Fatu-Hiva
Last saturday and sunday (whilst waiting for our duty free fuel permit) we cruised down to the island just south of Hiva-Oa called Tuahatu. Anchored in a stunning bay for 2 nights, white sand beach, palm trees, idyllic. Spent the day on the beach with the kids, snorkelling, saw a big ray with Josh, he was stoked. Then on Monday we were back in Atuano. All in all it took us about a 10 days to get ourselves and shimmi fully cruise ready again, this time minus the autopilot which we sent to Tahiti for repairs. We finally got our duty free fuel permit, fueled up using 11 jerry cans twice (quite a mess), hand washed our laundry on the dock, stocked up on whatever veggies we could find, stole some more fruit, could not find any oats for porridge (which screws up our breakfast a bit, especially for the kids), emailed and internetted frantically, serviced the starboard engine, went up the mast where i found one broken split pin, a chafed halyard and a roller furler which needed adjusting. We made good friends with Doreen, Marc and their son Triston on their 33ft catamaran Imani. They have been cruising for 15 years, living on board.
Finally on Tuesday 24 March we left Traitors Bay at 7am. As i was busy setting line number three, got a huge strike on line 2, whatever it was snapped the 150 pound leader on my favorite pink skirt like it was cotton. Big yank, big splash, could not see what it was, it was gone. After that we caught fuckall despite 5 lines out the back and 45 miles of blue water trolling. Bit bummed but what can you do? Chartplotter went on the blink for a while, i was like 'whatever'. Then quickly got the backup GPS working. Later on the chartplotter started co-operating again. Glad, as it contains $1000 worth of electronic charts for all of the Pacific. (i have all the paper charts too so no worries) Had a light ESE wind just off the nose, motorsailed when we had to, averaged around 5-7 knots, arriving at Omoa Bay, Fatu-Hiva at about 4pm. Fatu-Hiva is truly an awesome island to approach, especially from the west with a setting sun behind you. The land is simply huge. And green. But for the time being we ignored the scenery and made straight for the surf, reported to be on the sw corner of the island.
We ended up having a so-so head high surf for two days, but the main point is unfortunately a semi close out version of left overs in Panama with plenty funny rocks and sections. The lay of the land is too 'square' to the swell direction. But just 200m south of the wave we found a little A-frame left hand peak which was fun for a while, breaking in the same spot, about 40m before it runs into the rocks. Today we surfed it again, two local Polynesians surfers pulled up in a tinny, it turns out that this little A-frame is actually THE WAVE. The local name for it is Taha-Oa. It translates to 'long way'. Today was also the best we surfed it, very fun, almost exactly like good Yellow Rock going left, same wave, same length of ride, minus the kelp. Long waits in between sets though. The waves are below this truly MASSIVE sheer jagged cliff, about 500m high, yes about half a kay high, like someone took a sharp knife and simply cut a mountain in half, throwing one half away. This cliff makes it virtually impossible for the wind to blow offshore (or onshore for that matter), it causes all winds to blow sideshore, making the waves a bit wobbly and morning sick most of the time. So all in all a bit disappointing surf-wise but the setting is a mind fuck , oh yes i also snapped my favorite board, a 6'0 squash, it had a prior fixed crease, bit of a bummer. But my step up board, a pin tail 6'3, is fine. Also have a 6'0 quad.
We are now anchored in the Bay of Virgins, 5 miles north of the surf spot, it is truly magnificent, hard to describe. Different layers of mountains, cliffs, jagged edges, towering phallic peaks, different shades of green, and a deep valley which winds up amongst this all, with our tiny anchorage right at the center, you gotta bend your neck backwards to see the top of the mountains, majestic, breathtaking blahblahblah. Went for an awesome snorkel, most of Fatu Hiva is just one long wall-dive, crystal clear water and the side of the island drops down to like 2 kays, its kinda spooky, but with the clear water its like you flying along the side of a cliff. Took the dingy along the bottom of the cliffs, found all sorts of hole in the walls, blow holes, caves, waterfalls falling into the ocean etc. Truly a spot which God made when he was in a good mood. Or very stoned on good weed. The surf has gone flat so tomorrow we are going to hack with the kids on our backs and hike up to the Bay of Virgins waterfall. Better be good.
We will probably head down to the Tuomotus quite soon, need real waves.
Au revoir
G
