Incidental costs

Beach barbecue with Steven on (Tahuata)

I could use the lack of internet as an excuse for not updating the blog but the truth is that there is internet for a fee in many places. In the two and a half weeks since our Pacific crossing, I have felt very unmotivated to post anything. We have been spending our days enjoying the towering volcanic spires, struggling with French, and savoring the flavorful fruit that bursts from every other tree. We also met some new kid boats (Miss Behaving and Seabbatical, who hung out with Amelie in the Galapagos) that Mark and Conrad (and we) have enjoyed hanging with.

Coming into Oa Pou

We made landfall in Fatu Hiva, which is not an official port of entry, but we took a chance because we would have had to beat into the wind and waves to get there from Hiva Oa (which is an official port of entry). Not only is it a must-see island, it is a calm anchorage, unlike the rolly Hiva Oa. We rolled the dice (as did many other boats) and unfortunately lost. Customs showed up near the end of our visit and boarded all the boats in the anchorage. They were very charming as they fined us for not properly checking in before going to Fatu Hiva. The fine is $200 but we only had $70 and 15 Euros, so they took that as payment in full (after politely searching our boat to make sure we didn't have any more squirreled away). Some of our friends had good excuses (real and not so real) and escaped the fine.

Boat kids are crazy. Hiva Oa.

We considered ourselves lucky and were okay with spending that much to have a calm anchorage after our weeks at sea, as well as a more pleasant trip to Fatu Hiva. We happened to be there at the right time for the monthly traditional dance show. In addition to the unplanned expenditure to customs, we had a line and almost-new pair of Chaco sandals (Matt's) taken from the dinghy in Fatu Hiva. On the plus side, we were able to trade some unneeded clothing and household items for fresh fruit.

Mark and Meg on a wave-shaped rock. Oa Pou

 

Pregnant tiki. Hiva Oa.

Puamau tikis. Hiva Oa.

The Smiling Tiki, the patron of fishermen. Or a minion
from Despicable Me.

Crossing the Pacific--We'll Take Boring

This excerpt from Conrad's schoolwork sums up our trip pretty well:

Write three sentences about what you did last weekend. Then underline all the past-tense verbs.

We sailed and sailed some more. We got really bored. We kept sailing.

Look around the room. Write three sentences about everything that's happening now. Underline all the present-tense verbs.

We are sailing. We are bored. We are doing school.

Conrad measuring and dissecting a few
 of the many flying fish that would show up on deck
every morning.

Other than a few whale and dolphin sightings and catching a tuna and a 50-lb blue marlin, our 20-day crossing from the Galapagos to the Marquesas was pretty uneventful. Nothing major broke (our only issues were a sink drainpipe coming loose and the same intermittent problem we have been having with our desalinater/generator) and no one became ill (we gave Conrad some antibiotics for a possible ear infection after consulting with our doctor friend Pete via satellite email). We only saw one sailboat and one fishing boat during our crossing but were in VHF radio-contact for a bit with our friends on Amelie IV, who passed us in the final week. 

Unfortunately, a few other boats weren't quite as lucky.  We know of quite a few boats that had major mechanical issues (broken halyards, non-functional autopilots, engine failures).  Health issues caused worries on some boats.  And one boat had to be abandoned due to structural failure 1500 miles away from the closest land. So boring was just fine for us.

Anchorage at Fatu Hiva

Here is the list of produce and fresh food we brought with us: apples (20), giant bunch of bananas (more than 100), broccoli (2 heads), cabbages (5), carrots (20), eggs (180--6 dozen left), green beans (1 bunch), limes (20), mangoes (25), melons (3), onions (20), oranges (20), passion fruit (60), pineapples (4), plantains (6), potatoes (more than 50), sweet potatoes (5), tomatoes (15),  and watermelons (3). It was just about right, with a good amount leftover. We were pretty sick of bananas in the first couple of weeks after the entire stalk ripened pretty much all at once. We still have banana mush for baking left in the freezer.

When we arrived in Fatu Hiva, our friends on Amelie IV, Kazaio and Zorba greeted us with shouts and air horns, and Kazaio brought over a basket of fresh produce, including the local giant grapefruits (pamplemousse in French) that are so sweet that they don't need sugar. We have never seen terrain like this before and the people are warm and friendly. Unfortunately, we can't get any local money here but most of the residents are willing to take items in trade for things like fruit and handicrafts.

A 300-foot Polynesian waterfall

Manta rays frequent the anchorage.