03/31 It’s hard to know where to even get started with this. Life is good. Nuku Hiva is such an interesting island, and not something I would have expected from a tropical island in Polynesia. I was told the drive down to Taiohae would be stunning, but after doing it myself I would have to say that’s an understatement. The long, winding road through the mountains had dozens of wild animals, from roosters, bulls, to even wild horses that are native to only few places in this world. The farther up we got brought vast evergreen forests, while the drive back down to sea brought banana, papaya, and palm trees galore. After a fantastic dinner consisting of coconut curry and limeaid from hand picked lime trees paired with St Lucian rum, I know I’m going to sleep well tonight. Tomorrow the plan is to provision and check out of Polynesia, before sailing a few miles up to a secluded bay.
04/01 Is this what paradise feels like? Right now, it sure does. After a busy morning checking out of Tahiti, provisioning for the passage, and attempting to top up on fuel, we went a few miles up the coast to a calmer, more intimate anchorage nestled in a stunning valley. A short zip over to a river led to a nice hike inland, passing countless fruit trees and old, Polynesian ruins that very well may be many hundreds of years old. We attempted to buy fruit from a local couple, but they unfortunately weren’t around. After some time scrubbing the bottom of the hulls for a faster passage, we enjoyed a relaxing evening and a hearty dinner.
The dark sand on this and other beaches are from the local volcanic rock, as opposed to being made from shells and coral
Lunch: pork fried rice
A ruin sits on an old rock terrace, which used to be a house several hundred years ago
Local fruit, including a pamplemousse the size of my head, and limes picked from a tree on the side of the road
Crossing a pool of fresh water
A stunning nightscape
04/02 Resilience. This is a bit what the theme these past two days have felt like. I only mostly kid. With Sunday having been Easter, understandably the whole island was shut down, as these islands have a thriving Christian culture, brought by the English in the late 1700s. With that in mind, we scheduled our diesel provisioning for the day after, only to learn that the fuel station was closed for yet another day. Thankfully, we were able to provision before the grocery stores closed early. After coming back to Taiohae this morning for fuel, we yet again found out things aren’t as easy as they might seem, as the electricity got cut at the fuel station and we were told to come back later. As of writing this, we still aren’t sure what’s going to happen. Along the theme of our trials and tribulations, our attempt to visit a local couple in a nearby bay yesterday to stock up on fruit proved futile, as they just happened to be visiting another side of the island that day and wouldn’t be back before sometime today, after we would have to leave. On a brighter note, our jaunt back to Taiohae brought a pod of dolphins over a dozen deep, leaping and dancing all about our bows. Oh, and 80 cents will get you a thick baguette as long as my arm. That’s certainly not all bad.
Saying goodbye to the south end of the island
Mike and Josh on dolphin watch
Running the engine calls for roasting coffee in a converted popcorn maker
A pelagic cormorant drifts past, checking out our fishing lures
Pizza for dinner!
04/03 Talk about an eventful, busy day! 5am wake up call to make it to Eiao plenty early brought a beautiful sunrise sail, with the trade winds having finally reestablished itself after several days of calm. Josh’s great call to put out the hand lines brought us a nice yellowfin tuna not five minutes later, and in bringing the second line in we discovered to have caught another. With a generous 10 pounds of tuna cooling in the fridge, we went to brainstorming all the different ways we could enjoy the fruits of our not-so-great labors. We decided mango ceviche was good enough for lunch, and just like that we rounded the corner to Eiao’s biggest bay. In anticipation of a largely sedentary 10 day passage, the best way to take advantage of our last Polynesian pit stop was of course to hike up to the top of the island. A difficult but rewarding 5 hours and 2400 feet of climbing, we made it back to the boat just as the last of the sun dipped below the horizon.
Passing a steep face of Eiao
Lunch: fresh tuna mango ceviche
Hundreds of little cairns helped show the correct path up the island
A stark contrast at the summit, compared to the rest of the island.
A custard apple; somewhere between apple and tropical fruit, with sweet, soft flesh
The oddly Martian summit contrasting to the greenery of the rest of the island
04/04 ‘slow’ is a word that is most definitely not in our vocabulary. An early morning depart to Hawaii led us straight into a wholly unforecasted storm. 30, gusting to 40 knot winds with 10 foot seas meant a relatively uncomfortable blast out into the South Pacific Ocean. With the winds and waves abated after several hours, we were happily on our merry way, under full main and code 5, and some cloud cover to protect us from the merciless heat the sun would have brought. Overall, a pretty uneventful day.
