Dear all,
We have now safely anchored, bow and stern, in Tahauku Bay in Hiva Oa.
Thanks for keeping track of us these last weeks. The first few days after
the incident were quite stressful, but as we got more confidence in our
emergency measures and got to know the limits they would safely accept, we
started enjoying our crossing. We were of course very lucky with the
weather. One night there was a bit more wind and we actually saw 30 knots on
the anemometer for about a second. The rest were nice force fives but for
the last 24 hours, when we had to sail downwind in 8 knots of wind which is
annoying in combination with the swell. The genoa then backs on the wave and
subsequently fills with a bang that we don’t like when the boat is healthy,
let alone now. We dropped the sails and waited things out till we got about
12 knots again and started sailing. That lasted till midnight when the wind
again dropped to unpractical limits. That was good, because we wanted to run
the engine for a number of hours anyway to give the batteries an extra
charge.
Entering the bay was really nice. A lot of familiar faces gave us a warm
welcome. Especially Toccata was very helpful with instructions about setting
both bow and stern anchor; a first for us. It went well on the first
attempt, although we did reset it with Toccata in the dinghy to realign the
boat once more. They also brought over a beer for breakfast.
We’ll now stay here, probably for a couple of weeks, until we know when our
spares are going to arrive in Nuku Hiva, about 60 miles from here. Then
we’ll move over there and carry out the repairs. X-Yachts is going all out
to get the replacement tie rod made and Kuiper, the insurer, is helping to
get it shipped to us. Whilst waiting we are going to discover this lovely
island. The approach was absolutely stunning. It is a very green island, so
it didn’t surprise us that we were welcomed by a pretty drenching shower.
That fortunately held off until all the anchoring was done and we were
enjoying that beer. Now we are going to sleep. Sleep a lot!