Tag Archives: Marquesas

5. Panama to Tahiti

Arrival in Hiva Oa

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Saw the first isles of the Marquesas in the afternoon, still 50 miles away. Watched the sunset over them. As we got close the wind went very light, and we motored the last 30 miles or so. Tahawas was behind us, but we know they can go faster than us under power. So for a while we ran both of our engines to stay in front of them. Then we spoke with them on the radio and agreed that we would finish together. Very satisfying.

As it was getting dark we cut the engine (and stopped the noisy watermaker) for dinner, so we could enjoy the quiet, and some nice music, and the islands ahead, and a good meal. Then motoring on in the moonlight. The islands seem so much bigger than the little dots on the chart! Very dramatic in the night — I expect they will be awesome in daylight. As we went along the south coast of Hiva Oa suddenly there was an almost overpowering fragrance of shore — of flowers — of exotic South Pacific lands. What a dramatic change from the constant scent of the sea!

We anchored about 11pm outside the little harbor. It is rolly out here, but we don’t care. At dawn we need to move into the harbor and anchor bow and stern so we don’t swing, because the harbor is tiny. Then we all have to be ashore at 8am to take a shuttle into the town (not sure where the town is), to clear at with the gendarmarie.

At anchor it was sweet to have a drink together in the cockpit, the steep hills of Hiva Oa outlined against the moonlit sky, feeling good about what we have accomplished, and enjoying having arrived in this already-seems-special place.

5. Panama to Tahiti

Counting Down the Days

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We’ve told people this passage should be expected to take 21 days. This is derived by assuming we will average about 6 knots…approximately 150 miles per day…approximately 1,000 miles per week; 3,000 miles = 3 weeks. We tend to be conservative in such estimates; I was hoping to make it in less than 21 days, because I think we can average better than 6 knots. I had visions of logging a few 200 mile days in the trade winds.

Well, the 200 mile day still eludes us. We’ve done 190 twice, but we’ve had some very light winds on other days. Today is Day 17. We have about 450 miles to go. Three more days.

After 2,500+ miles, we converged today with Tahawus. We can just see them as a speck on the horizon, occasionally rising above the ocean swells. The two of us are sailing “neck and neck.” We pulled ahead, they pulled even, we pulled ahead, they are gaining. I think we do better in some wind strengths; they do better in others.

Our solitude is gone (I can’t help looking at them, or at the general area where they ought to appear if I stare long enough), but at this point we are preparing (mentally) for reentry anyway. Finishing up the favorite foods, since we don’t have to stretch them out beyond three days; learning about the anchorage, and what is required for formalities in entering French Polynesia; realizing that we don’t know anything about cruising in the Marquesas. Luckily, as part of the BPO rally, we have someone meeting us at Hiva Oa who can help us get oriented. Three days…

5. Panama to Tahiti

Next Boat…

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I spent an hour or two today sitting atop the pilot house (where it was shady), watching our wake streaming out behind — a continuous river disappearing into the sea. A continuous river stretching some 5,000 miles astern, back home…

Thoughts of “back home” are often about food, and usually a comfy sofa, either in front of a favorite TV show, or overlooking the ocean from our Maine cottage. But this time my thoughts meandered to another favorite topic: boats. What kind of boat will scratch my sailing itch after this adventure…?

Thoughts begin with my little trimaran, sitting in a barn 2/3rds built. If I completed this project, and took it a step further to outfit it thoroughly for backpacker-type cruising, it could satisfy my desire to sail over the horizon — e.g., to Downeast Maine. A huge plus for this boat is cost. Even with complete cruising gear it would be the least expensive option by far. But it has its drawbacks. I’d want a little autopilot, so I don’t have to steer 100% of the time. So I need a battery, and a way to charge the battery. And a little boat like that has no good way to carry a dinghy for getting ashore. I could lash a small kayak on the cross-beams. Ugly, but workable. And potentially the biggest drawback: it would accommodate me only — not a boat for cruising with Hallie.

To get a boat for cruising together, we should have a reasonable galley, and an enclosed (at least by a curtain) head. There’s a big trade-off between interior space and my thought that I’d like to have a trimaran. Trimarans have exciting sailing qualities but very little space. There are some nice ones in the 30 – 35 foot range that probably have enough inside so that the two of us could be reasonably comfortable.

But…only the two of us. What about sailing with friends? If we go a little bigger we could have a “guest room” and be able to accommodate another couple. Probably not a trimaran at this point, as its size would get unwieldy and its expense would be exorbitant. Maybe a catamaran? Hey, maybe like the one I’m on right now?

But if we go that big/expensive, maybe we should be thinking about living aboard. We could migrate along the Intracoastal Waterway, which I found quite enticing on the way south. Living aboard changes the equation in big ways Sailing qualities have to take a back seat to space and comfort. Maybe it wouldn’t even be a sailboat at all. We saw some nice “trawlers” on the ICW that seemed like ideal vessels for that environment, where one has to motor most of the time anyway.

Boats are always a compromise. Whatever we do, I will lust after other boats that can do the other things better. I’ll just have to keep contemplating this question that has no right answer, and kick it around with Hallie a few times…over the next 15,000 miles…