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by KC2RIY, on September 25th, 2010 ( A Cappella, Anthem, Bamboozle, Callisto, Desue, Freezing Rain, Imagine, Inspiration Lady, Jackster, Kamaya, Mojo, Paleides, Passages, Scream, Sea Mist, Tonga, Trim, Tyee, Visions of Johanna) The Jackster’s showed up and anchored next to us around midday. We soon had them over to share our experiences of the last few months as well as abandoning our plans to hoist the main sail in favour of a few beers.
Around 6pm we headed ashore to Ano Beach for the ferry service to the Full Moon Party. Sadly, the ferry service was the weak link of the whole evening requiring some folks to wait over two hours for their turn to board and make the passage round to the party. Fortunately we made it over on the second one out so we didn’t have to wait too long.
The party was a lot of fun. A lot of the people we have previously mentioned on our blog were there. Most people on their way to New Zealand this year are either now in Tonga or soon to be arriving. I’m probably missing a few but those that we can put our heads together and remember are : A Cappella, Anthem, Bamboozle, Callisto, Delos, Freezing Rain, Imagine, Inspiration Lady, Jackster, Kamaya, Mojo, Paleides, Passages, Scream, Sea Mist, Trim, Tyee & Visions of Johanna. There were many others and we made some new acquaintances along the way.
A lot of effort had been put into things including three 10 minute shows of which Ben played a part (dressed as a skeleton) in the first and third. Not everything went smoothly but it was all appreciated.
We didn’t get back until after midnight. We didn’t see Ben until the following morning around 11am which I saw him on the ferry. I dinghied over and he jumped in the water to avoid the trip to the beach. He hadn’t slept at all having had the beer and food go free around 3am and partying into the morning followed by helping to clear up.
We have some pictures, courtesy of Ann from Callisto, which will be posted when we can get a connection.
Tomorrow the fun continues so we’ll be off early round to Neiafu.
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.
We went diving again in the morning with Sherry and David from Soggy Paws. This time we went west of the pass. The dive wasn’t as good as the previous day but fun in the clear water all the same.
In the afternoon I did a little fishing off the back of the boat. I caught a unicorn fish with bits of bacon then using the flesh of the fish managed to catch another. Getting bored towards the end I stuck a big hook on the end of my hand line and put the rest of my first catch on it. Within a few minutes I had hooked a shark – I saw it take the bait in the crystal clear water. It didn’t take long to snap the 80lb line. Not sure what I would have done with it if I’d managed to get it in so I guess that was for the best.
In the evening we went ashore for dinner again. This time it was a pig roast. A pig had been slaughtered in the morning which some cruisers heard and some watched. We all brought rum and juice ashore to make punch. At times in the evening Valantine played the ukulele and sang accompanied by her late mother’s boyfriend (hanger on) playing the guitar. The evening was their anniversary celebration so it was sort of ours too. The food was good. With us ashore were the Jacksters, Anthem, Soggy Paws, Nakia and a couple of French boats.
Lying here this morning I here the wind generator spinning more than it has for some time. We are not due to leave until tomorrow. We have been invited to church this morning where Valentine is the minister which could be interesting. We still have to scrape the weed off the hull so although the wind tempts us to go we may stick to our plan to leave for Tahiti tomorrow.
We had a reasonably easy day of it yesterday. At 10am four dinghies (Soggy Paws, Jackster, Sea Mist and us) headed out the pass and off to the east to a dive spot. The dive was a wall dive with drop offs going down hundreds of feet followed by sandy pockets and overhangs – all giving plenty of places to investigate and look for sea life.
Back on the boat we had our lunch before doing a spot of reading. I went ashore to talk about having an evening meal there. The Jacksters were keen and relayed the fact that Jack on Anthem and the Imagines were on their way and had expressed a desire to book a slot to eat out too. Valentino, the local who runs the little restaurant here was initially reluctant to cater for an additional eight but after consultation with her husband relented.
We then snorkeled the nearby reef. We saw a number of large parrot fish as well as the largest trumpet fish we have ever seen. We examined the nearby fish trap which, true to it’s function, had trapped a large number of fish including an immense parrot fish.
I did do a little work which was half pleasure. I wanted to reverse our Code Zero halyard as it was damaged when the Code Zero last blew. Having reversed it I wanted to inspect the pulleys at the top of the mast in case they’d been damaged too. John manned the winches and hoisted me up. From the top of the mast – higher than any land around – I could see over the trees and could see the atoll curving around in each direction. The pulleys were ok but I stayed a short while to enjoy the view.
