Stunning Society Islands

From the Tuamotus we headed for Tahiti..."The Cartier of holiday destinations" according to one of our tour guides. He coined  this phrase in his explanation for the fact that many of the 5 star hotel resorts on the island have gone out of business in the face of the current economic crisis.

Troubled Paradise.

Crisis or no crisis, the Society Islands are true gems. We spent 3 weeks in the area, enjoying one marvellous anchorage after the next in the company of our friends Keith and Lindy...who had braved the mammoth journey from Cape Town via New Zealand to taste this tropical treasure.

Lindy shopping for Grass skirts in Papeete Market.

Our boom had been admirably repaired by Eddie, the Oyster Doctor, as soon as we arrived in Tahiti so Legend IV is now in ship shape and, fingers crossed, will remain so all the way back to Antigua!

Cook Bay, Moorea...Legend back in business.

For good measure, Oyster arranged to have the skippers of the fleet blessed by a Tahitian priest..just to cover all the bases and to keep the wind Gods smiling gently and sweetly on us all!

Feeling a little self conscious Skip?

 

The Big Kahuna busy anointing.


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 Continuing my geography lesson of the previous blog, the Society Islands are middle aged in geological terms. They consist of volcanic inner islands  surrounded by coral reefs..the best of both worlds...much the same as a  middle aged man?

Middle aged man in search of surf spots!

I could go on for hours about the Society Isles..we are in Bora Bora at the moment. "The Pearl of the Pacific" according to Captain Cook. 

Sailing into Bora Bora..Keith checking to see if surf's up.

We toured the island on a motorbike...ate at Bloody Mary's (twice). ..AND.... Al bought me a fabulous pair of black pearl earrings...embellished with diamonds! So it was worth the wait and all is forgiven....Thanks Skip!

Magical Atoll Idle/Idyll

The Islands of French Polynesia present a spectacular contrast from one group to another.

There are 5 separate groups, each characterised by geographic features which reflect the geological age of the group.

Niku Hiva, Marquesas-breathtaking scenery.

Our first port of call,  the  Marquesas islands, consist of volcanic outcrops,  not yet old enough to have had coral reefs develop around them. The islands are steep sided with deep anchorages in bays which are formed mainly by collapsed craters.

Four and twenty Blackbirds enjoying the Polynesian scenery along with Legend.

The next group on our route, the Tuamotu's,  are the most ancient of the French Islands. The Volcanoes have eroded away leaving only the coral reefs which surround them. The reefs now form a ring of coral outcrops and small islands around a lagoon.

Rangiroa Lagoon- Tuomotes- Palm Island fringes

The lagoons are accessed by passes, large and small, terrifying and placid, which need to be negotiated in order to enter the shelter of the shallow, sandy anchorages therein.

Al and I used our week in the Tuamotu's atolls to rest and relax after the Pacific passage.

We swam and snorkeled with sharks and rays and colourful fish in coral gardens, read our books, ate at restaurants large and small, went for walks and the toughest test of our mettle was the odd bicycle trip around the sandy islands.

Brompton folding bikes circumnavigating the globe....

We finished our idyllic sojourn with a visit to a Black pearl farm..where poor Al misread my words...which stated that I wasn't "that keen on black pearls".

 He didn't get the real message ..("I'd love some black pearls but am waiting to see if you care enough to buy them for me.") and when he didn't actually buy any for me, I sulked for an ungracious week!

I had to wait until Bora Bora before he got the mixed signals and unvoiced sentiments.. but he did come through in the end..... Watch this space.

Beautiful black pearl and a dud....bit of a gamble considering both oysters required 5 years of nurturing.

Pearl farmer tending his crop.

Husband of sulking wife wondering what he has done wrong!

Niku Hiva Marquesas- The Land that Time almost forgot.

TAIOHAE BAY -The remains of an extinct volcanic crater

After 18 days at sea we finally arrived safely and relatively sanely in Taiohae Bay, Niku Hiva.

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Land Ho-Clean Shaven Skipper.


