Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, again

We've returned to Taiohae again to stock up for our 500 mile crossing to the Tuamotus.  We spent the last week in idyllic Anaho Bay.  It is a protected bay on the north side of the island with a fabulous coral garden under water.  There are  few houses there, but no road in.  You can hike over a steep hill to Hathieu for a store, restaurant and post office.

As we raised sail en route, we discovered a 2 foot long tear in the main, so we sailed under jib alone and then motored.  That was the ideal time to catch our first fish ever, a beautiful mahi mahi!  We used the robust rig given to us by Paul Baker in Seattle.  We had drug the fish long enough before we noticed it, that it didn't have much fight left, so it was fairly easy to land.  (photos at 11) 











At Anaho, we met up with Holly and Denis from Tango, who we last saw in Dana Point, California.  On a "whim" 6 weeks ago, they decided to make the crossing. 

Although the winds are very calm, there are huge southerly swells pouring into Taiohae Bay.  We arrived after dark last night and put out a stern anchor to keep the boat somewhat pointed into the swells.  Landing at the quai is quite an experience, as the huge swells rise up and down several feet very quickly.  Bill used the dinghy to tow a boat into the harbor, because their engine wasn't working, there was little breeze and darkness was approaching.

We'll be here a few more days, then head for the Tuamotus.  You need to time arrivals there to coincide with slack currents in the reef passes AND bright overhead sun.  The tides are lunar driven, so Bill used the nautical almanac (finally) to calculate slack water before and after moon rise and moon set and floods and ebbs.  Since the stars (or sun) is not aligned, we need to wait a few days to arrive at an auspicious (and safe) time.

More later...