We arrived in Nuie at 0530 this morning with a full moon and got on one of the yacht clubs moorings. After a couple of hours sleep we started to get ready to head in and do the formalities and have a look around but thought I would download one quick long range forecast as the weather has been changing so much. It doesn't look good, another trough arriving in Nuie lunch time tomorrow with strong winds and lots of rain, not really the weather to be sight seeing. Then by Saturday another big system coming with loads of rain and westerly winds, no good at all for us. So our options are to stay, pay $200 do a quick tour tomorrow and then leave for Tonga Wednesday but then all the wind has been sucked away so will most likely have to motor most of the 2 days sailing. We decide to stay, really want to see this place as it's meant to be quite special.
Put sail covers on, pack away sails, pole ect ect launch dinghy and head in.
Nuie is completely exposed from the west and has a lot of surge so is only a fair weather place. There is a crane on the dock and you have to lift your dinghy ashore as it's not safe alongside ......the crane isn't working today but maybe later the power will be back on and it will be? We um and ah if it's worth chancing it for such a short stay with shit weather??
No time to go, back to the boat and get everything ready again. You can't change the weather ☹️
Tuesday 16 July 2019
Sunday 14 July 2019
Catch up of the last month-
After leaving Huahini we sailed across to Raiatea and Tahaa for a week of looking around and were lucky enough to catch a music festival in town the last night. From there we went over to Bora-Bora to wait for a weather window to cross to Tonga.
The weather had been really unsettled the last few weeks and this was no exception with only a few nice days here and there and then the rest very windy and rainy but at least we managed 3 beautiful days in the SE corner of Bora in the picturesque turquoise waters you see on the TV. Then another weather system was coming so back around the other side to hide from the 40kt forecast and got on one of the yacht clubs moorings. A 51ft Outreamer cat in front of us broke his mooring that night and ended up on the reef 1 mile behind lucky stopped by a bungalow on the water that put a hole in its port side but not on the bottom so he managed to get away although still has to haul out and fix a lot including the centreboard, sad story for them but I have no idea why they left the boat unattended in that weather, and also so lucky for us we didn't get hit as we were right in its path.
So we had 2 weeks waiting for weather in Bora along with a heap of other boats waiting to head west and when it finally started to ease we shot through with very fast sailing the first night and then it eased and had perfect sailing the next few days. We wanted to stop at Nuie, 1050nm and a tiny little island on the way to Tonga but at the speed we were sailing we would arrive on a Sunday and they don't do check ins on this day. Right on our path is Palmerston atol owned by the Cook Islands so we decided to make a quick stop here.
Very funny joint indeed, William Masters in 1867 arrived here with 3 Polynesian women and set up camp and ended up having 26 kids to keep himself busy. So now the main island is split up in 3 parts for the different families and has a thriving population of 31 residents, all related off course and either called Will, William or bill with a couple of Edwards thrown in, the grave yards say it all with ALL the last names being Masters!
We were lucky to be the only yacht there the first day and got a very nice tour and had lunch with one of the families. The next morning 8 boats arrived so it was time for us to leave for Nuie 380nm away.
With the weather being so good I got a little casual and only downloaded a big long range forecast with winds to see if we had enough for the next week and no westerlies, all looked good. Then once we were underway for Nuie I download a detailed grib for the next couple of days with gusts/rain/waves ect and it showed a right little system in our path and boy did we cop it the night before last. It came up just before midnight with lots of rain and not so bad at the start but we got the mainsail down and furled in the Genoa just leaving the staysail poled out (wish I hadn't) then soon after it really came in. The seas built very quick with the wind a steady 35-40kts screaming so we just ran NW with it and all was well although a lot of things flying around inside the cabin. It was too rough to drop the staysail but it all was fine anyway and by around 4am it had dropped to 30kts and hung around like this with loads of rain until nearly lunch time and then settled right down ye
sterday afternoon and now the seas are better once again, quite an adventure anyway.
So now we should arrive in Nuie tomorrow morning and with weather permitting we will stay until the end of the week then leave for Tonga which is just a 2 day sail away and arrive in the North to what looks like a beautiful place called Vava'u.
So far just one little Stripey Tuna caught and one full real of line with lure lost to something way too big, maybe today is the day??
After leaving Huahini we sailed across to Raiatea and Tahaa for a week of looking around and were lucky enough to catch a music festival in town the last night. From there we went over to Bora-Bora to wait for a weather window to cross to Tonga.
