Pitufa.at

The slowest (daily runs of 85 nm) and comfiest (all hatches open…) passages we’ve had in the Pacific so far ended today with Pitufa rushing along with 6 knots under a steady breeze to hold the gennaker up. We anchored just behind Point Venus in Matavai bay (famous for Ct. Cook’s first landfall in 1769 and infamous for Pitufa’s first landfall without a usable engine in 2014…). We’ll stay here for a day of relaxing and swimming before heading a few miles down to Arue.

Yesterday we had very light winds from the NE, we tried poling out the genoa left and right, put up the gennaker left and right, but for all that effort we just gained a few miles, but at least we managed to avoid motoring. During the night the wind picked up a bit again, but it’s still 100 nm to Tahiti.

We reluctantly left beautiful Kauehi yesterday at noon, but the gribs had changed and it seemed our only chance for some wind was to leave immediately. Going through the pass was a bit exciting, as we had 5 knots of incoming current against us, but Pitufa kept steady in the eddies that tried to swirl her around. We’re sailing in very light winds downwind, but the sea is so calm that the sails don’t flap too badly and we’re happy as long as we keep moving

This morning we reached Kauehi after a very slow nightsail. We knew that the ingoing current would be strong, but the pass is so open and easy that we motored in without a problem. Kauehi’s lagoon is small and easy to navigate (almost no coral heads) and now Pitufa’s anchored off a southeastern motu on sandy patch–standing still like in a cradle ashore
A turquoise anchorage, little coral bommies around the boat, dazzling white beaches, palm trees and low shrubs ashore and birds circling above–that’s cruising from its best.

After 2 great sailing days we got into a squally area and spent the night grumblingly dealing with windshifts, calm periods, torrential rain and strong winds in between. This morning we were becalmed with flapping sails and in the end reluctantly turned the engine on.

We left the fishing lure out despite the fact that any successful fisherman will tell you that slow motorsailing (3-4 knots) is the least likely time to catch anything. Apparently the wahoo who bit soon after had not heard of that theory… At noon we had already finished the cutting and pressure cooking session (3 jars in the fridge for this week, 4 more as preserves for later) and treated ourselves to fresh sashimi in the cockpit (it was even calm enough for a table…).

In the afternoon a light breeze set in, not enough for the genoa so we hauled the gennaker out of its bunk and now we’re gliding along under the big blue bubble in sunny weather and flat seas.

We’re gliding along in steady conditions and haven’t touched the sails since yesterday–lazy sailing as we like it
200 nm done, 300 to go to Kauehi!

The cyclone season’s coming to an end, the grib files predict a breeze, Pitufa’s ready (and we’ve been ready for quite a while), so we set sail towards Tahiti. We have enjoyed the fabulous hospitality of the Marquesians (Kou tau, vai ei nui!!), but 5 months of rolling in the open bays in the heat of summer was a very long time and we’re happy to start a new chapter!

There is no veggie market here in Tahuata, but we get more fruit than we can handle from the locals anyway, that’s why we have banana smoothies several times a day, banana cake and a big tray of bananas drying in the sun on deck;-)
Teii who lives in the little house in the bay of Hanatefau has lots of maniok and sweet potatoes and is eager to trade with cruisers, but then you have the choice of either carrying the bags back to the dock in Hapatoni (about half an hour) or brave the boulder strewn shore by dinghy and scramble up to his house.

Yesterday the swell was rather low, so we agreed to meet Teii in the afternoon at his house by dinghy. I hopped out with our bags and a headlamp for Teii, Christian anchored the dinghy out of the danger zone and swam ashore. Teii took us up the hill where maniok and sweet potatoes grow in wild patches on the slopes and next to the road (no real ‘fields’ as we Europeans expect). Fortunately the soil was soft from the rain, so uprooting the maniok trees wasn’t hard. After digging for the roots with a pick-axe and our hands we soon looked like the three piggies, but a big bag was quickly filled. We took it down to Teii’s house, washed our booty in the freshwater creek, got a stack of bananas, some papaya and two green coconuts and contemplated our options watching the growing surf that was roaring against the shore with a beer in hand.
In the end Christian swam out, surfed towards the rocks in the dinghy where I waited in the hip-high foaming water. I threw in two bags and he managed to get away from shore with a howling dinghy outboard just before the next breaker. Another attempt seemed to risky for the dinghy, so I tried to swim out–not so easy with a stack of bananas in one hand, a bag of fruit in the other and breakers trying to wash you back ashore.
Christian managed to fish me and my bags out unharmed and we were giggling with the adrenaline rush on the way home.
Kids who think that vegetables are boring should try to get them here in the Marquesas–this way they are quite exciting!

We haven’t written many blogs lately, as there simply haven’t been any news to report. We’re still in the Marquesas and still waiting for the cyclone season to pass. It looks as though the el Nino situation is cooling and calming down, but we have decided to abandon our plan of paying our beloved Gambier another visit. It’s already too late in the season to spend much time there and we don’t want to sail more than 800 miles just for a brief stop-over. Instead we’re planning on sailing early in the sailing season to Tahiti.

Last week we sailed over the narrow channel from Hiva Oa to the pretty bay Hanameninu on the northern side of the small neighbouring island Tahuata. The wind sea from the east still sends some chop into the open anchorage, but Hiva Oa to the north shades us (at least partially) from the high northwestern swell (1.5 to 2 m) that is passing through at the moment. Pitufa bounces a bit in the wind sea, the swell only lifts us gently, but it still looks impressive when it crashes against the cliffs next to us and runs up the sandy beach behind us in huge breaking waves. The golden, palm-fringed beach looks pretty, but is best admired from afar as plenty of bloodthirsty nonos await the unsuspecting visitor. The water in the bay is clear and turquoise, we can finally go for long swims again and run the watermaker.

We had a pleasant sail down to the southern group of the Marquesas and reached Hiva Oa yesterday. We are anchored for the first time behind the breakwater of Atuona’s harbour, where it’s nice and calm (with a stern anchor). The water is very murky in here, so today we took the dinghy out for a rough ride into the clear ocean water outside. We had our snorkeling gear with us and checked out the protected rocky shore behind a little motu. There were a few coral and a few fishies and then suddenly a big shape came towards us–a manta ray! Getting close to those graceful, giant creature’s always an amazing experience.