Worrall Wind Update 12 - Marquesas Islands

Day 12 - Taiohae Bay, Nuka Hiva, May 19, 2010

UTC/Local: 0700/2130

Latitude: 08 54.959 S
Longitude: 140 06.197 W

We weighed anchor at 8:45 this morning and said goodbye to Anaho Bay. We thought because of our swing pattern that we may have wrapped the chain on a rock, but with a zig here, and a zag there, we pulled up the anchor without any trouble. We motored the first hour directly into and east wind, then fell off the wind on a beam, then a broad, then a downwind run as the wind shifted on the eastern side of Nuka Hiva.

It was a beautiful sail under blue skies. We pulled into Taiohae Bay and anchored between Trim and S/V Pincoya around 4:00 p.m. After making sure the anchor was set and doing a little clean up work, we headed for shore. We walked around town a bit, and then met up with Gene and Gloria and Ken and Lori for dinner at a little pension restaurant on the waterfront for pizza and salads.

What fun we had sharing our Puddle Jump experiences. Pizza, what a treat! We will be here for a day or two to provision and to supplement our fuel supply.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update 11 - Marquesas Islands

Day 11 - Hike from D'Anaho Baie to Hatiheu Baie

This morning at 8:00 a.m., we met up with two other cruising couples on the beach for a hike over the hill from where we are anchored to the neighboring bay where there is a little town with a couple of stores. Hiking with us were Josie and Steve from England on Elyson, and Paul and Marietta from the Nederlands on their boat Nija Foam. Paul and Marietta speak French so it was quite nice being with them because they could interpret for us.

It took us two hours to hike over the hill to Hatiheu. We did a little shopping in the stores, buying some cheese, bread, lettuce, chips, and drinks for a picnic lunch. We also stopped at the local restaurant for a mid-morning coffee. Marietta had a little game boy she was tired of and asked the young woman at the store if she would like to trade for some breadfruit. She struck up a deal with the young woman who took us all to her house at the far side of town during lunch time. We met her parents and watched as her brothers climbed a breadfruit tree to knock down these green balls the size of bowling balls. They also treated us to some other fruits of which we were not familiar. One was a star fruit, similar to a sour peach/apple, and the other was a koko orlis?? which was a prickly green ball, that when opened was a creamy consistency that tasted like pineapple and lemons. It was very good. It would make a fabulous Maitai. We enjoyed very much meeting this family and being taken to their home. Each couple carried 2 breadfruits back over the mountain. Marietta wanted us to have both breadfruits, but we just kept one and gave the other back to her. Paul and Marietta have been sailing for five years and have covered 22,000 kilometers. They came around the cape of South America.

After our visit, we ate our picnic lunch including some of the fruits, visited the town church, and headed back to D'Anaho Bay. We met Garyn and Jessica on our way back up the hill. They decided to go back to the town for another coke. Several of the children that had been playing in the water with us the day before were just getting out of school. When they saw Jess and Garyn, they wanted to know where "Russ" was? Cute. He made quite an impression on the children.

We returned to the boat about 4:00 p.m. We enjoyed a big salad, star fruit and baguettes for dinner. It's the first lettuce we have had on the boat in three weeks. We will try cooking the breadfruit tomorrow. Apparently, we can cut it up like French fries and fry in oil. We are planning on leaving D'Anaho tomorrow and heading to the south side of the island. We have a week left in the Marquesas before heading to the Tuomotus. Originally, we were planning on provisioning at Ua Pou, another island, however, we have heard through the cruising "vine" that Ua Pou's harbor is being dredged and there is no room for cruising boats. So we are reconsidering our plans and will most like go to the port city of Taiohae here on Nuka Hiva to do some provisioning and end our stay at Hakatea Baie (Daniel's Bay) where the first Survivor series was filmed before heading to the Tuomotus. We may do a cruise by of Ua Pou.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update 11 - Marquesas Islands

Day 11 - D'Anaho Bay, Nuka Hiva

UTC/Local: 0500/1930

Latitude: 08 49.284 S
Longitude: 140 03.839 W

Garyn and Jess had a nice hike to a nearby village yesterday. We'll check it out tomorrow. Today was another day in paradise. We did a little snorkeling, reading, hiking, and socializing. Russ has become quite a favorite with the local children after he gave them balloons and lollipops. They got a kick out of using our dive masks. One of the boys invited Russ to get on a paddle board with him.

