Month: April 2023

Most perfect place, we will be back- Fatu Hiva (Bay or Vírgins aka Bay of Penises)

Photo blast from 4 days ago in Fatu Hiva. We must be moving too fast or having too much fun to do a post…LOL
The hikes are so rewarding and there are no plants, reptiles or animals to worry about. The altitude we were climbing in made this hike a very “tropical” misty experience.

We spent many days with a new friend Christian, he is a local carver and chef. We fell in love with this tiki and bought it. The next day Kathy hiked up to the farthest home, where Vanessa painted a Tapa, the local artisan craft.

The bakery was closed, so Agnes swooped in and took us home. She gave us her baguettes, cold drink, fruit and special cancer cure jam, make from who knows what! She told us her life story (all in French) and was a great pantomime. She gave us a special tour of her garden, showed the vertical way she plants orchids, and explained her citrus grafting technique (in French). So special!!

Goodbye for now magical Fatu Hiva, see you in 6 or 7 months, as that is our plan for the Summer (US Winter). We have a 3 day sail to a SE Tuomotu Island Amanu. All the islands we will be “INSIDE” over the next 2 months are strange Motus: any island or islet in Polynesia, more specifically meaning atoll surrounded by coral reef. Fun new adventure!

Marvelous Mantas!! Lucky me, I got to swim with a group of local manta rays just outside of Atuona, Hiva Oa. What an awesome experience to have these large, graceful, plankton feeders come gliding right by. Alene on SV Migration and I were able to get right in the middle of their feeding path. These 15′ wide giants would feed ladder style, one on top of the other, to catch the most plankton. Then, they would somersault or do an about-face and return on the same path. Don’t almost seem to smile and laugh? When they got near us they would just glide right under. So spectacular!! We headed to the southern most Marquesan island, Fatu Hivu (the beatiful Bay of Virgins). It was named something else, you guess. It also has a Manta family nearby, so stay tuned!

Fatu Hiva! Prettiest place on Earth.

The flora here in Nuka Hiva is breathtaking. Take a look! Since the Marquesa Archepelegos are the most distant from any continent on the globe, the endemic fauna are quite limited. Only 41 or so species of birds here, most are tropicbirds, small bluish doves and some kingfisher. There is a wide variety of insects, large yellow wasps, but we haven’t been bothered by any in the least bit. The greatest number of species are the butterflies and moths, some only found around these Islands. The rest of the land mammels seen were introduced by the Europeans in the 1800’s. We have seen these domestic wild animals: pig, goat, horse, cow and chickens. Strange that there are no snakes at all really no other endemic mammals.

How do you describe a place you never imagine existed?
This anchorage is
Yosemite + Gillian’s Island + The Garden of Eden

The mountains sore 3000 feet surrounding this bay and are covered with coconut trees and tropical plants. Most of these plants you’ve only seen in your moms potted terrarium. When you go to shore you are welcomed by the locals that only want to cook for you and provide you with the most lush fruit you’ve ever seen. The few paved roads are over grown with flowers, breadfruit, limes, oranges and Pamplemouse.
The weather is as perfect as a late summer day, where you need to keep the sun off but the sunset is quite welcomed with a fresh breeze that keeps the boat cool and fresh.
In the bay we work on the boat and wait for the Mantas to swim by or pick at the Ukulele. We are greeted often with visiting boats from France, Denmark, Canada, Switzerland or other areas that challenge our language skills. There are very few Americans here and somehow that just feels perfect.

I’m not sure what we are going to see next but all I know is that in all the years of travel and sailing I’ve never been to a more beautiful place…..and what’s better is this is the road less traveled. You just can’t get here any other way.
Oh yeah, Kathy and I celebrated our 12 Anniversary the other day in a bay almost as perfect. We were happily all alone on a beach with a hut, coconut trees and a fire with Hot dogs!!! The most perfect Anniversary we could ever hope for.
What’s next? Who cares…….
….we’re stickin’ around here for a few. (But the Tuomotus are calling)

BTW, trading amongst the locals is alive and well. Maybe even a little black market. PM me if you heading this way next year and you want to know what these folks need or want. 😕

Hiva Oa, Marquesis, French Polynesia.
We sailed to Hiva Oa on Monday and officially checked into the country of French Polynesia on Tuesday. Since then we have done a ton of boat chores (yes, we have to work at this life) and have made an effort to see this beautiful island. Hiva Oa is the second largest island in the Marquesas Island chain and has about 2,100 people living on it. These islands are Volcanically formed and have rich black soil. The jungle is massively thick and full of healthy green plants than makes it hard to walk through. These islands make me think that this is what Hawaii looked like 150 years ago before we over populated it. Only it’s much more lush here.
Kathy read something somewhere about a short cut path to town. 20 minutes later she was leading five of us up a hill that reminded me of the movie “Romancing the Stone”. I am sure it wasn’t the path we were supposed to be on.

