Day 19

Our first sighting of the Marquesas proved as perfect as the rest of this passage. Georgie and I sat in the bow, drinking in the sight of cloud-drenched cliffs and wine-dark seas. Outcroppings, towers, terraces…I wish I knew all the names for the fantastical remnants of whatever geological battle occurred all those eons ago.

We approached Nuku Hiva as the sun set, found an easy anchorage, and popped the champagne as evening set in. There might have been a tear shed and a hug exchanged.

This morning gave us time to check out the craggy, green cliffs and the roof tops of Taiohae poking up through the trees. A few other yachts bobbed along beside us in this perfectly sheltered bay. Georgie and I jumped in the water for a super-fast dip, hoping that the hammerheads rumored to prowl around the local fish-processing plant were still sleeping. They were.

But it turned out we were swimming with the other locals: a school of manta rays gracefully flipped their fins around Leona, drawn to the surface in their search for plankton. Ethereal….other-worldly…these creatures sum up the mystery of the ocean.

But then it was time to come down to earth, literally, as we went ashore to deal with the admin of customs, the gendarmerie, the mayor’s office. Georgie and I had inventoried the provisions and come up with a shopping list, David and Jeff dealt with the garbage, and we all sorted out sheets and towels and t-shirts and other bits for some seriously necessary sanitizing.

Our dance with Time continues. Nuku Hiva is 2 1/2 hours behind California. I had a surprising double take when I set my iPhone Date/Time to automatic and it changed by half an hour. That was a first. But no need to be concerned about the time: no-one is in a rush in Taiohae.. Everyone is ready to help, no doubt suppressing their guffaws as I mangle the few French phrases I remember. No Parisians here, that’s for sure.

With the help of Linda at Yacht Services, we dropped off the laundry and picked up Georgie’s longed-for popsicle. Jeff and David officially checked-in Leona, and then all four of us headed up the hill to the gendarmerie in order get our passports stamped? checked? By this time, the swaying deck of the world settled somewhat and we found our land-legs (no land-selves yet, please).

Provisioning was very successful. We found everything we could possibly need: Lays potato chips for our sacred sundowners, Nescafe instant for Jeff’s night watches, and eureka! a citrus juicer for the Leona Cocktail. Better yet, at the local farmer’s market we added dragon fruit, mangos, coconuts, cabbage leaves (for a twist on that menu favorite), eggplant, and cumbava (strongly recommended as a shampoo by the kind woman who helped us, and which I have since discovered is a Kefir Lime) to our produce hammocks.

Well, not the coconuts.

Back on board.

Some sailing tidbits.
a ketch is a boat with two masts: a main and a mizzen mast forward of the rudder post.
a mizzen mast is a small mast in the set of a boat.
a yawl is like a ketch, but the mizzen is aft of the rudder post, y’all. Sorry…couldn’t resist.
a schooner has two masts: a main and a foremast which is forward of the main.
a sloop has one mast. Like Leona. Only she is a Bermudan Sloop. Something to do with the stays and the rigging and the….something.

This is useful knowledge as we look at at the other yachts in the bay and compare them to Leona’s neat lines and stunning blue hull. Proud mama, here.

The Mario Brothers are at it again, this time putting wheels on the dinghy. David reassured Jeff that his abs will be ripped following his acrobatics over the stern rail. Jeff responded by asking for a wrench.

Nothing’s changed on Leona.