks, but it is different with five on board. Also, they keep doing their laundry with the fresh water so it is going to be a critical problem at some point. We have been cautioned that the water in the harbor should not be used for drinking. But there is an outdoor fresh water shower.

My new friend, The Fruit Lady!

The produce choice vary by day and from island to island.

The first thing I did even before we checked in was to seek information on a laundry service and get on the list! A very enterprising woman, Marie Jo, seems to have a lock on many services: laundry, which she washes and line dries, then folds it like a true professional; taxi service, tour guide (she leases out her husband Jon and his vehicle for all day tours; and she gives you tips on where to find things like fresh eggs! With 40 some boats arriving into their tiny town of Atuona, there are not enough eggs to reprovision. Of course, I admire her business strategy as a woman business owner! Not only was she efficient, but she understands customer service – something we did not see in the Galapagos.

Marie Jo has the market on
yachty services!

There is very expensive! Two bags of laundry was $6,000 cfp which is about $72 USD! A couple of bags of groceries with no meat and few fresh items were $15,000 cfp or about $182 USD. However, French bread can be had for very little and is available every day! So much for the gluten-free diet! I am on a French bread binge! I will pay, but for now I will enjoy.

A typical meal of goat, pork, breadfruit fries, rice and a
variety of unknown starches and fruits.

Atuona is locate at 090 48’ S and 1390 02’ W. The time zone is 9.5 UT (or Zulu). The region on French Polynesia shares two time zones. The anchorage is located in the northern corner of Taaoa Bay. It is rather rolly with the surge and tides. Stern anchors are a must here! Even the dinghy needs a stern anchor to keep it from beating against the rocks and the rugged cement dingy dock. There are no public restrooms anywhere.

You Know When You Have Been At Sea Too Long!

Another beautiful sunrise - or is it a sunset?
Must be a sunset since it is front of the boat! 

We are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on what we estimate to be a 22-23 day passage from the Galapagos Islands to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. The passage has varied from calm to rolly so far. The swells have increased as we continue south and the Equatorial Current moves us along toward the west even in lighter winds. However, it also moves us south when we are trying to stay somewhat north until later in the crossing. Several boats are very far south and we wonder if it is their “rally strategy” or if the current has them in its grip.

Washing dishes on deck in salt water because the
water maker is acting up. No showers for a while!

The sailing is beautiful to the point of boring! We are on a port tack and have been for days. There is not much to do except ride along. Of course, I have a lot of hungry “boys” to feed so I am busy in the galley. At least that gives me something to do. I am using my creative powers to come up with little surprises to keep it interesting.

We "caught" this little red fish in our anchor rode, so
we decided it needed to be on a Ritz!
 

A gift from the giant squid! It tossed a flying fish right
 into our head sink through an open porthole one night!

On a couple of days I popped corn so we could watch our two favorite movies: The Horizon and The Chart Plotter! Not much changes on either one of them so no reruns or sequels are needed! The smell of popcorn pepped up the crew and it disappeared quickly. The second time I made it, I made double so they could also have it on night watches. There the movie is: Stargazing! I had forgotten how easy it is to make popcorn in a pan on the stove. And it tasted so much better than any microwave brand. I think in the future on land I will make it on the stove.

The highlight of the days is watching the sunrise and sunset. Always spectacular and even more so when there are clouds around reflecting the pink and orange colors. Thank goodness for digital photograph since I entertain myself with taking hundreds of photos and then screening them for the ones I want to keep. Other than sun and clouds there is little else to capture except our crew in action – or inaction.

Our medium air asymmetrical
 

To humor ourselves, we have a list of things one does when one has been at sea too long. So here it is:

You Know You Have Been At Sea Too Long When:

·         You change sails a couple of times a day for something to do!

·         You are dreaming of a Chick-fil-a milkshake and start looking for a drive-through.

·         You try to speak in French, Spanish or any other language you make up.

·         Men are reading my cookbooks.