The town is cute and a little more than just basic. 2 restaurants, one bar, an ATM, a few other stores and chickens everywhere…..We rented a car and drove around the Island with cruiser friends. We saw the Ancient Tikis that dated back to 1500 BC and met a man that helped us to some coconuts. Again, the locals are just so happy to spend quality time with us.

What strikes me funny is the lack of a fishing industry. We were so used to pangas everywhere in Mexico but here there are very little commercial fishing. We actually haven’t seen one commercial boat. Most of the fishing we’ve seen are the locals fishing for themselves but not even much of that. The diet here is mostly fruit, coconuts, baguettes and simple foods imported from New Zealand or Tahiti.
Very little fresh fish in the markets.

Hiva Oa….and the trail.
We sailed to Hiva Oa on Monday and officially checked into the country of French Polynesia on Tuesday. Since then we have done a ton of boat chores (yes, we have to work at this life) and have made an effort to see this beautiful island. Hiva Oa is the second largest island in the Marquesas Island chain and has about 2,100 people living on it. These islands are Volcanically formed and have rich black soil. The jungle is massively thick and full of healthy green plants than makes it hard to walk through. These islands make me think that this is what Hawaii looked like 150 years ago before we over populated it. Only it’s much more lush here.
Kathy read something somewhere about a short cut path to town. 20 minutes later she was leading five of us up a hill that reminded me of the movie “Romancing the Stone”. I am sure it wasn’t the path we were supposed to be on as we encountered a special garden someone obviously wanted unnoticed. Lol

The town is cute and a little more than just basic. 2 restaurants, one bar, an ATM, a few other stores and chickens everywhere…..

On Thursday we rented a car and drove around the Island with Jeff and Michelle of SV Infinite Grace. We saw the Ancient Tikis that dated back to 1500 BC and met a man that helped us to some coconuts. Again, the locals are just so happy to spend quality time with us.

What strikes me funny is the lack of a fishing industry. We have gotten used to pangas everywhere in Mexico but here there are very little commercial fishing. Matter of fact, I haven’t seen one commercial boat. Most of the fishing we’ve seen are the locals fishing for themselves but not even much of that. The diet of the locals seems to be mostly fruit, baguettes and simple foods imported from ???? Tahiti??
Very little fish in the markets.

Kathy even cooked some Breadfruit the other night and it was good. Kinda like mashed potatoes that tasted a bit like banana. Hmmmm, we’ll probably eat more.
Today we finished our chores which included filling our tanks and loading up again on provisions. We left Hiva Oa and we will make our way to Fatu Hiva and then the Tuomotus in the next few weeks. We don’t expect to see a real town again for a few months. Sea Bella will be returning to the Marquesas in Nov/Dec for the “summer” storm season.

Fun first couple of days, landed here April 7th. We are on a small Island called Tahuata and a village named Hapatoni. The population of the whole island is about 700 and this village we anchored in front of has about 150 people.
We spent Sunday exploring the small village and laying under a common area with the villagers. The locals were very interested in trading for fishing tackle, makeup and even a lighter for all the fruit we could ever want as well as some bone carvings and local artisan crafts. We spend a few hours with Celia (tattoo guy standing with us) and Jil (fisherman on the dock) who both helped us understand how this tribe/village makes it living on Artisan crafts and relates to the French Government. The locals are also hunters and provide their own meat by hunting pigs and goats. (One gun in the village). Another interesting story….
The forests are just so lush and full of fruit. The waters are full of the most colorful fish,go pro pics are coming soon!One snorkel and I saw as many types of fish as I saw in almost two years in Mexico. I will talk about that in later posts.
So many interesting facts here on history it’s hard to describe but the history is thick all the way back to Captain Cook, the Spanish landings and 1590 and the locals killing 30 French explorers in the 1800s. Super fun.
Note! There is not one piece of trash or garbage anywhere in town! Not one bad smell or dilapidated structure. So different than Mexico. The locals are proud, happy and super generous.

Easter Mass last Saturday night was a real treat for us. This Tahuata event starts out in the gardens, where a dozen local Marquesan families mill around, all dressed in white. Many come up and interacted with us. Candles are given out, children are playing, singing (in Marquesan) and casually welcoming all guests. A bonfire ceremony is held and the Catholic Priest leads a prayer (in French)

The women led us into the church chanting and singing in their local language consisting of mainly vowels. We sat intermixed in the wooden pews and enjoyed the mass, agreed it was a very long mass.

The Catholic churches are beautiful as well and seem to be the social center of every village.

20 full days at sea.

Land Ho!!!!!
There are no words…..

COUNTDOWN, only 1 left and 157 km till Landfall in Tahuatu, Marquesis, French Polynesia.
Our Pacific Ocean crossing was more than a journey from one place to another. This huge adventure tested our skills, wits, limits, patience, boat, bodies, and friendship. I personally have never been so challenged, but mainly in my kitchen. Daily I was assaulted by my very own ingredients, cookware and utencils. When the butter suddenly slips across the countertop and lands on my barefoot, swearing always occurs. So, I am proud to say I managed quite well, in spite. The galley floor, stove and walls did not however, and, not much cleaning occurs out here on the rockin’ rollin’ Sea Bella.

