09.21S 140.06W

JENNY
Alan Franklin/ Lynne Gane
Fri 4 Apr 2008 03:49
We have now left Nuku Hiva and are on our way to the Tuamoto Archipelago via an island called Ua Pou just to the south of Nuku Hiva.
 
On the islands there are the remains of gods and idols and the sacrificial sites where human sacrifices were made and cannibalism took place ,normally after cooking in your favourite sauce,I wonder which parts were the tasty bits.Any way that has all stopped now or so they say.
 
We did the 4 wheel drive tour without a guide as we had toured the Island 2 years ago and we managed to find the same spots again and I was able to relate some of the history,the scenery is quite stunning as you are touring round a volcano with impressive peaks and valleys.
 
The Marqueasa are the first Polynesian people that we have encountered (Galapagos is Ecuador).The Polynesians of today have not changed much from the predecessors, apart from the lack of human meat in there diet,bronze coloured skin slight build and straight black hair as contact with the outside world is still limited.The women are abit less liberated than there sisters in the Captain Cook days.He nearly lost his ship when the sailors discovered they could win agirls favour with as little as a single nail (copper of course) or so the story goes.
 
As I sit aboard the boat I can hear the native group ashore playing the traditional rhythms and hear the dancers re-enacting the pig hunt,two nights ago we had a traditional pig feast where the pig is cooked in the ground with hot stones and fruit layered between palm throngs,when looking at it you do get the impression that this could have been the way that they cooked there captives,I suppose pigs could be the right analogy.
 
After leaving Taiohae Bay 2 days ago we went to a place called Daniel's Bay which was owned by a chap of the same name who use to supply passing yachts with fresh water and fruit for a small token.However it was discovered by the Survivor TV people for their series who bought it from Daniel flattened his house seal the well and when they had finished with it sold it on and now it has reverted back to Daniel's Bay again.It is a lovely spot again with a sandy beech, palm trees,we had a picnic there with about forty others and a game of cricket.The English side Won
 
We had a cracking sail over to this island covering the 25nm in just over 3 hrs there is only one other BWR yacht here a HR 53 called Blue Raven and we have been invited aboard for dinner tonight.The last 2/3 days I have been down with food poisoning ,its the pig getting its own back ,but should be okay now.
 
We are off to the Tuamoto's tomorrow about 500 nm away say 4 days sailing they are known as the Dangerous Archipelago because they consist of a series of low lying atolls.All of the atolls are only as high as the tallest palm tree,there is nothing standing more than 45 ft high and although GPS helps some of the charts are so old that the positions shown by the GPS could be up to 2 nm out.These are not the south pacific islands surrounded by reefs but the sunken craters of extinct volcanoes with various peaks poking up and some passes through the peaks which can be difficult to navigate in fact its all eye ball navigation.In the lagoons are"Boomies" these are coral heads just below the surface to trap any yacht without a lookout.
Reading all the available pilots and charts is some very serious study as more yachts have ended up on reefs here than any other place in the world,one of the yachts on the rally who has been here before said that he had never seen so many wrecked yachts in one area,this is where Gipsy Moth went down 2 years ago.
 
Having braved all the hazards and found the pass into the atoll we will find small villages black pearls superb snorkelling and local culture and even the odd lagoon and another warning on shark attacks.It had better be worthwhile as we have three on our agenda.
 
Jenny has just come back from going ashore in the dinghy we are anchored in the bay ,there is party tonight and a local dance competition to which we have been invited by the Mayor (better get the nails out) in my dreams.Tomorrow we have been invited to go on a tour with him followed by lunch,I wonder what we will have to trade?
 
Just an after thought, when we and anchored up Sheila on Blue Raven asked us if we had lost a dinghy pointing some way out to sea you can guess the rest.Salvage cost us 4- Beers 2- Bottles of wine and desert.