Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Happy holidays, everyone! And, may 2014 bring you peace, happiness, adventure, love, excitement, friendship, good health and comfort!!!

 

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

Conclusion Anaho Bay - The Pros and Cons

(By email)

Anaho Bay from the top of the hill to Hatiheu

Anaho Bay in Nuku Hiva has been called anything from “best kept secret” to “amazing bay” to “greatest anchorage in the Marquesas”, and even all of (French) Polynesia, by sailors, backpackers, brochures, travel books and cruising guides. It is interesting that Pacific travelers seem to prefer the bays and beaches that most represent the Caribbean and I wonder whether the pronouncers of these statements have ever visited the Gambier Islands or Fiji. Although Anaho certainly has its charms, we surely hope this is not the nicest place in the South Pacific, or we will be a tad disappointed.

Irie in Anaho, along the north coast of Nuku Hiva

Depending on the day, we like Anaho, or we want to get out of here. Negatives include the awful nonos (incessant tiny biting flies) on land, and after every shore excursion, we have red itchy welts all over our bodies and have the need to scratch them for days. Insect repellant (with DEET) does not help, but does work against the mosquitoes – whose bites we currently prefer. When we plan to go ashore, we never quite know what to put on our skin: suntan lotion, bug spray, monoi (local oil with a nice fragrance that is said to help against the nonos, but has no impact on mosquitoes) or anti-itch cream to take care of the current bites. Or, all four.  Or, nothing at all, since we’re in trouble whatever we do. We also have antihistamine tablets on board which come in handy these days, especially after I ran into a wasp nest and ended up with five stings on my back and head.

The idyllic setting of the farm close by is a mecca for nonos. The horses are used to transport the fruit and vegetables to civilization. They suffer from the insects as much as we do.

The weather has been grey, the wind gusty – sending Irie all over the place - and the water extremely cloudy. With all the fringed coral in the bay (a rarity in the Marquesas) this is a shame, since the visibility is awful and snorkeling unexciting or fair at best. It must be the time of the year, since these reefs are what a lot of people rave about. The other thing cruisers or books don’t mention is the amount of coral heads scattered around the part of the bay where one is supposed to anchor. When you get the anchor to set in a patch of sand, chances are that your chain will rub and grate against (live) coral more often than not. Sleep becomes difficult with thundering noise like that.

Life coral in the bay

Because of the bad visibility, you don’t notice the coral patches until you are settled, or when the wind shifts and the boat lies differently. Anchoring further out – where it is less protected – is a solution, or putting a float in place along the chain. Part of the bay is now also called a “marine park” by the locals – because of the density of the coral reefs - and they don’t want you to anchor north of the dinghy channel anymore. Since this is actually the place all cruising guides tell you to anchor – that’s right, on top of the fragile coral! – most boats try at least once to drop the hook there, before they realize there’s coral underneath or before they get asked to move. By then, the damage is done. On top of that, they might be wrapped around one of the heads and have a hard time picking up anchor.

Spring low tide – the dinghy lies high and dry!

Things to like in Anaho are the easy and protected dinghy landing (with an anchor in the shallows or dragging it up the beach; because it shoals gradually, the tides seem huge), the availability of trails with a strenuous, but good hike to the village of Hatiheu and a pleasant 30-minute stroll to an organic farm – both offering enough shopping possibilities to stay for a while – and the friendly people. The drinking water on shore is of excellent quality and easy to obtain. When the sun is present, the bay and the beaches look very pretty and in the mornings, the seawater seems a bit clearer allowing a snorkel try-out. The wind usually comes pretty steady out of the same direction (east or north) and the anchorage is comfortable. In the Marquesas, this seems to be the main concern, and indicator to be called a good place to anchor and be.

Looking for shells at low tide

The last week, Mark and I have been hiking a bit for food and exercise reasons. We tried to snorkel a few times, looked for shells during extreme low tide, cooked more good meals, from dinners to desserts, and tried some new recipes – an advantage of being in the same anchorage for a while and therefore having time for more frivolous stuff than always taking care of our floating home. As for Mark’s elbow, the pain is gone (for the moment), but his arm feels funny and is not healed yet, so he still has to be very careful. Since it is one of those days again – and we still hope to go to the festival in Ua Huka - we are leaving soon. J

At the farm, we pick the vegetables we desire – it doesn’t get fresher than this!

Walking up and over the steep hill for exercise, and to pick mangoes for our first mango chutney

Irie in a shell – the only boat in the anchorage

The village of Hatiheu

Tikis abound in every village of the Marquesas, even in tiny Hatiheu

An abundance of fish lives amongst the coral

Striped surgeonfish

Intermediate butterfly fish of some sort (top) and an ornate butterfly fish (bottom)

Congregation of fish around a piece of coral

Remote Realities

When Mark and I sailed in the Caribbean for over four years, we were both – generally speaking – in pretty good health. There were doctors and hospitals on every island, in case something was wrong, and once, Mark saw a chiropractor in Guadeloupe, because of a bad back that was not improving. We also made a lot of friends over there, many with an interesting and useful background, like veterinarians, doctors, acupuncturists, hypnotherapists, yoga instructors, photographers, and even a chiropractor. All good people to know and some of them have helped us out on different occasions, like when Mark fell in the boatyard and – most likely – broke his thumb, now already a year ago.

Since we have been in the Pacific, we have entered remoteness. On top of that, we are getting older, and – living a pretty demanding boat life – are feeling it. We keep being in awe of cruisers in their sixties and even seventies, managing to sail the world, and enjoying it! How do they do it, if we – being around forty – are in pain and feel exhausted often? Chapeau! as we would say in Belgium, and maybe in France as well. We have noticed, however, that most of those older cruisers have stayed in the Caribbean and – especially this time of the year – the people around us are much younger than the usual retirement age. Despite the ailments and reoccurring pain from old injuries the last year, we have been doing all right, avoiding long and out of the way trips to visit health facilities.

