Pitufa.at

After a week of stormy, rainy weather we now have stable conditions again, so we set out today at noon for the Tuamotus! 15-20 Knoten aus ONO, Fahrt 5-6 Knoten

After a long period of stable weather we saw a convergenze zone with rain and wind afterwards approaching, tucked in and prepared the rain collection system. During breakfast we heard heavy rain pounding on the island next to us and minutes later bucket-loads of water splashed on us. We could see hasty preparations on neighbouring boats–nobody wants to accumulate wet clothes, so people tend to hop around naked, adjusting hoses and spreading canvas… Then a few late-comers got to anchor just in the middle of the downpour.

We have a watermaker, but rain means high-quality water for free, so we’re always happy to catch us much as possible. As soon as the tanks are filled the excitement wears off, so we hope that the predicted week of nasty weather will be cut short.

It looks like we won’t have another weather opportunity for at least a week, so we decided to exchange our broken old wind instrument for a new one. Christian’s been up and down the mast 5 times in the past 2 days, getting the old wind instrument off, new one on, pulling cables, etc. Of course that means I’m on duty all the time as well, hauling him and bits and pieces up and down whenever he shouts–quite some work-out for both of us

While everything’s nice and relaxed on the outer islands, we hear from friends in Tahiti that the situation there is getting precarious. The former official anchorage off Marina Taina is supposed to be closed down soon, therefore lots of cruisers anchored off the airport and got stuck during the Covid confinement. The policy of sending all new arrivals straight to Tahiti to check in there has led to a whole fleet there. Now locals protest against anchored boats and the usual propaganda in the media accuse cruisers to pollute the lagoon without adding to the economy. Completely ridiculous when you consider how much we all spend for groceries, boat parts, etc.
Especially now that no flights get into French Polynesia people should realise that WE are their only tourists here. Instead of pampering us and urging us to spend money they want us to disappear into thin air…

After a few hours of clanging and banging with the gennaker collapsing and filling in high waves and little wind we gave up and tacked back to the Gambier. No use damaging material with an unsettled forecast ahead. After 2 days of preparation and 1 day of sailing we’re back where we started from

The weather forecast promised a light, but do-able weather window to reach the Tuamotus. We had a preparation frenzy yesterday, sailed out after dark, drifted around for a bit and motored back into the lagoon–no wind. This morning we try again, the gennaker’s up and flying, but not much wind. We’ll see…

Today my Mum would turn 80. She dreaded that ‘horrible number’ and said she would not celebrate that birthday… I could not fly home for her funeral, but I had a flight booked in May to be at her grave today. Now with the ongoing Covid-19 crisis there are still no flights going to/from French Polynesia and nobody knows when and it what form (with quarantine on both ends?) travelling will be possible again.
Christian wanted to fly to Austria for a much happier reason–his father will also turn 80 in a week. Unfortunately Christian won’t be there for the celebration…

French Polynesia has recently allowed boat traffic between archipelagos again (no flights yet). Therefore everybody here in the Gambier is eager to leave, because winter has arrived with a strong, cold Southeasterly (mara’amu) howling over the islands.
Even though the direction of this mara’amu would be good to sail to the warm Tuamotus, conditions are a bit too rough to be fun (4 m waves), so we’re waiting for the next weather window.

In the meantime we’re busy writing and working on the boat, wearing socks and hoodies in the evenings while having a mulled cider for sundowner (instead of the usual cold beer).

On May 17 2013, exactly seven years ago we arrived in French Polynesia for the first time after a 24 day passage from Galapagos. Misled by popular sailing guides we had thought it prudent to wait until the end of the cyclone season, not knowing that this meant the end of summery weather here in the Gambier Islands. We stuck around until August and then fled from the cold, rainy and stormy weather up into the heat of the Marquesas.
We never thought then that we’d stay in FP for such a long time. Even though we explored westwards (Cooks and Tonga) twice, we always came back to the Gambier, our ‘cyclone season base’.

