We have completed our circumnavigation...

Lochmarin
Tue 20 May 2014 23:55
08:54.87S 140:05.6W


A rain squall passing by.

of Nuku Hiva! 

And we're back in Taiohae, still waiting on weather, but also waiting on getting some fuel. There was rationing but the fuel delivery is due in so Phil went to enquire at the dock. The helpful lady there explained that "The big fish" was due in and that we could come the day after it arrives to get some diesel, un-rationed. Fish, ship, similar sort of sounds. It tickled us enough to adopt the new meaning, so now there are not only flying fish and good for eating fish, there are also fuel fish and supply fish...

When we sailed along the East coast we were accompanied by a dozen or so dolphins - the strangest ones we've seen so far! They were uniformly dark grey, with regular shaped bodies - not especially stocky nor especially thin, but they seemed to have no beaks! No 'nose' at all, a little bump above a smile. So strange. I went forward (clipped onto the jack stay) to get a better look - it was wonderful. We were ploughing through the waves, with the bow going 6 inches under the blue water now and again, so all of a sudden I'd be sitting waist deep in rushing water with the dolphins right alongside me, close enough to touch, instead of sitting above looking down on them. Our first spotting of Risso dolphin.

 Here are some highlights of the amazing scenery as we went around Nuku Hiva:

All along the West coast fantastic ravines found their way to the sea, breaking up into a number of canyons as they progress inland.