Hanamoenoa Bay, Tahuata Island, Marquesas
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Tue 1 Apr 2008 03:28
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09:54.495S 139.06.296W
Well, we have fulfilled Don's #2 priority - finding
a deserted bay, swimming and relaxing.
On Saturday (3/29) we motorsailed the seven miles
from Tahuku Bay on Hiva Oa to Hanamoenoa Bay on Tahuata Island (nope, don't know
how to pronounce Hanamoenoa) and have been here ever since. There is
currently no one else here but us. And I mean no one. There is one
building set back a bit from the shore, but we don't know what it is and have
seen no activity. There are no houses or roads or anything on the island
other than the one building that would even indicate that there is human life
here. No other boaters aside from a few rally and non-rally sailboats that
have passed through. The bay we are in is beautiful, with turquoise water and a
white sand beach, sandwiched on either side by black volcanic rock
cliffs. Now, this is the South Pacific we've been dreaming about!
Positively brilliant.
We normally don't send pictures via the satellite
phone because of the time needed to send the big files, but I couldn't resist
with this one. Here is Don, fulfilling part of his priority
#2.
It hasn't all been fun and games since we arrived
in this bay of course. The bow thruster seal has been fixed (hopefully no
more sea water will sneak into the bilge), the head sail has been taken down and
inspected (the edge is too frayed to replace the leech line, so we are hoping to
have some work done on the sail in Tahiti), the transmission oil has been
changed, the fresh water filter has been changed, almost all the laundry has
been done (it goes slow with a machine the size of a cooking pot) and most of
the boat has been put back in order and cleaned. One of the big jobs left
to do is cleaning all the critters and plant life off of the boat's hull.
Upon inspection, we have found a whole collection of sea critters and green
stuff stuck to the water line on our hull. Not too attractive. And
certainly doing nothing for our speed through the water when sailing.
Hull cleaning will have to happen soon, otherwise the boat may just refuse to go
anywhere due to embarrassment. The cockpit could also use a good scrubbing
- it still has the black smudges from the Colombian Coast Guard's big black
boots all over it.
With most of the boat jobs and a little R&R
behind us, we plan to move on to the island of Fatu Hiva tomorrow (Tuesday 4/1),
which is even more remote than where we are now, and is supposed to be one of
the most beautiful spots in the Marquesas. All the spots we've seen so far
are beautiful, so I'm not sure how you would judge one versus another? In
any case, we are looking forward to it and expect to see more of the rally boats
there as it is a popular cruising spot.
Cheers from our very own bay in the South Pacific -
Anne
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