11 April 2010
A distance of 500nm separates the Marquesas from the Tuamotous yet, there could be no two more different archipelagos in terms of landfall, culture,and topography. The Tuamotous, the largest group of coral atolls in the world, are very low lying and not seen until no more than 8nm distant at most being only 10ft above sea level, while the towering mountain ranges of the Marquesas are seen from 30nm.
We are now halfway to our destination of Mahini in the northern group. The first thing we will see as we approach this atoll are the tops of coconut palms swaying to the gentle south east trades. In order to get the timing absolutely right for our landfall there and entranced through the pass, David calculated four nights at sea, given a forecast of lightish winds. We have had a variety of sail plans.
On day one the mizzen staysail with the wind on the stern quarter, day two we poled out the genoa, the wind coming from dead astern. Now into our third day with a beam on wind we are flying a full main, genoa and mizzen. In the periods of calm we have motorsailed. The days have been glorious as Voyageur skips along on a sparkling sea, nights have given us a dazzling array of stars. I lie on my back in the cockpit, trying to identify new constellations while always looking for the old familiar ones that are subtly changing position and we creep south and west. Ronja have always been within a couple of nautical miles of us. They are today's equivalent of Swiss Family Robinson and Jan and Vibeke are giving their family a wonderful life experience. They are seven on their 49ft Jeanneau. With no watermaker they crossed the long Atlantic and Pacific passages without a problem. Ashore the whole family are always well turned out. Altogether a shining example to show how it is quite possible to take your family around the world.
Susan Mackay