Tahuata is situated just south of Hiva-Oa and is a small island with a population of only around 600. The centre of the island is a 1500 foot mountain chain, radiating out in steep ridges and valleys to the coast. As Fathom approached from the Canal du Bordelais the rugged coastline made a spectacular site. The first anchorage I chose was off the white sandy beach at Baie Hanamoenoa. Eric Hiscock described this bay as one of the three most beautiful in Polynesia.. I don’t disagree, it is up there with the best spots i’ve ever dropped the hook. No houses on the shore just a copra drying shed surrounded by rows of palm trees. After arriving I immediately jumped in for a swim and found myself above a manta ray that was sweeping along the seabed. Later I opened a bottle of wine and drank a glass or two while watching a beautiful sunset. It doesn’t get much better.

Fathom anchored at Hanamoenoa as a rainbow hangs above the beach

The following two days were spent enjoying the tranquillity of the anchorage and catching up on some boat maintenance. The problematic washer on the Aries self steering arm was replaced and a new one attached with epoxy and later shaped with the dremel cutting wheel. Several splits in the Aries paddle were repaired and new seals added to the cockpit lockers to ensure they remain watertight. I also rebuilt the support for the companionway steps which had split. All in all a productive couple of days. Two other yachts at anchor but they kept to themselves. One night the heavens opened and it rained heavily for several hours. I was glad I had put up the rain catcher and caught around 50 litres. Without a watermaker onboard and with few places to fill up with good potable water in the Marquesas fresh water is a bit of a luxury so rainwater makes a welcome addition.

The next stop was Baie Vaitahu, situated 2 miles SSW of Hanamoenoa. The village of Vaitahu is the largest on the island with post office, small museum and one shop. I anchored Fathom in front of the village in between two other yachts. After going ashore I got chatting with Marianne, Kolbjorn and William from Norwegian yacht ‘Impuls’ and French Canadians Carl and Anny from catamaran ‘Muse’. They were about to hike to the next village and invited me along. We arrived at the village of Hapatoni over two hours later after a fairly taxing walk. Along the way we stopped to pick mangoes, papaya and lemons from the trees and passed dozens of wild goats.

I had read that the village of Hapatoni is one of the friendliest and attractive in the whole of the Marquesas and that proved completely true. The villagers welcomed us with a sincerity that was heartwarming and the area had a very tranquil feeling. It is off the beaten track and there were no visiting yachts in the bay. Carl and Anny, being French speakers, talked with the locals who all appeared to be happy and contented. The children rode past us on bikes shouting bonjour and smiling. We were invited into the homes of one of the local bone carvers who offered us fruit from his garden. I later returned to Fathom with a whole branch of bananas, mango, papaya and grapefruits for free. We were not overly keen to walk all the way back to Vaitahu so a local lady offered to be a taxi for 20 bucks each. That evening I was invited aboard Implus for drinks with my new friends.

We discovered that the next day, Sunday, a cruise ship was coming to Baie Vaitahu. The bad thing was that the village would be swamped by a load of tourists for a few hours but the good thing was that all the wood and bone carvers from the island would decent on Vaitahu to display their craft. Before the ship arrived we all attended the local church service. This was a very upbeat affair with lively singing to guitar and plenty of flowery attire on show. The impressive church and stained glass was built to mark the 150^th anniversary of the first missionary arriving on the island. Not a word of French was spoken during the service and it was a really authentic Polynesian experience.. After the service several locals sold food and drink from small stalls. We found a very smiley lady selling a selection of tasty treats from her landrover. All very exciting when ones diet has been rather limited for the last couple of months!

In the afternoon we made sure to visit the carvers before the cruise ship passengers arrived. Some of the work is of a very impressive quality. Many combine rosewood, ivory, fish bone, animal bone and shell in one piece. Prices for the best pieces went up to 900 USD! A nose flute can be yours for 300 USD and would surely guarantee an impressive and unusual addition to the village band back home. However my budget dictated that I could only walk away with a small bone carving of a Tiki. As the passengers arrived in their jeans, trainers and loud voices it felt like an invasion from an unwanted civilisation!

anchored at Baie Hanamoenoa

approaching Baie Vaitah

approaching Baie Vaitah

at anchor of the village of Vaitah

Sunday morning church service, Vaitah

Sunday morning church service, Vaitah

Sunday morning church service, Vaitah

Sunday morning church service, Vaitah

Sunday morning church service, Vaitah

local lady selling treats from her Land Rover

daily life in Vaitah

best bone carver on Tahuata. 300 bucks for a nose flute!