If you are looking for the Marquesas  in an atlas (does any one do that any more?) they are always missing because the publishers seem to think its a waste of ink to include those few dots in the middle of all that blue Pacific Ocean so they end the page somewhere to the east or west of them. Essentially this part of French Polynesia is one of the furthest archipelagos from any landmass on earth.

The islands are a visual feast of enormous volcanic peaks and lush valleys. Our cameras were constantly on the panoramic function, focusing on one magnificent view after the next.

We spent a week in this paradise. We were careful to be polite the locals. The islands were hotbeds of Cannibalism a few centuries ago and we had no wish to be the "long pigs" on anyone's buffet table!

 

'If you're very good, I'll save you a piece of the fat one in the white hat.'

In fact the locals were nothing but friendly and welcoming and the bureaucracy was nonexistent so we were relieved that the fierce tattoos covering most of them, male and female, were only fashion statements and not statements of murderous intent.

Oyster Owner Alan with painfully fresh tattoo blending in with  the locals-whatever will his children say?

Niku Hiva could quite well have been the Eden that Adam and Eve so thoughtlessly abandoned .The island is lush and spectacularly green and the trees are laden with fruit and flowers of all descriptions.

Biodegradable shopping bag.

Pampelmousse-enormous sweet grapefruits- a speciality of the Marquesas.



DNA testing has proved that the fore fathers of today's Polynesian people hailed from Asia-probably Taiwan. They certainly got much bigger and stronger after paddling all that way! Most of the men and older women are enormous.

We took a fascinating day tour with  a guide who was incredibly knowledgeable about the island's flora and fauna and history.

Ancient Fossils

Enormous Banyan Tree which was decorated with skulls of enemies and ancestors in ancient ceremonies.

Bone Pit on Ancient Altar...the skeleton of a 19th Century French soldier complete with Tricorn hat was unearthed recently.

The Marquesians pride themselves on their hose riding prowess.

Oyster arranged a marvellous party to welcome us to the Marquesas and we were lavishly fed and  entertained by the locals.  Goat and chicken baked in an earth oven were the highlight of the feast..the raw mud crabs didn't go down as well...

The Haka featured several times in the male dancing routines and the frightening sight of the tattooed warriors  would instill terror into even the most fearless All Black rugby player out there.

 

Budding Warrior -Hair stylishly gelled!

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Luckily for the All Blacks, and the Springboks, the Marquesians are not into rugby and prefer dancing!

Things get Better...almost there!

We are now almost at the end of  our Pacific passage. We have 2 or 3 more days to go depending on the wind and the morale on board has improved somewhat now that it appears that the boom is stable.

We are however going a little stir crazy.

Al has grown a beard and for the first time today "caught food in it!"  For some reason he seems to think that this is  remarkable. He has never had a beard before and it's all pretty ghastly...the beard and the food in it!

Who is this man?!

 A sunrise to inspire.

As Al gets more philosophical, I get tougher..managing the guys  for the spinnaker pole!

Mean squall on radar...Legend IV in the middle.

Sodden, bearded skipper watching squalls on radar.

Mean Squall on the horizon.

Sunset on our last night at sea before the Marquesas.

On a more esoteric note, I am meditating at sunrise and coming up with all sorts of profound contemplations...something like "the sea is breathing for the earth' seemed to be significant this morning but the insights been better!

Actually Al waxed lyrical in the log last night...

"WE SEEM TO BE FLYING OVER THE CRESTS OF THE WAVES ON THE WINGS OF A GREAT WHITE BIRD."

Could  the beard be altering his personality?

Every morning and evening we listen to to the roll call of the Oyster fleet and catch up with the positions and wind and sea conditions of the boats on the rally as they make their way to the Marquesas.

Several boats are very near to us according to the roll call but we have seen none of the fleet and only 3 fishing boats in the entire 2 weeks that we have been at sea.

Al and I keep a good watch at sea and  one of us is on deck at virtually all times of the day and night. We do shifts of about 4 hours on and 4 hours off 24/7.

After 2 weeks of no one and nothing out there, it seems tempting to turn on the lights and go to sleep at sundown...and to hope that other boats are keeping a good watch.

