Hanamoenoa Bay, Isle Tahuata
Marquesas, French Polynesia
04/22/2004 - 05/05/2004
When we first arrived in Hanamoenoa Bay on Tahuata, Camira and Koncerto were the only two boats in the anchorage. Over the next few days, 20 boats would nearly fill this small, idyllic anchorage. There were 18 boats remaining when we left a week later.
Tahuata's Turquoise Bay
Just south of Hiva Oa, is the island to Tahuata. There are two small villages on the island, and three anchorages on the leeward side of the island. Hanamoenoa Bay, the northernmost of these anchorages is considered by some to be one of the prettiest anchorages in the South Pacific. There is no village there, just a coconut plantation and a freshwater lagoon where the wild horses come to drink.
We left Atuona and motored the 10 miles over to Tahuata in calm wind and calm seas. Only as we rounded the corner into the bay did the wind allow us to sail. We anchored near Camira, but respected the (two) other boats near solitude. The turquoise water looked inviting for swimming and snorkeling.
Robin is happy to be around water that looks inviting for swimming and snorkeling. The water visibility is up to 50 feet. The water temperature is over 83° Fahrenheit. The snorkeling is fine. The diving awaits.
A basket star and sea urchin make their way across the rugged bottom -- mostly ancient coral skeletons. Only a few types of coral survive here today.
Just off Whisper's bow, a coral head reaches up off the bottom. Tons of tiny tropical fish congregate around the fantasy-land of stacked coral cones.
In this pocket of volcanic rock, the surging waves explode out of a cave-like hole -- creating a loud rushing boom. Luckily, this only occurred at low tide -- a couple of times a day.
Another coral head reaches up toward Whisper's stern. We are anchored in 33 feet of water and it is crystal clear all the way to the bottom.
The fleet arrives...
Somehow, word got out that Hanamoenoa bay was one of the most beautiful anchorages in the Marquesas. Boats from Mexico and Panama (and the Galapagos) began arriving soon after we arrived. Some boats were making Tahuata their first landfall before going over to check-in with the Gendarmes (police) in Atuona (on Hiva Oa).
When this many boats from the Mexico fleet aggregate in one place, a party will usually coalesce. By the third night, we had our first dinghy raft-up off of Island Sonata's stern. Over 10 dinghies participated, and the passage stories flowed.
KT's Birthday party is a blast. KT receives her coronation and is crowned with a leaf and flower wreath. KT is now know as "Princess Tahuata".
Island Sonata, Waking Dream, Billabong, Solstice, Ascension, Ocean Girl, Antares I, Koncerto, Renaissance 2000, a few international boats, and Whisper had a great time catching up on their passages and plans. When Island Sonata left the party, half the raft-up dispersed, while the other half drifted out to sea. Eventually, the out-to-sea group motored the raft of about 6 dinghies back to Billabong's stern to continue the party.
KT's Birthday
A couple nights later, Emerald, Island Sonata, Billabong, Solstice, Whisper, and Koncerto would celebrate KT's (Billabong) Birthday on Island Sonata.
MJ & John on Island Sonata have been the hosts of numerous parties because they have a large Lagoon 38 catamaran with lots of space on deck and indoors. They hosted many get-together's in Mexico, and the tradition continues in the Marquesas. We thank them for their hospitality!
Robin (left), Chris (Billabong), Corby and Rick (Emerald), and...
Anna & Cliff (Koncerto), and Bill (Antares I) kick off the party on Island Sonata's "back deck".
At night, the piano bar opens and the entertainers move indoors. Robin (left) on vocal accompaniment, MJ on the piano, Rick on Harmonica, and Corby on sticks perform a rousing rendition of the "Theme to Gilligan's Island".
MJ and KT confess their joint obsession with counting the M&M's to statistically analyze the color distribution. Who says cruiser's never get bored?
Outside, the group gets smaller and Princess Tahuata's Birthday party winds down. Angela (Solstice) and John (Island Sonata) enjoy the night air and the entertainment.
Dive! Dive! Dive!
We both (Robin and Duncan) love to dive and have enjoyed very few dives since leaving to go cruising. One of the big purchases we deferred was a dive compressor. We wrestled with the decision to buy a dive compressor and decided that it was a large expense and that we probably could not cost justify a compressor out of the limited funds left in the cruising kitty. We also don't have a good place to store a compressor.
Because of our decision, we either need to be near a dive shop, or near friends that are willing to share their dive compressor. We were able to dive in Tahuata ONLY because Emerald was generous enough to share the dives with us and fill our tanks.
Corby and Rick check out the critters hanging out under the coral shelves.
Rick finds a sea urchin with tiny dull spines and rings of pink and purple.
Even though the bottom was just rocks and one type of coral, this was a big deal to be diving again in warm water.
The spiny black sea urchins have a little convention. Maybe discussing their plans for world domination?
This butterfly fish was the first of several colorful fish we captured on camera.
Rick takes Duncan's picture. This is one of the rare photos of Duncan diving. The last picture, taken in about 1980 -- looks very much like this one!
Corby looks for the vicious fishes.
A smile concludes an excellent dive.
Some more interesting coral shelves.
After Duncan went on a couple of dives with Rick & Corby, it was time to get Robin down to check out the scenery. Unfortunately, the visibility was down that day, but Robin still had a great dive.
Robin ascends after her first dive in a few years. Fun dive, and ready for the next one.
The snorkeling in Hanamoenoa bay was excellent. In some ways, we enjoyed the snorkeling more than the diving. We saw more fish and coral -- and stayed in the water much longer than a dive. After seven days of snorkeling, diving, and socializing, we prepared to move on.
Our original estimate of a two week stay in the Marquesas had already passed. Several of the boats last year said they regretted staying too long in the Marquesas. It left them too little time to explore the Tuamotus and Societies before their 90-day Visas ran out. To be fair, some cruisers said they recommend spending multiple seasons ONLY in the Marquesas! No time to see it all.
Several great sunsets in Tahuata made us remember the incredible sunsets back in Mexico. So far, the South Pacific has not beat Mexico for awesome sunsets.
Time to go
Several boats from this year's fleet made landfall in Fatu Hiva and described a jungle paradise -- with wonderful people, a quaint village, and a great waterfall hike.
Fatu Hiva is about 30 miles southeast of Tahuata. We were anxious to get to Fatu Hiva for a quick visit, then move on to the Tuamotu Archipeligo. The diving and snorkeling in the Tuamotus is supposed to be awesome. This is a big draw for us because we love the water.
Before we left for Fatu Hiva, we returned to Atuona (on Hiva Oa) for a quick provisioning and ATM run, then sailed off to Fatu Hiva.
We leave 18 boats behind (the peak was 20) as we motor-sail over to Hiva Oa for a quick run into town. Once stocked up, we'll head south to Fatu Hiva.
This power catamaran (either a charter boat or a ferry) came blasting by us at 25+ knots. This would make for a quick trip between these spread-out islands.