locals on show for the cruise ship passengers

hiking to Baie Hapatoni we encountered a goat jam

looking down on small village of Hapatoni (furthest bay)

village of Hapatoni

village of Hapatoni

with a friendly local, Hapatoni

village of Hapatoni

village of Hapatoni

village of Hapatoni

Felix at the BBQ

Felix demonstrates the art of skinning a coconut

Kolbjorn’s impressive tattoo

The morning of 8^th May was quite eventful. I had rowed ashore in the dinghy to pick up a couple of baguettes reserved the day before. There is no easy place to land a dinghy at the village. The concrete wharf requires putting out a stern anchor due to the swell or one can risk the surf and land on the beach and pull the dinghy up. I had gone for the later. All went well going ashore but on launching the dinghy to head back out I mistimed and found myself side on as a large wave began to break. In desperation to pull past the surf I pulled too hard on one oar and snapped the rowlock off. The dinghy then flipped and I was thrown out onto the rocks. I managed to drag myself and the dinghy back to the shore without drama and wasn’t hurt, just a bit scratched. Good job the outboard wasn’t on the dinghy. The worst part of the whole débâcle was that my two lovely fresh baguettes were now soggy and and the shop had sold out. I spent the afternoon cleaning the sand out of the dinghy and even found two small crabs at the bottom I had scooped up.

While visiting Vaitahu, Kolbjorn had opted to have a tattoo from the renowned local tattooist Felix. In Polynesia tattoos are an artform and taken very seriously. Felix is a great character and likes to welcome family and friends of his customers to dinner at his house. It took nearly 10 hours for the tatoo to be completed and later in the afternoon I was invited to join the others for dinner. It was an amazing experience to spend time with this local family, be invited into their home and dine with them.

9^th May marked exactly 12 months to the day since Fathom departed Yarmouth having now safely carried me 11,113 nautical miles. As I watched Felix demonstrate the proper technique for skinning a coconut, sat in the garden of a house in a small village on a remote island in the South Pacific, Yarmouth felt a long way away.

After 38 days at sea, the first night at anchor in Baie des Vierges, Fatu-Hiva I slept like a log. No need to wake up every hour to check Fathom was on course or to go on deck and pull a reef in the sail before another squall hit. Bliss. The first task in the morning was to fill up the tanks with drinking water, nearly depleted after five and a half weeks at sea and seek out some Vitamin C. I found a tap near the wharf and the locals confirmed the water was good to drink. Half way through filling the bottles a little girl, encouraged by her mother, walked shyly towards me and passed over a small bag of lemons and limes from their garden. A kind gesture typical of the Polynesian people. Ian from Canadian boat ‘Fandango’ then came over to say hello and helped me with the remainder of the water filling operation. We later walked round the village and traded some wine with locals for bananas, papaya and mangos. The village only has one small shop, no ATM and I didn’t have any local currency so the only way to get produce was to trade. That evening I had dinner onboard the boat of Lionel, the French solo sailor I had first met on arrival. He circumnavigated the world alone three years ago and was on another lap because he had enjoyed himself so much the first time. Although married with a wife back in France he was alone because he said his wife doesn’t like sailing and prefers to sit on the couch and watch TV!

Fathom at anchor Baie des Vierges, Fatu-Hiva

The next night I didn’t sleep so well. The cruising guides had mentioned that due to the high volcanic peaks surrounding the bay big gusts of wind can blast through the anchorage. Sure enough the wind howled at 35 knots during the wee small hours and the four yachts in the bay swung wildly around their anchors. I have a lot of confidence in Fathoms anchor setup but even so when the wind is shrieking in the rigging it is hard to relax and sleep. Lionel’s anchor dragged and his boat ended up hitting Fandango bending a stanchion. Luckily Fathom held station and avoided any drama. In the morning I basked in the limitless supply of sweet fresh water and gave the inside of Fathom a thorough clean and desalting. In the afternoon Ian and I hiked up to a cross on the hill looking down on the anchorage and then on to an impressive waterfall. Great to give the legs a workout. A nice dinner was spent onboard Fandango with Ian and his crew that evening.

In arriving at Fatu-Hiva first I had taken a risk because it is not an official port of entry into French Polynesia and yachts have faced heavy fines in the past. But it is to windward of the other islands and the logical first stop so I had gone for it. Lionel warned me on the 26th that the Gendarmerie were visiting from Hiva – Oa for the day and making a check of yachts at anchor. Convinced I was about to be told to leave immediately and pay a fine I went over to the officer, and in my best tired sounding voice, told him I had just sailed 38 days solo from Panama and was tired and could I rest here for two days before checking in officially at Hiva -Oa. He smiled and in broken english said “no problem, take your time and enjoy the island”. I couldn’t believe my luck.