·         You start saying: if you don’t stop doing that, I am going to have to stop this boat (car) …

·         Taking in a 40” yellow fin tuna for 2 hours isn’t boring.

·         You start calling yourself by other boat names (as in Mojumbo, Tom) and you scream it out in the middle of the night

Our light air asymmetrical

·         You start telling scary cockpit stories about the giant squid lurking behind the boat during night watches. It throws little flying fish onto the deck to lure the watchman into its grip!

·         You start speaking with every accent you have heard among the foreign fleet and the local populations.

·         You try baking something at a 15 degree angle and have to turn the pan every few minutes. (I hate using the oven because it produces so much heat in the cabin.)

 And there were some more that should not be in print!



The Kicker Rock Tour and More!

Of course, here in the Galapagos, snorkeling with the sea life is the biggest attraction. The World Cruising Club arranged for a full day tour of several key places on the island of San Cristobal. First we went to a beach known as a sea lion sanctuary and breeding ground. There were a number of baby sea lions on the beach while the mommies were hunting for food. The Alpha male sea lion made his presence know with his loud calls. We were warned not to come between mother and child and not to swim on the side of the bay were the Alpha male had taken his position. The rule here is not to get any closer to the wild life than 3 meters. Of course, there are some who ignore the rules and irritate the animals.

We had an hour of snorkeling with the sea turtles, sea lions, rays and various species of fish. We literally had to swim through schools of fish, that took no notice of us. It was like crossing the street in a busy city: you just made your move and tried not to bump into anything. I am getting much braver about swimming with the underwater creatures. Dennis bought me a snorkeling vest that helps my confidence level and I don’t get as tired. I had been wearing my water aerobics swim belt, but that does not allow me to adjust the buoyancy. As of yet, we have not done any scuba diving.

We next boarded a power boat that took us to Kicker Rock to snorkel with the deep water fish and sharks. I have to admit that I was a little concerned about the word “shark” and not real excited about jumping into the deep water. We circled the rock formation on the boat while the naturalist explained things and pointed out the different species of birds living there and who preys on whom. Then the tour boat drops you off on the east side of Kicker Rock and the current carries you through the passage between the two rocks. The boat is on the other side to pick you up when you are finished.

It was more difficult to see the fish and sharks near the bottom of the area, and my camera had fogged up from the temperature changes from the cold water, to the hot sun and back to cold water so I didn’t get any good shots here. We saw beautiful schools of fish of many types and colors. And we saw hammerhead sharks. The visibility was a little cloudy so I had trouble spotting the sharks at first. Then just as I was about to finish my swim, three huge (5’ long) hammerheads swam about three feet under me. I thought I was going to panic, but I manage to stay quiet and breathe!

What is this?

Following the Kicker Rock swim, we boarded the boat and headed to a beach. Since we are not allowed to take food on shore, we lunched on the boat before jumping in to swim ashore. Here we saw the marine iguanas up close and saw their interesting tracks in the sand. We saw several small puffer fish riding the waves in and out right at the shore line and a hermit crab. Back at Kicker Rock we had seen the little black crabs that grow up into the big red crabs. Not as big as the Alaskan King Crab, though.

It was a long, but fun day in the sun and water so everyone was tired by the time we got back to the boat. Dennis and I were going to have a dinner alone on shore after doing some work on the internet (which was not working). Jack stayed on the boat. Larry went off on his own. Nick and Daphne went off on their own. And we all ended up at the same restaurant! In the end, Nick and Daphne joined us for dinner. So much for date night! I guess it is “married with children.”

 

Next we will be sailing over to the island of Isabella and then onto Santa Cruz where Jack, Nick and Daphne will head home. Tom and Tony will be joining us for the longest leg of the whole rally.

Due to Internet challenges, this blog will be continued! See a few more photos below.

 

The Galapagos Islands!

