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Hike to Belvedere

After the morning net three dinghies headed south to the end of the bay rendezvousing with two more from vessels further in. Soon we had folks from Whiskers, Callisto, Jackster, Sea Mist and us on the road for an easy hike to Belvedere. This was a lookout with views of both Opunohu and Cook Bays. The hike started off very cool in the shaded valley but soon became quite humid. Fortunately the hike wasn’t too strenuous. My cold was really setting in and I wasn’t up for too much exertion. A lot of cruisers have colds at the moment. I think it was mixing it up with the crowds in Pape’ete has exposed us to all the latest strains.

Back on the boat after lunch Gerald from Whiskers as well as Tom from Emily Grace showed up to discuss our leak. There was concern we may have corrosion which would be quite serious. To be on the safe side the immediate remediation was to use epoxy to seal the leaking joint and then seal that over with a layer of self bonding tape. I did all this and upon testing we are again dry.

Somewhere along the way I managed to aggravate my wrist which is now extremely painful. I suspect it may be related to the sore throat, etc. I have but can’t be sure. There are a few medical professionals on nearby boats who I may consult today.

Not sure of our plans for today but right now I don’t feel up to much.

Rays and Sharks

The weather on Monday still hadn’t cleared up from the weekend but this didn’t stop us going out and about. Late in the morning we dinghied along the western channel behind the reef looking for a spot we’d heard stingrays showed up if we did. The first stop we made on some mooring balls turned out to have some carved stone heads lying on the sea floor. This was interesting but the sea life was pretty poor.

We headed further west past one of those luxury resorts with accommodations out over the water and tied up to some more moorings. Before we were in the water it was evident we were in the right place. We were surrounded by rays and black tipped reef sharks. We assumed the fish must be fed by visiting boats and expected more of the same from us. The water was about 5 feet deep and I must admit I was a little nervous particularly when the rays would often swim under us. Memories of Steve Irwin. Nearby where we were tied off was a deeper channel where large numbers of remoras circulated amongst some more black tipped reef sharks.

Heading back to the boat the heavens opened on us and we arrived feeling very cold and certainly very wet. Even the cold water in the shower felt warm and the warm water felt bliss.

The weather was patchy all afternoon. I tried to further troubleshoot a leak that has developed around one of our through hulls and is gradually increasing – not good news. It started on our trip from the Tuamotus to Tahiti. I was able to stop it once but now it’s restarted and worse than before.

At 5pm we had a BBQ aboard with Whiskers and Callisto. I ran my leak problem by Gerald who has built a few boats. He’s agreed to come and take a closer look today. We had a lot of fun, as ever, chatting, eating and drinking, although I’d lost my appetite. I think I’m coming down with a cold caught from the recent crowds of people we’ve been mingling with.

Today we’re off for a hike to a scenic point called Belvedere then walking down to the next bay to explore the town there before finding our way back here. Should be fun. It’s dark right now but the stars are out. Looks like good weather finally.

Rendezvous in Moorea

We started the morning with my waking John up a little earlier than he’d have perhaps wanted to go to the supermarket for fresh baguettes and some more beer. There was an offer on the local beers as long as one bought 20 50cl bottles which made the price come down to somewhere close to decent.

We munched our fresh bread and made the boat ready to sail. As we waited Sea Mist arrived from the anchorage on the other side of the airport and ended up rafted up against us while we waited for the 9am departure for the start of the race (no – it was a rally !!).

There was a buzz of excitement as nearly 40 boats made their way outside of the harbour ready for the official start of the race (no – it was a rally !!). The race (rally) started at 9:30 in light winds. We cheated a little and pushed ourselves along in the light air keeping in the middle of the pack. Soon we hit the winds coming from the SE and were flying in 20 knots of wind and creeping higher. Dignity loves the high winds and we were flying along between 9 and 11 knots. As the winds reached the high 20s we reefed the main. Most of the monohulls around us were wetting their rails – one or two wee almost flattened against the water.

The end of the race (no!!! – rally) was exiting. I’d noticed that the regen had been on for a while so I made sure it was off and we suddenly gained pace on the boats around us. The line to the finish was tighter than most boats could make, including us, so most of the boats were making a tack or two in close quarters right between the buoys. As the boats made it into the anchorage it became quite packed. We found a good spot on a sand bar in only 8 feet of water. With stronger winds predicted I dove on the anchor and found it buried in sand – perfect. I did later ready a second anchor in case we dragged over night.

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In the five years the Puddle Jump has been run this was by far the most wind they’ve had. As far as we know everyone was fine and no boats were damaged so that made it a perfect start to the day’s festivities.

With the wind being so strong and every one arriving early we had quite a wait for the evening’s fun. At 5pm we went ashore to witness more Tahitian dancing (very erotic I think). A few gifts were given to random people. Helen received a basket woven out of palm leaves. Then came the BBQ which we’d paid for earlier which we ate under a large marquee. We sat with Whiskers and Callisto but throughout the evening we chatted with many of our other friends made along the way.

Overnight the winds continued to blow strong. If anyone dragged it happened without waking us up despite our having the radio on overnight. The wind gen really earned it’s keep. It has rained overnight but now it is quiet. Hopefully the weather will improve for today where there are Tahitian canoe races to participate in and other events.

