Quick Update. Taioa Bay (Daniels Bay), Nuku Hiva. Sunday 01 Jun 14
Tashi Delek
Mike & Carol Kefford
Mon 2 Jun 2014 06:08
We arrived here yesterday after a six hour sail from the north side of the
island that involved pretty much every type of sea state available. Big
swell with added chop on top at the north, waves crashing into each other
because they were coming from two different directions round the headland,
very slight swell as we came down the west side because the wind and swell
was coming from the east and so we were protected by the island itself (this
is called being in the lee of the island) and then.....
....... we could see a line on the water where the sea looked very
different. Turbulent, a different colour and a lot more wild horses (white
caps) on top. So, all a bit more windy and bouncy we thought. We could
count down to crossing the line when we went from motoring in calm, to winds
and sea dead against us. Fortunately our friend Harry on his yacht Malua
was a couple of hours ahead of us and we chatted on the VHF radio every so
often so he could tell us what was coming next and we could prepare the
boat.
Having had a great sail along the north coast and then a gentle time with
the engine on (which means we also generate additional electricity to charge
the batteries and power the water maker) we now had sails up and engine on
and were still only doing 2 - 3 knots thanks to the waves pushing us
backwards and the wind dead on the nose. For extra fun there then came
another headland as we turned along the south coast so we stayed well out to
sea in order to avoid any flukey winds and waves bouncing off that.
Finally we arrive at the entrance to Taioa (also known as Daniels) Bay which
is a dog leg between spectacular cliffs (ie rocks, only very high ones).
The swell is pushed into this narrow gap from a wide ocean while at the same
time it gets shallower. There is a lot of water therefore trying to get
into a smaller space. On top of this the tide is running in whatever
direction and the wind may or may not be gusting down the valleys. The net
effect is similar to being in a washing machine but Tashi Delek took it all
in her stride as we slowly progressed round the corner into the protected
anchorage.
As expected several of our friends were here, some having just made the same
trip. As we get near to the first catamaran, Moxie, they hold up a very
large mahi-mahi fish. They had caught two on the way down. Next we see
Moana Roa who had caught the biggest wahoo they had ever caught on the way
down. Then we saw Malua and were relieved to learn that Harry had been
trolling a line without success. Needless to say we too had trolled a line
without success. Cruisers are kind to each other though, and as soon as we
had dropped anchor Mike and Denise from Moxie dingied over with some fillets
for us and to invite us for supper with them and their two daughters. The
following day Laurie from Moana Roa similarly dingied over with some fillets
so - we can still have fish for supper in spite of our continued failures.
We don't seem to be doing anything different to anyone else so we will keep
trying.
Today the crews of five boats, Moxie, Malua, Moana Roa, Elena and Tashi
Delek assembled on the beach for the four hour round trip hike to the third
highest waterfall in the world. So high that you can't actually see the top
and the bottom at the same time. Moxie, Moana Roa and Elena have eight
children between them so we had huge fun all together walking through the
forest and forging the river several times to get to the falls.
We will leave tomorrow (Monday) for the island of Ua Pou which is roughly a
25 nautical miles sail south. We haven't visited there yet so it will be
another island to see while we provision for the passage to the Tuamotos
where there are a lot of coconuts but very little fresh fruit and
vegetables. They are low, dry, coral atolls and so completely different to
the mountainous, volcanic, wet and fertile Marquesas. We plan to leave
later in the week when the current stronger winds and bigger swell have
settled. Once again we will be in the company of other boats.
Hopefully while we are in Ua Pou we will be able to access a proper wifi
connection and so complete our Marquesas blogs with some photographs.
....... and finally, last night we had more than 160 bananas on board at
various points of ripeness. Today we only have about 120 having given some
away, which is difficult because most other boats have gathered a lot of
bananas as well. They are delicious.