[ This blog entry from May 17th was not posted until today, May 22]
\nHiva Oa and Atuona<\/p>\n
We remained in Hanamoenoa Bay, Tahuata for another day on
\nSunday (13 May). We took our kayak and snorkels to explore the
\ntwo neighboring bays to the south which are magnificent. There
\nis an abundance of interesting sea life and each bay has a beach
\nto rest on. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rishu Maru\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yara\u00e2\u20ac\u009d left Saturday after sunset
\nfor the 100 nm passage to Ua Huka. We have since heard from
\nthem via email that the anchorage is very rolly and it is almost
\nimpossible to land a dinghy on the beach. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Vera\u00e2\u20ac\u009d stayed in
\nTahuata with us and we planned to sail to Hiva Oa together and
\ntour the island.<\/p>\n
We got up early on Monday morning to pull up anchor for
\nTraitor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bay (Tahauku Bay) on Hiva Oa. The customs boat that
\nfound us on Saturday insisted that we check-in on Monday at the
\nGendarmerie in Atuona, the town on Hiva Oa that is the
\nadministrative center of the southern Marquesas. We had heard
\nbad things about Traitor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bay and had not intended to stop
\nthere but rather check-in at Nuka Hiva to the north. But since
\nthe customs boat had directed us to Hiva Oa, we were obligated
\nto go. Traitor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bay turned out to be even more unpleasant than
\nwe had feared. The bay is open to the east and south and is
\nexposed to the ocean swell. To keep the swell down, there is a
\nbreakwater across part of the entrance to the upper bay. The
\nproblem is there is major dredging and construction work going
\non behind the breakwater so that the protected area of the
\nanchorage is closed off. The water is dirty and brown with lots
\nof floating junk as a consequence of the dredging, plus there is
\nthe noise of the dredge, pumps and dump trucks for 12 hours a
\nday. In addition, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Charlie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Charts of Polynesia\u00e2\u20ac\u009d recommends
\nagainst swimming because of the large shark population.<\/p>\n
There is too little space available for the sail boats that
\nare directed to Atuona so that they are packed in like sardines
\nin Trraitor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bay. Boats have to set both a bow and a stern
\nanchor to keep from swinging into each other and to keep their
\nbows pointed into large swell that rolls into the opening of the
\nbay and is amplified as it comes into the anchorage. When the
\nswell hits the western cliffs of the anchorage it erupts into a
\n30 foot spray of white water. This has been the worst anchoring
\nthat we have ever experienced. There was almost no space when
\nwe entered the anchorage and we had to drop the bow anchor very
\nclose to other boats and with less than 2 meters of water under
\nour keel. As we dropped back to deploy a stern anchor, the
\ndepth quickly fell to less than one meter. Thankfully, a
\ncheerful Englishman from Derbyshire rowed over from his boat and
\noffered to take our stern anchor out another 60 feet and drop
\nit. It was extremely hot on deck as it was late morning, the
\nsun was blazing in a clear blue sky, and there was not a hint of
\na breeze. We were drenched with sweat once this playing around
\nwith multiple anchors business seemed to be over.<\/p>\n
As we started to cool off with a couple of Diet Cokes, we
\nnoticed that the Mexican boat (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Iataia\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) next to us was drifting
\nuncomfortably close to us as the current shifted. They were
\nthere first, so we decided it was prudent to adjust our stern
\nand bow anchors, working up some more sweat. The young Mexican
\ncouple stopped by on their dinghy on their way to shore and said
\nnot to worry because all the boats get very close depending on
\nthe tide but never seem to make contact. The tidal variation is
\na bit over a meter. An hour later, we were less than ten feet
\naway from the Mexican boat, which is too close for my comfort.
\nSo we got up on deck for the third time to reset our anchors.
\nAs we did, we saw \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Vera\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with our friends Michael and Britta
\ncome into the anchorage. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Vera\u00e2\u20ac\u009d left Hanamoenoa Bay at the same
\ntime as us, and we planned to spend time together in Hiva Oa.
