On the way to Anaho Bay

Hi  everyone.  We are leaving this morning for Anaho Bay on the north side of the island.  We will be there a few days, at least, before setting sail for Tahiti and the Society Islands - a 7 - 10 day trip.

We had a broken part on our Monitor wind vane, which we had welded here in Taiohae Bay.  The calm waters of Anaho Bay should allow me to re-assemble the unit safely.

Here is a picture we took in Daniel's Bay.  Our camera is on the fritz, so we mostly shot video.  Also our Single Sideband Radio is having problems with Sailmail the last week.  Other boats have complained about the same thing, so maybe its not just us.  Anyway, don't take a lack of communication as an indiction of a problem.

Gotta get going.  All is well at this end.

Owen

Moved to ControllerBay

Hi all.

We moved the boat to Controller Bay on the east end of the island, so we could water-up. I checked the weather data (GRIB files I download via SSB Radio)and found that the lull n the winds forecast for Friday now read for winds round 20 knots. So we quickly pulled stakes - quick being two hours. We were baking bread when we decided to leave Daniel's Bay, and we also had to raise and stow the dinghy, clear the cockpit, stow gear inside for sea, and plot our course on the charts. By the time we fired up the engine it was 2:45 pm. We ended up dropping anchor at 5:30 pm this evening, and I quickly lower the dinghy and we lowered the outboard into place so I could make a quick run into shore to fill a 5 gallon jerry-can full of water. We were that low.

Dinner involved fresh wonderful bread. Our 2nd in command is crashed on the couch right now. She did good. Tomorrow we water-up, and depending on when we finish we may run up to Anaho Bay, or that may wait until Saturday.

Till then.

Owen

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Daniel's Bay - Entering Wonderland

So we motor sailed to Daniel's Bay on Nuka Hiva a few days ago, in part to get water, and in part because we wanted to see the famous waterfall. It was a rough passage - though short. As we came into the bay cliffs rose up a thousand feet around us. Nearly vertical, they are of astounding beauty. Going ashore we found a nice white sand beach with coral heads right up to the surf line. A few horses wandered grazing the short grass. A few shacks lay off to the right under the canopy of coconut palms. But the house with water that was there only a couple of years ago was completely gone. Turns out the tsunami that hit Chile a few years ago also hit this bay. No water to be had here. Oh well.
Yesterday, while the winds howled out in the ocean a few miles away, we hiked as a family around three or four miles each way to the base of the world's third highest waterfall. It was magical. We had to wade rivers, and pass through a small village. And then for a mile we walked down a road that cut through a Garden of Eden. Coconut palms, hibiscus, yams, cassava, papalamous, lemons, papaya, mango, star fruit - and many fruits we couldn't identify. On the ground there grew squash, tomatoes, and other vegetables. Through it all, horses grazed the grass short and would walk right up to us with no concern.
As we began to climb, the valley walls closed in. It felt like a fantastic scene out of a King Kong movie. Crossing more steams, slogging along muddy trails, and finally our first views of the falls - fantastically high. Higher still, and lots of dark bare rock boulders covered in moss and then stone walls - ancient and over grown. Becoming more complex the higher we climbed these stone walls, bridges, roads, cisterns, and platforms all run riot with strangler figs, and buttressed trees spoke of a flourishing cultural center high up this valley - but long ago.
We reached the river near the base of the falls late in the afternoon. The kids hungry and tired. The falls were amazing. To get closer on crossed another river and then enters a land of perpetual mist, where the falls itself are hidden. We stopped at the river, eating sausage, drinking coconut milk, and throwing bit of meat to these amazing fresh water eels that lay in the river. About two to three feet long they are camouflaged so well, that we at first took them for submerged sticks. Griffyn first saw one move, and with a gleeful shriek yelled, "The eels! The eels! They're here!"
The hike down was long, through fading light, but still amazingly beautiful. We got back to the boat at dark, and had spaghetti and salad, while we watched The Great Escape. All in all, a good day. Tomorrow we leave in search of water - perhaps to Controller Bay. After getting water we'll head to Anaho Bay in the north.
Chao.
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Picture Post - Tahu Ata

Here we are on Hiva-Oa, and the clouds have parted revealing the mountain top.  Griffyn insisted I take this picture.

Here he is now, watching harbor operations as a big cargo ship leaves.

And there it goes.  The boat in front of the ship is a French/Belgian boat whose owners we became friends with.

On route to Tahu Ata.  Stunning coastline.

Another boat en route to Tahu Ata alongside Madrona.

What can i say.

Here is the bay we spent over a week in.  Magic place.

