Galapagos to Marquesas –22 May 2024 – Day 20 – Nous Sommes Arrive!

During the night we sailed or motored depending on wind strength and direction and Charles and I had to wear our wet weather gear for the first rime on our 8-11.00pm shift due to the rain. It was driving wet rain which due to the wind direction cam into the cockpit.  The islands looked tantalisingly close but we could not see them yet due to the dark. We came back on shift at 5.00am and we were past the first island Ua Pou and going toward Nuku Hiva. Keith an Ian has been called up on the radio by another boat who were sailing behind us and this is the first boat we have seen for 3 weeks!

We headed towards a waypoint I had set off the southeast corner of Nuku Hiva and from there we would move on to one I had set outside our bay. The sun gradually came up, but it was a wet grey day and our first sight of land after nearly 3 weeks was a dark black outline. As the light improved the visibility became clearer and there was a lot of low-level thick cloud which was white covering a dark black land shape underneath.  A singe dolphin swam past as if to welcome us and we motored on to the waypoint and from there to the one outside the by we were to enter Baie Taiohae on the south side of the island.

We woke the others who wanted to be there for our arrival. As we got closer we saw more of the island which was quite craggy and mountainous with lots of ridges forking out many of which were covered in green -what looked like moss. Some described it as being a bit like New Zealand or Lord of the Rings type scenery. As we approached Baie Taiohae which began to open up I checked the bearings on the rocks on either side which they call Sentinelle Ouest and Est to verify I was on the right course as I am not sure how accurate our chart on the plotter was. It seemed correct. We therefore gradually entered a large deep bay which is a u shape and surrounded by large high green hills with ridges providing different colours due to their shadows.  There were houses dotted on some of these hills around the bay and we could see a number of yacht masts some with their anchor lights on as it was still only about 6.450am.

We proceeded into the bay further and saw a commercial wharf on the right and a low-level town spread out along the shore with a stone quay on the right.  We continued and motored around the anchorage to find a good spot. A catamaran called Moana waved at us and we had seen them in the Galapagos as well as an Amel ketch called Voice which we had seen in shelter bay – Panama and the San Blas islands. We meandered round and found a good spot and dropped the anchor. We had made it and we all hugged and thanked each other and I thanked the crew for all their help and support and in turn they thanked me for getting them there. It has taken us 19 days and 21 hours (ignoring the time difference hours). This was a total of 3, 415 nm from the Galapagos and we made an average speed of 7.1 kts. We used the generator for 70 hours and motored in total for 40 hours. This was the longest single passage any of us had done and it felt good to have arrived, despite our challenges on the way which we had to overcome. I was blessed with a great crew and we had all got along well.

I looked around at the beautiful bay, but it was not looking its best due to the wet damp grey atmosphere. The shoreline was dotted with different types of trees including palm trees and these trees grew up the steep hill sides as they stretched round the bay. On one of the hills was a large statue – what is called a riki – which are carvings in a humanoid form.

We sorted the boat out and put away lines and tidied up and cleaned. We did have a can of beer to celebrate and it seemed a bit odd as it was about 7.30am on the morning. We also had some breakfast and by this time we were making calls to loved ones to reassure them we had arrived. We had to get the dinghy down from the davits and put on the outboard. This has not been used since the Las Perlas islands. We went ashore at about 10.00am and there were a number of little bar/restaurants on the quay and there were fisherman cutting up large, enormous fish on a table by the shore. We asked where the gendarmerie was and were directed up the road from the quay. There were a number of stray wondering dogs who came to greet us and followed us up the road. There were lots of trees and lush vegetation around us with low level modern buildings. Many were modern and some made with wood with the humanoid carvings on the pillars. The people had a mauri appearance in looks an some had necklaces of what I can only assume were sharks teeth!!.

We walked up toward the gendarmerie and Fiona, Keith’s wife arrived as she had flown over from Tahiti a couple of days before. It was good to see her and to catch up a bit of what she had been doing and she had had a tour of the island which she said was lovely. She had to get a taxi from the airstrip on the north of the island to get here which took about an hour.  The gendarmerie was open, but they told us to come back tomorrow. The dogs that had followed us had a fight and it is as if there is a pecking order. They followed us throughout the day and there are quite a lot here. They do not bother you but clearly no one is controlling it or that is how it appears. There was a visitor centre and spoke to Colette who ran it. She directed us to the bank and also I asked  her about the new 12 v battery I had ordered which had arrived the day before by ship. She rang and it was with Nuku Transport and I could collect it at 2.00pm and she would arrange a taxi.   

We wandered along seeing lots of humanoid statues and trees and some people walking who were friendly. Our dog pack followed us and we got cash from the ATM. The local currency is CFP -used by the French in their overseas territories and stands for Colonies Francais du Pacifique or now French Communities of the Pacific. It is about 00719 to £ or divide by 149. Therefore 1,000 CFP is about £6.70. You therefore end up with large denomination notes.

Once we had some cash some went off to the supermarket and to look around and I went back with some to make the final arrangements re my battery and to have a beer. This turned out to be rather good and it is called Hinano and was from Tahiti. The other came and joined us and we had lunch sitting under some had whilst the rain came down. I was getting used to the French language again and the schoolboy French had to come out!!

After lunch I went by taxi to collect the battery which had been left at the port the day before. When we arrived there were two batteries not one – so I have no idea how that happened. We therefore took them and returned to the quay. We then went back to Stormbird and soon had the new battery fitted so that now I can return the engine/generator start back to its role and have a new domestic 12 v battery. Horray – somehow in one of the remotest parts of the world I have managed to find such a battery. We all felt quite tired and had a rest and we had agreed to meet Fiona and Keith for a meal at 7.00pm ashore.

When we got ready about 6.15pm it was pouring with rain and dark. This was not what we expected. However, we took the dinghy ashore with a big torch and walked along in the rain in our coats to the restaurant accompanied by our stray dogs.  We had a pleasant meal – I a cheve chaud and others pizza or prawns and salmon and washed down with some French wine which was a bonus.

We returned to Stormbird in the dark and wet and went for a good night’s rest There was a little swell in the bay but nothing like the roll en route. It had been a good day despite the weather and we look forward to exploring more of the Island which had masked some of its beauty due to the weather. Thank you to Stormbird for getting us here safely.

Photo – is a view of Baie Taiohae.

Crewing Opportunity

We will arrive in the Marquesas in French Polynesia about 22 May 2024 and we will then move through to the Tuamotu’s before getting to Tahiti about the end of July 2024. There may be some space on Stormbird during this period should any sailor/reader be interested in joining for this period or part of it in what must be one of the most distant and beautiful places in the world.

Year Two

In addition, in year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and probably across the Indian Ocean to Cape Town and I will need some more crew.

If there is any interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

The blog will continue as we head off to the Marquesas and beyond.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com  I can only upload one picture a day and visit our website www.stormbirdgoesglobal.co.uk