We invited three other boats over for Happy Hour this evening. Guerremo and Isabella (Spain) from Tin Tin, Steve and Monjula (Emery Cove, CA) from Endless Summer, and Steve and Josie (England) from Elyison. We are the newbies in the group. Steve and Josie left England 13 years ago, spending 5 years in the Med before crossing the Atlantic. Guerremo and Isabella have been sailng for four years, jumping off for the Marquesas from Equador. Steve and Monjula did the Baja Ha Ha in 2008 and the Puddle Jump this year. Everyone has wonderful stories to tell about places they have been. On their hike yesterday, Garyn and Jess met a Polish couple on a 28 foot boat, Asia. This is Asia's third circum-navigation. The woman is the primary owner and she did the first circum-navigation single handed. The boat is very simple....nothing to break, nothing to fix. They both look incredibly tan and fit, amazing people from all over the world.

We will do a little hiking tomorrow and will most likely leave D'Anaho Bay on Tuesday, May 18 for the south side of Nuka Hiva. We'll stay a couple of days on the south side in Hakatea, and head to Ua Pou before taking off for the Tuoumotus. I made 2 dozen corn tortillas today. We had grilled tuna tacos and cold beer.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update 10 - Marquesas Islands

Day 10 - Marquesas Islands, May 16, 2010

UTC/Local: 0100/1530

Latitude: 08 49.284 S
Longitude: 140 03.839 W

We all had a great night's sleep last night. With the exception of a passing squall around midnight that had us scurrying to close hatches, we enjoyed the relatively calm waters of D'Anaho Bay, on Nuka Hiva. The anchor alarm didn't go off once. The bay has a little cove etched out of one side so as I look out the windows, I see land 360 degrees around our boat. Russ says it feels like Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe. This bay has the only coral reef on Nuka Hiva. Surrounding the bay are a combination of mountains, from desert scrub low-lying hills to spiring peaks. The shore line is forested by tall coconut palms (not quite Emerald Bay).

After a few boat chores, we all got in the dinghy to do some exploring. There is a pass cut through the coral reef for dinghies to get safely to shore without having to do some crazy shore landing. We did see one sting ray scurry out of our path as we approached the shore. The tide was way out so we had to drag the dinghy quite a ways up the beach. Crabs scittered across the sand and exposed coral reef. It's much easier to drag the dinghy with four people dong the dragging than with just the two of us. The grounds around the bay look as if they have been well cared for by the local residents. Fruit tress, palms, and flowers have been planted along grassy beach meadows just above the beach. Fallen palm leaves and coconuts have been raked off the pathways into piles which are periodically burnt. Smoke from fires rises from different locations along the bay. There are a few families that live here, but there is also a little pension and an open-air church.

We met three young men on shore from Vancouver who are sailing on a boat called Mojombo. They were carrying their surf boards to the bay just east of us. It was the first bay we passed before getting to D'Anaho. It is open to the sea and they were hoping it would be a good place to surf. We ourselves walked over the little saddle to see the Bay. Along the way, a father and son on horseback passed by us. They had large satchels of something they had collected. We also met another Marquesan family, who had come over from Taiohae (south side of Nuka Hiva) for the day. They drove to the Bay to the west of D'Anaho and hiked over a path to D'Anaho. They explained to us where the path was that would take us over the hill to the Bay that has some stores, restaurant, post office.

When we returned from our excursion, the tide had come back in. Jess and Garyn had returned a little before us and were in knee high water with the dinghy chatting with a couple of cruisers. Guerremo and Isabella on Tin Tin are from Spain. The other boat, a catamaran, Endless Summer with Steve and Monjula is from Emery Cove Marina...can you believe that! They were moored closer to Trader Vics on F dock. Monjula had a thermometer and we all found a place where there was a warm current of 92 degree water. It was like a hot tub. We sat for over an hour in the shallow waters talking about our Pacific crossing experience and our plans for the future.

