SV Dawn

Thursday 21 July

Taiohae Bay, Nuku-Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia

Hello My Friends and Family,

On Tuesday July 19th at dawn I made landfall at Cap Martin the South Eastern point of Nuku-Hiva The Marquess Islands of French Polynesia.

By way of background this was my original destination however upon learning that entry to Hiva Oa an Island about 50 miles South East reopened I was heading there. Unfavorable winds did not allow me to make the course that would have made arriving at that island attractive. The course I was able to make lead me right by Nuku-Hiva so I reverted to my original plan and landed here.

I am in Baie De Taiohae about 10 miles West of the Point. This bay is a major stopping port for boats in this region and even a combination freighter cruise ship visits every 2 weeks

My approach to Nuku-Hiva was from the North through a wide channel created by an island to the East, Ua-Huka. In this area the winds were erratic and variable. I stood watch beginning at 2:30AM because of the proximity to land and the wind conditions.

After rounding the point and bearing away on a Westerly course and dawn I was struck by the rugged beauty of Nuku-Hiva. For those that have visited Hawaii these islands are nothing like them. The Marquess were thrust out of the ocean in sharp fractures not volcanic activity. They look new and forbidding, a landing almost anywhere along the coast is impossible, the few small harbors are well concealed and I could not imagine exploring this area before it was charted. It would have been a very dangerous undertaking.

As I got closer to land I was overwhelmed by the fragrance. I have heard stories of sailors smelling land for the first time after long voyages and I can confirm it is intoxicating and in this case the tropical aroma was more sensual than any perfume.

The small harbor is stunning, surrounded by mountains on 3 sides with a fairly narrow entrance. The compact town of Taiohae lies at the base of the mountains right at the waters edge. The population here is small at only 3000 so services are spare.

A few notes about time here, it is different in many ways. The time zone is GMT -9.5 the West coast US is GMT -7. Here is a half hour different than Tahiti GMT -10. What is striking is I left the longest days of the year and arrived at the shortest, it gets dark at 6:00PM. The work schedule here is unusual, many businesses close at 2:00 PM for the day. Of course they open early and are often sold out of many items by 8:00 AM.

Formalities of entry are carried out by the police department and it is a low priority for them. Some fellow cruisers waited for a week to check in, however they were not confined to their boat during that time they had free access to everything in town but were cautioned not to get into any fights! I have followed the same advice. A fight is very unlikely as everyone is so nice and helpful.

I attempted to make my entry on Tuesday afternoon however my agent in town had quit for the day. On Wednesday he told me that the Police department was at the airport today welcoming a new officer so I would need to try tomorrow. This suits me just fine as my time in FP is very limited by visa restrictions so if I get a few extra days great.

On Tuesday late afternoon I took my dinghy to town and had my first glass of Pamplemosse a citrus juice similar to but not as tart as grapefruit juice. I realized after arriving in town that I had only brought $10 of US and I had no local currency. There is very

limited acceptance of foreign currency in fact the one bank here will not accept or exchange dollars. Also credit card usage is more limited than we are accustomed to, the end result was I was given food and drink with my promise to pay tomorrow in 3 different places. Can you think of another town in the world where that would happen?

As you know I have some annoying leaks in the boat. I believe they are coming from the teak cap on my bulwarks. I belong to a forum of the same boat owners and happened to see a picture of another boat that obviously had a similar problem, his teak cap was heavily caulked to the hull where mine isn’t. So I went to the very small marine chandlery today looking for caulk. Unfortunately they only stocked very small tubes however they sent me to a hardware store that was located some distance up the mountain. After a long steep walk I came to the store, unfortunately closed for vacation for a week. Disappointed I was about to leave when the owner approached me and asked what I needed. He took me inside the closed store turned on the lights and had exactly what I needed. So I will be able to start this repair shortly where I didn’t think I would be able to get the materials needed until I got to Tahiti in a month or two. Another remarkable example of how helpful the people here have been.

On my entry into the bay at about 8:00 AM on Tuesday I was accompanied by one of the most beautiful sailing ships I have seen. A 162’ privately owned Dutch built ketch, a Dykstra design, her lines were strikingly similar to a Bristol Channel Cutter but on steroids and from the mizzenmast forward. I will send out a few pictures to folks that maybe interested in that sort of thing when I have internet sorted out. On circling her in my dinghy later I could not see any anchor line or openings for an anchor to exit from. I think it may all be handled underwater, it is so sleek. I later learned that they have an underwater anchor deployment system that had been developed for submarines.

My wonderful Yacht Club members have made me into a minor celebrity in Mexico by having my voyage covered in a newspaper in Ensenada. We will see if my notoriety garners me a free beer on my return. One of my fellow members owns a famous bar in town so I maybe in luck. Haha!

I had access to WiFi for a little while in a coffee shop today (Wednesday) and was able to see the many emails from you that I mistakenly had sent to my land email address. Thank you so much for the positive feedback and encouragement and I am so pleased that you are enjoying my accounts. For those that are not familiar with some of the sailing terms that I use you may ask for an explanation, or Google it and there is likely a YT video demonstrating many maneuvers.

It is wonderful to be here and I am slowly working on reorganizing the boat. Just taking the bags of trash off of it is a relief. Tomorrow I am hoping to get laundry underway, my water tank is full for the first time in a month, and I have a full Sunshower. There are few other things a cruiser desires. Of course there is that whole wind thing!

Ben Lindner, S/V DAWN