04/05 We are pretty quickly adapting to passage life. Wind is steady and moderate, waves and swell are smooth, and sleep and food is plentiful. Although having entered where the notorious doldrums usually lie, we’re still sailing and easy 7 knots on a broad reach. Today was also the first full day of sunlight we’ve had in a couple, which our batteries most definitely could use as our solar power is useless without it. Honestly, it’s hard to find something to complain about. Even in the occasional monotony, it’s still pleasant knowing there is nothing that needs to be done, and one can simply admire the vast ocean around them.
Futile attempts at portioning some frozen meat out for dinner
04/06 “Slow and steady wins the race” is today’s motto I’ve had to keep at the back of my mind. We are in full blown doldrums territory, and although we are still doing relatively well, I would love to replace these 3 knots of wind with yesterday’s 17. With such low wind comes with some motoring, though, which means plenty of power and plenty of fresh water. I just wrapped up my first shower in a week, and it really felt good. Although probably of little surprise, you really come to appreciate the little things in life while on a passage like this. Things like good food, generous rest, and plentiful storytelling. Earlier this afternoon we spotted a squall headed our direction, and we all eagerly awaited it, knowing that it would bring rain and with that, a chance to cool off and clean up. Unfortunately, as is what happens when one is prepared, we sailed too fast and the cloud passed behind us, leaving us still hot, sweaty, and thirsty. As of writing this this evening, the sun has just set and we are almost totally surrounded by little squall clouds and rain, but only time can tell if we are lucky enough to hit any or not.
Squall clouds bringing rain
Make your own fajitas
Last light of the day
Our first sighting of life in three days, destination Hawaii
04/07 I may be eating my words a little bit. Shortly into my watch last night, we got hit by a squall. Although a more tame one, we had left the code D up, furled in false confidence that we would have a calm night. Sure enough, as the wind shifted forward and picked up speed, a small bubble started to unfurl and we scrambled to get it down and stuffed down the hatch. After that brief excitement, the rest of the night proved fickle, with the wind constantly changing direction and strength, and a resulting barrage of engine on, engine off. Thankfully, though, we are set to cross the equator later today which hopefully means the end is in sight.
A magnificent frigate bird checks us out
Vivid bioluminescence leaves a trail behind us
04/08 Unfortunately, today probably has been our slowest day yet. I don’t think we saw wind over 6 knots, and with a rather large swell having kicked in, we just aren’t able to keep wind in our sails. Maybe King Neptune wasn’t happy with our offering and this is his way of getting back at us. Despite what every weather forecast is saying, we simply aren’t seeing any sustainable weather.
Early morning solar eclipse
04/09
04/10 We’re back in the trade winds! It feels awfully good to finally be moving again, albeit life at the moment is a little rough. Ever since the equator, we’ve had a sizable swell pick up, and with the current 20 knots from the beam means a shaky ride. Being that I reside in the forward cabin, while attempting to sleep at night I often find myself partially airborne and shaken about like a rag doll in a washing machine. Any little thing takes many more times the effort and concentration, and were often dancing around the cockpit and saloon in an attempt of getting around while a wave pitches our balance the opposite direction.
04/11 Despite this rough and constant weather, one thing that hasn’t changed is that we are certainly eating well on this passage. Our plan for dinner today was to prepare some calamari, and just like that last night we had three squid manage to make it on board, almost as if they knew. With this weather too we are scaring up quite the number of flying fish, often all jumping out of the water 20 or 30 at a time, with often times several landing on deck or even down below through a hatch. Ever since the equator we have had incredibly bright bioluminescence, and with the current weather I have discovered bioluminescent whitecaps, which was quite the experience. Yesterday was a near 220 mile day, and with less than 600 miles to Hawaii the rest of this passage should be quick work.
04/12 Things set on the cabin table jump in the air as a wave smacks the bottom of the bridge deck. Water drips down onto my mattress as yet another wave breaks over the bow. The monotony of this passage is starting to set in, certainly exacerbated by these tumultuous conditions we have been stuck in since the equator. Although good for speed, comfort is at an all time low, and the constant, unpredictable movement of the boat makes productivity both difficult and undesirable. We are wrapping up our third over 200 mile day, and even with a double reefed main and reefed Solent we are still maintaining an easy 9 knots, with pushing 12 down the faces of waves. With such conditions as well, dry spots are few and far between on this boat, as even a well protected cockpit can only fare so well, and a couple big crashing waves still find themselves seeping into the cabin. Just a little over two days to Oahu.
04/13 Alas, the never ending amusement park ride that these past few days have been is finally over. Early this morning while lying in my bunk I could feel the calmness of the water, and a sense of relief washed over me. Although going fast is fun, and is nice on a long passage like this one, finally having some comfort is worth it, and we frankly haven’t even lost very much speed.