Are we nearly there yet?? 10:52S 123:28W
Seaflute
Thu 27 Apr 2017 02:15
we are over half way though!" And so it goes. We are on day eleven of our
great Pacific passage from the Isle de Galapagos to Fatu Hiva, the
easternmost of the Isles de Marquesas and our final destination on this leg.
The Marquesas' are in turn the most North-eastern Archipelago that makes up
French Polynesia. French Polynesia consists of 176 Islands, covering a sea
area of over 500,000 square miles. They are split loosely into five
Archipelagos. The Marquesas, The Society Islands, The Tuamotus, The Gambiers
and The Australs. The character of the islands differs dramatically, from
the Marquesas in the North East that are fertile rocky mountainous islands
rising steeply out of the sea. Their slopes shelving almost vertically down
to three thousand metres or more below sea level, just a stones throw from
their beaches. The central and southern archipelagos are mainly coral
atolls, with land areas just metres above sea level and covered in just
grass and palm trees. The groups of islands are in essence the rims of
volcanoes that have risen from the ocean floor and just broken the surface
of the water. These are the classic islands of Bora Bora, Morea and
Rangiroa, whose pictures so often adorn the covers of travel brochures for
the South Pacific. Every cruising yachtsman dreams of sailing through the
narrow passes into these calderas and anchoring in the crystal clear,
turquoise lagoons within. The navigation challenges for us yachtsmen are
enormous and this will easily be the most testing leg of our trip so far. It
is also the part I am most looking forward to. We have over six months to
meander through these glorious Pacific Islands until we reach New Zealand at
the end of October. Unlike most circumnavigators who are forced to traverse
the Pacific fairly quickly to stay ahead of the storms that ravage the
tropical convergence zone north east of New Zealand from late September
until early the following year, we have the bonus of a layover in New
Zealand, so we are in no such rush. We therefore have the luxury and
privilege of exploring well off the beaten track, and hopefully discovering
some real gems hidden in this beautiful aquatic wilderness.
I am loathe to talk about leisurely uneventful sailing, known colloquially
as champagne trade wind passage making, lest I tempt providence, or Neptune,
or whomever may be taking notice of this tiny spec of a craft navigating
across this immense ocean. Should I be so brave, or foolhardy, I would say:
"yes, leisurely and uneventful it has been..so far".
As I write, we have 930 miles to run to land fall. Our sailing distance
achieved in the last twenty four hours was two hundred and fifteen miles.
So, on that basis we should have four days of sailing left. Unfortunately
the current weather prediction is for the wind speed to reduce dramatically
for the last three days of the trip. We don't have the comfort of sufficient
fuel to motor this distance and retain a safe reserve, so we will have to
concede to much slower sailing speeds and a later arrival date. Our ETA is
currently the second of May. Unfortunately for Rachael, it's her birthday on
the first and her hope of celebrating on dry land is looking unlikely. She
will have to make do with a slightly belated but Polynesian celebration a
day or two later.
I had my birthday on the twenty fourth of this month and was royally
spoiled. I was relieved of my galley duties that day and in place Tom
produced for me a gourmet meal of fresh Tuna cooked and uncooked in fact,
many different ways. It was delicious. Lindy made me a coffee and walnut
cake which is my favourite, complete with candles, which I am still working
my way through, with some help from Tom.
I am typing this whilst sat on the fore deck of Sea Flute. I am laid back
against the spinnaker bag in the shade of the spinnaker which is flying
beautifully in fifteen knots of breeze. Our spinnaker is a Para-sailor which
has become known amongst the crew as the Parrotsailor. I have described the
features of this sail in previous blogs I know and it has proven to be an
amazing sail particularly in this force of wind. It also improves the
stability of Sea Flute in a rolling sea so it is very popular with Mrs P. If
there was any competition involved in this rally, I would not be too unhappy
about the effect it has on our performance either!
Our next blog will probably be from the bustling metropolis of Nuka Hiva
where it is even rumoured they have interwebs!
Bye for now.
Skipper Peds