This experience challenged us in ways we never knew and brought us even closer together (haha quite literally). I feel so blessed to have such a great partner in our dream. Scott is such a competent and skilled Captain of our sailing home and vehicle. He has been so caring to me, as I fumble through meals, sail changes and night watches. As quiet as it was for us from time to time, I am glad we didn’t bring on crew, as that would have interfered with some wholesome closeness. It is with bittersweet emotion that our 21 day passage comes to an end tomorrow evening.

We are not alone out here, not that we can see these boats.

Thanks to Starlink, we can do regular facetime calls with family and friends back home.

I would love to say that things have fallen into a routine. Lol, they haven’t. Each leg of this passage has had its challenges whether it has been too much wind, not enough wind, swell is big or lumpy, equipment challenges and lately the squalls.

There is just no “taking a break”. Sleep, meals, radio, navigation, wind/weather all yield to keeping the boat moving safely and comfortably. Sometimes sitting in one place and not sliding across the cockpit can be quite challenging. Round the clock watch for squalls, marine traffic or boat maintenance sets the pace. We prepared well and this is very close to what we expected other than enduring the marathon……and we kinda expected that too.
The boat has been great.

There will be some improvements made when we are in Tahiti including a new whisker pole. The Aluminum one I purchased in San Diego is a joke. That piece of equipment as well as a few others need an upgrades before we make our next 2000 mile trek. Sail changes and equipment need to be quick, safe and robust. All good stuff really and only lessons that can be learned over miles and events. In a much repeated famous quote by cruisers in a highly revered movie Captain Ron, our favorite Captain Ron hurry’s the new owners onto the boat and away from the dock. He says “If it’s gunna happen, it’s gunna happen out there”. So true. Very little happens at the dock…..or even in the very placid Mexican cruising grounds.
A couple of facts
-Sea Bella has covered over 2100 miles.
-800 miles remaining to Hiva Oa
-our daily miles have averaged 140 (high 177, low 75)
-our average speed has been 6 knots.
-some days/nights we get 6 hours of sleep and last night we got 2
-Cheeseburger in Paradise is taking on a whole new meaning.
-12’ following seas behind a boat down wind can challenge the best of boat cooks.
-sunsets and sunrises are the best time of day
-still loving every moment……

We are not alone…Over the last year of planning we have gotten to know many boats that are doing the same thing we are. Some of the folk are your typical sailors next door and some are sailing royalty that many Youtubers or sailing junkies would know. What we all have in common is that we most want to be seen and heard …if necessary.

We keep up in multiple ways over these journeys. Basically we have 3 methods:

-Satellite phones (Iridium, Garmin) coupled with PredictWind.

-SSB Radio Marine and Ham Frequencies.

-New this year is Starlink 

VHF is almost useless as soon as you are offshore as it has a range of +/- 35 miles. NOBODY is that close. Ha

Our Satellite option is a Iridium Go. This medium seems to be antiquated  tech for sure if you compare it to modern apps and tech. It’s hard to use, very clunky and not intuitive. 

But….there really is nothing else that can compete yet for the space. Iridium Go’s link with PredictWind gives us real time weather and is fast one on one communication and simple email service. If you are following us on our tracking page that is a feature of the Iridium/PredictWind partnership. 

Starlink is is one example of tech coming for this space but mariners are nowhere near ready to switch to a service that by contract, we are not supposed to be using. Beside, if sh!¥ happens you can’t take the Starlink in the liferaft with you. Maybe someday when it is linked to our phones….

The SSB Radio is to some a piece of the past and collects dust with the sextent. But…..this piece of equipment is free, proven and works. As an Electrical Engineer said in Banderas Bay (Grey), the SSB is anything but irrelevant. We can send emails, download weather and talk to someone almost 24 hours a day. We don’t need $100s of dollars of paid accounts, and we don’t depend on a satellite passing by. The Pacific Voyagers group that worked together this season were 10 people that were Net Controllers that talked daily on multiple Marine frequencies and kept track of a huge fleet. This is non-Ham and a Ham license is not necessary. There is sailing Royalty in these ranks and some that have sailed around the world multiple times and only have the SSB. It has been a privilege for me to share radio and communication with this group and has expanded my knowledge of an international community. 

Daily we are on at 0200 utc. Last night I was Net Controller and talked over 2000 miles to multiple people to help identify locations for people underway. We also helped coordinate help for a vessel in distress last month. An hour later, I checked into the Pacific Sea Farers Network on 14,300 Ham network. This channel is monitored 24/7. I talked to Hawaii and Greenville Alabama. This group tracks all who want to be tracked in the Pacific and coordinates help when needed. Super fun. 

Starlink is fun. It helps us keep in touch with you and the family sure enjoys the phone calls. But, there is so much we don’t know about the development and costs of this emerging product. It’s nice to know there are competitive products coming only to insure there is a cost effective product for us. Currently all of us expect to be cut off or geo-fenced out of the oceans at anytime. So….we wait and enjoy this very cheap network while it lasts…..blip…..blip…?