Ua Huka Mini-Festival 2013

Every four years, the Marquesas Arts Festival takes place on one of the six islands in the archipelago. This is the “real thing”, attracting troupes from all over French Polynesia and the rest of the Pacific and visitors from all over the world. The next Arts Festival is in Hiva Oa in 2015. Because four years is a long time (or for other reasons), a mini-festival is organized in between, so every two years there is a big event everybody talks about. We lucked out with our timing - 2013 was the year of a mini-festival – but not with the location. This year’s festival, attended only by Marquesan groups, took place in Ua Huka, the most eastern island of the Marquesas with the worst anchorages.

Mark and I joined about 24 other sailboats in the bay of Hane, a local record the locals were very proud of, until it meant that the pirogue races were cancelled: too many obstacles for the rowing contest. As happens a lot in these islands, the wind was fluky and couldn’t behave for four days in a row, so chaos ensued in the harbor, when almost everyone was on the festival grounds, located between Hane and Vaipaee. Unmanned boats ventured in different directions. There were a few near misses (we were lucky to be on board and be able to start the engines to avoid hitting another boat) and a couple of collisions. We moved Irie to a safer spot in the afternoon of day 1, before hitching a ride away from the waterfront.

The festival itself was unbelievable, impressive, awesome, touching and spectacular. The costumes, the dancing, the singing, the drumming… Neither words nor pictures can do it justice. Maybe, just maybe, I might be able to post a few videos in the future. But, I know I have promised this before. The internet situation in the Pacific is just excruciating and useless for “heavy” stuff.

The first evening, the groups of Ua Huka, Fatu Hiva and Nuku Hiva performed. The second evening, it was time for the delegations of Ua Pou, Tahuata and Hiva Oa to dance, sing and drum. On the third and last day, all the six troupes showcased a dance following the theme “the challenge”. We were mostly impressed by the convincing show of the Cannibal group of Ua Pou. For lunch that day, there was a communal and free kai kai with traditionally prepared food provided by the different islands. In between, artisans created stone and wooden tikis and stands made sure nobody went hungry or thirsty. Alcohol was prohibited on the grounds and unavailable on the island during the duration of the festival. Not only was the event very cultural, but it was as social as we have encountered in French Polynesia so far, with fellow cruisers we met weeks, months and years ago! There was a lot of catching up to do…

Here is a selection of pictures:

Wood sculptor from Nuku Hiva

One of the modern tikis decorating the grounds

Two artisans from Nuku Hiva (the one on the right a regular at "our" Snack Vaeake) creating a stone tiki

Taro ice cream with Marie: colorful and flavorful!

Afternoon at the beach with friends - hammock time!

Covering the umus (traditional underground ovens for cooking)  after filling them with pigs and root vegetables

The first step to the cooking process in an umu - hot coals

 

Day 3 of the festival: the pirogue (canoe) is almost finished

And so is this tiki - filing the important parts...

Preparation of the kai kai - the food fest for all

Every group has their own drums and drummers

The "Cannibals" Ua Pou performance (next six pictures):
 

One of the gifts brought to and for Ua Huka: the tallest drum ever!

After about 24 hours, the goodies come out of the six umus - time for kai kai! (which is when my camera battery died)

Last evening's beach BBQ with fellow cruisers

Nuku Hiva to Ua Huka: The Toss Up

(By email)

The mini-festival in Ua Huka Mark and I talked about visiting for months started on December 18^th. We really wanted to go – it is one of the reasons we stayed in the northern Marquesas – but we said it would all depend on the weather, as always. We waited in Anaho for a favorable weather window, as close to the starting date as possible, since Ua Huka does not have any good anchorages. The expected and usual (for this season) northeast winds never came. It was the day before the festival and we were facing 15 knots of wind from the east, needing to sail… east! All sailors know what that means: tacking back and forth into seas and wind and doing twice the distance. Not a great prospect.

