(21st to 31st August 2022)
After an almost 29 hour sail we arrived in Baie Hanamoenoa, Tahuata at around 15.20 on the 21st August. Today was a tough, emotional and strange day. I wasn’t sure if this should be included here, but it is all part and parcel of our 5.5. year journey and I asked Shawn’s permission – On the morning of the 21st August 2022, Shawn’s lovely mom, Yvonne, lost her 2.5+year fiercely fought battle with leukaemia and all the complications that it bought with it…….such a strong, independent, supportive, fun loving, sun loving lady…..we will both miss her so very much…..she is so loved, but we have wonderful memories of time spent with her on our fab holiday together in Thailand in 2017, our yearly visits home over the last 11 years when she put us up ( or put up with us for 2 months plus at a time) and her several visits to us on board in Grenada and St Vincent and The Grenadines. When we arrived in Tahuata, having sorted out the absolute necessary, we made a special pink gin drink and went onto the nets up front in this truly gorgeous bay to toast, remember, talk about and grieve mom/Yvonne.
Over the next few days, we spent time servicing winches ( Shawn), clearing/cleaning cabins and bathrooms that had been closed up for over 2 months and used as chart rooms and gear storage during the pacific crossing (Ally) and cleaning the hull of Imagination ( both of us). Who knew that a moving boat could get so absolutely filthy, but when we finished the pacific crossing, it was disgusting. We would have cleaned it much sooner, but this is the first clear and more importantly, shallow water we have anchored in since getting to FP. We did it in stages so that we also had time to visit other nearby bays on the dinghy, go out looking for manta rays ( but didn’t find any but saw them from a distance), spend time on the beach and snorkel. On the 26th August, we sailed across to Hiva Oa, where our 5 arriving crew will join us on the 1st September.
The short sail across from Tahuata was really lovely – light winds with flat seas and we had 2 visits by dolphins. We arrived in the tiny harbour of Baie Tahauku and managed to squeeze into a small space between other yachts….a bit unnerving as everyone “swings” on their anchor at different rates, particularly monohulls versus catamarans, and we had to watch for a while to be sure we wouldn’t hit anyone as the light winds eddied around. Late afternoon, we decided to jump into a space that had been made available by a yacht being hauled out into the tiny boatyard here so that we could be more certain we had room to move and sleep more soundly.
As it happened, our sleep on our first night here was interluded by wakeful periods, both unknown to each other, listening to polynesians singing all through the night. We don’t know what or why, or whether it was live or recorded….just that it was the most gorgeous sound. There is something about the tone of the singing voices in these islands that is just wonderful….all in tune with each other and with glorious harmonies… (if you’re a musical person, you’ll know what I mean!). We have heard several groups singing since arriving here and I am hoping that I can catch it on video before we leave the country so you can hear and experience it too.
Something we noticed in the Carribean is that each island, no matter how large or small, even within the same country, has a different feel about it. The same is true for the islands here. In Nuku Hiva the level of friendliness is noticeably different from the rest of the islands we had previously visited. Don’t get me wrong…people are courteous and pleasant, but just not as forthcoming with their welcome. There is obviously more money there and more yachts visit there, so maybe it’s just that they are just used to “foreigners” being around? Hiva Oa, though, is a whole different vibe. It is chilled and outwardly friendly even though this is one of the busiest islands for yachting in the Marquesas. On our first full day here, we walked up and over the point to the village, Atuona and what a pretty place it is. A big outdoor and indoor sports centre just off the beach, a dance competition ( which are massive events in these islands) arena surrounded by multiple Tiki’s, the prettiest church we have seen yet in FP and The Mango Bar where we had lunch ( panini and fries each. We could have shared just one of each as the portions were so huge, so I took half of mine back to the boat for my dinner!!) and we also had the company of the most adorable white kitten with one brown and one blue eye……he nearly went in our bag to go back to the boat with us but Shawn wouldn’t allow it!! We went to the supermarket to buy a couple of provisions before walking back to the boat by late afternoon….a total of 11kms.
The next couple of days were spent pottering on board, doing household stuff, but we did move out of the harbour and anchor near the small island just outside mainly for the cleaner water so we could run the watermaker, but we also spotted groups of manta rays along the coast line that seemed to be enjoying the turbulent water caused by the waves crashing onto the rocks. It was a little rough near the rocks, so we decided not to go and snorkel with them, but just as we were picking up the anchor to go back to the harbour we saw several Mantas in front of us near the rocky island, so the bridle went out again and the dinghy was dropped so we could go and see them. We got close and a couple of them came by really closely, not bothered by the fact we were there. They are a lot bigger close up than they appear from the boat. The largest was around 9 feet across, but most were 6-8 feet. They looked so graceful, gliding around through the big swell around the rocks. We both took snorkel and masks ( me, so I could dunk my head) and Shawn took fins, just in case he decided to jump in with them….they are one of his favourite sea creatures after all. Thank goodness I didn’t dunk and Shawn didn’t jump because when we decided we’d had enough, we noticed Portuguese Man O War, one after the other all the way back to Imagination!!
On Tuesday 30th August, we walked back into the village to do some provisioning ahead of our 5 crew coming on board on the 1st Sept, to allow us to make the most of their first day on board. On the way up over and around the hill, we stopped to look down on the area we had seen Manta’s and could clearly see 11 of them swimming and feeding – we weren’t expecting that! That evening, we had arranged to meet and have dinner with our friends who are joining us for the next leg, at their small resort just up the hill from the harbour. It was a gorgeous place with great views, wonderful accommodation, pretty grounds with a small pool and a lovely bar/restaurant area with very friendly staff. We had a very lovely evening together, even if it was a little weird to be seeing “familiar faces in weird places” , but a great excuse to be able to dress up and put some make up and perfume on! ( Ally that is!!)