Garyn and Jess decided to go back to the trail the Marquesans had told us about and hike over the hill to the other bay. Hopefully they will bring some bread back with them. We can all go back again tomorrow. We weren't sure if the stores would be open on Sunday. Russ and I, feeling like salty prunes, made our way back to the boat where we took fresh water showers and are just lounging around until we bar-b-que the tuna we got in Autona on Hiva Oa. Today is the first day where I'm thinking....this is good, really good. This is what I thought or hoped paradise would be like.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update 9 - Marquesas Islands

Day 9 - Marquesas Islands, Friday, May 14, 2010

UTC/Local: 1900/0930

Latitude: 08 56.16 S
Longitude: 139 38.93 W

1914/0944
So you are probably asking yourself, did I miss Day 8? Nope, I miscounted. I'm on island time now! ;-) Somehow there were 2, day 5's. Days 7 and 8 were in Puamau Bay on Hiva Oa. We left Puamau last night for Ua Huka. The wind picked up after we left, and we sailed at 7 knots instead of the anticpated 5. Garyn reduced sail to slow us down when he and Jess were on watch. By 4:00 a.m. we hove-to for about an hour and a half until there was enough light to approach the island and the bay we intended on anchoring in. We came into Baie Hana at 8:00 a.m. It was a fairly small, bay with an unanticipated sidewind. After a long night, Russ just didn't feel comfortable anchoring in this bay. We decided not to stay, did a drive by of Ua Huka, and are heading over to Nuka Hiva about 35 miles away to a Bay that is known for its quiet shelter and potentially good snorkeling. We need a couple of non-rolly night's rest and in the water recreation.

0200/1630
After 24 hours of great sailing and fun dolphin play, we are anchored at Baie D'Anaho off of Nuka Hiva. There are 8 other boats in the anchorage with us. There are no swells, but some wind. We are so ready for a good night's sleep, maybe a couple.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update 7 - Marquesas Islands

Day 7 - Marquesas Islands, Hiva Oa, Thursday, May 13, 2010

UTC/Local:

Latitude:
Longitude:

Another rolly night! Russ doesn't feel secure leaving the flopper stopper up all night in the event we start to drag anchor, it's one more thing to take down and put away. So before we went to bed, we took out the flopper stopper and flopped all night....although I'm not sure we wouldn't have done that anyway in this bay.

8:00 a.m. This morning the tide was out and the surf seemed a little smaller than yesterday, so Garyn, Russ, and Jess ventured ashore in the dinghy. I just couldn't get up the courage for a surf landing and decided to stay onboard. Our anchor is secure and there is no one else in this bay. I watched them from the Lido deck through the binoculars and they made a run for it when the swells looked smaller. Just before the beach a wave caught them, however and broke in such a way that the nose of the dinghy dug down. The next thing they knew, they were in the water not sure what happened. They were able to stand with the water at waist level. They all made it to shore a little soggy and retrieved the things that flipped out with them. Garyn's sunglasses were the only casualty. Russ was able to restart the motor, so they pulled the dinghy to the high tide line and disappeared into the jungle for a look around. There were several Marquesans observing this beach landing from the church community center. It must have been good entertainment. I'm looking forward to their photos and descriptions.

11:00 a.m. I saw the trio returning from jungle. There were two small children, a boy and a girl 5 or 6 years old following them to the beach. The little boy's back had a huge tatoo on it. They had undoubtedly heard the story of the landing and were curious to see the take off. The kids "helped" drag the dinghy down to the surf. Garyn, Jess, and Russ walked the dinghy out as far as they could. Russ jumped in first and started to paddle on either side to keep the nose pointed into the surf. Garyn and Jessica were in the back and side kicking. Next Jess climbed in and grabbed the second oar. Both she and Russ were paddling, and Garyn was still in the back propelling with his kicks. Finally, when the surf line was cleared, Garyn climbed into the dinghy. They continued to paddle for a while. I thought perhaps the motor wouldn't start, but then I could hear it purring and they put away the paddles. They made quite a team and looked very organized. I'm sure the locals were impressed or at least not as entertained as on their arrival. Again, I was glad I had chosen not to go. I really don't think I could have heaved myself up into the dinghy like they did. I usually have a difficult enough time when I have fins on and get in after snorkeling in much calmer waters.

