French Polynesia part 

Have your read “Into the South Pacific Ocean” you know that we had just arrived in the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. We sailed here from Puerto Montt in Chile via Easter Island and are currently in the Gambier Islands.

This group of islands is a little special, not only in the sense that it’s like a mixture of the low atolls in the Tuamotos and the rocky volcanic islands of the Marquesas, the sailing clientele here is also a bit special. As the island group is located in the far south-east end of French Polynesia, it’s not the natural first stop for most cruisers coming from Panama, but rather for those who come from Chile after having sailed up through Patagonia's fantastic archipelago, maybe even been to Antarctica and rounded the Cape Horn. In other words, sailors who have a lot in common with us. Consequently, there were many pleasant chats where we could share experiences and tell exciting stories from one of the world's most challenging sailing waters. For the same reason the Gambier is not directly overpopulated by sailors. We were probably around twenty boats maximum at any given time.. Quite enough in our opinion.

The Gambier Archipelago

We now had a few weeks to get to know this island world before Susanne's daughter Saga would come and sail with us for an unspecified amount of time. She would come from Paris via Tahiti and then eventually leave us again somewhere when she got tired of us. An interesting prospect.

The village of Rikitea is the natural base in Gambier and from there it is no longer than a few hours sailing to any other anchorage inside the great ring reef. You can choose between everything from a bay on the leeward side of a high rocky island to anchoring at a small motu right by the ring reef. A motu is a small island on the reef that often takes no more than 10 – 30 minutes to walk around. It can be anything from completely bare, have a few palm trees or dense vegetation with an abundance of bird life. You pick your favorite. Here you can actually find your own little paradise. However, you have to be careful with the navigation. It is often shallow with lots of coral heads so a lookout in the bow is important, but once you arrive and anchored in in crystal clear water with lots of colorful fish al around it’s an experience. Our favorites motu was Tauna. About 250 m long and 70 m wide. We stopped here several times. Walked around our own little island, snorkeled with coral fish and black tip sharks who used the shallow water along the beaches as nurseries for their newborns.

The motu Tauna

A Picasso triggerfish

A Parrotfish

A baby Blacktip shark

Another Gambier specialty is the very nice couple named Valerie and Hervé on the island of Taravai. Every Sunday, weather permitting, they hosted a bbq potluck for visiting sailors on their property. A tradition they have maintained for many many years. Those who wanted to socialize after a week of sailing around the islands could gathered here for a party and various games. You could play everything from beach volleyball to kubb or just hang around with a beer and have a good chat. 

Hervé managing the BBQ

At Valerie and Hervé place you could also buy home-grown fresh fruit and vegetables and  frozen meat from their own stock

Saga, Valerie and Susanne

When Saga finally arrived, we had anchored right at the airport, which is very convenient. When you see the plane coming in for landing on the runway built on the reef, you take the dinghy into the small harbor and pick up your guests. Those who are not picked up by sailors will take the ferry to Rikita. We hadn't seen Saga in over three years so we she finally arrived it was a long sought after reunion. We had already explored the islands quite well, so we could offer Saga a good start on her Polynesian adventure with the usual snorkeling and hikes to the highest peaks, etc. Saga naturally had a backpack full of boat stuff with her as it had been a long time since we had been near a decent boat chandlery. So while mother and daughter could hang out properly, the captain had time to makea lot of big and small repairs.

Picking up Saga from the air port

Hiking in the Gambier

After a few months in Gambier, it was time to move on. The course was set almost due north and nearly 800 nautical miles, towards Fatu Hiva, which is the southernmost island in the Marquesas group. For Saga, this was a real adventure as it was her first sailing trip longer than a one-day leg. She has spent more time with us onboard than any of our daughters, but then it has only been day sailings in Sweden, the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Now we had around five days of open sea sailing ahead of us.

Sailing northbound to the Marquesas

Saga making her first landfall after 800 nm open ocean sailing.

All went well and after a fairly undramatic passage in the southeast trade winds we arrived at the "Bay of Virgins" on Fatu Hiva. The place is actually called the Penis Bay in the local language, but you can't write that on a western chart. However, when you see all the high peaked rock formations surrounding the bay you understand why. It is probably one of the most photographed anchorages. There is no getting away from the fact that the surroundings are spectacular and so is the interior of the island with high pointed rock formations, deep tropical jungle and lots of coconut palms. 

Fatu Hiva "Bay of Virgins"

For those who grew up in the 60s and 70s and devoured all the childhood books of long-distance sailing, it is a well-known motif from black and white photographs in books by the Swedish pioneers Sten and Brita Holmdahl as well as Susane & Eric Hiscock and others. When they set off in the 1950s and 1960s, there were maybe a total of a ten to twenty recreational boats out on the world's oceans. Today it is a completely different scenario. Around 1000 leisure boats leave the Panama Canal annually to begin their voyage across the Pacific on what is known as the "Coconut Milk Run". Little Vavau in Tonga alone receives annually 400-500 visiting pleasure boats from all corners of the world. As you understand, the paradise of Polynesia has changed quite radically in the last 50 years. For us, French Polynesia felt like the Caribbean of the Pacific Ocean. Above all, you meet many Americans and Canadians from the west coast of North America who have made their first long crossing. But another interesting observation is also that the amount of older and smaller boats is proportionally greater here than in the Caribbean. Our theory is that many Europeans get a big and comfortable boat to do one or a few seasons in the Caribbean and then they sail home and maybe sell the boat and go back to their normal life. In the Pacific you more often meet those who have long-distance sailing as a lifestyle and then you must have a boat that is equipped and adapted to the world's oceans and not larger than you can afford to keep it and sail it with a small crew. Sometimes and surprisingly we were actually not the smallest boat with our 37 feet. Of course, there are also many really large boats around 50-65 feet here, but the proportion of smaller boats is definitively larger.

Spectacular views from the interior of Fatu Hiva

The iconic "Frangipani" flower

Typical Polynesian wood carvings in process

Taking a refreshing dip after a long walk.

Manta rays in the Bay of Virgins

The Marquesas islands are spectacular, but the anchorages are usually very exposed as the islands do not have ring reefs that protect against the constant swell. Therefore, the anchorages become restless as the boats has a tendency to roll back and forth around the clock. Perhaps a bit tiring for many who have just arrived after a 30-40 day sailing from Panama or the Galapagos. But a few stops here are probably a must for most cruisers and if you're lucky, you can find bays that are reasonably protected such as e.g. Hakatea (Daniels bay) on the south side and Baie d'Anaho on the north side of Nuku Hiva. Most islands offer nice hiking trails through lush jungle and high mountains. On the larger islands, you can also rent a car or go on organized guided tours.

Hiking on Nuku Hiva

Getting some fresh supplies on the local market

When you eventually get tired of a boat that rolls around the clock, it's time to set course for the Tuamotos in the southwest. This is the exact opposite of the high Marquesas. The Tuamotos is a world of very low atolls, usually only a few meters high, and well inside the ring reef you will always find completely protected anchorages with flat water. A welcome change after a few weeks in the Marquesas, believe me.  

To be continued….