Looking down on Baie des Vierges, Fatu-Hiva

Fathom at anchor Baie des Vierges, Fatu-Hiva

dramatic landscape of Fatu-Hiva

ancient rock carving

a wood carver from the village, Fatu-Hiva

The Tiki that now adorns Fathom’s cabin

anchorage at Atuona, Hiva-Oa

Fathom at anchor, Hiva-Oa

Fire in the sky, Hiva-Oa

en-route to the Tiki site

you lookin at me?

a bus stop Polynesian style

the Tiki on the altar

Tiki

the sacred site

Chris on Vancouver 28 ‘Sea Bear making landfall at Hiva-Oa

The following day I spent four hours in the water cleaning Fathom’s dirty waterline. After so long at sea there was green weed as high as two feet up the topsides. Helpfully some fish in the bay had chewed off all the goose barnacles which saved me scraping them off. I later found out there are many sharks in the waters of Fatu-Hiva and swimming is not advised in this bay. Whoops. Ashore I found a very good wood carver and walked away with a nice carving of a Tiki in exchange for three bottle of wine. The Tiki is now attached to the mast support post in the cabin and supposedly will ensure good luck and a safe onward trip. Once I was back onboard a swiss guy called Martin from the 35 foot Defour anchored behind Fathom came over looking for a ride to Hiva-Oa as the boat he was on was headed the other way. I agreed to take him aboard Fathom the following day for the short 40 mile sail. The boat he was leaving is well known in Switzerland for transiting the North West passage. Their website is www.bonavalette.ch.

Fathom departed Fatu-Hiva on the 29^th and it made a nice change to have crew onboard. I made use of the extra pair of hands to swap back the old mainsail for the good one and replace the headsail. The sail was most enjoyable with 15 to 18 knots of wind and a broad reach. After crawling along for thousands of miles with a dirty hull and faint breezes Fathom seemed to revel in her clean bottom and we charged along at 6 knots. Martin and I had high hopes for catching a fish but alas we were disappointed. On arrival in Hiva-Oa I pulled in the line and embarrassingly realised I had forgotten to put a hook on the end before throwing it over the side. To make matters worse the lure had been bitten in half. Lucky fish, stupid skipper I say. Arrived just in time to get to the customs and check in officially to French Polynesia before they closed for the long weekend.

Hiva-Oa is the largest of the Marquesas and the main island of the southern group. The town of Atuona is the administrative centre and has a population of over 1,500 with several food shops, an ATM and fuel station. All very exciting after being away from civilisation for so long. The anchorage is very tight and there is little room for all the yachts. It was the first time I have anchored using both a bow and stern line which limits swinging room and with the bow pointed into the swell the boat rolls less. The first evening was spent gorging on huge pizzas at the restaurant near town and drinking cold beer.

The next days were productive and quite social. Martin stayed for a couple of days before flying on to Tahiti. I spent some time with English couple Tom and Emily and had them onboard for dinner and drinks one night. Plenty of American boats around including solo sailor Dan and Tom and Shannon on ‘Finely Finished’. We often found ourselves meeting up unplanned at the pizza restaurant, the only place with decent internet. One day I hiked to the valley of Ta’ a Oa, an ancient ceremonial and sacred sight about two hours from Atuona. The remains of the Me’ae, or sacred site and Tohau, a cleared area used for dancing and singing performances, are still there . In the forest at the top the Me’ae is a Tiki sculptured onto a stone slab. It was here that people chosen for human sacrifice were placed on the altar next to the Tiki. Rather eerie atmosphere walking through the wood alone on a dark, rainy day.

After five days at anchor in Atuona I was keen to move on to the reportedly beautiful island of Tahuata, a few miles to the south west of Hiva-Oa. . Final tasks before leaving were to fill the jerry cans with diesel and top up the tanks, buy some fresh baguettes and do some food shopping. I paid a brief visit to the Paul Gauguin museum in the town. The French artist lived here for several years at the end of his life but the museum only contains copies and was quite underwhelming. On the way out of the harbour I spotted ‘Sea Bear’ on the AIS. I had been tracking Chris on his Vancouver 28, sister to Fathom, during his 34 day sail to the Marquesas from the Galapagos. I motored alongside and we had a quick chat. Here we were in some of the most remote islands in the world, two solo sailors on two Vancouver 28’s.