May 18, 2010

We are still in the Marquesas on the Island of Nuku Hiva. It is one of the largest of the Islands with more people, grocery stores,
bakery (translation, baguettes), a laundry service. I have been doing our laundry by hand in a bucket with a plunger since Galapagos
so this is wonderful! The charge is reasonable for the Islands, $7US per washed load, I hang up on boat to dry. Not so easy as
anchorage is rolly so I make sure ladder is down just in case I go swimming. Ha! Have had some close calls.
We rented a car with Emily Grace and toured the Island. Stopped for a picnic lunch overlooking a valley; gorgeous. Cold up in the
mountains but was a nice change. Stopped and picked some bananas and mangoes growing wild alongside the road. Emily Grace (46' Nordhaven)
left yesterday afternoon for the Toamotus. We will meet up with them again in Tahiti.
When we arrived into the Marquesas we were told to check-in with the gendarmie (police) in Hiva Oa and we did. On the form you have to
declare how much wine, cigarettes, beer, guns and cartridges on board. Stu really did not know so put 2 dz btls. of wine and 24 btls. of
beer as we had already been told that the gendarmie did not come out to the anchorage and do a physical check. Wellllll, a week later
we were at Fatu Hiva, another Island, sitting one morning having our coffee when we noticed a large military looking boat steaming very
fast towards the anchorage. As he got closer we saw the red slash down the side and in VERY LARGE LETTERING, Douanes Frances which means
I'm sure you guessed it, French Customs. They came in and anchored, put their large orange dingy in the water and 3 of them started checking
boats. There were 28 boats in the anchorage and only 3 of us had checked in and we 3 were feeling rather smug thinking the other 25 were in
deep doo doo because they had not. WRONG!!!! The customs officials could care less if you checked in or not; they were more interested
in what we had on board as far as contraband so we 3 were in deeper doo than the new arrivals as we had already declared. So on Imagine we
were a little nervous as we had a bit more than Stu had nonchalantly declared to the gendarmie. The orange dingy comes to the side of our
boat and asks permission to board, of course, we grant it. 2 of the officials come on board wearing their black uniforms and leather gloves.
One goes downstairs with Stuart and the other stays in the cockpit with me. I hear him asking Stuart to show him the bottles of wine and
beer. Luckily, we had drank most of the beer so the wine figured in the final count. Whew!! Every time I heard a floorboard closed the
customs official said, "Have you shown me everything". Stu remembered, under my bottom drawer there are bottles of spirits he had forgotten
about. He shows them, Customs says something in French to the official upstairs with me and the guy turns to me and says, He didn't declare the
spirits. I said, he must have forgotten them as they have been there since we left Panama. Finally, they are finished with the search.
Tell's us everything is ok and leaves. 2 other boats in anchorage not so lucky. One fined, $200US, for having many more bottles of wine than declared
and the other made to bond all but a few bottles of wine. By bonding they had to drill holes in compartments under their table in cockpit (catamaran)
and customs threaded a yellow piece of line thru it and secured it. Told them it better still be secure when they reach Tahiti which is the
checkout point for the Marquesas. We were amazed that, with all the people we know who have transitted these Islands, no one mentioned that the
Customs officials have their own boat. Ha! Anyway, next morning they weigh anchor and leave as we are pulling up our anchor. As we looked back
to the anchorage we noted that out of the 28 boats there yesterday, only 8 were still at anchor. Boy, can French Customs clean out an anchorage!
Got to go; the crepe lady is on dock and Stu wants crepes! Later, 'goat fest' and Stu's birthday!

