After almost a month of living in a $hitty anchorage we were ready for a quiet bay.  We left Ua Pou for a serene bay on Tahuata (prounced “ta-who-a-ta).  It was a 60nm sail heading south.  We enjoyed a lovely day with full sails and light winds.  With an average of 6-7 kts in boat speed we had hoped to catch a fish on our passage.  Matt had 3 lines out. 

Fishing, not catching

The first zing ended abruptly with a lost lure and no fish.  The second zing was even shorter with no actual hook on the fish.  The third was a doozy.  We caught a large 100lb+ yellow fin tuna.  Matt fought bravely with this fish for 3 hours.  Reeling him, then the fish dove deep and/or swam away from the boat.  Then we reel him and rinse and repeat for 3 hours.  Matt was exhausted and had blisters on his hand from reeling it in for so long. Just when we thought the fish was either tired or dead, the reel went zing again – smoking fast almost to the braid.  Then nothing.  A damn shark took our prize and left us with nothing, not even the lure.  That was 3 bites, 2 lost lures, and 1 three-hour fight.

Its called “fishing” not “catching”

When we pulled into Hanamoenoa bay it made up for the disaster fishing day.  The beauty was astounding.  Manta rays, dolphins and a few sharks call this oasis home.  A sweet sandy beach lined with palm trees lays serenely at the base of the green mountains.  Only one person, Stephen, lives in this picturesque bay.

Drone shot from shore toward the anchorage at sunrise.

Tahuata at Hanamoenoa Bay

Another drone shot from the sea facing the shore.

Hanamoenoa Bay

We were invited onto Flip Flops for Christmas lunch along with our friends on Maple.  A few other boats stopped by as well for the pot luck.  It was a lovely day meeting new friends and enjoying tasty food.

QUICK TRIP TO HIVA OA

Wayne flew in to Hiva Oa the day after Christmas.  Matt and I left Hanamoenoa bay at 0515 and motored over to Baie Tahauku in Hiva Oa.  It was only 10nm away, but it was directly into the wind, waves, and current.  We managed to arrive 2.5 hours later which was great as we had a lot to do before Wayne arrived at noon.  We filled up on gasoline, made a quick provision run at the local market and returned everything to the boat.  Then we grabbed the empty beer bottles and cart and walked 2.8 miles to the village.  We return the empty bottles and buy new full ones at a cheaper price.  We loaded up on beer and more provisions and nabbed a ride back to the dock.  Just as we finished unloading, Wayne arrived.

Hiva Oa Main Anchorage

We unpacked all of our treasures that Wayne so graciously brought to us.  A trip into town to explore in greater detail was in order.  We hoofed it back into town in search of food, but ended up finding beer.  We were all tired so we did not make it a late night.  Some fun photos in Hiva Oa’s main village of Atuona

Hiva Oa Explorations

Tahuata

We left early the next morning for Hanamoenoa bay. Back in our new favorite anchorage!  The water is a turquoise blue and you can see all the way to the white sandy bottom sea floor.  We tried to snorkel with the mantas but they swam away from us.  So, instead we enjoyed the pretty fish and cool waters.

Stephen came by the boat around dinner time and showed us how to make a traditional Marquesan meal.  He brought some octopus and coconuts along with a coconut carving tool.  He showed Matt how to cut the octopus and showed Wayne how to carve the coconut.  Once the coconuts were carved, we squeezed the milk out of the shavings.  The sauce turned out good, but the boys said the octopus was a bit “chewy” and needed another 20-30 minutes of boiling, but the sauce was tasty.

Dinner local style