Luckily, we had an alternative. Cruisers we know would visit Taiohae on Nuku Hiva with their 60 foot motor catamaran to pick up guests and we could get a free ride to Ua Huka! Once there, we were offered sleeping quarters on Gypsy Blues, the sailboat of our friends René and Cheryl who we hadn’t seen in 1.5 years. An easy way out! We wouldn’t have to worry about the trip, about the crowded anchorage, about getting to shore safely or about our partly deteriorating anchor chain which could be an issue in deeper water.

We left Anaho, on the north side of Nuku Hiva, at 6am on December 17^th under sail, to see what it was like out there. We were willing to give it a try getting to Ua huka on our own and worst case scenario was that we could just fall off and easily coast to Taiohae for our ride the following day. After three hours of tacking, we only made 4 miles in the right direction, only doing 4.5 knots and being obstructed by adverse current. Mark calculated that we would have to do 60 miles instead of the 32 “direct” miles and that we would not get to Hane during daylight hours. It was hard to believe this early on. What to do? Keep on going and having our own home and freedom, or, have a pleasant ride to Taiohae, catch up on a few things and taking the easy way out?

We had been to Hane before, we had a track, the moon was about full, we had time and we could use a bit of real sailing practice, so… we kept going. What followed – as expected – was a tough and frustrating sail, made harder and  more complicated by the fluky winds and many squalls, who would first suck the wind away (less than 10 knots) and then spill it heavily back on us with 20 knots. When the breeze had a slightly northern tendency, we tacked south, when the wind then fluctuated a bit to the south 5 minutes later, we tacked the other way once more. We did this many times; all the while putting a reef in and taking it back out again. Around 4pm, we reached the coast of Ua Huka and for a while we were hopeful about beating nightfall and making it in only a few more tacks, only for the wind to change direction and velocity yet again.

One of the many tacks towards Hane; the sun is setting!

When 5:30pm approached, we were fighting the wind, the waves, the current … and time. We lost. But not by much. We pulled into Hane at 7pm, in the dark, after 13 hours of hard work and doing 70 miles instead of 32! We managed to plop ourselves in a tight spot in the middle of 22 sailboat (we were here by ourselves last time), a feat in itself. Mark and I were exhausted, had sore backs and ripped blisters, but there was a great feeling of accomplishment, especially because we beat the other – bigger – monohull that set out from Anaho, by two hours. We had been crossing routes all morning. The other two boats that had left that morning (from Taiohae) and arrived before us, had both motored the whole way. Irie did great. She was fast and strong, and we are very proud of her!

A crappy anchorage full of boats…

View of the busy bay from the back of a pick-up truck

Rolling, Rowing and Rambling in Ua Huka

Not many sailboats visit the smallish island of Ua Huka in the Marquesas. The only anchorages are on the south coast and reputed to be uncomfortable, in turn making landings difficult as well. Marks’s first comment “These bays should not be called anchorages!” sums up our time onboard. Even though we planned to be there in pretty calm conditions (NE winds 10-15 knots, swell under 2m), the wind was very gusty and fluky, turning Irie around and around and having her sit on a lee shore regularly, when the wind followed the land and, accelerated, came into the bay from the south. The swell still managed to enter as well, so we rolled and jerked the whole stay. The constant flow of seawater onto our bottom steps turned them green, just like Irie’s water line and bottom! Our recommendation to visit Ua Huka by boat is to wait for a forecast with winds less than 10 knots from the northeast and a swell of less than 1.5m – it will be as calm and comfortable as it ever gets, but you have to get there first…

Rowing to shore and parking the dinghy in Hane Bay

 

Luckily, once onshore, it is comfortable and there is plenty to see and do. But first, with no dock or big sandy beach to land, there is some exercise to be had. Every morning, we dropped our engineless inflatable dinghy and clumsily rowed the half a mile to shore, which took about 20 minutes. Then, we had to haul the awkward thing over some rocks and above the high tide line to a level “parking spot”, where we left it, unlocked, and set out for half a day or a day. The islands of French Polynesia are very safe and the people – especially in the Marquesas – are extremely friendly. They all greet you; some of them shake your hand, introduce themselves or have a chat. Others invite you over to their house or give you a stack of bananas. The result of that is that we have about 100 bananas, all turning ripe as we speak!

