Marquesas Arrival

Avventura has reached the South Seas. After 22 days at sea and over 3,000 sea miles she touched down at Fatu Hiva on April 27. The crossing started off with two and a half days of motoring southwest to get into the southeast trades. Once the wind trickled in at 0300 on Easter Sunday we set sail and kept the sails up for the remainder of the voyage but for an hour break when the seas were sloppy and the wind died. 19 days straight of sailing, only running the engine to charge the batteries every three days, wind never forward of the beam and varying between a comfortable broad reach and downwind the entire time as the trades varied between southeast and easterly. We came across two nights of squally weather on the crossing, one with some lightning about, and both of which made sleep impossible and sailing difficult, but for the most part the trades persisted wonderfully and the sails propelled us along at a six knot average. The lone downside of the crossing was the persistent sloppy swells, often coming from a couple different directions, and rarely from the same quarter as the wind. The swells kept Avventura rocking and wreaked havoc on her sails, spilling their wind often, but our speed remained constant and the miles ticked away, averaging over 135 NM a day. Fish were scarce for us, though to be fair we didn’t fish much in the middle of the Pacific where I was loath to slow down if we did catch a fish so we refrained from setting any lines. Wildlife was equally scarce with the exception of flying fish which persisted the length of the crossing, flying from our bow wave and doing various acrobatics as they fled from our path. In the midst of the Pacific, as some may have noticed, my SSB Automatic Antenna Tuner broke which made it difficult to send any e-mails or position reports. The tuner is still broken so communication may be scarce from me in the coming weeks and even months. Internet access is far from cheap here, as are all other communication forms.
Landfall was a moment I’ll never forget. After 22 days of seeing nothing but the vast blue, oft-white-capped sea, land sprang from the sea at sunset on April 26. Mike and I were eating dinner in the cockpit when I glanced ahead beneath the mainsail and saw a change—land under the cumulus clouds on the horizon! A hoot escaped involuntarily as I raced for the bow and gazed in disbelief. A mix of emotions assaulted me and I was left on the brink of tears. All the long years of dreaming of the moment, all the hard work that had gone into making it a reality, all the people who have helped along the way, all the long night watches, the squalls and calms had led to that very moment. And the sight of my first South Pacific island overwhelmed me and assaulted my emotions like I hadn’t expected.
After a night of lingering offshore we arrived at the Bay of Virgins on Fatu Hiva in the early morning hours of April 27. Fatu Hiva rises dramatically from the sea with sheer cliffs leading up to the ridge of the island, covered in dense vegetation, and the Bay of Virgins is a little nook tucked at the base of a valley on the leeward side of the island. We spent three glorious days on Fatu Hiva, hiking in the lush rainforest, gathering fresh mangoes, eating coconuts, and just enjoying the feel of stable land under my feet. On the first day Mike and I followed a stream inland for an hour or so till it ended in a sheer 200 foot high waterfall. The flow of water was gentle and the pool at its base stagnant, but it was awe-inspiring nonetheless. The following day we went on a long hike into the hills, following a rugged road over to the island’s other town, Omoa. On the way there we were given a much-needed break when a car drove past and we were given a lift by an old local and his grandson who were searching for bananas and other fruit along the road. The hike back took four full hours, eating fresh mangoes along the way and enjoying the spectacular views of the inland valleys and the steep hills falling to the deep blue sea.
With the arrival of May 2 it came time to continue on. In the early morning we picked up anchor and had a nice day sail up to Hiva Oa, dropping the hook in Baie Tahuku close to the island’s main town of Atuona. This is where Paul Gaugin spent his last days after a stop in Panama where he helped construct the Canal. Yesterday (May 3) I hiked around the area, visited the cemetery where Gaugin is buried, and enjoyed a refreshing day of strolling around in the rain, walking into the hillsides and soaking up the aura of the rainforest. Spent the afternoon reading on a seawall overlooking a black sand beach and bodysurfing small waves at the beach break. We will be leaving here on the morrow for Tahuata and plan to spend a month in the Marquesas followed by a month in the Tuamotus before heading for Tahiti in early July. As I said, communication will be limited till I get the Antenna Tuner repaired, so bear with me…

From the gorgeous South Pacific where the voyage has just begun…adios de Avventura.