Mountain hopping in French Polynesia

24 hours while anchoring in paradise

Picture: view from Misty in Oa Pou

It’s April. I am currently in Rangiora, 200 nautical miles from Tahiti. It’s 28 degrees (at 8am) but feels more if there is no breeze. During the day it’s sunny most of the time and at night we have showers and thunderstorms.

French Polynesia is one of the most remote places on Earth anyone can travel to. So far We have visited the Marquesas (Hiva Oa, Nuku Hiva and Oa Pou) and Tuamotus (Kauehi, Fakarava and Rangiora). The Marquesas Islands have mountains, loads of green vegetation, jungles and waterfalls, while the Tuamotus Islands are atolls. They are flat, full of palm trees and the middle of these islands have a hole formed by the crater of an underwater volcano. It’s like a lake surrounded by a half mile land ring with usually one or two gaps where boats can sail in and out.

Picture: Mark and Laura walking towards the mountains of Oa Pou, the island which inspired the Disney movie called Moana

Picture: atoll view from Misty

Picture: Misty sailing in the middle of the atoll showed on the chart plotter

All these paradise islands are underwater mountains/volcanos. As you sail away from them the depth of the water changes from a few meters to 4 km within minutes. I am so glad that I cannot see the depth as it could look pretty terrifying especially for those with fear of heights.

It is special to be here and most of the time I feel grateful for being able to visit places like French Polynesia but sometimes it's not that straight forward.

I have been living on Misty since beginning of November 2022 and sometimes I feel that my life became an endless routine of tasks. Pleasant and not so pleasant tasks.

For example, here is the job list we had after arriving to the Marquesas:

1. Fix headsail

2. Fix fridge

3. Polish the stainless steel

4. Clean the waterline of the hull

5. Fix toilet lid in aft head (head=bathroom)

6. Buy new halyard

7. Provisioning

8. Do laundry

9. Refill gas bottles

10. Rinse off salt from hatches

11. Glue Captain’s broken coffee cup

12. Change oil in engine

13. Change the valve in the holding tank pump (this was a nasty job)

14. Etc.

Footnote for the job list above: we have been either well prepared for this voyage or simply lucky because so far we have had no major issues like other boats such as: problems with watermaker or generator, ripped sails, problems with autopilot, cracked exhaust pipe, leaking in the bilge, broken halyards, new parts unavailable locally so had to fly to the US, dental emergencies, battery explosion, standing rigging issues, breaking the mast or sinking.

There is a saying ‘going on holiday’ amongst Misty crew when we forget the job list and just enjoy the company of fellow sailors, the local restaurants, go on a tour or just walk around aimlessly without thinking about the chores that needs to be done before we set sail again.

Let me try to describe a day on Misty when we are anchoring in two versions: working day vs holiday.

A DAY ON MISTY WHILE ANCHORING IN PARADISE:

0600-0900

Working day:

as there is no shade when you anchored, the temperature below deck will rise together with the sun which makes all the jobs below deck even more difficult so it's always a good practice to schedule those as early as possible. In this part of the world the days and nights are equally 12 hours long and it’s from 6am until 6pm.

So, you wake up, grab a cup of coffee or tea, go to the chart table and check the jobs list. You pick something that fits your skills and off you go.

Let's say you have chosen to take care of the laundry.

We don't have a washing machine on Misty so what happens is that everyone washes in a bucket a few personal items while we are underway and hang the clothes on the side of boat to dry, but when we are in a place where there is laundry service, you clean all the beddings, towels, etc.

Its 7am(ish), you had a coffee, you collected the dirty clothes but it’s too early to go ashore so you check on with the others to see if they need any help.

As Mark is already deep in the engine room cleaning the filters and getting ready to change the oil you help him. For someone who never changed oil (like me) this job could look like a complicated task but it's not really. It’s uncomfortable because of the small space you need to work in, it’s dirty and sweaty but manageable.

I am really enjoying learning about the mechanics of the diesel engine.

Picture: Beata in the engine compartment

Holiday:

You sleep until you can sleep, but around 8am the cabin will be over 30 degrees so you will wake up anyway unless you have booked a tour which usually starts between 7-9am which means you need to launch the dinghy and go ashore to the meeting point. Or if other people have other plans, you need to find someone who can take you ashore and bring back the dinghy.

