***Life on board***
LAND HO! It's 11:30am on this fine May first day, our twentieth day at sea, and LAND HO! the island of Fatu Hiva bears dead ahead at a distance of about 32 nautical miles according to the GPS. Will and I were sitting in the cockpit discussing when we thought we would first sight land. Will guessed 10 miles out and I, between 15 and 20. I looked out ahead off our bow just for kicks and... "Well I can see it now, so we're both wrong." What an agreeable thing to be wrong about! LAND HO!
With about 30 miles to the island and another 15-20 to get around it to the west side where the anchorage is, it will be a race against daylight to make it in by sunset tonight. We are bound for the anchorage of Hanavaee on the North West quadrant of the island.
We motored past the northern side of the island all the while looking up in awe of the very tall and lush cliffs covered in trees and grass that make up the middle of the island. With seemingly no flat ground anywhere it's a wonder that anyone can live here.
6:30pm - Land Fall
With the sun setting we dropped anchor in a small cove with about 15 other boats. We were greeted by a French couple who gave us some great info on the village here and how to go about clearing in with the 1 police man that lives here. We were also told that there is one shop that doesn't have much but that there is a local lunch held on the beach tomorrow that we should go to. We can't wait to explore the island some tomorrow.
***The Boat***
With power on the low side, running the motor for the last hurrah today into the anchorage was a welcome break for the batteries.
***Communication***
With still no connection on the ham radio for sending emails, this (and the other updates) will likely make it to the website at a later date.
***Weather***
We are crossing our fingers for a little bit more wind so we can hold a pace that will put us in the anchorage with enough daylight to spare. Once the sun goes down, it will be pitch black save for the stars until the moon rises, about 2 hours later. The wind is currently out of the East at about 8 knots average and we are making barely 5 knots average with the main and #1 headsail wing on wing.
Position (12:00am): Land HO!
10 deg 26' S
138 deg 09' W
Position (00:00pm): At anchor
10 deg 28' S
138 deg 40' W
Alan and the Crew