The weather had been really unsettled the last few weeks and this was no exception with only a few nice days here and there and then the rest very windy and rainy but at least we managed 3 beautiful days in the SE corner of Bora in the picturesque turquoise waters you see on the TV. Then another weather system was coming so back around the other side to hide from the 40kt forecast and got on one of the yacht clubs moorings. A 51ft Outreamer cat in front of us broke his mooring that night and ended up on the reef 1 mile behind lucky stopped by a bungalow on the water that put a hole in its port side but not on the bottom so he managed to get away although still has to haul out and fix a lot including the centreboard, sad story for them but I have no idea why they left the boat unattended in that weather, and also so lucky for us we didn't get hit as we were right in its path.
So we had 2 weeks waiting for weather in Bora along with a heap of other boats waiting to head west and when it finally started to ease we shot through with very fast sailing the first night and then it eased and had perfect sailing the next few days. We wanted to stop at Nuie, 1050nm and a tiny little island on the way to Tonga but at the speed we were sailing we would arrive on a Sunday and they don't do check ins on this day. Right on our path is Palmerston atol owned by the Cook Islands so we decided to make a quick stop here.
Very funny joint indeed, William Masters in 1867 arrived here with 3 Polynesian women and set up camp and ended up having 26 kids to keep himself busy. So now the main island is split up in 3 parts for the different families and has a thriving population of 31 residents, all related off course and either called Will, William or bill with a couple of Edwards thrown in, the grave yards say it all with ALL the last names being Masters!
We were lucky to be the only yacht there the first day and got a very nice tour and had lunch with one of the families. The next morning 8 boats arrived so it was time for us to leave for Nuie 380nm away.
With the weather being so good I got a little casual and only downloaded a big long range forecast with winds to see if we had enough for the next week and no westerlies, all looked good. Then once we were underway for Nuie I download a detailed grib for the next couple of days with gusts/rain/waves ect and it showed a right little system in our path and boy did we cop it the night before last. It came up just before midnight with lots of rain and not so bad at the start but we got the mainsail down and furled in the Genoa just leaving the staysail poled out (wish I hadn't) then soon after it really came in. The seas built very quick with the wind a steady 35-40kts screaming so we just ran NW with it and all was well although a lot of things flying around inside the cabin. It was too rough to drop the staysail but it all was fine anyway and by around 4am it had dropped to 30kts and hung around like this with loads of rain until nearly lunch time and then settled right down ye
sterday afternoon and now the seas are better once again, quite an adventure anyway.
So now we should arrive in Nuie tomorrow morning and with weather permitting we will stay until the end of the week then leave for Tonga which is just a 2 day sail away and arrive in the North to what looks like a beautiful place called Vava'u.
So far just one little Stripey Tuna caught and one full real of line with lure lost to something way too big, maybe today is the day??
Monday 8 July 2019
Societies
I wrote this a few weeks back but never got around to posting it, for those that are interested-
Societies
I returned from 5 weeks work in Aus in the middle of May to Papeete Marina where Julie stayed for the duration. We arrived there from the Tuamotos end of March and it was nice to be in civilisation again, the marina is smack bang in the middle of town with bars and restaurants around and lots of boat/hardware shops around so it was a busy time. We hired a car, drove around the island, refitted the dingy, built new shelves in Sunflowers workshop as well as a few other things you can't do on anchor so it was nice.
Julie enjoyed being in a marina for a change also while I was at work, joining the local gym to keep herself busy as well as making a new dinghy cover which was a fair old task, turned out perfect of course
I retuned and we changed out our solar panels for 2x 315w panels and man what a difference. We can now run watermaker for 3 hours a day if we like and always have full batteries, passages should be a lot better now with the thirsty autopilot also. Not many things at all are cheap in French Polynesia but funnily enough solar panels are subsidised so they were actually a bargain.
After 4 days rushing to get everything finished and cleaned up my dad arrived for a 12 day holiday and we sailed over to Moorea, good times. Hadn't hung out with my old man properly for quite some time so it was really nice. We just explored a few bays around Moorea taking it easy, no big sails or anything. The weather unfortunately was on and off with lots of rain around but it was still a good time.
After dropping him back in Tahiti we did some more stocking up and then did an overnight sail to Huahini where we have been for nearly 2 weeks and what a great spot. Besides the Huahini Yacht Club having happy hour every day what has made it so good is that so many of our good cruiser friends are here, it's been really fun and social that's for sure.