Tamsyn was very taken with these clouds.

Here is "our" beach.  The water was like crystal, the beach the perfect place for kid (and grown up kids).

Another view.  We loved the palms.

Each headland was beautiful.  

Here's Tamsyn.

Carrie learned to snorkel here.

I love the lava cliffs.

Griffyn body surfed in waves twice as tall as himself.

Siblings in wonderland.

Did we mention the amazing palms.

The young palms were somehow exquisite.

Looking down the beach.

The surf line is strewn with coral and shells.

The happy chef unveiling her cornmeal, rye, molasses and raisin cake that she made for tea time with friends.  She made it in the pressure cooker.

It tasted even better than it looked.

Our friends Dorte and Frank from S/V Elan.

Always on the lookout for the green flash.  One of these days.

Using the underwater camera.  Harder than I thought to hold still.

We loved these electric blue guys.

Here's one of the Mantas.

A self portrait.

Another Manta.

This fish kept following me around.

These pictures don't do the number and variety of different fish justice.

Lots more pictures to post.  We seem to be running about one island behind photos wise.  We are currently on Nuka Hiva, a beautiful island 82 miles NW of Tahu Ata, and about 100 miles from Hiva-Oa.  We have spent a few days here - the two nights of traditional dancing has been a highlight.  Stunning.

Soon we'll go to Daniel's Bay to get water for our tanks, and may visit the third highest waterfall in the world.  Then we are going to Ahano Bay on the north side of the island to meet the folks from S/V Elan again.  After a few days there we plan on sailing directly for Tahiti.

The boat is dry, our spirits are high, and Griffyn just had his 6th birthday party!  It was a fun affair, made special by having Elias, a boy from S/V Galactic, and his parents there.  We had a delicious spaghetti meal with wine, and for desert we had a cherry-apple chocolate crisp.  

We really enjoy all the comments and emails from friends and family.  Thank you so much.

Owen

Manta Ray in Hana Moe Noe bay, island of Tahu Ata

I hope you enjoy the mantas - we did.  Just after I took this video, I was looking around to find another manta when I had an encounter with a grey reef shark.  He was big and only 20 feet away.  Glad he startled the same time I did.  I swam directly back to the boat.

Drying out,and swimming with Manta Rays

Friday July 8th

During our shakedown cruise across the Eastern Pacific we found a few leaks - by the time we reached the Marqueses - ALL of our clothing was dirty or moldy. The evil substance mold, which we call Moldemort (Harry Potter), thrives in wet, humid places. Add salt water to the mix (when cotton gets wet from salt water - it will not dry out), you can imagine our mountain of laundry. We are in the tropics here during the rainy season (winter - when there are no hurricanes) very slowly drying and bleaching everything on the boat, the clothing, the spaces which held the clothing, the cushions we sleep on, the entire V-berth - mattress too (which was our garage during passage), the walls, the cupboards and almost all of our beloved books. It rains a bit here - so we moved Madrona from the island of Hiva Oa, near the town of Atuona, a very wet anchorage, to another island Tahu Ata, to a beautiful bay that is known for sun, wind, white sandy beaches, and a school of manta rays. Most days have been sunny with a lot of wind - as good as it gets for drying things out. We are slowly recovering our boat: we re-sealed the chain plates (hopefully our biggest source of leaks), chain plates bolt the shrouds (which secure the mast) to the boat - in this boat they go through the deck - which means if the seals fail - a lot of water can seep in through these holes. We buried the rail a lot in the SE trades - and a lot of water seeped in. We will be battling Moldemort for some time, so to enjoy ourselves we have been swimming with a local school of manta rays, (Owen took a ride on one), body surfing, snorkeling around lots of colorful reef fish and coral, enjoying local foods (papelmous - like a sweet grapefruit, limes, bananas, french bread, sardines, and corned beef).

There will be more to come regarding our passage - Carrie has written a short book - once we have wi fi (not here) we will send more details and pics.

The Manta rays have been spectacular - some up to 4 meters wingspan. They pass within feet of us; not a sight you forget with that big open mouth coming right at you. The kids have loved the rays too. Griffyn is still not entirely comfortable snorkeling, but Tamsyn is half fish already. The first thing you see in the luminous azure blue water that surrounds you, is the white mouth of the approaching ray. Then the full form emerges from the blue, and like slow motion aerial monster, and the gentle wings flap, and it glides on by, eating a blizard of plankton. Pretty cool.

The kids have also been in love with the beach; from collecting shells, to hours playing in the surf, and body surfing. This has been a good place for R & R.

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