Upon their return, we unloaded the dinghy, drained it, and put it up on its davits. They brought bag two bags of fruits...pamplemoose?? which is like a cross between a grapefruit and an orange. It's a big greenish citrus, and two other orange fruits (mangos we think), not sure what they are. They bought the fruit for $3.00 at the snack shack, where the operator also collected a contribution to see the Tikis. They enjoyed their walk through the jungle. Russ said it really sounded jungle like with birds cawing and shreaking. Jessica said it was like a little suburb with landscaped little gardens in the middle of the jungle as they walked through this part of town. The town had an electric power plant, post office, and modern telephone booth. We have not seen many people with cell phones, but the town does have a cell phone tower, and Garyn gets reception. They saw stone tikis and platforms of old ruins, and thoroughly enjoyed the walk and being on shore.

Right now, they have all crashed and are resting after their exhausting adventure.

0330/1800
We weighed anchor after dinner this evening at 5:00 p.m. and are now under way to Ua Huka (pronounced Wa Huka). It is a beautiful Polynesian evening, warm with a gentle breeze of about 9 knots of wind coming from the east, and a gentle six foot swell from the same direction. Our boat speed is 4.5 knots on a starboard broad reach with a course over ground of 320 degrees . We could just see Ua Huka in the sunset lit sky about 60 miles away. At this speed, we should be there sometime tomorrow morning around 8:00 a.m. Garyn and Jess have the 8:00 - 2:00 watch. Russ and I will have the 2:00 - 8:00 watch. Jessica is a great addition to our sailing team and feels not queezy for the first time today. Yeah. We are all excited to be unhooked and saiing!

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update 6 - Marquesas Islands

UTC/Local: 0330/1800

Latitude: 09 45.825 S
Longitude: 138 52.766 W

Update:

The wind did not subside until after dark last night, so we did not venture on shore at Hanamenu. We did enjoy laying on the deck and watching the stars last night. They shone like little diamonds in black sky and were animated back and forth as the boat rocked and rolled. The wind changed directions all night long and our boat proximity alarm continued to sound each time we entered new territory within our proximity circle. By morning we had filled in an almost perfect circle around our anchor. We held fast, but it was not without a lot of anxiety. We could feel the wave action all night as we circumnavigated our anchor. Sometimes the swell was on our nose, some time from the side, some time from the stern lifting us and sloshing water against the back stateroom where our heads were presumably sleeping. Garyn and Jess moved from the V-berth to the midship berth sometime during the middle of the night.

When we awoke at 6:00 a.m., we were the only boat left in the bay. All others had left...wonder why? The bay now was reasonably calm as the sun was coming up. We enjoyed our breakfast of cereal and ripened bananas on the dewy deck. Rather than go ashore, we decided to take advantage of the calm seas to motor to Puamau Bay. We weighed anchor by 8:00 a.m. and it came up easily. After it had held fast so well all night in every direction, we were anticipating some difficulty getting it up not knowing if had wedged or wrapped around something. But it came up easily and we motored out of the bay leaving the bay quiet and empty.

We headed due north then east passing Hanaiapa Bay which is supposed to be the most protected bay on the island. It looked inviting, but we decided this was one of the stops we would leave off of our trip itinerary. Several of the boats that were in the Hanamenu were anchored in this bay. As we approached Hanaiapa there was a small squall that went right over the top of us. We didn't experience any rain, but the wind accelerated to 34 knots on our nose. We were motoring and our speed over ground was only 3 knots as we plowed through swells 9-12 feet high that were splashing over the bow and sending rivers of water down the deck. I was trying to take pictures of a waterfall cascading from one of the cliffs when the waterfall blew side ways and vaporized in the wind. Just prior to taking a right turn into Baie Puamau a pod of dolphins played off of our bow wake. We were a little concerned that there were no other boats in the bay and hoped it wasn't for an unknown reason other than perhaps the eastern swells that would make for yet another rolly night.