Friday 22 March 2019
Living Expenses in Marquesas
A season in Marquesas, what to bring?
Beer is what you bring, and lots of it!! Before coming here we had heard how expensive everything is to live here so we stocked up the boat massively and a lot of the stuff we stocked up with is actually as cheap here because certain things are "Subsidised."The shops here are basic, it's a shock for sure when you first arrive but you quickly get used to it and actually get quite excited finding new treats but for most of the stuff you need the shops have it all here, just not the big selection. It's France Territory so there are also quite a few unexpected purchases in these little tucked away shops also.
So I thought I would make this list of the basics that most sailors need if anyone is coming this way, it may be useful.
Anything with a red sticker on the shelves or in the fridges is subsidised and makes it a LOT cheaper, it's most of the basics you need, here's a quick list in US$-
Packets of 500g pasta-spaghetti ect-$1
Decent Thai rice- $1.40kg
Flour/sugar $1.50kg
Sunflower oil- $1.50ltr
Extra Virgin olive oil $10ltr
Powdered milk $3 for 300g packet
NZ tinned butter (really good) $4.50 a pound
Cheddar cheese(processed block but actually ok) $1.50 250g
Dry cheese crackers $1-1.50 a packet
Basic tins of corn, sardines, tomatoes ect are also very cheap here but then as soon as it's fancy or not subsidised it's ridiculously expensive.
They have decent selection of Basic Asian foods also like soy sauce, sweet chilli, sesame oil, oyster sauce that are very reasonable around $3 each a bottle, but not Thai or Indian pastes and curries here.
Coconut milk $2 can
Dried herbs ect are VERY expensive here??
Coffee $5-6 250g
Peanuts, chips ect are all mostly very expensive
Cleaning products, shampoos, cling wrap/tin foil ect all very expensive
Large wheels of French Brie cheese-$20-22kg
Swiss cheese-$12kg
No fresh cheddar??
Parmesan cheese available but expensive
Fresh bread-baguette 60c
Dozen eggs $6
Frozen meats- Its amazing the selection of frozen vacuumed packed meats in the tiniest of shops here from NZ, Australia, Argentina and Uruguay and all very good.
There are loads of goats in the hills here the locals eat so lamb isn't subsidised but great NZ lamb legs, chops ect are all here but expensive at around $20kg
Beef is subsidised, so don't stock up in Panama or Ecuador like we did!
NZ/Australian rump 1.5-2kg packs-$9kg
Sirloin steak-$13kg
Argentine/Uruguay Black Angus Rib Eye (absolutely delicious!) $15kg
500g mince $8
12x decent hamburgers-$10
Chicken-
Whole Argentina chicken -$5
Chicken breasts are hard to find and super expensive
2kg Box of chicken legs- $10
Pork they have in the hills so is reasonably expensive and not so much available.
Bacon small packet $6
Fish- when you can buy from the fisherman it's super cheap at $5kg for tuna or whatever else they have caught but you have to get up real early and expect to wait!
Drinks- Like I said bring beer as it's ridiculously expensive. Took us a while but the best thing to do is as soon as you arrive is to buy a crate of bottles. They are 500ml and you pay $18 for the refundable deposit of 20x bottles and the plastic crate and then about $55 for the 20x bottles of beer or $2.80 each. Cans of beer (330ml) are about the same price as big bottle or $66-70 a case.
Wine- cheapest but half ok yachtie grade wine is around $9-10 a litre. Half decent bottle of wine is from $20
Local Rum- $28ltr, cheap vodka ect $50+, known brand whiskey $100??
We heard stories of in the past the officials had searched boats and if they had too much spirits/wines ect they had to pay a tax, this isn't the case anymore and we even asked the official in Nuka Hiva when we checked in and he said no worries as long as it's for personal consumption.
Mixers- coke/tonics $1.50 can, juice is also expensive $3.50 litre
Fresh Veges are available in the main ports and it's a shock at there prices but you soon get used to it. Lettuce $2-3, tomatoes $4, potatoes/onions $3.50 so it's not so bad just the selection is not always there (weird to think you can get excited by carrots??,)
Fresh fruits are everywhere and easy to get even just going for a walk-mangoes, pamplemousses, papaya, avocado,limes ect
Hardware stores in main towns have not a bad selection but boaty things are scarce and super expensive like epoxy, antifoul ect. Sikaflex $50 a tube, tape/brushes expensive so if you have projects bring whatever you can.