NEXT DAY
Sod's law...I stopped blogging last night in order to help Al deal with several murderous looking squalls hitting us one after the other.

The boat was sodden and being a fair weather sailor supreme, I huddled pitifully in the cockpit during my watch trying desperately to keep dry and to see what was happening out in the pitch black night.

The skies cleared for a few minutes and who should be within alarmingly close range of us but one of the other Oysters.

I called our exhausted skipper up on deck and he cursed me soundly/roundly while turning on the engine and motoring away from what he maintains was a sure collision.

A potential crisis  averted but yet another dent  was made in our fond recollections of the "float across the pond" we enjoyed back in '87,

As a matter of fact however,   when I actually got down to reading our log from the first trip, I see my perception of this passage all those years ago was completely wrong. That trip  wasn't that great  either....there is an entry in the log that states..

"WILL THERE EVER BE AN END TO THIS INFERNAL BATTLE WITH THE WIND AND WAVES! AN END THAT INCLUDES A HOUSE ON TERRA FIRMA ..PREFERABLY ONE IN CAMPS BAY PLEASE!"

Well 25 years  and several houses later, including one in Camps Bay, I can safely say that there could possibly be magical power in heartfelt wishes written in a log at sea.

I think I had better be more specific in the log in future..."SEAT 1A ON THAT 747 PLEASE!"

Taking the plunge-Crossing the Pacific

Apologies for the delay in posting our blog.  The Internet in far flung places leaves a lot to be desired and in order to post photos, I need quick, reliable Internet which doesn't happen often in these wonderful destinations. I soldier on determinedly however and hope that someone out there is listening!

Nellie, our English Rose, hiding from the sun in early days

Helen's cheerful and positive nature and her willingness to help with every task on board has been a blessing. Thanks to you both, we will miss you.

Out and about and loving life.

Top Piece of the Gooseneck sheared right off...managed to put the bolt back into the bottom piece, lashed it into place and prayed for it to hold!

The boom is incredibly heavy and we were lucky that it didn't do any serious damage to the boat...not to mention to ourselves.

Daunting sight when you have 2 weeks between you and the closest bit of land!

 

Using binocs to keep a check on the boom from a safe vantage point!

The hard hat we found  in Panama came in handy while on watch out at sea....just in case the boom broke free once again!

On our final morning in the Galapagos , our sailing partners for the past 3 months, Chris and Helen, left Legend IV in order to make their way back to the UK  and the real world.

Chris and Helen have been a joy to have on board . Chris's wealth of sailing experience- he spent  19 years on a gap year sailing the world before settling down to become a meteorologist- has been invaluable in helping Al and I to get to know our new boat. 

As Chris and Helen boarded a ferry bound  eventually for snowy Devon, Legend IV lifted anchor and headed for the Marquesas...3000 miles away ..the longest single leg of our round the world trip .

On Legend I this trip took us 31 days but we remember it as being one of the most idyllic legs of our first circumnavigation and were looking forward to crossing the peaceful Pacific on our own once again.

So much for the peaceful Pacific!!! We are now 2 thirds of the way to the Marquesas ..12 days at sea ...and the blissful idyll we had anticipated has yet to materialise.

The main reason for the bursting of our self satisfied bubble, was the fact that the boom very rudely sheared right off the mast of our indestructible Oyster on our third day at sea.


We had been sailing along on a beautiful, steady beam reach, in rough seas but bright sunshine  and the next thing we knew, the boom  slammed down onto our bimini and proceeded to  ruin our day quite considerably.  

Any sailor will tell you that the collapse of the boom is a bit of a disaster and I know my clever book club friends are asking the obvious question... why didn't you turn back to get it repaired? Well in techno speak, it is almost as difficult to sail for 3 days into the wind without a mainsail as it is to sail for 2 weeks down wind. In addition, Eddie, our Oyster engineering guru, was already in the Marquesas and the chances of having it fixed in Galapagos were pretty much zero. 

So we surveyed the damage,  I manned up to the situation , Al did some marvellous jury rigging and we limped  on into the horizon.

