We are leaving Prins Henrik on Apataki

We will have to leave for Europe. Rainer's father is not well and we feel it is the best if Rainer is around his parent's home in the time to come. With no internet access on Apataki and only a poor telephone connection, we could not book our flight from there. However, two days after our arrival at the boatyard we got the possibility to get on the mailboat. It will take us 2½ days to get to Papeete by that means. From there we can take an international flight but before that we had to prepare the Prince for the one and a half year on Apataki where it will be dug down into the coral sand.

Apataki Carenage

An exotic, warm and welcoming place. The carenage has not opened offically because the travellift has still to arrive and the bar is not built yet but we were accepted anyway. We have a good feeling. The owners and staff are very nice. This boatyard may become an attractive alternative to Raiatea or Papete for any skipper who will have to get his or her yacht on the hard, be it just for some days or for a long term storage. The Apataki Carenage lies on S 015 33,5 and W 146 14,5. Contact us or call the Carenage on (689) 311 036 (some French an asset but not necessary) if you are interested in further information.

Apataki

The following day we set our course across the unsurveyed atoll for some 17 miles. We had to progress whith great caution, one of us eyeballing from the bow in order to avoid pearl farms and coral banks.

Apatki, northern entrance

With light winds we drifted from Manihi to Apataki. And again we were lucky: We found the tide nearly at slack when we entered. Most of the time the currents in these atolls are outgoing on the western, the leeward part of the atoll.
The anchorage on the norther side of Apataki is shown in different publications, protected from the wind by a huge reef area. In reality this protecting reef does not exist, nore does the annchorage. Again we had to search for acceptable depths very close to the coral shore. But there we found a lovely spot of the world in calm conditions and surrounded by marvellous snorkeling sites.

Manihi again

First night we went to an anchorage, where we anchored in some 36 feet of water and where we were surrounded by stonehard coralheads, which had grown up to just below the surface.
Later we were towed into the tiny harbour, where we met Roland and his family. At his house we could get access to the internet. People are friendly here and children love to drop by for a “chat”, a cup of juice or some bisquits.
When leaving the atoll, nobody could tell us, at what time we could expect slack, so later we found us stuck for more than 1 hour in the counter current of the raising tide, until a friendly soul tugged us out.

Manihi atoll on the Tuamotus

Our first atoll to visit was Manihi. The entrance into a atoll on the Tuamotus is often tricky and sometimes hazardous. Sailboats without an engine have to proceed with extra caution and best with local assistance. At the same time we did not even know when the tide would go in or out when we arrived, but we were lucky. On the fotos you can see the entrance in calm conditions. On the chart sketch everything looks so easy but currents can run at up to 6 knots in the entrance and, once inside, one has to watch out for coralheads, lingering just below the surface. The average depth inside the atoll is about 16 fathoms, corresponding to about 30 meters, even at the anchorages.

Passage from Hiva Oa to Manihi, Tuamotu

Mid april we arrived on the Marquesas, that is on the Hiva Oa. Because of Easter hollidays we had to wait a bit until we could clear in, but when the Gendarmeri finally opened, it was a pleasure! No more corrupt Port Captains, on more greedy agents or allmighty Officers of any kind. The french gendarme behind the counter was efficent, friendly, polite and smiling. Thus it took us less than 15 minutes to have the paperworks done, with no fees of any kind.
We explored the region close by the harbour, which was in walking distance. The artists Paul Gauguin and Jaques Brel ended their lives here and we visited their graves. On an other ancient graveyard we found a historic tiki. Those tikis have some common roots with the statues on the Easter Island, which we missed, by choosing this route over the Pacific Ocean.
The hills of Hiva Oa are covered by a tropical forrrest. Lots of trees carry a heavy burdon of exotic fruits, one of them beeing the huge mangotree. The delicious fruits cover many a roadside.
But we did not stay long. In a familiar matter Rainer will possibly have to fly back to Europe before time and we would like to be on the Tuamotu Archipel by that time. So we left Hiva Oa only four days after our arrival, at first only for Tahuata, a smal island just a few miles to the south, for some snorkeling. But then, less than 24 hours later we left again. This time for the Tuamous, some 500 miles further to the west.

Hiva Oa again

Hiva Oa

A hiking tour in the mountains of Hiva Oa, Marquesas.

Hiva Oa, the first photos

After 30 days and 4 hours at sea we are finally anchored again: A bit rolly but wonderfully situated.

We will provide more fotos within the days to come.

Pacific passage 3

There were some repairs to do on the passage. One of them was our Windpilot windvane.
We had some animal passangers: Shells on the hull, which reduced our speed conciderably and a little crab, which lived in the drain of the cockpit.

Pacific passage 2

At times we had wind and rain, at times we had no wind at all. Often we were followed by schools of dolphins which displayed stuntshows of the thrilling type.
There was much time to do nothing. Luckily we had lots of books as well as audiobooks with us, but the best thing of all was Rainer reading out for the skipper at night before bunktime.