Water- drinking water is available from taps at certain places on certain islands and comes straight from the mountain, you have to dinghy. At certain times there is a lot of rain but then there are big dry spells also, I can't work out the rainy seasons??
A watermaker isn't a must here but it is more so in the Tuamotos.
Fuel is available easy in Nuka-Hiva and Hiva-Oa
Diesel is $1.40 litre. Kevin at yacht services Nuka Hiva can get you a duty free cert or if your in Tahiti the cert is free. It's valid for 6 months and the price for diesels is then 80c a litre.
Gas- best to buy a local bottle, $30 refundable deposit and then $30 for big 14kg bottle of gas. We bought easy at the hardware stores or supermarkets a regulator for $12 and put this bottle in our hatch. We also bought a connector for local bottle for $10 and can fill our normal bottles by doing the gravity method. Otherwise Kevin at yacht services will fill your bottle for $50
Bars and Restaurants- good news is you won't spend much money in these places as there aren't any! Well there is a few "snack" restaurants for lunch and maybe a pizza place but that's about it. Lunch at a snack is usually about $10-12 but is such a massive serving most of the yachties share a plate between 2. The locals can eat!
I saw one place that was almost a bar in Hiva Oa but the last time we went it was closed for some time.
Internet- This is terrible, by far the worst we've ever seen, imagine 5 minutes just to open your bank App on your phone? Faster internet is coming though as they have laid the cable and they just need to connect but things take a lot of time here I can tell you. Some snack restaurants offer wifi otherwise you buy a VINI SIM card for your phone and these work reasonably well. You can sometimes make whatsapp calls without big delays and download a weather grib file but don't expect to do any searching or especially book a flight if needed, this is really hard. A 200mb top up card costs $10 but because you can't download anything 200mb actually lasts quite a long time! You buy the SIM cards at the post office.
So as expensive as you think it may be it isn't really all that bad if you eat the basics and don't drink too much beer but you have to remember it's some of the most remote islands and the supply boat only comes 1-2 times a month "usually".
And remember if you see something in the shop that you want buy it there and then because often it won't be there the next day, especially cheese!
Saturday 12 January 2019
Back in the Marquases
OThe blog thing hasn't been happening for a while due to the lack of internet in French Polynesia and me just being slack. The last time I wrote a couple of months back we were sailing to Amanu in the Tuamotos and had an absolutely perfect sail with a nice breeze on the beam and no squalls, it was all time. Arriving in Amanu was a little hairy as I entered the channel a little early after speaking with a fisherman that went in ahead of us, the tide was racing out at 5-6knts and we were flat out hardly making any ground but got in just fine in time for a lunchtime beer in the beautiful turquoise waters just off the main village. No ciguatera in the whole atol and fish were plenty easy pickings with a spear gun but have to be quick with all the little reef sharks hanging around but if you're just taking 1 and get straight out it wasn't a problem.
We hung out in Amanu for 3 weeks, it's a big atol about 15 miles long and we explored a lot of little spots as the winds changed a lot so every few days we would move to get better shelter as a lot of it is very exposed.
It was VERY quiet, we were the only sailboat around and all (256) the locals live in just the one village but some camp a few days and collect coconuts for copra and then head back so it was a good chance for us to get a few boat jobs done in the mornings and then a fish BBQ on the beach in the afternoons, was good times but after 3 weeks we decided we needed more company so headed to the next atol Hao just 15nm away.
Hao is one of the most populated atols but was still very relaxed and you hardly see more than a few people out and about. There was one other French boat there and then our friends we met in Tobago 3 years ago, Augustine and Simone arrived and we had a great few days catching up and having BBQ's..
Then a weather window appeared so we headed back to the Marquases, not too bad a sail but wasn't that great as we were hard on the wind most of the way but we got to Taiohae in 4 days. The old owners of Sunflower arrived soon after on the Aranui cargo/cruise ship so that was really special also catching up with them over a few days. We hung out there for a couple of weeks waiting for a call from my work and then it was time for me to leave and Julie to hold the fort in Taiohae. I've been working for 3 weeks now and have one more to go, hopefully be back onboard the 22nd all going well. We plan to stay in the Marquases for cyclone season and then head to Tahiti maybe April but things change so we will wait and see what progresses 😀
Tough Times
Lovely couple in Amanu, she made these necklaces and gave them to us after only meeting them briefly, amazing people, super special
More fish
Anchorage in Taiohae, where Julie is now
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