2100/1130
We anchored in 30 feet of water about 200 yards west of the wharf area, pointing out to sea. The wind had died down to about 6 knots and a six foot swell from the east rolled through the bay. Relative to last night, it seemed pretty mild to us. Negotiating the surf into the beach may be a challenge however. There appears to be a little jetty on the wharf that we may be able to tuck behind and land. Garyn and Jess are going to give it the first try while Russ and I stay on board keeping watch. When they return, we will give it a go. This is the one place we really do want to get off of the boat as this is supposed to be the location of one of the most extensive archeological sites on the island and the largest tiki in the world. According to Charlie's Charts there are "massive terraces, petroglyphs, and various statues....spectacular place to visit."

2300/1330
Garyn and Jess tried to get ashore, but the surf was too big for a safe landing. Now back at the boat, we are thinking that either very late today or early tomorrow morning we will give it another try.

0330/1800
We never got to shore today. We will try again early tomorrow morning. The waves were too big. We did enjoy watching the surfers though. There were about seven adolescent boys who appeared to be having great rides after school this afternoon. We lounged around soaking in the beauty of this bay with its crashing surf, glistening palm trees, goat speckled mountains, and billowing clouds. It will be disappointing if we can't get ashore, but we need to move on tomorrow.

Russ and Garyn put out the flopper stopper for tonight. This slick little gizmo is two pieces of sheet metal about 5 feet long and two feet wide, hinged at the bottom. The top of each flap has lines that extend up to the whisker pole hanging out over the beam of our boat. This flopper stopper dips about 10 feet under the water. When the boat rolls to starboard which is the lee side of a swell, the sheet metal cuts down like a blade through the water. When the boat starts to roll to the other side, it pulls open the flopper stopper like a clam shell creating resistance to the roll and helps to flatten the roll, stopping the the flopping. It doesn't work particularly well when both the wind and the swell are coming from the same direction. It works best when the the boat is pointed into the wind and waves are perpendicular to the beam. It seems to be working farily well this evening.

Our plan is to leave tomorrow night about 5:00 p.m. for a 12 hour evening passage to Ile Ua Huka. Now it's time for dominoes.

All is well on Worrall Wind

Worrall Wind Update 5 - Marquesas Islands

Day 5 - Marquesas Islands, Tuesday, May 11, 2010

UTC/Local: 0100/1530

Latitude: 09 45.864 S
Longitude: 139 08.396 W

Update:

We awoke early in preparation for leaving Autona. Russ made a couple of trips in the dinghy to shore to drop off the used oil in jugs that we had changed while crossing the Pacific. A man saw him emptying the oil in to the recycle drum and came over and asked if he could have the oil. Russ explained to him that it was used oil. He indicated that he knew that and it was ok. Russ gave him the 7 containers of used oil. He later came over and gave us a fresh baguette which with a little butter and jam we called breakfast. The night before, Russ had given a cruiser a ride from shore to his boat in our dinghy. The cruiser was in his 70's and experiencing some TIA symptoms. He was returning from seeing a local doctor who set him for a scan in Papeete the following day. As a thank you, he gave two bunches of very green bananas. It will be a couple of days before they are ready for breakfast. Garyn and Jess went ashore and did a little laundry. I pulled down all the dry laundry from the back deck and cleared the deck of clutter for sailing.

A couple of boats had moored behind us the day before and we were a little concerned that one of them may have anchored over our stern anchor.
When we were ready to leave, Garyn, in the dinghy followed the stern anchor line and was able to pull it up by hand. Russ reeled in Garyn and the dinghy. We took the stern anchor from Garyn and secured it, took the motor off the dinghy, raised the dinghy, pulled up the bow anchor and were under way by 9:00 a.m.

