Each bay we arrive in seems more magical than the last. Haahopu is on the west side of the island and in the lee from the wind and waves. It’s still breezy at times and wavy too, but not at the same level that we’ve gotten accustomed to. It’s actually been cool enough at night to want a sheet or even a light blanket!
When our 3 boat group arrived there was only one other boat. Even though we were friendly they left pre-dawn the next morning. There’s just one very remote road that comes here that leads to a cement platform on the water. Fishing, tourist, or local boats can pull up to it but it’s rudimentary. There were some people car camping there the first night and some stayed to hang out while others went off fishing. Over at the end of the beach closest to the road end there’s a makeshift shelter other locals have come to picnic at. It was all busier during the week than over the weekend, not what I was expecting.
We’re anchored closest to the shore of our three boats in about 16 feet of water at low tide. That’s the least amount of water we’ve ever anchored Rocket Science in, maybe we are getting more brave. We can see the bottom pretty well too, another first. How many firsts will there be on this adventure?
We swam to the beach, around the bay, and to the fishing dock towards the point. Jason and Dylan thought they might find some lobster for our paella on the beach that night but no luck. That didn’t affect the paella though, Ohana brought some prawns and Morning Stars brought some chicken to add, there was plenty. Everyone gathered whatever wood they could find and many of us, including the youngest, Klara, had fun with the machetes chopping the wood into appropriate sizes. The fire and ring of stones were perfect for the paella and it turned out fine. The bay with our three boats, setting sun, kids playing guitars, and great company made for an idyllic evening. Even Greg played guitar and sang some of his old favorites, or what he could remember of them. The next night Amanda brought a wok to the fire pit and made fried bread filled with meat and cheese over the fire, they were delicious! What fun to share such good meals with good people on the beach.
Amanda, Hanna, and I went paddle board chatting one morning and saw some fishermen out diving and collecting at the point. We gave them a wide berth to not disturb what they were doing. Later they spent hours on shore cleaning fish and swinging octopus, beating their flesh on the cement to soften it to be edible. No wonder we saw some sharks around while they were cleaning. Greg and Griffin had a close encounter on one swim that left them spooked. Another time when I got in the water I noticed a bunch of jellyfish right away along with some tentacles floating around. Having learned our lesson already, we were done swimming there and ready to move on.
On our last full day at Haahopu Dylan went out fishing and got turned around at sea. He was on the radio and Griffin went out to meet him in our dingy but Griffin didn’t find him. Then Ohana’s dinghy went out with 3 adults to look for him, his vhf was spotty and it was really hard to communicate about surroundings and what he saw. They didn’t have any luck finding him either- just a little ocean swell does a really good job of obscuring things closer to the water. Finally, Amanda and Jason pulled their hook and went out and found him almost 6nm away. Whew. That was stressful for all of us. Really time to leave here now… but first grilled fish from the fishing adventure on Ohana.
The trip south down the west coast and around the corner was short. Turning into Hakaui was shockingly beautiful. Steep hillsides with tall rock spires jutting out of the deep green foliage surrounded the two bays. In Daniels Bay to the right was a sandy beach at the head of the bay, a house and gardens up in one corner, and goats braying on the steep hillsides amongst the trees and cliffs. The kids got onto paddleboards and went ashore to explore. The sun disappeared early behind the tall cliffs and they were back soon enough. They had met a young New Zealander who was camping on the beach and told him about sailing.
That evening we all hung out on Ohana and noticed a few very small flying gnats or flies. They were like fruit flies but a little larger wings and were only interested in lights or maybe getting out of the breeze. The next morning in the cockpit while eating breakfast and drinking coffee there were a bunch more of those bugs. Gradually, there were more and more and more of them until there were so many we couldn’t breathe without taking some in. I started sweeping them off the cockpit floor and by the time I got to the back of the cockpit I started at the front again and got another dustpan full. We talked with our buddy boats and everyone was having the same problem, it was making us crazy! Ohana left first, then Morning Stars, then us. The swarms had definitely slowed by then but it was going to take a while to get them out of all the nooks and crannies of the boat.
Anchored back in Atuona, the bay we had made first landfall in, it was nice to be in a known area. We went to shore for some bread and a few veggies, what a treat. There were plans for everyone to come over to Rocket Science after dinner but it was July 29th and there had been a large earthquake that sent a tsunami throughout the Pacific Ocean. It was scheduled to arrive where we were in sometime after midnight. All boats were asked to leave the harbor and get offshore where we wouldn’t notice the rise and fall of the water level. In the bays where it gets shallower we could end up aground as the water rescinded before the waves arrival and then we could be thrown onto the beach. So, no fun hanging out with buddies, just prepping the boat and ourselves quickly to go out to sea. So many boats were out there just sailing around all night! I got sick after a while (mostly nerves?), Griffin fell asleep, and Greg was so amped up I’m not sure he would’ve fallen asleep anyway. I was able to navigate after a while and Greg rested into the morning. We saw most of the boats on AIS were going back to the harbor since any wave or waves were long since past. Exhausted as we were, we headed back in even though the official word that it was okay to come back didn’t come for another few hours. Our friends on Ohana decided to take advantage of the time and start their journey to the Tuomotus and Fakarave atoll. They want to get there to check it out before their older son comes. We’ll follow them as soon as we’re ready. Morning Stars needs to head southeast in the Marquesas to get parts for their generator and they’ll catch up again as soon.