Then came some hammock time for me. I started to read but decided just to rest and watch the sea rippling in the sunlight.
The net we’ve been running in the morning has gathered a lot of listeners. We recently agreed to extend it for a few more months as most of the boats push further west. As four of the current net controllers were in this tiny anchorage we all got together aboard Dignity to kick the net up a gear agreeing a script, formal rota, contact into and guidelines for adapting the net as we all head west. While we were all together the sun set quite gloriously.
At 7pm we went ashore for dinner. We were served fish and lobster dishes which were quite delicious but a little expensive – understandable given the remoteness of this place. As ever, the company made it all the better.
It looks like we won’t be able to have dinner here on our anniversary as it turns out it’s their anniversary too and it’s also Sunday which they prefer not to work. We’re thinking of possibly having dinner again tonight which although being a day earlier here would be our anniversary in England where we were married.
We woke this morning to the sound of the wind gen turning which it hasn’t done too often for the last several days. We’re thinking of leaving here on Monday but we may go tomorrow if the wind picks up. We’ll see.
Today we’ll probably dive again and maybe go for a walk. The bottom of the boat needs a scrape as it’s growing whiskers in places which will affect our passage.
There was little wind to speak of yesterday and once underway we were reluctant to stop so we made it all the way to the village. No surprise but there were quite a few boats in the anchorage of which we recognised most.
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We were soon connected to the internet and struggling through the slowness of it all to get a few things done. Two of the key tasks were to book Ben’s flight to join us (now set for July 13th) and Sam’s flight to South Africa to visit his family there.
Later we went ashore to have a look around. We bumped into Jackie from Jackster who was on a similar mission to ourselves. We found Gunther who provides free visits to his pearl farm and set up a trip for the next day (this afternoon). We then visited the dive shop and set up a dive for this morning on the incoming current at the northern pass.
We parted company with Jackie and headed down the main drag (such that it was) and visited the three stores along the way picking up some rather overheated croissants left over and some raisin bread. Outside one of the stores we met Brian and Jodon from El Regallo who we’d known from the radion. It was nice to meet and get to know them. Soon we were back aboard internetting again before settling down to sleep.
This morning I was ashore at 6am to pick up fresh baguettes and croissant for breakfast. Shortly before 8am John and I dinghied to the dive shop for our dive – Helen wanting to pass on this one as it was a little technical. We met the Jacksters there as well as John and Ian from Sea Mist along with some others who we didn’t know. It didn’t take long to get out to the dive site 5nm away in their powered RIB. We were separated into groups of 4 with a dive master with each group. Our group went second. We were dropped into the water and had to head down fairly quickly lest we be swept beyond our target in the strong currents.
Our first stop at around 110ft was on the rising reef. Here we saw thousands of fish and hundreds of sharks all milling around each in their own place in the food chain starting with the small life being swept up over the reef by the current. We soon hand to handed over to coral to a spot about 90ft deep where we waited another 10 minutes before letting go. We were swept over the reef and through some canyons for around 10 minutes before arriving at a dip in the reef called Ali Baba where sharks and fish took refuge from the current. The other two divers in our group were running low on air and needed extra from the dive master. Presumably they’d not been able to relax in the deep part of the dive and used up too much air.
Forty minutes into the dive it was time to rise and take a 5 minute safety stop to allow some of the nitrogen to fizz off. After that we were on the surface being picked up by the RIB. A great dive.
Back ashore it was back to internetting, this time ordering parts to be sent to Ben to bring to the boat in a months time.
This afternoon we went back ashore to visit the pearl farm. We didn’t get the full show as the technicians were out in the lagoon fixing things but we were shown an oyster being opened and a black pearl within. We also had explained the whole pearl making process which was pretty interesting. The end of the trip, inevitably, was where we could buy some pearls. Helen found one she liked and John bought a few.
That’s about it. The wind has been non-existant today and the lagoon consequently flat. From others I understand the forecast for the next few days is about the same. We’ll stay here until our online work is done and then head to Toau even if we have to motor.
In the meantime I’ve put together our tracks of our big crossing and our stay in the Marquesas. You’ll have to zoom out to see the bigger crossing.
View 2010 Marquesas in a larger map
With any minutes left I’ll try and uploading some more pictures.
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