\nUnfortunately, they had an even worse morning than us. They
\nstarted to pull up anchor in Hanamoenoa Bay at the same time as
\nus (and only 50 feet away) but could get very far because their
\nanchor chain had wrapped itself around a coral head three times.
\nMichael had to dive 10 meters to unwrap it. Then, when they
\nunfurled their genoa jib, it just fell in a heap on the deck.
\nThe halyard had chafed through and they had to motor all the way
\nto Hiva Oa, arriving more than 90 minutes after us. They twice
\ntried to anchor near us in Traitor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bay but were not
\ncomfortable with the tight space (we really had the last spot
\nfor any boat with a 6+ foot draft), and had to leave and anchor
\nin the wide open area in front of the breakwater where the roll
\nwas even greater than where we were anchored.<\/p>\n
The handsome young couple on the Mexican boat \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Iataia\u00e2\u20ac\u009d told
\nus not to bother going to the Gendarmerie to check-in but to
\ncall \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sandra\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on VHF radio channel 11 and she would do it for us
\nand save us money to boot. In my state of heat exhaustion, I
\nmisheard them as saying \u00e2\u20ac\u009dSharon\u00e2\u20ac\u009d instead of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sandra\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and, of
\ncourse, no one by that name responded on the VHF. The young
\nMexican couple, she always attired in a bikini, and he with red
\nhair and beard, were always followed around by two large Mexican
\nmen whom Laura guessed were bodyguards. It seemed like a
\nreasonable guess.<\/p>\n
Michael and Britta of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Vera\u00e2\u20ac\u009d showed up in their dinghy, and
\nwaited while we got ours all set up and then we all headed off
\nto what is generously called the dinghy dock. It was a small
\npier of rough concrete decorated with a large tractor tire. The
\nsurge pushed the dinghies with great force against the pier and
\nwould knock them to pieces if one did not use a stern anchor on
\nthe dinghy to keep it off the dock. Getting on the dock
\nrequired a well timed jump and some upper body strength (not my
\nstrong points) to get ashore after setting the dinghy stern
\nanchor. I hated to think what leaving the dock would be like in
\na few hours.<\/p>\n
The town of Atuona is about 3 miles from the dock. We started
\nto walk in the early afternoon heat and sun on a narrow road
\nused by huge dump trucks carrying silt dredged out of the bottom
\nof the bay. They created huge clouds of dust as they went by,
\nmaking this a most unpleasant experience. We put out our thumbs
\nand soon had a ride into town, and quickly found the
\nGendarmerie. It is closed from 11:00am to 1:30pm for lunch, but
\nit was now nearly 2 pm. To our dismay, we were informed that
\nboat check-in was only done until 11 am. We ran into the
\nMexicans from \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Iataia\u00e2\u20ac\u009d who straightened out my confusion about
\nSharon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (the agent) name and even had her cell phone number.
\nWe called her at a pay phone and she came right by. She offered
\nto check Laura and me in for something over $400, which we
\nthought was outrageous. It was not until the next day when we
\nactually did the check-in by ourselves, did we realize why
\ngiving her $400 would save us money even though there is no fee
\nto check-in. Non-EU citizens must post a bond (or show a return
\nairplane ticket) to get a visa. The bond is acquired at the
\nnearby bank which takes $2800 from our Visa card and charges a
\nfee for doing so. Then on the day that we leave French
\nPolynesia, we can get our $2800 back (after checking out at the
\nGendarmerie) but only in French Polynesian francs. We can
\nchange these francs to dollars only by incurring the 8% spread
\nbetween the buying and selling price for US dollars, plus the
\nbanks commission. All told, this financial transaction costs
\nover $400, with all of this going to the bank. What Sharon
\nwould have done is put up our bond for us, using our Visa
\nimprint as collateral. By using the bank, we also had to pick
\nan island from which we will depart French Polynesia \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if we
\nleft from any other island we would lose our bond (we chose
\nBora-Bora). At least we got our 30 day visa plus a 60 day
\nextension making us legal until August 11.<\/p>\n
After failing to check-in the first day, the four of us
\nwalked up a steep hill to Calvary Cemetery to see the graves of
\nPaul Gauguin and Jacques Brel, which are only 100 feet apart.