Now it’s getting colder again and usually we’d already be in the Tuamotus at this time of the year, but this year sailboats are not allowed to leave the archipelago they were in when the Covid-19 crisis started. We hope that these restrictions will be lifted before the weather gets nasty. Winter is coming…

Due to the Covid-19 crisis all inter-island travel was forbidden in French Polynesia and boats arriving from Panama/Mexico/Chile/etc. have been ‘piling up’ in the Marquesas and Gambier. It looks like some inter-island travel may be allowed soon and then a fleet will head for the atolls of the Tuamotus.

As we’ve been around the area for 7 years now (and we move a lot and have explored many places off the beaten track) we have seen many examples how not overly well informed ‘newbies’ can make quite a few mistakes at their first encounter with atolls, causing damage to their own boats, but also to nature.

Under our ‘for cruisers’ section you can find lots of blog entries and links to articles about…

- how to enter an atoll safely (not to rely on apps and software, but to arrive early and watch out for phenomena)
- how to navigate safely (not relying on other people’s Waypoints or on charts that are often wrong, but with good light and a look-out on the bow)
- how to anchor around coral (with good light, in water that’s shallow enough to find the sandy spots, with a floated chain and not blindly in the deep with alibi floats)
- how to stay safe at anchor (by keeping an eye on the weather all the time and moving with or in anticipation of shifting winds)
- how to keep good relations with locals (by asking for permission if in doubt and by going to the mayor’s office to find out about local customs/fees)
- how to minimise the impact on wildlife on the few motus that actually still have some (not to greedily stock up with coconut crabs, landcrabs, lobsters as their numbers are reduced already by locals without much sense of sustainability, not to disturb the few motus with bird colonies by having beach parties and bonfires)

If you’re heading towards the South Pacific in the future or if you’re already here, check out our info and feel free to write an email if you have additional questions!

Cruisers traditionally have a strong sense of community, but big anchorages are like big towns–you don’t know your neighbours and you don’t greet people on the streets (e.g. in Tahiti, Marina Taina). In the Gambier there are usually not too many boats around during cyclone seasons, so we tend to know most of them, but with new boats arriving and leaving it’s hard to meet everybody.

This year the COVID-19 lockdown has changed the situation completely: no inter-island travel is allowed, so there’s no fluctuation and by now we know all the crews who are confined to the archipelago with us. Many boats arrived with storm damages after the long trip from Mexico, Panama or Chile and of course there are no new parts available and no repair facilities ashore. Everybody’s helping out with treasures of the bilge, know-how is shared and creative solutions found. Fresh produce is shared, recipes get swapped and dinghies buzz between boats all day long. A crisis can bring out the worst, but also the best in people.

We are at anchor at a motu on the outer reef at the moment, where locals regularly swing by to forage, but the birds, fishies, shells, snails and crabs have nothing to fear from us–we only hunt for pics.
Our daily menus consist of the local veg and fruit that are readily available: papaya, bananas and (still) breadfruit). We creatively cook around the world with these ingredients. Dinner preparations usually start with the question ‘Which country shall it be tonight?’ and then we improvise.

Sometimes we buy a bag of ‘korori’ at a pearl farm and feast on luxury food for little money. Korori is the Japanese term for the mussel of the pearl oyster–those oysters that have not produced a pretty pearl are cracked open anyway, so we might as well top our curries, stews, salads, pasta and wok dishes with them.

Tahiti and Moorea (where 56 cases of covid-19 have been recorded so far, with only very few severe cases) are still in lock-down until the end of April, but the outer covid-free islands have been allowed to ease the restrictions. Now alcohol is sold again (only wine and beer in limited amounts though) and people are officially able to do ‘water activities’ again. Only large gatherings are still banned.

It looks like French Polynesia will have to self-isolate for a long time still without international or inter-island flights. For a country that relies on tourism as a main income that’s of course tough. So far the shelves here and in Tahiti are still full and we hope that supplies will keep coming in.

The volcanic islands of the Gambier are very fertile, but only few people grow vegetables and there’s hardly any local produce for sale. We always felt it was a shame that locals prefer to buy French fries from the store (instead of eating local breadfruit, maniok, taro or sweet potatoes) and lather them with Ketchup (instead of growing tomatoes). We hope that this crisis will raise awareness for the importance of local produce and that more people will start growing things. So far unfortunately the only change we see is that foraging has become more popular with people going out to the motus more often to hunt for crabs, lobsters, fish, etc.