Students carving tikis out of rosewood

 

On our first encounter in the small village of Hane, we met the principal of the local vocational school. He gave us a tour of the buildings and the garden, introduced us to teachers and pupils and encouraged us to chat, in English, with some of the students. After checking out the little store (no baguettes – they had been out of flour for three weeks) and church, and waiting for an hour long rainstorm to pass, we headed for Vaipaee, the biggest village on the island with about 200 people. This town lies only 2 miles away over the water, but, by winding road it is about 10 miles. We started the walk through the barren, but fascinating landscape, enjoying the views and the good, paved street. It was cloudy, so not too hot and the road was leveled against the rocky cliffs, so not too steep. This is my kind of walking!

South coast of Ua Huka towards Vaipaee

 

About halfway, near the airport and the nicely erected structures at the site of the upcoming December festival, we hitched a ride with one of the few cars, hoping to avoid the next rainsquall. A friendly lady picked us up and gave us a tour through the village, before we got out to inspect the narrow, canyon-like bay of Vaipaee. We both agreed that Hane is the better place to anchor. The small town boasts an interesting museum – called “the best of the Marquesas” in a few guidebooks, a nice church with all its statues and scenes depicting facets of the bible carved out of wood, and a few stores. We easily hitched a ride back to Hane in the afternoon.

Church entrance in Vaipaee

Vaipaee museum

 

The following day, we walked the coastal road to Hokatu, passing a viewpoint and some wild goats and horses. These animals outnumber the local people by 10:1. Once in the beautifully located town, we braved the heat and the humidity, to hike up a few hills to see what we could find. We were looking for artisans, willing to sell or trade for their wood carvings. These are known to be the best and most affordable ones in the Marquesas. It was very quiet all around (the Taporo cargo vessel was in Vaipaee, attracting everyone to pick up goods, especially flour) and in the end, we found someone with a key to the artisanal building near the water. After looking around and choosing and comparing some pieces for an hour or so, Mark and I went home – by car – with $100 worth of wooden treasures. It had been a while since we spent some money; believe it or not, but life in the Pacific can be cheap! :-)

Hokatu’s waterfront

 

A day of rest, while rolling, was in order, after barely sleeping at night, and on our last day in Hane (Sunday), we set out towards the hills. One of the church going villagers gave us good directions to reach the local archeological site. The walk was uphill the whole time, but doable, albeit the high level of humidity and the gallons of sweat we had to shed.  We took our time and easily found the ruins on a flat part up one of the hills. Three ancient, weathered tikis stood on the edge of it. Once back in town, we watched the quiet Sunday scene for a while before rowing home, into the wind once more, since it had changed directions… again.

Archeological site in the hills behind Hane

 

One last row and carrying the dinghy ashore on Monday, to pick up some anticipated baguettes, before we slowly sailed to Haavei on the SW corner of the island. We passed two interesting looking islands with hundreds of birds circling around them, before entering the idyllic looking bay. A sandy beach with heaps of palm trees lured ashore and the dry features of the rocks and cliffs around filled our view. It was quiet and attractive, but … rolly and with fluky, onshore winds. Again. Kind of ready for some sleep at night and some chores to be done in a non-moving boat, we decided to pass on this anchorage and – even though it was already 11am - sail on to Nuku Hiva. There, in Baie du Controleur, we found an incredibly flat and peaceful anchorage (no crashing waves!) after a fun and smooth five hour sail. Ah... the pleasures of not bumping our heads and toes anymore!

Haavei Bay

Tikis carved in stone in front of Hane’s hospital

Church in Hane

Stone carved statues in front of the Vaipaee museum

There are tikis everywhere on these islands; here in front of Vaipaee’s town hall

Hane Bay – with Irie – seen from the viewpoint towards Hokatu

Picturesque rock at the mouth of Hane Bay

Interesting looking “bird islands” off Haavei Bay

Dorado (mahi mahi) for dinner, once in Nuku Hiva