0900-1200

Working day:

you still helping Mark in the engine room and it's getting hot. Sucking out the oil is not a quick job but at least you have time to check all the other parts of the engine and point out things that needs more attention. Like the air or water filters.

[So much technical details, I know, but I am kind of proud that I can write about it so sorry for boring those who are not into mechanics!]

Holiday:

you are ready for the day. Had some breakfast, ideally did some yoga on the aft deck, went for a swim around the boat with the friendly reef sharks and listening to the VHF Channel 72 for info about who is doing what around you.

Picture: Beata doing yoga on the aft deck in the morning

Picture: friendly sharks. Credit to Laura for the photos. Follow here in Instagram @lostbylaura

Or, you can choose to buy a day pass to a nearby hotel, and spend a day at the pool, listening to music, reading, writing a blog (like the one I did about crossing the Pacific Ocean: LINK)

Picture: happy Beata at the swimming pool

1200-1500

Working day:

it's the time for jobs which are not below deck nor under the sun which means either cleaning the bottom of the boat or going ashore to drop the laundry. Also, in the meantime you realised that you can get the gas bottles refilled while you ashore. You wonder if it’s possible to carry four – blue Ikea bag - sized bags and two gas bottles. But you try it anyway with the hope of some handsome, strong local guy will wait for you at the dinghy dock to give you a hand.

Holiday:

most likely by now you had at least two visitors who swam to Misty or came on a paddle board for a chat. Going around like this, being invited for a coffee, wine or beer is good fun! You chat about sailing, food, the weather, perhaps about some gossip about other boats and share local knowledge of the island and dinner plans.

Picture: guest arriving to Misty

1500-1800

Working day:

while you were away dropping the laundry and finding the place to refill the gas bottles the rest of the crew added three - recently discovered - new items to the job list so you pick a new one: cleaning the shower filters. It’s not a pleasant job but at least quick. Happy days! Except that it takes 20 minutes to get access to the water filters as it’s buried under layers of stuff in the deepest point of the boat, so you need to make a huge mess and then clean up.

[By the way, the handsome strong local guy - this time - was not at the dinghy dock, so you strained your arms and feel dead tired already.]

Holiday:

had a beer already and something nice for lunch. After siesta, snorkelling around the boat or hopping on the paddle board is the right thing to do the cool down.

Picture: Beata snorkelling at Fakarava

If there is a restaurant on land, it’s the obvious choice. The last time you did a provisioning was eight weeks ago in Panama and the fridge haven’t seen fresh veggies, fruits, or even dairy products for some time not to talk about beer or wine.

1800-2100

Working day:

it’s beer a clock (yes, sailors drink a lot) and also sunset so it’s getting more difficult to get things done (because the shortage of electricity). There is always tomorrow so let’s go eat something on land.

Holiday:

As part of the World ARC, sometimes there is an organised evening programme and you don’t want to miss those. It’s a perfect opportunity to see everyone at one place at the same time from the fleet, share some stories (good and bad) and celebrate the previous voyage and local culture.

Picture: Haka dance at Hiva Oa

2100-2400

Working day:

already asleep

Holiday:

Either had an early night and you are already asleep or dancing somewhere on the beach and swimming naked with fellow young sailors.

(Sorry, don’t have picture of the skinny-dipping young sailors.)

0001-0300

Working day:

Sleeping with open hatches (windows) to get some air going in the boat but the rain woke you up. Rain means you need to get out of bed and close the hatches otherwise everything will be wet. Easy job but then you need to wait until the rain stops so you can open the windows again to avoid suffocating yourself.

It sounds a hassle but after six months it easy to get used to it.

Holiday:

Sleeping. Most likely super tired and quite tipsy so you may or may not have woken up for the rain to close the hatches.

0300-0600

Working day and holiday: the coolest part of the night, so sleeping like a baby and slowly but surely waking up with the sun around 0545.

Summary

Long story short, Shaun was right, when he was talking (in his latest blog) about routines and same-ness in sailing whether sailing or anchoring in a bay. But he was wrong about me not wanting to walk to the pub in mud for a good pint.

Honestly, after six months, it would be nice to have a break from all the heat, sunshine, ocean, palm tree, sailing, living on a boat stuff but I have decided to do it in one go.

I am creating stillness in my days with meditation which helps enormously and trying to adapt to the daily challenges as they happen.

Life is not a fairy tale nor is sailing around the world but without being successful during difficult workdays it’s impossible to appreciate easy holidays irrespective of where you are in the world.