Passage to Marquesas

It was Monday, the morning of September 25^th. We got the dingy loaded on deck and all of our stuff stowed away, and with a good weather window predicted. We sailed out of the pass by the village in Makemo, as the tide turned to go out, around 2pm. Kind of easy to see the pass, it is the opening where there are no trees. You can see the light house and school on the right side of the photo.

With beautiful sailing conditions we were underway for the four days it would take us to sail to Fatu Hiva, the most Southern of the Marquesas islands.

The view from the cockpit after exiting the pass. You can see Makemo on the chart plotter.

The next day at sea the skies were quite clear with not many clouds. Winds were 10 to 15 knots and the seas were low. Perfect sailing weather in the South Pacific Ocean! On Wednesday we sighted Napuka, one of the Ilse du Disappointment. The wind shifted a bit and we were able to sail right between the two islands of Napuka and Tepoto.

I climbed the mast pulpit to get a better view, to make sure there were no visible dangers in the water.  Mike sneakaly took this shot of my bum ;-)

The view from up here is quite spectacular! But be sure to hold on!!

Hanging on to the shrouds and balancing on a ss rail. I am wearing one of the lycra outfits we had made by Katia in La Paz. At sea they are incredibly comfortable and keep the sun off my arms and back.

Very few people come this way, but there is an airport, a village, a church and a landing dock for supply ship tenders, in open ocean. These islands do not have any access to the inner lagoons.

As we got closer I noticed through the binoculars a cell phone tower. So I decided to try my internet antenna from the local cell phone company, Vini. Lo and behold here 1/2 mile off the island I got internet!! Blew my mind!

The closer we got the better we could see the church and the landing buildings.

I wondered why they were named Disappointment islands and found out via my friend Linda on Jacaranda. First discovered in 1520 by Ferdinand Magellan. He named them this because he was disappointed to find no fresh water. Later in  1765 Explorer John Byron was also disappointed to find the natives were not very friendly. But they sure weren't disappointing to us! Some thing to look at on our passage, as well as internet in the middle of the ocean!! These low atolls of the Tuamotu Island group come up on you fast and leave you fast and you can't see them more than about 5 miles away.

Looking like a fire over the horizon, the sun set on our third day at sea in a blaze of glory!

The next morning we had squalls all around us. As the early dawn I thought I saw something break the surface of the sea.

Dolphins!!

They were playing in the swells that were getting bigger now, jumping and having a good time.

They stayed with us for quite a while as dawn was approaching. 

Surfing!

Squall glowing in the rising sun behind us. 

Finally the sun is back above the horizon.

Always remember, rain squalls plus sun equals rainbows!! 

Approximately 40 miles away, we spot Fatu Hiva. Not sure if that was rain drops or spray on the dodger windows.

The wind now is picking up and we had 20 plus knots for the last 6 hours of the passage. Glad we left when we did so we did not have this for the whole trip!!The island is getting bigger and bigger as we approach. We are not in the Tuamotus any more Toto!! These are big tall mountainous islands!

Avatar with a bone in her teeth and the spray goes flying. We are trying to make it there before sunset.

Starting to see some detail in the hills now.

Fatu Hiva is a beautiful, welcoming sight.

We are racing the sun now, but think it will be dark by the time we arrive. The hills turn red as the sun is getting low.

She glows in the setting sun.

The hills here are emerald green, just as I remembered.

We are aiming for the Bay of Virgins, which is behind to the left of the redish colored ridge coming in from the right and the lower ridge coming towards us from the high mountains on the left.

The radar shows us were we are going, about 8 miles away. And the fish finder is showing some strange warm spots in the depth of the abyssal bottom only 4 miles from the closest shore. But the temp is warm enough to make you want to go swimming!

The sun drops behind a big swell and we are left in the darkness to feel our way into the bay using radar. 

We were scouted by two boobie birds who kept circling around the boat. 

As we got near the point the water came up to about 200 feet, but then suddenly dropped away to the abyss again.

We had no problem finding our way into the bay with advice from fellow cruisers on the SSB radio, Pacific Magellan net and using the radar. Once the anchor was down it was time to get a full nights sleep after 4 days of sailing. Possibly the most amazing thing about the trip was that we never had to tack! Sailed upwind on a close reach on a starboard tack all the way, just over 400 miles!!