 

64 Year Old "Peppy" a land tortoise on San Cristobal

Well, here we are! Even a couple of years ago, I never dreamed I would be sitting in the Galapagos Islands with sea lions, sea turtles, marine iguanas, sharks, and multiple species of fish and birds! Let alone on my own yacht! Sometimes this whole adventure seems surreal.



Sea lions will sleep anywhere they can
get out of the water for a while! They are
noisy and stinky, but fun to watch.

But here we are. You don’t take your dinghy ashore – unless you want the sea lions to take it over and probably leave you a smelling gift. They are everywhere along with their smell. We have large fenders on our swim step to keep them from sleeping there.

As I look around the anchorage, there are a number of boats with visitors on their swim platforms. One even climbed up on the settee on the aft deck of a catamaran and was sleeping with its head on a pillow! When the skipper saw it, he went out on deck and the sea lion hissed at him, so the skipper retreated. Then he decided that it was his boat and went back out and growled at the sea lion, who promptly slid into the water and went to look for another home! You need to be the Alpha male here!

All of these officials came on the boat at one time!
It was rather crowded and very confusing with all of
the Spanish conversations.

There is a renewed conservation mode in place here. We had to have a health inspection of our boat in addition to all of the other visitor fees. There is a $100 National Park fee even for those you just fly in to join a boat and don't see anything!

A crew of eight officials came out to the boat and boarded at the same time. We had to complete a pile of paperwork. They asked many questions about what we had on board and inspected parts of the boat. They took many photos of things and on some boats, removed a number of items. Nothing was taken from us. One question they asked was did we have biodegradable detergent. Dennis said, "Yes, Joy" and I quickly grabbed the bottle of method so they could take a photo of it! Not sure what the people in the office would have done with a picture of JOY!

Come to think of it, would you let
these two into your country!?!

They sent divers out to inspect the bottom of the boats and 18 of the fleet boats had to go 60 miles offshore to have the bottoms cleaned. This has been expensive and frustrating as most of the boats had been hauled and cleaned or cleaned and painted just before leaving the Caribbean! Fortunately, we were not one of those. It looks like we are all going to contribute to the cost for those boats as it is $300-500 per boat.

The bigger issue is that many of these sailors have family and friends waiting at another Galapagos island to join them for activities and cruising! Now they have lost out on booked tours and time to do what they had planned. Apparently a new naturalist has come to the islands since the WARC negotiated our fees and clearances and this was recently put into place. We also have to sort our garbage into three separate groups: recyclables (paper, plastic, glass and metal), organic and general trash. We cannot take them ashore here, but have to keep them on board until we get to Santa Cruz which is two weeks away.



Welcome to the Galapagos!

The Water Taxis are our means of transportation.
$.60 pp during the day and $1 pp at night.

I am not opposed to the sorting and recycling, but keeping the organic materials is a stinky deal - literally! As sailors, we respect the ocean and all of nature and we abide by the philosophy of leaving a Clean Wake! We do not contaminate the ocean with anything that is harmful to it. We keep all non-biodegradable items until they can be properly disposed of on land. Our concern is what happens to it all on Santa Cruz? There are no incinerators. We assume they will compost the organic stuff, but we don’t see how this solves the problem of introducing non-native items into the ecosystem here.

I am not opposed to the sorting and recycling, but keeping the organic materials is a stinky deal - literally! As sailors, we respect the ocean and all of nature and we abide by the philosophy of leaving a Clean Wake! We do not contaminate the ocean with anything that is harmful to it. We keep all non-biodegradable items until they can be properly disposed of on land. Our concern is what happens to it all on Santa Cruz? There are no incinerators. We assume they will compost the organic stuff, but we don’t see how this solves the problem of introducing non-native items into the ecosystem here.