Anse Amyot, Toau

The wind continued to stay subdued and we all had a hot, sweaty and restless night. In the end I got up at 2am and completed all the stuff I needed to do on the internet. I only managed to upload a few photos – those from the festival in Hiva Oa. You can find them by clicking on the ‘Recently Updated’ category on this page somewhere. I managed a little more sleep before 6am when John and I went ashore for bread.

With nothing left but to run the morning SSB net (it was my turn) we readied the boat so we could set off once this was done.

With no wind we were motoring across flat water. As we approached the cut the water went from clear to crystal clear. It looked as though we were in shallow water when we were in fact in 70 feet. We were helped towards the cut by a one knot surface current which switched suddenly to two knots against us for a short period before disappearing all together.

The motoring to Toau was fairly uneventful. The genset cut out once with an overheating error which I resolved by repositioning the duct that extracts the hot air from the genset compartment. We had one bite on the trolling lines but nothing was caught.

Anse Amyot is a very shallow cut on the north side of Toau. It is too shallow to pass through but there is an accessible (from the outside) small lagoon with some moorings. The currents in the pass are negligible so, we understand, the snorkeling and diving is excellent without the problems of currents. As we approached we hailed Soggy Paws who we knew was there and asked which mooring was closest to good snorkeling as it’s always nice to go from the back of the boat. They gave us good advice and soon we were safely tied up to a ball. On the way in, Whiskers overheard us on the radio and contacted us. They had just left not knowing we were arriving. A missed opportunity but I’m sure we’ll catch up in the Society Islands.

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John and Patricia from Whoosh were soon over to say hello which was nice. They gave us the low down of the anchorage. We then went ashore to the ‘cruisers lounge’ where folks congregate and said hello to some old and new friends.

Our plan is to slow down (we’ll try – honest) and stay here for four nights before heading off to Tahiti in time to pick up our sail, fill our propane and sort out immigration for John before joining the rally/rendezvous which kicks off on the 18th and heads over to Moorea on the 19th.

Hakamaii / Baie de Vaiehu

The previous evening we’d agreed to meet Etienne at 7:30 to take us down the coast to the town of Hakamaii to visit the local Marquesan tatooist who lived in that village. We filled his truck with 5 gallons of diesel which was part payment for the trip as well as required to get us there. The trip took about an hour over a route that was occasionally paved but mainly a dirt track carved out of the side of the mountains and through lush vegetation. We eventually stopped at the home of Kina which we reached by climbing a dirt path through many fruit trees.

We sat down and looked through Kina’s book of tattoos selecting one we each liked. We had wanted someone who was less familiar with foreigners and hence less influenced by outside tastes and from the selection this looked to be the case. Given the Helen was positive towards this I let her go first lest she change her mind while I was having mine done. Helen chose to have hers done on her thigh so it could be hidden but shown easily as well as being able to see it herself. The pattern comprises sweeping curves with lots of intricate detail with lots of symbols representing travel, family, the Marquesas, etc. I chose a different tattoo but with similar curving style and symbols which went over my shoulder blade.

Having the tattoos done was a little painful at times but mostly relaxing, particularly when we relaxed and took our mind off of what was happening.

Despite the tattoos being quite intricate, Kina completed them quite quickly so we had some time to wait for Etienne to return. While we waited Kina gave us some fruit from his garden. Loads of fruit. We ended up with mangos, papayas, pampelmousse, bananas, oranges, some spiky delicious things we don’t know the name of and some aubergines (egg plant). He then invited us to join him for lunch which was a chicken stew with bread and rice. It was delicious. Kina also turned out to be a tapa maker and a sculptor. He showed us some of his work which we thought was fantastic.

Etienne eventually arrived and we headed back to Hakahetau and to the boat. We immediately left to head south to join Whiskers who had moved down to Baie de Vaiehu. We’d promised Gerald we’d take a look at his computer which had died and we wanted to show off our new marks of passage.

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Dianne and Gerald were very impressed with our tattoos. Helen’s is very strategically placed as it just occasionally shows below her hemline giving the hint of something exotic just out of sight. Quite sexy really.

Gerald’s computer was unfortunately pronounced dead looking like it needs a new motherboard. We spent a little time giving some advice about his laptop which we’ll follow up on next time we meet. We spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening sitting around on their foredeck eating and drinking and watching the sun go down and the stars come out.

Whisker’s are off to the Tuamotus today and we’re off north to Nuku Hiva and our water maker pump so our paths again go different ways. It’s almost certain we’ll meet again in a few weeks though.

We are both very pleased with our tattoos and would thoroughly recommend Kina to anyone else following our wake both for his tattoo work or for someone looking for some unique wood / bone sculptures. Furthermore, given that, from what we can tell, few sailors have their tattoos done on Ua Pou and that each island as it’s own style, Kina’s tattoos should be more unique. His number is (689) 925-585. The town of Hakamaii is not easily accessible by sea so using Etienne from Hakahetau would be a good idea. Hiring locals to drive one around is not cheap in the Marquesas so I’d recommend tying this in with a general visit of the island. Etienne also suggested that if groups wanted Kina’s services he could perhaps shuttle him to Hakahetau instead.