How such a vital part of an almost new boat could fail is difficult to comprehend but after a flurry of emails, Oyster have been quick to arrange to have a new gooseneck sent by the manufacturer of the rig, Formula Marine,  to Tahiti  where hopefully it can be replaced without too much upheaval.

Needless to say, we have spent the last 10 days checking and rechecking the lashed boom and sailing slowly and carefully without our mainsail in order to get to the Marquesas without any further damage.

I must admit there were a few tears from me when it all looked like it was going pear shaped and the mean seas and rough weather we encountered for the first week after the accident had me entering the following comment in our log in the middle of the night...."OUR NEXT TRIP AROUND THE WORLD WILL BE IN A 747........FIRST CLASS! "

Isabella-Galapagos

Isabella was our final port of call in the Galapagos and our favourite island of the 3 we had permission to visit. The main town of Villamia is centred around a dusty park and the roads are unpaved  and largely free of traffic other than marine iguanas.

Traffic jam

Land Iguanas cross where and when they like.

Tiny Galapagos Penguin embarrassed by his grey feet..wife complaining.

One of the survivors..probably ran away!

Baby turtles ..population explosion underway.

Tough nut to crack

Dare I say it?..all shagged out

pilot whale shot taken with the go pro on the surface

Pilot whale up close and personal

Sea Lions in more natural environment than the streets of San Cristobal- fascinating lava tunnels

Looking out to sea from the comfort of an Isabella beach bar...contemplating the big passage ahead...Galapagos to Marquesas.

Once again we signed up for tours taking us to the wildlife hotspots.....more iguanas, sea lions, sea turtles and flamingos.

 Also the tiny Galápagos penguin for the first time and of course, another giant tortoise sanctuary.

On each of the islands we have visited thus far, there is a breeding program for the giant tortoises which were cruelly exterminated by passing ships throughout 18th and 19th centuries and by unscrupulous colonists who traded in their oil and shells in the 20th century.

One finds it difficult to imagine the agony that these enormous, placid creatures faced when they were kept on their backs in the holds of ships for months at a time to provide fresh meat for the sailors throughout the voyage.

The Galapagos conservation authorities are taking the return of these giants seriously and judging from the thousands of tiny tortoises being reared in captivity, it won't be long before there are large numbers of tortoises roaming the volcanic isles once again.

I must admit though, every time we saw a pair or more of the enormous adults, they were mating embarrassingly and uncomfortably. in another hundred years or so, the Galapagos  will probably be overrun..in a manner of speaking , by grinding and bumping behemoths on the boardwalks and the locals may be regretting their determined 21st century conservation efforts .

Our final day in the Galapagos was a special treat .. A small group of us headed out to sea in ski boat where we swam and snorkeled with enormous manta rays .We came across at least 20 of these amazing creatures, 3 metres or more  wide, swimming solo  close to the surface, their wing tips showing above the water initially looking like the dorsal fins of 2 sharks swimming alongside one another.

They were totally unperturbed by us as we descended on them from above -armed with go pros and video cameras and breathless with the wonder of the experience.

If anyone can enlighten me as to how to put a video up on my blog (I make no excuses for my technical incompetence)..or even better how to take a screen shot from a video on a Mac, I can  upload the pics and share them-if there's anyone out there reading this...anyone except my Mom of course!

In the absence of manta ray pics, here is a photo of what Alan says my feet look like after 4 months without a pedicure!!!!!!!

On a more picturesque note...after the wonder of the manta ray dives, we came across a pod of pilot whales. The excitement of the tour guide made it obvious that this was a very special encounter .We jumped overboard and did our best to keep up with the whales in the water.

They humoured us for a while..let us get the camera angles sorted and then swam powerfully and unconcernedly beyond the horizon!

The sharks and turtles we swam with in a bay filled with lava tunnels from exploding magma after lunch were yet another special highlight in a day filled with David Attenborgh encounters. The turtles were particularly tame and seemed to relish being joined by curious humans almost inviting us to touch and hold onto them as they swam by.

The Galapagos have proved to be an amazing adventure ....another highlight and a spot I would recommend as a very worthwhile destination....before the tortoises and sea lions take over!