2100/1130
We are on our way to a Bay called Hanamenu and have just passed Point Tepupuhi. We've been having a great broad reach sail down the straight between Tahuata and Hiva Oa, sailing at 6.8 knots. This is Jessica's first day at sea. She is wearing a seasickness patch, but is still feeling a bit queezy...doing a good job holding it together

2200/1230
Shortly after passing Tepupuhi, the wind died. We took advantage of the calm to eat lunch. When it was apparent we still weren't going anywhere, we turned on Lehman. A little further to the north, we passed Cap KiuKiu, and hold your hats! 33 knots of winds and 4-6 feet of wind waves right on our nose with less than two miles to Hanamenu. I hurried downstairs and closed ports and hatches that I opened to glean a little moving air when were windless. Now we are taking splash right over the cabin top. This wind may make landfall in Hanamenu a challenge. We'll see.

0100/1530

We motored into Hanamenu where there were six other boats anchored. We set down the hooks facing out to sea as there is a strong onshore breeze, more like a north wind blowing 18-25 knots. Our anchor seems to be holding tight but we are riding a bucking bronco in this anchorage as the wind and the sea keep coming at us. If this keeps up, we will be holding anchor watch tonight. About 1/2 an hour ago, three of the boats that were in this bay all left together and headed straight out, perhaps to Nuka Hiva. Seems a little late in the day to go anywhere, other than a night passage. There are three of us left in the bay. Our little wind generator is spinning like crazy making 5-6 amps per hour. Our solar panels are making 10 amps. We are using about 20 amps right now with refrigerators, computer, and radio transmissions.

Behind us, is a lovely little beach with palm trees. There is reportedly a nice fresh water spring. When and if the wind calms down, we will dinghy to the beach later this afternoon.

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update 5 - Marquesas Islands

Marquesas Islands - Day 5

UTC/Local: 0200/0430 May 10, 2010

Latitude: 09 48.224 S
Longitude: 139 01.918 W

Update:
We got up early this morning and headed into Autona by 8:15. It would have been sooner, but once again we were worried about our stern anchor that seemed to have drifted a bit. So we watched and waited, and debated whether to go in to shore or not. Our neighbors on Khashyan (Happiness in Hindi) who had been so helpful the day before were departing, and a small shift to our starboard would not make a big difference, so we headed in to Autona.

We had heard that the Gendamarie was only open to clear in cruisers until 9:00 a.m. So we hustled to get into Autona, a mile or so walk before the purported close time.

We got to Autona, just before 9:00 a.m. Once we got there, they told us they were open until 10:00 a.m. Some of the cruisers relayed that only the captain needed to go, other cruisers reported that everyone needed to go. In the end because we want to leave tomorrow, everyone went and got there before 9:00 a.m. The check-in went smoothly, and we were out of there in 20 minutes. I think they were glad to see all of us. The story seems to change daily.

Anyway, we checked in. After check - in we had to go to the post office and buy a stamp to affix and send our doucmentation to Papeete. Jess and Garyn went to the Gaughan cultural center. Russ and I explored the town and bought some fresh food as we went. Each store has a little different inventory.

Stop 1 - no produce, but snacks and variety items. Russ got a coke and 4 gallons of oil.

Stop 2 - met other cruisers with a truck. Windryder would take oil back to Dingy Dock. We met Ed and Cornelia on A Capella who said to say hello to us from Dave and Marcia on Juniata, and Patricia and Jack on Whoosh who asked if they could sponsor us as commodores for the Seven Seas Cruising Association. They said anyone who made it this far should be sponsored. we are delighted of course.

Stop 3 - ATM

Stop 4 - Veggie truck in front of the park. We got some tomatoes, cucumbers, egg plant, and green beans.

Stop 5 - Tuna truck in front the of the park. We got a kilo of fresh tuna.

Stop 6 - Another little grocery where we got hot freshly baked bread and two dozen eggs.

Stop 7 - Another little grocery where we got onions.

Stop 8 - Another little grocery where we got celery, 4 potatoes, and a frozen chicken.

We didn't see any lettuce or bananas but were pleased with our purchases. No we needed to walk back the mile + to the harbor in the late morning heat lugging our goodies.

