Photoes

Yahoo Mail: Search, organise, conquer

Why don't our legs want to work?

A few days ago we arrived at the Marquesas islands after 3 weeks at sea. We headed for the island of Hiva Oa and anchored in Atuona Bay. We had little choice where our first land fall was as, like when you arrive in a new country by plane,  you have to pass through immigration, there are only 2 places this can happen. So, that afternoon,  we went ashore and walked the 2 or 3 km into town to present our passports and the ships papers to the local Gendarmerie. It was admittedly rather hot but 3km should not realy be an issue,  we all felt we had walked for miles though. 

Immigration proved easy once we had actually managed to get into the building,  we had all the correct information and delt with a very friendly Gendarme. After a quick visit to the shop we headed back, feeling as if we had worked hard all day.  I suppose sitting still for 3 weeks has that affect on your legs.
The sailing community are a friendly bunch,  we were lucky to have arrived on a Friday when there was a pop up restaurant on the quayside. After cooking from tins for a while the draw of steak frits with a group of people who we last saw in Galapagos and had all completed the same passage was to much so we gave in. A very pleasant evening with huge portions of food and friendly people was enjoyed by all.

The following day we spent just wandering the local town, we sat and drank fruit juice and coffee with a couple from another boat and watched the world go by. They mentioned that they were planning a hike the next day to a beach and invited us to join them. It was only 5 km each way, how hard could it be?!!.

We packed a very sad lunch, none of the shops were open so it was chewie bars and dried fruit,  carried 5 litres of water between the 2 of us and put shoes on for the first time in ages. 

The trail was beautiful,  high above the sea round headlands with views in every direction,  our legs decided they did remember how to walk but only slowly,  we put that down to the 32 degrees temperature and the steep slopes.  The beach,  when we first saw it as we rounded a corner, was out of this world, clear blue waters,  white sands backed by coconut palms. Every inch a tropical paradise.  We swam, sat in the shade of the palms,  swam some more and finally, reluctantly set out to walk back. We decided 10 km was enough for one day. On the way back we stopped of at the only open hotel we could find, here they served a cold beer with stunning views , the perfect way to end a good day out. Even the legs forgave us.

After 3 days of eating ashore,  different company and exploring we are moveing on. The anchorage was, unfortunately very open to the Pacific swells and so poor old Shimshal was rolling mightily each night, using the dingy was an adventure in its self and the nights were far from peacefully.  We have gone in search of calm, sheltered bays and smooth, still nights. 

Tim

Yahoo Mail: Search, organise, conquer

Heather’s Pacific Crossing video

Heather’s Pacific Crossing video

The delights of Hiva Oa

Hiva Oa arrival

Fairy Tern

Atuona outer harbour

Atuona inner harbour

OCC Pop up supper at the dinghy dock

Thoughts on crossing an ocean

20 days ago we pulled up the anchor in Santa Cruz, Galapagos and headed off out into, or perhaps i should say on to?, the Pacific. I had no real idea what to expect,  the longest passage before that was out from Panama,  6 days or so.

Now we are about 230 miles out from the Marquesas,  less than 48 hours all being well. 

As we left the Galapagos, first the islands grew smaller and finally dipped below the horizon,  they were  visible for a good 40 miles or so, then we could still see the clouds which hung above them like a huge white hat, finally they too faded into a darkening evening sky and were gone before sunrise the next day. There were still signs of land, had we known more of the old ways of navigation we would have recognised more I'm sure, birds still flew around Shimshal,  the further away we got from land the less we saw,  different species dropped away at different times until we were left with only the little black petrels which have accompanied us all the way. At about 500 miles out we saw our last dolphins, a pod of 20 or more frolicking in our bow wave, although they are deep water animals the next time we would see them was 2 days ago, coincidentally about 500 miles from land. 

As we have neared the Marquesas the birds have also started to come back, now again we get regular visits from boobies and even the odd frigate birds. Apparently the old navigators would follow the birds to land, knowing which ones return each evening to roost would help here big time.

Whilst in mid ocean we were never completely alone,  we had an incredible experience with what we believe were false killer whales which spent a while in very close company to Shimshals hull and playing in our wake. 

