The Marquesas!

Day 26 (28 May 2022) 07:03am

Land Ho! We are overjoyed and amazed to think we have sailed about 4,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean. We haven’t seen land since Day 1. Now below some clouds we see the mountainous Fatu-Hiva, the southern most island of the Marquesas. Last night we shared toasts and memories knowing we’ll likely arrive mid day today.

We often talk about how far we’ve come and how long ago it seems we left Panama. It seems like ages ago. Even our equator-crossing ceremony seems like years ago. But here we are. Day 26, we see land again.

Our constant companion on this voyage has been flying fish. They have been incredible to watch carving up the air just above the water as they flee from a predator, the boat or when they just get spooked. Sometimes, when their luck has run out they flee the water only to be plucked out the air by a bird diving into the forray. It’s quite entertaining to watch the chase which often lasts a number of seconds and usually ends with a splash as the flying fish goes back to its true element.

Marquesas Day 2
Fatu-Hiva is an incredible place. 3,000 foot green mountains. We are transitioning back to land animals. After arriving, we had handshakes and hugs all around. It was quite a moment to put the anchor down and turn off the motor. Big smiles. Mission complete. We are here!

Getting to land we all felt weak in the legs. A short walk to scout for the start of a waterfall hike left us all tired and as soon as we got back to Noonsun, we all took a nap. This was to supplement my sleep the night before which was incredible. No midnight to 2am watch, no hull slamming, no noises,no sail changes, just a gentle rock with wonderful cool air coming in the now open hatch. Splendid.

The waterfall was awesome with a big and deep pool below it. We swam in wonderfully cool water after a nice hike, legs feeling better already.

Today we did a long hike up a steep road and reached almost 2,000 feet amongst beautiful green hills. It felt like we climbed into New Zealand. So beautiful and we could look down the steep vegitated slopes and see Noonsun waiting for us.

As the sun went down, Calder and I went ashore to climb a steep hillside in search of mangos, whose presence we had confirmed with the drone. One of us would knock the mango from the branch with a long boat hook, the other would test their reflexes while balancing on the slope and trying to catch them as they fell. We successfully walked away with 14 of incredible mangos which we ate for dessert.

Tomorrow to Hova-Oa! It is there where I’ll have to plug in and connect to the internet for the first time in a month. I’m not really looking forward to that but it’s necessary. It’s been a wonderful time without regular email and it’s always good to have a break from the internet.

We all excited to see another island soon! Still feels incredible to have made the long voyage and now be rewarded with beautiful places! That’s all for now!