Saturday May 8, 2010

We are anchored at our 3rd Island since arriving into the Marquesas. Its' name is Tanatu. It is a deserted Island with many
fruit trees. We went up yesterday with a Dutch couple, Paul and Marietta, and picked limes, grapefruit, and mangoes. The
limes are small like kiwi fruit but very juicy. I squeezed 14 of them so Stuart could make himself a drink similar to using Rose's
Lime juice. The grapefruit are called pompa moose and are so naturally sweet. We said they could put Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit
out of business if they were imported to U.S. The mangoes are small but also sweet.
We have been watching manta ray's playing and feeding near the boat. They came this morning as we drank our coffee and put on
quite a show for the 2 of us. We are a good audience and appreciate them. We saw a small shark off of the beach yesterday as
we got into the dingy to come back to the boat. Don't think he would have given us any problems. There is quite
a surge to the surf and the beach is steep. We use the wheels on our dingy so we can push it up a ways from the water. The
water is cool blue in color and refreshing. We had a fun game of bocchi ball day before yesterday here with a Canadian couple and
Australian couple. I won my game! Is unusual for me to win and was a very close game.
We invited a couple over last night for snapper Stuart had caught yesterday morning right off of the boat. Nice size ones. He
pan fried them and Maria brough tuna shashimi for appetizer. They are a young couple living in Miami and they were part of our
SSB net coming across from the Galapagos. He is from Argentina and she is from Columbia. Esteban is a boat mechanic and Maria
holds a law degree from Columbia and also one from US. They hope to cruise for 2 years then go back to Miami and earn a living and have
children. They are only 34 so have plenty of time. We are ready to move on to another anchorage. Many here to choose from.

Marquesas

We are in the beautiful Marquesas Islands. We arrived from the Galapagos on April 24th to the Island of Hiva Oa where we
checked in as is the port of entry, visited the bank for Polynesian Francs, and bought 4 delicious baguettes from the local and
only bakery on the Island. Gorgeous place with many boats in a small anchorage. We had to put out a bow and stern anchor
which we had never done on this boat, but was accomplished. We stayed for 4 days then with the wind out of the north east took
off for the Island of Fatu Hiva. This is the Island everyone says, "Don't miss". It is absolutely gorgeous! It looks like
a small Hawaiian Island. The people are friendly and are artisans of tapas (printings using berry ink on paper made from
the bark of trees and gorgeous hand carved items such as masks, bowls, and paddles, etc. The anchorage is surrounded by high
pinnacle rock formations and there is a beautiful waterfall within walking distance with a swimming hole. On Friday the only
freighter which stops here once a month and brings supplies and tourists came and the villagers put on a festival for them which we
cruisers were invited to join. They had all their craft and art merchandise items showcased and put on a Polynesian dance.
There were about 8 different bongo drums, some taller than most men, and 12 lovely women dancers and 3 men. The women were
dressed in colorful sarong and wore crowns of flowers in their hair. The men were dressed as warriors with grass skirts and
feather and grass headbands, neck bands, and ankle bands. They performed a dance that told the story of the warriors winning
over the beautiful young maidens with their strength and boldness. The maidens had beautiful voices and the words were sang in
French but we were able to understand the story from the actions. Our friend Tom, on Emily Grace, took a video of the dance
and gave us a copy. Afterwards, we had 2 other boats over to Imagine for drinks and appetizers. Bubbles with Alex, Ross, and
Diego on board, and Emily Grace with Tom, Kim, and the boats namesake Emily Grace their 9 year old daughter. We relived the
wonderful day we had experienced on Fatu Hiva. Today, Sunday, we were invited back to the Island to eat with the villagers
in their homes (charge 1700 P.Francs) about $25US pp. We chose to eat with a couple who prepared their meal on the beach.
We had raw fish in coconut sauce (thought I would hate it and looooooved it), tuna shashimi, rice, breadfruit (more like a
boiled potato), shrimp, and goat in a wonderful white sauce???? so delicious. Afterwards, we watched the performers practicing
their dances, and some of our group joined the locals in a game of volley ball. These people are serious volley ball players. They
have a court down by the water and some age group is always playing. Even the small ladies can spike that ball! These Islands
are so different than anything we have experienced thus far. We had been told by Matt Hunter, former owner of our boat, that the
"Best is yet to come" and we now believe him. Can't wait for more!!!

