Yesterday we almost reached the point of saying F... the
Marquesas! Having gone through all the drama of three anchor retreavals, with
stern anchors to boot, we had had a guts full of the Marquesas. In Fairness, we
must admit that we were unfortunate. We had endured a tough crossing , with a
blown headsail for 1500 miles, a dead engine, and a Mastervolt Battery charger
on the blink...... so the nerves were perhaps a little frayed! In Fatu Hiva, we
were lucky to escape without damage afte being hit by the dragging Frieda ! We
had by passed this Tuahata anchorage due to the largely US cruisers inspired
hiysteria about an expected 3mtr swell from the South,( due to a storm
3000miles South of Tahait)i.... and ended up in an anchorage on the Noth of
Hiva Oa ....Bad call! I told you about the dance with the fishing boat, but it
did not end there! Dawn sa w us drifting and dragging despite 50mts chain in 5
mtrs of depth, down on Scott Free, with our stern anchor and marker ball
underneath us! We had to quickly start the engine , haul forward on the
windlass, to avoid the rope in prop problem, recover the main anchor. and start
all over again. The wind started to pump, and we could not get far enough ahead
without first cutting the stern anchor free. We then reset the main , and had
to set about retrieving the stern anchor , using the trip line. The problem was
now to tie extension ropes to the trip line , long enough to reach Sheer's winches. It took an age to break out, and when
we eventually got it to the side of the boat, we saw why! It looked like a
meter square cube of black mud... thick
and greasy! We then had to clear it all
off, in order to redeploy it in the new position. By the time we were finished,
both the deck, and the dinghy were filthy. By this time the anchorage was so
wild and bumpy, that we could not even get together with Scott free to drown
our sorrows!
The
following day, we headed back south, down to this little bay( Hana Moe Noa), at
the north of Tahuata, in search of clean water, and a calmer anchorage. We
found the clear water filled with 14 other boats, so we ended up anchoring
almost in the back row. I dived in to check that the anchor was well set, as it
had bounced along the bottom for a while ,before setting. Just as well! The
Rocna was upside down , under a huge chunk of coral. So, we hauled anchoragain,
which came up rather slowly, still holding tightly onto 60kg of coral. We
motored out of the anchorage for some space, and Steve came out to help in his
Dinghy. I got him to tie a rope around the hoop at the back of the Rocna,
secured it to cleat, and then released the anchor chain, so that it would tip
upside down , and drop its chunk of coral. It all worked to plan, except that a
squall arrived in the middle of all this, and all the boats in the anchorage
twisted and danced around, ending up in positions nowhere near to where they
had anchored . We could see 2 boats with anchor marker balls, which now lay
behind their sterns , so we had absolutely no idea where we could safely
anchor, without fouling anyone, when the prevailing wind returned. We poddled
around for a good 30minutes, trying to guage where best to anchor. In the end,
we picked a spot, and told the boats on either side that it was a temporary
solution, which we would review when the prevailing wind returned. I dived on
the anchor again, and found it well set in sand, and in fact we had picked a very good spot, and settled down to enjoy a
swim in clean warm water. It was Mary's first dip since Galapagos. We looked
around this perfect little palm tree lined , white sand beach and bay,
convinced that at last we had found a decent anchorage in the Marquesas. We sat
down contentedly in the cockpit with a sundowner, watched the Green Flash, and
went to bed looking forward to spending some time here.
Before midnight we were nearly being thrown out of bed,
as a swell came in with squalls , lashing rain, making for yet another pretty
miserable, rolly, uncomfortable night after all. This morning it has rained
pretty well non stop, and the swell continues to make us rock and roll. Four
boats have up and left, in search of a more comfortable place. Paradise seems damn hard to find here right
now!!
Perhaps
when it clears up , and the sun, which has been very scarce, returns, every
thing will take on a rosier hue!
Love and regards to
all,
Rod and Mary
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