We met Garyn and Jess at the post office at 11:00 and hiked back stopping at a little pension/restaurant along the way. We enjoyed fresh vegetable salads and an island fruit compote for dessert. It was nice not to have to cook a meal. Thirty plus days is a long stretch for me.

When we got most of the way back, Garyn and Jessica wanted to strike out to find some petroglyphs. I wanted to get back to the boat, cool off and take a nap. Russ and I returned to the boat, took cold showers, and were putting away the groceries when Jess and Garyn returned...hot, tired, and hadn't found the petroglyphs. As I was putting away the groceries, I discovered that one of our refrigerators had not been turned back on and the pancake syrup had leaked all over! What a mess. There went the nap!

Russ returned to shore to pick up the oil and do some laundry in the communal sink. We didn't want to use our water supply to wash the sheets. He returned with the wet laundry to report that the dinghy anchor had gotten stuck in the rocks. Garyn, Jess, and Russ returned to shore to unsuccessfully dislodge the anchor. While they were gone, I hung out the laundry and am pounding out this update. Russ has returned to the dinghy dock to see if he can employ a local diver to retrieve the anchor.

Never a dull moment. We could all use a little rest and relaxation. We plan to leave tomorrow and sail to the north side of Hiva Oa, so it will have to be after that. Russ just returned. Happiness! Another dingy had dropped his anchor on ours and they had tangled. Fortunately, the other boat owner was willing to dive to retrieve his anchor and ours. So once again,

All is well on Worrall Wind.

Worrall Wind Update 3/4 - Marquesas Islands

Marquesas Islands

Day 3/4 Marquesas Islands - May 8/9, 2010

UTC/Local: 0100/1530 May 9, 2010

Latitude: 09 48.221 S
Longitude: 139 01.919 W

Update:

End of Day 3 - Saturday, May 8, 2010:

We arrived in Atuona Harbor on Hiva Oa, mid morning. The harbor is protected by a short break water. It's very small for the number of boats that need to moor here for check-in. In order to squeeze as many boats in as possible, boats must have both a bow and a stern anchor so that they do not swing. All of the boats face the harbor entrance. Theoretically, all of the boats should be lined up in rows with a fairway in front and back. It was much messier however than the theortical,and it was quite a challenge trying to find a place to anchor. Some of the boats on the outside edge were anchored almost horizontally to the rest of the fleet.

The technique we used was to try and find a fairway, turn upwind into a likely position, drop the stern anchor in the fairway, motor forward to the middle of the next fairway and drop the bown anchor, then snug them both up. We tried unsuccessfully in one location (weren't comfortable with how close we were to the other boats), and finally went to the very front of the anchorage, close to the outer edge, where there was one other boat between us and the cliffs - a big 56 foot Nordhaven, where there was room. We dropped the stern and then the bow, and it felt pretty good. We watched as the boat moved from one side to the other and when we were satisfied, we weren't dragging and had a good distance between our two neighbors, we settled in for the afternoon. We raised the yellow quarantine flag and said hello to some of our Puddle Jump comrades who were also in the Harbor. Windryder and Demelza were in the Harbor.

We did a few boat chores and relaxed for a while. About 1:30 Russ took Garyn over to shore for his 10 mile hike to the airport via the road or a shorter distance up some vertical path. Jessica's plane was due to arrive at 4:30. It was 90 degrees and humid. It was not going to be a pleasant walk either way he went. Russ returned to the boat and we continued to cleanup and fix little things. We were both dripping with sweat. It's amazing how many things can go haywire on a boat. Our shower sump wasn't working, the engine needed servicing, the back deck needed a cleanup, laundry needed to be done, things that came unscrewed and unglued, needed to be rescrewed and reglued.

We were surprised at 4:30 p.m. when we heard Garyn call us from shore saying that he and Jessica were at the dinghy dock. It seemed to us that he had barely left. Jessica's plane had come in an hour early to this little shaved mountain top landing strip. She had several offers from people for a ride into town, but she said no, she was waiting for her husband, She was afraid to if Garyn had taken the path instead of the road, she would miss him. Garyn got to the airport at 4:00 p.m. and were offered a ride by a local back down the hill. So it all worked out well.