As for San Cristobal, there has been much work done on the waterfront to create a tourist area. When you get off the water taxi, it feels a little like “Welcome to Disney World.” There is a “board walk” of cement along the entire waterfront with a fence to keep the sea lions in the water and rock area and not in the streets. Occasionally, a few do manage to get up to the street level and lay around causing traffic issues. The opposite side of the street is filled with shops, restaurants and several small hotels. In many establishments, you can access Internet after a purchase. The Internet service is typical of most islands and not reliable nor is it secure.

We have had some great seafood meals in interesting little places. We even found a place that makes terrific milkshakes on the way back from the beach! Location. Location. Location. A smart business woman runs a 6 table open air restaurant/snack bar just at the top of the hill you have to climb on your way back from the bigger beach where we snorkeled with sea lions and turtles. The Blue Footed Boobies nest nearby.

 

Leg 2: Las Perlas to the Galapagos

We had a beautiful start to the second leg of the circumnavigation. The winds were light so spinnakers and genakers were flying. It was a sight to behold: the gentle breeze, the colorful sails and a narrow start line! The countdown began and the shoots were hoisted – and we were off!



The START of Leg 2

This passage is known for its lack of wind so we were all strategizing to find the most wind for the longest periods of time. We used Jimmy Cornell’s cruising guides to plan our course. Instead of following the rhumb line, we went south until we turned southwest. Actually, there is a strong westerly current so unless you are motoring, it is difficult to go straight south. (Oh, did I mention that Nick was disappointed when he realized it is not a RUM line!)

Nick and Dennis were also the champs when it came to catching tuna. They caught three in a matter of 45 minutes! I am still looking forward to a Wahoo or MahiMahi.

The START was very crowded, but after 30 hours we
saw no one in person and after 48 hours we saw very
few of the fleet boats on the AIS screen.

I have to say we were so pleased to have Nick sail with us as he had never been on the boat. He learned a lot, became proficient at a number of sailing skills and provided great humor! He and Jack had the most interesting discussions that challenged logic on all levels. It made for some good laughs.



The third tuna!

Dennis did a great job of charting our course and we sailed most of the passage when other boats were motoring. We only had 30 some engine hours out of the 7 days. Unfortunately, some of those came when we were herded north and east by a fishing boat. We think it was one of the illegal ones with 2 mile long lines out fishing without any lights on.



Real on the job training for Nick!

This experience resulted in another night of screaming in Spanish. We could only make out that he wanted us to go north and east. Of course, we wanted to south and west! Even with Nick’s limited Spanish and our Spanish for Cruisers book, we did not know what he was saying. When we asked a simple question, he went off on a screaming fit, repeating himself over and over. Obviously, if we didn’t understand him the first time, we were not going to understand him with his many repetitions. We think he was telling us he would be fishing there until Friday as if we were going to sit and wait for him to finish!

A great week of family time for all of us.

Since he had no navigational lights we couldn’t tell which direction he was going or where the lines were. We think he was trying to tell us there were some flags in the water to mark the boundaries. Good luck as it was late at night and we couldn’t see anything except his white spotlight aimed at us as he came toward us! We were literally “run out of town” by this vessel. If you look at our track you may think we had been into the rum at sea! Unfortunately, this episode caused us to lose a lot of time and 15 extra miles out of our way. We had been on a good run to the finish line prior to this incident.



Crossing the Equator! Woo Hoo! We made it!

Nick was our hero throughout the Spanish speaking islands. Dennis and I have limited Spanish and would never have make it through the many challenges of shopping, dining and navigating without his help! He and Daphne had free time to enjoy many tours and hikes on three of the islands we visited. And we loved having Nick with us. Sure do miss his giggle!



I tried using the self-timer and jumped into the picture. It
looks more like I have had too much bubbly and am
falling off the seat! Oh, well!

After this incident, we lost our enthusiasm even for the crossing of the equator. No costumes of Neptune on the Captain! We did celebrate with champagne (Spanish Brut, to be exact) and a group photo. Somehow in the rush to get out of the house and onto the boat, I wasn’t thinking about costumes for various occasions as we celebrate around the world. We will just be the fuddy-duddies!