OUR MANAGER, RICHARD BOLT, SENDS HIS LAST REPORT FROM NUKU HIVA - WEDNESDAY 12 APRIL

With the arrival of the Norwegians on Blackbird, on Monday afternoon, and Golden Eye on Tuesday morning, all the rally yachts have now safely completed the longest leg of the whole world route. From Galapagos to Nuku Hiva, in French Polynesia is 3000 nautical miles. This is longer than any of the yachts in our fleet have done before. It takes them over a third of the way across the Pacific Ocean. For the remainder of the way across, until they reach Australia, the legs are much shorter and will often be island hopping to the most glorious South Pacific islands – the kind of place many of us only dream of.

THE GOOSENECK BARNACLE TAKES ITS TOLL!

The long passage, over 3 weeks for some, has been fairly kind in terms of weather, although it has varied considerably. In the daily roll call, when yachts report their position and weather conditions, yachts just a few miles apart found that one might be in gusty winds of 40 knots, whilst others were almost becalmed in sunshine. After some days of very calm weather, all the yachts found trade winds to push them at a good pace towards their goal. Golden Eye found that she suffered worse than any other yacht in the accumulation of Gooseneck Barnacles. This soft-shelled crustacean is a real nuisance, in the tropical Pacific. It fastens on to the underside of the hull and grows. As a result, the increased drag on the hull drastically reduces the speed. To add insult to injury, Golden Eye also suffered no wind for the last 2 days and had to motor. Her motoring top speed was reduced from 7 knots to 4½ and her fuel reserves were exceedingly low. We hope she has enough to motor to the refuelling berth this morning!

GOOD NEWS - AND BAD NEWS

Other yachts had incidents too, some were pleasant, like the 20kg tuna caught by Blackbird, others were dreadful, like the 3 minor disasters on Tzigane. Firstly, an unexpected gust of wind destroyed the spinnaker, forcing it into the water where it rapped itself around the propeller. Then John grazed his arm, whilst he swam around clearing up the mess, which subsequently swelled up nastily. Sailing only with his wife, Jenny was left with the most unpleasant task of extracting the fluid from his arm, under the instruction (over the radio) of Doctor Neils on Blackbird. Finally, Tzigane suffered the melting of 4 of her ship’s batteries. Alarms alerted them to a fire in the engine compartment, the automatic fire extinguishers put the fire out swiftly and all was safe. However, the lost batteries severely restricted the use of lights and equipment on board. All's well that ends well; Jenny and John are today on a 4-wheel drive expedition into the wild and mountainous interior of Nuku Hiva, together with the French and Belgian crews from Pytheas and Anouk.

EXPEDITIONS - AND CANNIBALS!

Expeditions into the hills have been a highlight in Nuku Hiva. This island paradise has no dangerous animals, unless you count mosquitoes and nono flies. Fruit just drops off the trees. There is quite a lot of rain, so that the vegetation is very lush and the island very green. Roads are a luxury. Most of the time Landrovers crawl across jungle tracks, through streams and over boulders. Our guides have been excellent, Joceline has been particularly popular, her English and driving are superb, and her knowledge of the cannibal tribes that were here just a century ago, the local history and current industry, and the flora and fauna is very profound. It is sort of comforting to learn that the poor captives, destined to be the next day’s supper, were drugged into a stupor whilst in their larder in the ground. At least they were insensible to their fate!

ISLAND WARRIORS AND A TRADITIONAL PIG ROAST

On Monday night we were treated to a fabulous hog-roast, or “Hima’a”. A pig, a goat, some fish and bananas were all wrapped in leaves, put in a cage, wrapped in more banana leaves and buried in a pit of super-heated stones. Three hours later they were all dug up and a sumptuous feast ensued. This wonderful spread was delicious and was accompanied by delicious local vegetables and desserts. To top the bill, were were entertained to a colourful and energetic display of local dancing. Grass skirts on comely young ladies and fierce warriors with spears cavorted across the stage to the frenetic beat of local drums.

ON TO CORAL ATOLLS AND "SAILING THE DREAM"

And so the idyllic stopover, in this volcanic Garden of Eden with its high mountains and cliffs, comes to an end. Yachts have now left their moorings in Taiohae to venture forth into the coral islands of the Tuamotu archipelago. These beautiful islands are very different. They are low-lying coral reefs with fabulous opportunities for swimming with brightly-coloured fish or walking along a deserted silver strand. One wonders whether they will chance upon a Robinson Crusoe or Ben Gunn.

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THE BLUE WATER RALLY VISITS THE MARQUESAS ISLANDS
Visitors to our website will see from Yacht Position Reports that Rally yachts are arriving in the Marquesas Islands in early April. Some will visit other islands of the Marquesas group, but our stopover is centered on Taiohae Bay in Nuku Hiva, the capital of the Marquesas Islands.

A little history and geography ......
The Marquesas group of islands consists of 6 large and 6 small islands, ranging in height between 1300 and 4000 feet. Unlike other islands of French Polynesia they rise from the deepest ocean waters of the world and have no outer coral reefs.

The Islands were settled centuries ago by the Polynesian explorers and the relicts of their civilisation can be seen throughout the Islands, particularly in the Tiki sites - places where cannibalistic rituals were carried out. One of the earliest visitors to the Islands was a Spanish explorer and in later years the Marquesas were visited by several famous explorers, including Captain Cook. Herman Melville based his book "Taipei" on Taipivai, a village in Nuku Hiva and Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel are buried in Hiva Oa.

Daniels Bay

Hatiheu

One of the tallest waterfalls in the world

Himaa - a pig roast

Refuelling

The Blue Water Rally and the Marquesas
Our world rallies have been coming to Nuku Hiva for over 10 years and this is the 6th world rally we have organised which has used Taiohae Bay as a base. Taiohae is the administrative capital of the Marquesas and boasts some quite sophisticated facilities, whilst not spoiling the very special atmosphere of its locale. There are shops, restaurants and hotels - all on a small-scale and there are schools and other facilities for the local population.

The Blue Water Rally has been made very welcome over the years and this year is no exception, with the local people welcoming rally crews to their island on 7 April. There will also be other events organised for the crews by our manager, Richard Bolt, who is there from 1 April.

* Traditional Pig Roast and Music Evening
* 4 x 4 trips across the Island visiting traditional tiki sites in the rainforest with a lunch at the beautiful Hatiheu Bay
* A cruise to Daniel's Bay and, for the adventurous, a trek to one of the highest waterfalls in the world

There is, of course, some bureaucracy - crews have to officially "arrive" in French Polynesia at Nuku Hiva. There will also be a need for the yachts to refuel and crews to do some shopping before sailing on towards Tahiti via the beautiful coral atolls of the Tuamotus group.

We anticipate yachts leaving Nuku Hiva around 13 April for independent cruising in the Tuamotus and to meet again in Tahiti on 1 May.