Then, about four months ago, Mark´s right elbow started to hurt. We had no idea what caused it, so we gave it time. After two weeks of the pain only getting worse, we visited the hospital on Hiva Oa. The friendly French doctor diagnosed it to be tendinitis, better known as “tennis elbow”. He and his assistant excitingly used the new X-ray machine just to be sure nothing “worse” was going on. The cure: rest – and stopping the actions which caused the pain. Now, this was a frustrating affair, since Mark had no idea what caused the injury and, when you live on a boat, there is no way you can rest an elbow, an arm, a thumb, or any body part for that matter. We need to drag the dinghy up the beach to go ashore, we need to haul the same dinghy out of the water every evening, we need to cook, do dishes, carry water jugs, scrape Irie’s bottom, turn screws, fix issues, and so on, all things that are hard for one person to do for months on end or to do at all. Resources made us realize that Marks’ condition could last from several months to two years. Just lifting a glass, using the computer or brushing his teeth hurt like hell.

After two months of living like this, with the moods and atmosphere that come with someone being in constant pain, we arrived in Nuku Hiva, the only other island in the Marquesas with a “real” hospital. We waited for hours, and saw another French doctor, who agreed with his colleague about the diagnosis, but was not willing to prescribe cortisone yet (the only next thing to try while being in this area; flying to Tahiti costs $700 – just for the plane), as it had only been two months. Another month passed without any improvements and the day before we wanted to leave Taiohae for Anaho, we went back to the hospital. The same doctor received us and – finally – prescribed a cortisone shot, with the instructions to get it at the pharmacy (over a mile away, up a hill) and return between 2pm and 3pm to get the injection. We were making progress!

At the pharmacy – the only one in the northern Marquesas – they did not have the cortisone. Since we wanted to use the rare weather window to sail north, we didn’t have many options. We could order the drug by plane and get it the following day at 3pm and leave the day after. This would still be OK for us to sail, but it would be too late to go to the hospital and get the injection. If we stayed for the necessary two days, we would be stuck in Taiohae until further notice. Or, we could order the medicine by boat and pick it up after it arrived on the Aranui a week later. We chose that option, still hoping Mark’s pain would ease up naturally.

Another two weeks passed while we sat in comfortable Anaho. Mark’s elbow was feeling better (lifted spirits!) and then worse again (oh, darn!) – independent from whether he was using it more frequently or letting it rest more often. It turned really bad again and we decided to go back to Taiohae. By boat this would take about six hours with no chance to easily return to Anaho, so we went overland. This involved a sweaty 1.5 hour walk over the steep hill to Hatiheu, from where we managed to hitch a paid ride to the capital. By foot and car, we reached the pharmacy, and picked up the cortisone. Then, at the other end of town, we entered the hospital, where the same doctor was summoned to give Mark the shot, a painful proposition. Afterwards, we treated ourselves with a bowl of tasty poisson cru at our favorite snack bar, before doing the journey in reverse: walk out of town, ride to Taipivai first, then a fun ride in the back of a pick-up truck to Hatiheu and the exhausting last trek back to Anaho.

We had left Irie at 5:30am and returned at 4pm; just to go see the doctor and for Mark to finally find a “cure” for his long lasting pain. Now, all we have to do is hope that it helps! For that, we can just sit, relax and enjoy the tropical view… J

Two Celebrations in One: Food, food, food!

(By sat phone)

When November 28^th came around, Mark and I had been cooking for a couple of days. We made a three course vegetarian dinner for our friends on Kril, which was a creative and tasty event. Then, on the 27^th, Mark started preparations for the day after, making soup and a special cake. That evening, he made my birthday dinner – a day early under this year’s circumstances: chicken-shrimp spring rolls and a scrumptious shrimp pasta dinner, one of my favorites!

 

Birthday breakfast on Irie

 

On Thanksgiving morning, which coincidently also happened to be my birthday, I was ordered to stay in bed, while Mark was cooking up a storm upstairs in the kitchen. I tried to figure out what was going on based on the sounds in the galley, but failed. So, it really came as a surprise, when – at 9am, I heard dinghies arrive and people approach. The cockpit was decorated with balloons and set up for a festive group breakfast. Our friends from Kril and Iona joined in the fun: all-you-can-eat blueberry-banana pancakes. Very yummy!

 

Birthday banana bread

 

It was all about food and sweets that day. Because of my birthday, there was heart-shaped banana bread after breakfast (supplied by Kril), chocolate-raisin cookies in early evening (supplied by Iona) and a rich double-layered chocolate cake at night (baked by Mark).

 

Birthday chocolate cookies – Leili loved the excitement

 

Birthday chocolate cake

 

In between these treats, we had our massive Thanksgiving feast on SV Iona. The men had been working hard and cooking lots to provide us with a Thanksgiving-worthy menu. It started off with pumpkin soup, followed by an array of dishes on the long table: heaps of stuffing, roasted duck, roasted chicken, grilled potatoes, cranberry sauce (discovered in the deeps of a locker), mashed potatoes, gravy, barbecued purple sweet potatoes, and steamed beans. The whole lot was accompanied by our last 1.5l bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Nobody would have ever guessed we were anchored in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!

 

Thanksgiving dinner: before…

 

Thanksgiving dinner: after…

 

Chris and Katie played some of their new songs – daily practice for Leili’s bedtime, a magical live performance for us.