Author: sailawaysarantium

We sailed to Hiva Nuku and arrived in the dark. I certainly do not love arriving in the dark as navigating into a dark anchorage (no nav. Lights) and with a shit plotter (bcs I didn’t upgrade the navionics card..) is less exciting! I do have three iPads and phones with details, so all good… but at times you can get turned around, but I feel confident by now and I think ”I have it down”! And ”I got this” I keep telling myself.

But we’re here…😉 and so are the goats…

We are heading from Hiva Oa to one of the three northern ones! Hopefully Nuku Hiva!

It’s a lovely morning here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!! Goodmorning world😘

But there were no sign of people in the village, just 3 buildings and a ton of banana and grapefruit trees…

So I now get why sailors say ”sail to Fatu Iva first, then work your way north”…

For those who are doing the puddle jump in the near future, aim for Fatu Iva once you get into the ITCZ. Fatu Iva is a less inhabited island and I don’t think you can actually clear in there. However, many sailors go there first, relax and recover and then head to hiva Oa to check in. No one seems to care! This would have been a great option for us, as I now may not get there at all. Oh well, paradise seems to be all around me!

So…… We got up at 05.00 to head to Fatu Iva but once we cleared land, we hit big winds and big swell. ”Hmmm, this is not going to be a relaxing sail for the next 8 hours”. So we turned around and headed north instead! Since Fatu Iva is south east of us we would be bucking the wind and swell! Not for me today!

On another note, however, relates to checking in…. Checking into French Polynesia! Since I’m out of Mexico and checked into FP, I can now share this.

When I went to the port captains office in Guaymas, I was told that I should send in all my papers to their office via my marina where I was hauled up. I did write in my blog about my experiences going to Guaymas port authority trying to check out and it all seemed great. Well, what I didn’t share was that when I got back to my marina, and once I had sent my paperwork in, the owner of the marina contacted me, and said that the paperwork were incorrect, but never said what exactly I needed. In addition, they wanted 16 000 Mex Pesos which is 800 USA dollars … I knew this was total BS as another fellow sailor a week before checked out of Guaymas and it cost 400 Mexican Pesos. The owner of the marina was great and said that they are just trying to make money and I should just leave…So, I thought with my new Swedish passport (EU) with NO Mexican stamp in it I would be good to clear into French Polynesia. I also double checked with a few sailors who had recently checked into FP and they told me that the French government do not want to see Mexican paperwork. They do ask where you came from but don’t seem to care to see any paperwork. They are more interested in how many days you’re staying for and where you’re going after. I think it’s so they can trace you in case of emergency!

A few minutes after we dropped the anchor a Hallberg Rassy Ketch pulled in. And of course with a Swedish flag flying. This is the fourth Hallberg Rassy sailing vessel owned by Swedes I’ve ran into here in French Polynesia… 🤢

I quickly put my dinghy in and fired up the engine to head over to S/V Angelina and to say ”Hej Hej, vart är ni på väg?”

A bit later we got invited over for a visit. Turns out they, Eva o Mats have been cruising around the for the past 8 years and are heading same direction as I am… west and more west!

I have had incredible experiences sailing from bay to bay here on Tahuata Island. We have been playing with mantas, dolphins, turtlesand sharks! I think I have spent more time in the water than on the water.

I am setting the alarm for early morning wake up as we are heading to the next island south of here. It is 40 Nmiles from here. I am hoping for a beam reach but I think we will be on a close reach as once past this island we are in the trade winds again. If it is too strong, we will turn around and head to the northern islands instead! No point pushing it, and all the islands are amazing here.

I’m walking around in awe of French Polynesia. It’s so lush here, people are amazing… and then of course the mantas….

Amber who crewed with me from Victoria, BC to La Paz, Mexico went missing two days ago. Her boat ”Gypsy Soul” was found washed up onshore in Nanaimo. Amber remains missing. Evidence points to that she fell overboard. I’m heartbroken. During our passage, I could always trust and count on her. She was always ready to take on projects and discuss plans. An amazing young woman who will forever be in my ♥️

So, the check-in went smoothly! After declaration was filled out on line, they stamped my passport and off I went to pay the city a tax for staying in their waters!

We rented a car and drove around the island, bought another months worth of groceries, cleaned and organized the boat! We dropped off laundry yesterday that will be ready tomorrow hopefully! I also tootled around the anchorage to meet sailors from around the world! I found a bunch of Swedes, Norwegians, French and a Canadian/US sailors! The weather has been wet here! A ton of rain is expected in the north Marquises so many are heading to the islands south of here! We’re undecided what to do! I’m anxious to get out of this anchorage though as it’s rolly and water is brown from all the soil runoff!