After hugs, stories, and a couple of cold beers, we had a champagne dinner on the Lido deck after the sun went down. Russ had set the proximity/anchor alarm pretty close, so it continued to go off throughout the evening. We kept checking with visuals and seemede to be ok. So we all went to bed. Garyn and Jessica were awakened when it started to rain and they got a cool midnight shower, but overall we all slept pretty well.

Day 4 - Sunday, May 9, 2010 - A relaxing Mother's Day - NOT!

It is gratifying to wake up and still be where you think you should be. Boats were beginning to leave the harbor for other destinations. The boat behind us, one of the ones that had moored horizontally, was also setting rigging and cleaning up, getting ready to do something. On board were three Italians, two men and 1 woman. They seemed pretty adept at what they were doing so we didn't pay much attention to them as they motored a little forward, a little backward, raised sailss, bagged sails, etc.

After breaksfast, Garyn, Jess, and Russ wanted to walk into town. It was already starting to get warm, and I still had a lot of little projects to do, so I volunteered to stay behind and watch the boat.

They all got in the dinghy about 9:30, and I sat on the Lido deck relaxing and drinking my second cup of coffee, and planning my day. It seemed to me that our stern had moved a little farther than it had been, but the line was still tight. I came downstairs and did some laundry, and brought it on deck to hang and dry. The Italian boat that had moored horizontally in the fairway was getting ready to leave and had pulled forward on their anchor discovering that our stern anchor had crossed over their bow anchor.

Fortunately, they could speak English enough so that we could communicate. The captain of the boat wanted me to untie my stern which he had alreay dislodged,and our stern was now drifting toward our neighboring boat on our starboard side. I expressed my reluctance to letting go of the stern anchor. I hurriedly got on my sailing gloves, cleared off the lido deck of chairs and tables, grabbed the bow thruster, and started the motor (or tried to start the motor). After a couple of tries I gave it up, and went back out to discover that the Italian boat was now drifting into us with their beam less than two feet from our solar panels on the stern. I gave a "Too close" yell.

While they tried to manuever the boat, our solar panels were now catching in their backstays and grabbing at their fishing gear, I released the sternanchor line so that we would swing away from them. We did and they cleatred. I wondered what would have happened if I hadn't been on board. Yipes!

When I tried to winch in our back anchor, it was now apparent that I was totally dislodged. Two of the crew members, got in their dinghy to push our stern into position while I winched. When that didn't work, they pulled the anchor up and tried to reset it. The first time, it obviously did not set.
The second time, we thought it was set. It was a close call. They were anxious to get under way, and left, but I was anxiously watching the stern continue to pull sideways and there was not enough tension on the stern line so I knew we were dragging.

I got on channel 16, and called some other PPJ boats Windryder, Demelza, and Worrall Wind mobile for assistance. NOTHING HEARD! Now what? I went back out to check the stern anchor which had not set. Our stern was now sideways and perpendicular to our neighbor. We were clearning their boat but I didn't like having only one hook down and not able to start the motor. I yelled to our neighbors who were just getting in their dinghy to go ashore, and asked if they could help. They are now my newest best friends! Those guys reset the the anchor 4 times and on the 4th time it finally took. They could see I was getting exhausted with the anchor winch, so one of them came on board to give me a hand. By 1:00, 3 hours later, everything was back under control and I was pooped.

Russ, Garyn, and Jess arrived at 2:00 p.m. after having explored the tiny town of Atuona and spending $20.00 on cookies and coke. They asked if I had a relaxing time on the boat? .......

We finished up some projects in the afternoon. Russ got the shower sump limping along. There is something wrong with the float. Garyn and Russ got the water turbine back to a wind generator. Russ worked on getting the engine to start. Just before dinner, Garyn and Jess gave me a Mother's Day gift. Mothers Day? I had completely forgotten. But it was a great reason to use the satellite phone and call my mom. Hope everyone out there had more relaxing Mother's Day than I did.

All is Well in Worrall Wind