14th - 15th April, 2010

NUKA HIVA, MARQUESAS ISLANDS

 

We have arrived!!! Exacty 3,005 miles of ocean crossed in 17 days.  We are now 10 hours ahead of English time.

Last Monday, the 12th, the clew went on our Main Sail as well, the same problem the stiching had rotted, so we had to reef the main to be able to use it.  We still made good way with a reefed main and the asymmetric goose winged. 

The next problem was to find a sail maker/repairer in the Marquesas, which may be impossible and therefore would have to wait until we arrived in Tahiti, but as luck would have it there is a 'live aboard' sailor from S. Africa in the bay who has set up shop, by arrangement with the local laundrett, with an industrial sewing machine to mend sails so we are in luck.  The first thing we did yesterday was take the sails down and then ashore after lunch, very hot work for the guys.

Having been on night watch from 3am to 6 am and then stayed up as we came into Nuka Hiva (we had already passed Ua-Huka at 3.30 am a dark unlit island which we passed two miles offshore). I finally went down to sleep at 9.30 am and slept solidly until 12 am.  Awoke to find that Ger from Semanderal had left some French bread for us on the aft deck, so had a coffee with real french bread and apricot jam, bliss! and so kind and thoughtful of her.  

Jean Beswick, doing the Round the World ARC rally, was still in the bay on her Catermaran and popped over to visit which was great as we had been trying to catch up with each other for ages, but the ARC is organised to leave before we arrive, quite sensible really.  I met Jean on the station at Reading UK last December, freezing cold, she had two big heavy sail bags next to her as I did as well.  When the train arrived to take us to Gatwick we helped each other with the bags onto the train and then got talking, and it turned out she was doing World ARC and of course I was doing BWR so lots of girl chat about stowage of girlie necessaries and how much and the fear of running out!! It was hilarious and the poor lady sitting next to us was very amused. We organised to get together last night for dinner with our respective spouses and crew. 

We then went ashore for lunch, very french steak and frites with a lovely salad in a cafe near the landing.

Because it is part of French Polonesia the main language is French and the food has a very french influence as well.

Dinner that night was at a local restaurant and delicious out on a terrace our waiter/waitress was man/woman almost half way between a transvestite and homosexual.  The tradition in the Polonesian Islands is that if you have a third child and it is a boy you bring him up as a girl, they have a much higher status than anybody else and grow up with a lot of respect, but they behave and dress just like females though they are definately big and male.  It can be very confusing at first but there are a lot of them around.

We have organised a 4x4 trip around and through the island with a guide for tomorrow which should be fun, but very hot sticky and dirty, we will be seeing the areas where there was human sacrifice and where humans were kept alive in a 'larder' under a Banyan tree until needed. Cannibalism finished in the 1920''s.  The wood carvings and Tiki are facinating and hope to get ahore soon to explore more.  Below decks is now cleaned up and just have the top decks to do and to get all the goose barnicles off the side of the yacht, they attach themselves as you sail through the Pacific.  We plan to stay here until about Tuesday, Wednesday next week before going off and exploring the other islands.  A few thing have been organised for us by the BWR such as  roast pig dinner where the pig is cooked underground.

Sadly our USB ports on this computer have decided not to work so I can't plug my camera in to download 'photos yet.  If I can find somewhere ashore to be able to do this on my Apple I will.  It is easier with the Apple as I can just drag and drop.