4 April 2010
I do not like being at anchor on a lee shore and at this very moment we are on one. They make me very nervous. This is the second time in a matter of days when we have been faced with this. The first occasion was in an anchorage on the west side of Tahuatu where we spent one night. With the bow facing out to sea and the stern towards the rocks and reefs it is not the best feeling. Our anchorage on Ua Huka was a mistake.
1+1 were the first to enter the bay and we all followed suit. What was that I said about doing our own thing! We should have carried on to Nuka Hiva but by the time that we realised it, it was too late. Jan and the family from Ronja went ashore where the local gendarme reassured them that the wind would die down. It is now 8oclock, three hours later, pitch dark but starry and no such thing has happened. They will keep anchor watch overnight as we will and we have the VHF switched on just in case.
There are eight rally boats in here and so far we all seem to be holding. But it is not a comfortable place to be and not conducive for a good night's sound sleep, especially when we were up at 4.45am this morning to make the daylight passage here. We will review the situation in the morning but as far as I am concerned if the wind does not abate, I am all for leaving first thing in the morning to seek a more sheltered anchorage if there is such a thing in the Marquesas. One of our pilot books, "The Pacific Crossing Guide" says that swell is nearly always a potential problem in the Marquesas. This is because the islands lack the protection of a fringing reef and therefore have no sheltered lagoons. Oh Tuamotos, here we come!
Susan Mackay