The atoll of Ahe is a quiet island that surrounds a large lagoon full of reefs and coral heads. Once inside, the lagoon resembles a large lake. Although Ahe is a single island, from a distance the shore appears to be broken by numerous passes to the open ocean. In fact, these opening are coral […]
Update from Ahe
On Friday, we motored from the main village of Taiohae, Nuku Hiva to Hakatea Bay on the southern tip of the island. The bay is better known as Daniel’s Bay, named after the friendly Marquesan man who lives near the anchorage. The protected bay is towered over by impressive rocky cliffs and the stunning surroundings […]
Surviving in Nuku Hiva
The short passage from Tahuata to Nuku Hiva was only 90 miles, but the light winds that ranged from three to ten knots made the passage last 26 hours. Departing at 3:00 pm on Saturday, we were able to arrive just before sunset on Monday evening thanks to the assistance of the cruising chute in […]
Going Native in Atuona
On Sunday morning, I woke up early and hitchhiked into town to attend mass at the Catholic Church in Atuona. Throughout my travels, I usually try to go to a service at the most impressive looking church in town, no matter what the denomination or language spoken. My churchgoing is less of a religious experience […]
Paradise Recovered
Hiva Oa is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever visited. Mountains shoot out of the sea and into the clouds, palm trees and bright flowers abound, and the people are unbelievably friendly. The island is largely undeveloped with only a small downtown featuring a few grocery shops, a single bank, a […]
28 Days
On Monday, after 28 days at sea, we anchored in the harbor of Atuona on the island of Hiva Oa in the Marquesas. Since leaving the Galapagos, we have traveled over 3,000 miles with our fastest day covering 171 miles while on our slowest day we only sailed 38 miles. Overall, our average speed was […]
The Dangers of the Sea
During the past week, the Pacific has proved contrary to her name. The wind has been blowing between 20 and 30 knots with 10 to 12 foot waves in what would be classified as a 7 on the Beaufort scale and technically known as a “near gale.” Audentes has performed admirably in these conditions and […]
Easter in Isolation
Last week’s desperate plea to Neptune for wind seems to have been answered and our only regret is that perhaps we should have only thrown one shoe overboard instead of two. Soon after making our offering, the wind piped up and continued to blow throughout the entire week. By Tuesday, we had 25 knots of […]
Wild On the Galapagos
Having departed New York on Thursday, Joe and Sashin arrived in the Galapagos on Friday morning via Bogota, Quito, and Guyaquil. After meeting them at the airport on the tiny island of Baltra, we proceeded to take a bus to the southern tip of the island, a ferry to the northernmost point of Santa Cruz, […]
Going Broke Staring at Sea Turtles
I have spent considerable time trying to figure out how to word this journal entry so as to avoid sounding like a spoiled, world-weary brat. Instead, I’ll just begin by admitting that I probably am a spoiled world-weary brat. Okay, now that that is out of the way, I can begin to describe the Galapagos. […]