Finally we can not forget the flying fish, morning and evening we have seen them, sparkling in the sun as they seemingly launch them selves randomly sky wards and ricochet off the waves before splashing back into the water, they do cover quite long distances but more gliding than flying and without much directional control. There are generally quite large numbers and we have debated the collective noun for flying fish,  should it be school,  flock, shole,  flight, or my favourite a squadron?

Very soon into the voyage days became meaningless,  much more important were our routines, our watch rota, advancing each day to ensure all got a turn at the  better time slots. Who was cooking dinner today and what were we having?, and the weekly clock change,  back an hour each Wednesday lunch time which ensured as we moved ever Westward it stayed dark at night.

We have had some heroic cooking exploits, Heathers bread, Pad thai, many scones and a version of rock cakes made with what was available on board which were christened "balast buns". We have eaten well, the fresh fruit and veg lasting well. Even now we have plenty of onions and potatoes,  a few tomatoes an a single carrot which will not make it past supper time. Much longer and everything would be dried or tinned. A big green salad would be good though.

We have been lucky with the weather,  unlike some other boats, we haven't had to resort to the motor or sit with sails flapping waiting for wind. Some times winds have been light and we have only made 3 knots but we have kept moving.  A couple of nights have got uncomfortable,  squalls and rain showers passing quickly through bringing strong and changeable gusts. On these occasions we have had sleepless nights with regular reefing exercise. Mostly however we have had good winds mostly going where we want to go. I guess that is why you choose this time of year to sail the Pacific .

The odd thing has broken, everything which did has been fixed or replaced,  Sally now has a list of replacement spares needed for next time. It has become a regular feature of the day to examine the rigging for wear or rubbing. 

In general,  the crossing has been very pleasant,  plenty of time to read, sit and watch the ocean roll past, the time we swam miles away from anywhere, 4km off the bottom. Opportunities like this come rarely and must be taken, how many others get the chance to sail across an ocean. 

Tomorrow we will start to look for the big fluffy white clouds which we know will be hanging above the mountains. We will have crossed our ocean but this is not the end of the trip. We have new places and cultures to explore,  the French connection here to exploit by eating their bread and cheese and more adventures to have.

Well, I say crossed,  so far we have sailed 4000 miles Westward from Panama,  that puts us just over ½ way across the Pacific.  We are about to arrive in the Marquesas,  another group of islands to explore. After that we will continue onwards to the Tuamotus,  a archipelago of coral atolls.  Our time in French Polynesia is limited,  from the day we arrive in the Marquesas we have only 90 days before our visa expires, (thanks brexit). Therefore at some point Heather and I will have to leave Shimshal and fly onwards to Tahiti and our flights to Canada.  Simon and Sally,  who have long stay visas, will continue for a while before getting Shimshal pulled out of the water in a boat yard. There she will stay until next season when they will return to sail on through the Pacific to Fiji and eventually New Zealand. 

Tim

A Drop In The Ocean

There have been some comments from other boats who have already arrived in the Marquesas that their boats have grown enormous amount of weed below the waterline.  We have noticed a lot of goose necked barnicals growing on the stern of Shimshal but it is difficult to see beneath the boat you are on.

Yesterday a message came through from a boat behind us that his engine cooling water intake had been blocked by growth and he had to snorkle under his boat to clear it.

As winds were very light and forcast to increase we decided to take the opportunity to stop Shimshal and check our own hull and water intakes. Cooling systems are under enough pressure with water temperatures approaching 30 degrees without restricting water flow. 

It was also a good chance for Heather and I to have a mid ocean swim, another box to tick!

So, we put away the jib, turned into the wind, and stopped Shimshal. You can never entirely stop a boat in mid water, but she wasn't moving forward,  just bobbing up and down.

It is no small thing to get off a boat mid ocean,  we were 900 miles from the nearest land and in water around 4250m deep. There is no swimming home if the boat goes away. So one at a time, and with a dedicated,  throw line wielding, crew member watching the swimmer, in we went. 

