Land Ho ! Fatu Hiva The First Day

Wednesday April 29th 2015

La Baie des Vierges, Fatu Hiva, Marquesas

Well we did it ! On Day 20 of a blissfully uneventful crossing, we anchored in Baies des Vierges in Fatu Hiva, the most remote of the Marquesas islands! 

As I write this, it is 4:00 am and I should really be sleeping sleep but I can’t, it seems my body is now used to sleeping in fragments of 3-4 hours, so I decide to write down some thoughts after our -nearly- first 24 hours here. 

It's an emotional thing coming in to an anchorage you have been dreaming about for a long time, after a long voyage. The biggest thing I fell is gratitude at having made it, we are all well, we did not suffer any major trials, everyone is healthy, the boat is great, and, well, here we are, slowly sailing as the sun comes up. The first sight of Fatu Hiva was simply darkness on the horizon at 4:00am, like a low cloud, but with a dome shape, There was no moon, but plenty of stars, with a last visit from dolphins, (I could just see their "lights" as they swam by.) 

Our first view of land after 20 days at sea.  Fatu Hiva at dawn.

By the time we came into the Bay, at 7:00 am, local time, we can see that we are NOT alone ! There are something like 14 boats here already ! Even if it is early morning, cruisers who have made the crossing ahead of us, wave us a warm welcome as we go around. Our friend Gonzalo is on up on deck of SV Kazaio waving and taking pictures as we sail by, we are mesmerized by the scenery, it is gorgeous, idyllic, seemingly untouched, an anchorage like no other we have ever seen, it is difficult to describe the beauty, but when you arrive it feels like you've arrive in Heaven. The imposing cliffs, topped by incredible rock formations. with various shades of green (which change in the different light of the day), a fresh water river falls into the Bay, there are flowers and fruit trees everywhere, combined with being welcomed by friendly faces, it could not of felt better after a long crossing ! 

Baie des Vierges, Fatu Hiva, Marquesas

We have to put out all of our chain because we are anchored in deep water, (due to the unusual amount of visiting sailboats here this week), almost 100 feet of water! Gonzalo shows up in his dinghy before we even have the ‘snubber' * on. He gives us a welcome gift, fresh fruit !!! (A delightful, thoughtful gesture which is much appreciated.) These include two enormous Marquesan PAMPLEMOUSSE ( they are almost the size of a bowling ball ! and SO DELICIOUSLY sweet and juicy) some limes, and bananas. 

The magnificent Baie des Vierges, Fatu Hiva

*This is a 15' heavy rope with a chain hook on the end that is attached to the chain to provide some 'stretch' in the anchor chain to take the shock off the boat cleat and is the last step in anchoring. 

Even if the water is deep, it is is pristine, clear, and WARM ! (Like the Caribbean) Matthew politely asks if he can swim.I was so happy to oblige as he has been so patient and good during the crossing,so after I tied up a boogie board to the back of the boat, Matthew had a brief moment of hesitation before going in, happily ! 

We notice that Amelie has been busy, hosting a forrest of gooseneck barnacles, which grew during the crossing, Mark gets to work scrubbing these off and Meg jumps in for a swim while I take a nap. 

Amelie in need of a wash,  arriving at Baie des Vierges. Photo by Gonzalo on SV Kazaio

The people of Fatu Hiva seem not to be bothered by the cruisers ( there are at least 15 boats here!), in fact it is part of their life, and they welcome us with a friendly ‘Bonjour!”, they offer us fruit and hand made crafts to trade. We do not have any of their currency which is Polynesian francs, but that's okay because they are really more interested in what we can trade. (Being the remotest of the islands, they only get a supply boat come once a week or so). So we gathered a backpack full of “stuff”, clothes, shoes, soaps and lotions, extra coffee mugs, a volleyball, and other trinkets, and head into town, as soon as we reach the dock, we meet Marie-?. Somehow, I've forgotten the last part of her name, but every lady in town I've met was also called " Marie-Something". It's a sign of the influence of the Catholic missionaries who came here, as is the cross at the top of the mountain. From all indications, the missionaries were successful here, the little white church is the main building in the small town of Hanavave, population 300. 

Mark holding the fresh pamplemousse that Gonzalo welcomed us with

We walk through the village with Marie- , she takes us to her house, we meet her family., On the way, she points out a bulletin board that had 2 notes for cruisers. The first asking not to bring garbage here to dispose. The second asking cruisers not to let children from the village go onto their boats. She explains they just don't have the capacity to handle the extra waste (but Hiva Oa can) and that they are trying to have the children understand that the boats are homes, not playthings.

 Her 6 month old son is sitting in a baby walker similar to the ones our kids had when we lived in Jakarta. Her yard is full of fruit trees and flowers.There are chairs set up outside and we are invited to sit down, I open my backpack and pull out what I have packed as trading goods,3 coffee mugs, a volley ball, kids clothing, a pair of crocs, flip flops, some soap and hand lotion. She pulls out some tapas (art made on thin tree bark -they also make clothing and frames with these), she asks me what I want for it. I tell her we would like a couple (2-3) pamplemousse and, maybe a tapa. We end up getting 7 marquesan pamplemousses, some pomelos (smaller grapefruits), and some other known fruit "pomme de - i forget-" ( which, when peeled, tastes a bit like cucumber, not much flavour. but an ok snack), and two tapas, all for the price of: a volley ball, one pair of crocs, and three coffee mugs. Both sides seemed very satisfied with the trade. 

Matthew enjoying a fresh water swim on Fatu Hiva

Loaded up with our purchases, we then walked down to where the river meets the ocean and hung out with our friends, old and new. We are almost all here: SV Perry ( who arrived a little bit later in the day), Kazaio, Zorba (who have been here almost a week) Being able to speak to other people besides each other is a treat and the kids are happy to see each other again, and to play with all the local kids...Karina (from Kazaio) introduces us to some of the people she has met on the island, they are lovely, easy going, and as we sit and chat a bunch of men and women are getting ready to play a soccer (football) match, and then we hear the church bells calling everyone for the 5:30 pm service. Even though we had not felt overly tired in the last twenty days as our bodies had adjusted to the sleep patterns imposed by our 24 hour watch, by the end of this first day everything started to feel a little fuzzy by sunset. We all suddenly felt very tired, we couldn't wait to get back to the comfort of the boat, grab a very quick dinner and fall asleep!

Mark found this horse walking down the road, dragging the tree it had been tied to