\nLaura is a big fan of Jacques Brel and a visit to his grave site
\nmade our visit to the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153harbor from hell\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a bit more palatable.
\nWe could find no place open for supper and wound up with lousy
\nand expensive Chinese and then had to walk in the dark to the
\ndinghy dock. The tide had gone out and our dinghies were now
\nfive feet below the dock. Michael and Britta were worn by all
\nof this and said that they wanted to leave the next day as soon
\nas they were checked-in. They found the place too trying to
\nstay an extra day. During that extra day, we had planned in
\nshare in a rental car with them and tour the island, and then
\neat at the highly recommended Hiva Oa Hanakee Pearl Lodge up on
\na hill overlooking the bay.<\/p>\n
The next morning the swell was even larger. Some of the
\nwaves were huge and as the boats rode up and down the steepest
\nof the waves, the two young American guys on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Namaste\u00e2\u20ac\u009d off our
\nport quarter would yell \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yee-Ha\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as if they were riding a
\nbucking bronco in a rodeo. The trick now was to get into our
\ndinghy tied to the stern of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sabbatical III\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as it and
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sabbatical III\u00e2\u20ac\u009d were getting tossed about. After a large wave
\npassed by, kicking the transom up violently, I put a foot into
\nthe dinghy and shifted my weight off of the transom steps \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but
\nnot quickly enough. Another wave hit right after and the next
\nthing I knew I was doing a backwards flip into the dirty brown
\nshark-infested water of Traitor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bay. Laura was down below and
\nthe ladder was not in place so I had to yell to get her
\nattention. After a shower and change of clothes (and wallet),
\nwe headed back to the dinghy dock to finally complete the
\ncheck-in. But now the dinghy dock was completely untenable
\n(which explains why there was only one dinghy there). The large
\nswells made tying up an invitation to a dunking. Laura and I
\nwatched Michael and Britta have a go at it. Britta got off
\nfirst by grabbing the tractor tire with both hands and feet and
\ncrawling over it to the dock. Meanwhile their dinghy got caught
\nunder the dock and Michael yelled things in German that I would
\nlike translated some day. Laura and I headed for the rock
\nstrewn ramp used by outriggers. Michael and Britta helped us
\ncarry the dinghy and engine up high enough on the ramp to avoid
\nbeing bashed around when the tide rose again.<\/p>\n
After checking in, we said goodbye to Michael and Britta
\nwho were retuning to Hanamoenoa Bay, Tahuata in order to get a
\nroll-free night, and to go up the mast to fix their jib halyard.
\nLaura and I were just about to sit down in a little snack shop
\nwhen she saw the minibus of the Hiva Oa Hanakee Pearl Lodge drop
\noff some hotel guests in town. The bus gave us a ride to the
\nhotel and we had a fabulous lunch that was no more expensive
\nthan the bad Chinese we ate the evening before. The hotel
\nmanager took an interest in us and offered us some fruit and
\nfish from the kitchen at a good price. We got 2.5 kilos of
\nshashimi-grade tuna filet, plus pamplemousse, limes,and bananas.
\nLater that afternoon, we took the dinghy to a small dock
\nbehind the Mobil station, accessible only at high tide, and
\nbought groceries from the Mobil gas station store (they were out
\nof diesel fuel so this was their major business until the supply
\nship arrives). They had some decent stuff and it was a lot
\neasier than returning to the dinghy dock and hitching a ride to
\ntown again, even though we were in desperate need of diet Coke
\nwhich they have in town but not at the Mobil store (diet Coke
\ncomes in with the diesel we were told).<\/p>\n
M.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[ This blog entry from May 17th was not posted until today, May 22] Hiva Oa and Atuona We remained in Hanamoenoa Bay, Tahuata for another day on Sunday (13 May). We took our kayak and snorkels to explore the two neighboring bays to the south which are magnificent. There is an abundance of interesting … <\/p>\n