I went first and quickly established we were in no danger of having blocked water intakes, there was some light growth which was quickly dislodged but a surprising number of passengers considering we scrubbed the hull before leaving Galapagos and it had been pretty clean then. Also Shimshal was freshly antifouled only 10 weeks ago. Apparently the goose necked barnicals just drop off after a few days at anchor,  perhaps they like a moving boat as it provides them with a ready supply of water to filter their food from. Once we anchor their days are numbered though.

Once I was safely back on board Heather took the plunge, the chance to swim in the middle of the Pacific too good  to pass.

The water was such an intense blue, increadably clear and clean. Looking down it just went on for ever getting darker and darker. 

Swimming in such deep water was a strange feeling, over 4km to the bottom,  we saw no fish or other animals but know they are there somewhere. It realy makes no difference how deep the water is when swimming as you only need the top few meters but it realy is something you need to get your head around before jumping in.

With us both back on board we got Shimshal underway again, the skipper breathed a sigh of relief to have all his crew back where they belong

Tim

Night watch

I am on the 10 till midnight watch, its dark, the moon is waining and rises much later at the moment. 

There is a good breeze blowing from the sturn quarter and we are doing 6 or 7 knots occasionally 8, the mainsail out one side of the boat,  the jib held out on the other side with a pole. Hal, the wind vane nodding back and forth on the transom keeping us on course. 

It's warm,  t-shirt and shorts are fine.
There is a glimmer of light coming up from below and some dim instrumemt lights in the cockpit. Sit in the stern and look out of the boat and there is nothing man-made to see. Below the horizon the sea is inky dark with the occasional splash of white spray on the top of a wave.  The water seems to rush along the sides and off the back of the boat faster than we are moving.  Swirls of phosphorescent with occasional glowing balls of light stream back off the transom to be mixed in with the wake. 

Above the horizon the sky is slightly lighter,  covered with stars, the million tiny pinpricks of the Milkey Way glowing across a huge swathe. Thousands of bigger  brighter stars making up the constellations, a few of which I recognise. The Southern cross off to port, no longer needed for navigation but still an obvious indicator of our heading, Westwards  ever Westward. It is a reminder that the sailors of the past who used the stars for all their navigation were so much better at this than we are. With a star app on a phone it is possible to recognise everything. If you are lucky a shooting star streeks across the sky,  normally you catch it out of the corner of your eye and it is gone before you can focus.

Its not quiet,  but there are few sounds,  water rushing and gurgling along the hull,  sometimes a breaking wave,  creaking gear, sometimes a flapping sail and the occasional call of a sea bird flying in the dark, there must be more than one or why would they call?, it is too dark to see. 

Every 10 minutes or so check the instruments and have a good look around,  there is never anything there,  in 10 days and 1600 miles we have seen 3 fishing boats, but still you must look. Stargazing, listening,  maybe read for a while and repeat. 

There is movement below and a head appears, a silhouette in the companion way, the watch is over and it is someone else's turn to sit and enjoy this increadable place, I can go and sleep.

Its not always this calm and peaceful, sometimes sails need reefing or adjustments,  occasionally something stop working and help must be summoned from below to sort out the issue. Some nights the stars are hidden by cloud, then you realise how what dark really means.

If it were a later watch at some point the sky would lighten and the sun would rise. Sometimes in a blaze of glory, golden and splendid, other times creeping up behind clouds unseen into a gray sky.

At the moment we are about as far from land as it is possible to get although as we are past 1/2 way land is getting closer not further away, I wonder haw many people have ever been here, only a few i suspect.

In 6 hours time there will be another watch,  that one in daylight and company, the boat waking at the beginning of a new day, we are so privileged to experience this and spend time in this unique place. We all look forward to our next landfall, new places to explore but also I need to remember this time and savore it, I will probably never be here again. 

Tim

False Killer Whales

These giants came to visit yesterday. They appeared in our wake and then settled in for 10 minutes on our stern quarter. They were almost touching the hull.We saw these 5 metre long giants leaping clean out of the water. That behaviour, and the scars on their backs, confirmed that these were false killer whales which are actually a species of dolphin that frequent deep oceanic tropical waters.