Marquesas –Nuku Hiva – Baie D’Anaho 10 June 2024

We woke to a lovely sunny morning in Baie D’Anaho which showed it at its best. were surrounded by stunning cliffs with some being red with trees on it and some with little pillars with Pinnacles rising up a ridge towards the main mount which had steep ridges tumbling down towards the water. There were three beaches around the bay which were bordered by lovely coconut trees and up the hills along the western end. There were apparently tracks on which you could walk over to the adjacent bays. There was a large coral reef (about the only one left in the Marquesas) adjacent to the beaches and as tide receded we could see the odd bit of coral sticking out and the colour of the water change to reveal the underneath of the coral reef.

We got up a little later than usual as we had had a few difficult nights and we needed the sleep. Keith went for a quick dip and we had some mango and pamplemosse for breakfast with cereal. The generator went on to charge the batteries and I put on the washing machine. I still had to had to watch the generator as coolant was still leaking but it was not clear from where.

The courtesy flags in all the wind had come loose and the line was twisted so much that someone had to go up the mast a bit to untwist the lines and to tie up the flags again. Keith volunteered and so we got out the bosuns’s chair and tied two lines to it. One pulls up the person and the other is the safety line in case the first line fails. We also had a third line which we tied on in case the wind pulled Keith away. Keith was winched up and before long he had untwisted the line and took one of he flags off. We then sorted out the flags and they were soon flying properly again. Well done Keith for taking one for the team.

Once we were ready we decided to go ashore and explore and to snorkel on the reef. There were a line of buoys demarcating the channel through the coral reef. We went through it in the dinghy and dragged the dinghy ashore. We walked along and saw three goat carcasses under a tree. There was a man with a machete and we spoke to him. He said there was a sort of restaurant which was closed today. We walked along and came to a load of chairs outside under a tree and a lady appeared from a building nearby. She spoke some English and explained about the restaurant and we agreed to eat tomorrow in the evening.

We walked back the other way and there was the odd hut and building and we walked under the shade of the trees and there was clearly a track that a quad bike had been using. We continued along and had seen a church on the shore. The church was next to a large building. It had a wooden interior and open sides. We carried on and came across tow ladies under a tree who approached as we walked and was clearly selling fruit which was great. She had papaya, mango and banana. She showed us some little stands with a plastic top where they peel the bananas and let them dry in the sun, so they end up as sweet, brown toffee treats. We bought a big papaya, two mangoes and some bananas. We forgot to ask about eggs.

We walked along and found the fork in the track where you can either go up and over to the next valley on the west or carry along the shore and go over to the next bay on the east. We had seen pack horses going that way the night before. We asked the lady at the restaurant about snorkelling and she suggested the reef in front of us but the tide was low so we could see the reef just under the water. We therefore returned to the dinghy and got our masks and snorkels out and walked in from the shore and headed over the end to of the reef. The water was not crystal clear, but I could see 3-4 feet and there were lots of different fish – brown, yellow and back, translucent and light brown and electric blue. There were a lot of fish and the coral was clear to see but it was clearly on the decline sadly.

We really enjoyed our snorkel and got back in the dinghy and returned to Stormbird when we had lunch of cheese and meat sandwiches with cucumber as we had run out of everything else. We then had a rest and I tried to sort out an IT issue. We decided to go out at 4.00pm when the tide was is to try the reef again. Fiona stayed to read her book and the rest of us headed out again in the dinghy. We could snorkel now over areas we could not at low tide and we saw more fish life and I felt some larger fish. Suddenly a large Manta Ray came swimming through effortlessly flapping its wings. It was black and grey mainly with a large tail at the back which I kept away from.

It was another good snorkel and we appreciated the opportunity to do this. We returned to Stormbird and had a sundowner in what was a lovely fresh breeze. Keith cooked bangers and mash ( the mash was a mixture of normal potato and a vegetable we had bought which was purple) but we had cheese and cucumber starter with chorizo. We all enjoyed what we were given and then we had some chocolate as we still have some from Ua Pou.

It had been a great day in probably the most beautiful bay we have been to on the Marquesas.

Crewing Opportunity

We have arrived in the Marquesas in French Polynesia and will explore these islands and 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 move through French Polynesia 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