Bay of Virgins, Fatu Hiva, Marquesas

September 30^th

Since we did not see it coming in the night before, we had our minds blown by the scenery the next morning. The bay of Virgins, was originally named the bay of penises and you can see why in our selfie! Maybe they are virgin penises ;-) ?!?

Looking into the bay we see a rocky beach with a river running out by the trees and a deeper valley beyond more rock pinnacles.

There are two very brave goats on this pinnacle. We saw them there several times throughout our stay here.

The government built a breakwater here to protect against the swells rolling in. We can still see a crane, but did not know if it was working or just parked there.

I thought this rock on the right looked like a monkey with his back turned to us as the sun is still in the East.

This is a photo of Avatar that most people only dream of for their boat. The third pinnacle from the right, where we had seen the goats earlier, now looks like one of the three wise men to me.

There was only one other boat in the anchorage with us, as this is the off season. Here is the big picture with those green mountainous cliffs in the background.

There is a small waterfall running right into the bay on the South side which makes a lovely sight.

Points to the North of the bay.

As the swells rise and fall, the rocks are awash with the sea and it makes a lovely sound too. A large rock teeters above.

This volcanic rock was wedged between two others.

Now that the sun is in the West that same rock pinnacle now looks like the Virgin Mary to me, with green bushy hair.

The Southern side of the bay.

The local soccer field is right next to the river mouth.

These big rip rap cement blocks here protect the inner harbor. God only knows how they put them there, but the Ocean re arranges them as it sees fit.

Behind the rip rap is the inner harbor where there is a quay and a boat launching ramp.

A lady was washing her puppy in the salt water to kill any fleas or ticks that might be on it. He was not too happy about it.

The bay here is very dramatic from the anchorage and we hang some bananas we were given from the bimini shade.

The clouds move in from the valley behind and we know rain will soon be coming. What a glorious place the Bay of Virgins is!!

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!!