April 22, 2010

This is the 16th night of our 3055 mile voyage from The Galapagos Islands to Marquesas in French Polynesia. We are
225 miles away from landfall and I am on watch. Stuart went down at 8p and I finished washing up the dishes and came up top
to check for ships and the radar went off. Since we haven't seen but 2 ships the entire trip; I am thinking must be a storm.
Sure enough 2 miles away there is a front and we are getting the benefit of her winds. All day long we have been slopping around
at 6 kts. in 12' swells. Because of this we poled out the jib at 3pm to catch as much of the wind as we could. Now with the
storm we are getting 22kt winds and surfing down the waves at 9 to 9 1/2 kts. What a thrilling ride!!! The moon is out and Imagine
is awash in light and loving this point of sail. I wish everyone I know who loves to sail was with me now on this one. I am grinning from
cheek to cheek while I listen to my favorite CD, Mama Mia as loud as she will play so I can hear it over the roar of the waves crashing
around the boat. A flying fish flew into the cockpit and I retrieved him and threw him back into the sea. Things are quieting down
outside, I must go and check. The storm is passing we are back to 7kts and the ride is quieting down. But, what a ride while she
lasted.

March 15, 2010

We are on our way to the Galapagos Islands! We left Las Perlas, Panama on Wednesday March 11 at 10am so this is our 6th day outand 5 over nights. There has been 2 days we could be under full sail and the rest we have either sailed with very littlewind and not many miles clicking off the odometer or motor sailing. The Galapagos are located 857 miles from the Perlas andwe carry 202 gallons of diesel and use 3/4 gal. each hour so we cannot motor the entire way. We have had a great sail thus far and have seen much sea life. One day we had a sea bird traveling with us. We were under full sailand he seemed to enjoy swooping in and about the sails. He would go off awhile and we would think he was gone for good thenwe would pass him sitting in the water off our starboard side. He would let us pass and travel about 4 boat lengths from himwhen he'd rise up off the water and chase after us again. He did this time and time again.We have seen to small pods of whales; sperm whales and not sure of other, just know they were large and way too close to theboat for me to enjoy. We have heard that if they come too close to run your engine in idle it will keep them from coming anycloser. We have had sea birds fly along side of us every night. They are using our running lights to pick up small fish from the ocean.Two of them came on board and sat on top of the bimini for hours. You know what it looks like now, still dark blue but with somewhite mixed in. It has been a very busy shake down cruise for Captain Stuart. Both heads seized up and just 20 minutes ago realized our freezerlight is out. We have over 3 months worth of meat in it to get us through the French Polynesian Islands as food is so expensivethere; we have been told. Second day out our linear drive unit on auto helm quit working. Stuart hadone in inventory but had to take everything (and that's alot of stuff) out of the aft lazarette to get to the unit. We bobbedaround in the ocean, 7 miles from shipping lane, for an hour while he changed it out. It had stopped working that morning around1am while he was on watch. Then when I relieved him at 3am I had to hand steer until it was repaired around 4pm. I was exhaustedas we were in 7' seas and have to admit have not hand steered in a very long time. We depend on 'auto' most of the time. SoI had to re-learn the process of keeping the boat on course. I prayed to my Guardian Angel, Captain Lou, to keep us steady andwe did fine. We are thankful that it happened before we got into the ITCZ the next day. This stands for Inter Tropical Conveience Zone and is where Northern and Southern air masses meet in the area close to the Equator. We were experiencing 7'to8' seas with constant winds of 20-22 kts. and squalls all night long. Actually, we were happy to have the squalls so we couldget the wind and sail. We had 2 reefs in the main with the stasail out and just a handkerchief jib doing 8 kts.A red footed boobie is hitching a ride with us on our solar panels. He looks like a young bird as all his feathers have notformed yet. His large beak is pinkish purple and his feet are bright red as his name suggests. He does not appear to be nervouswith us about. Stuart is grilling right beside him. I have taken photos!

Free At Last, March 2, 2010

We upped anchor this morning at 7:10am (in spite of a Nordhaven from Alaska) sitting on our anchor. We slipped to his starboardside and up she came; didn't even have to wake them. We are so excited to be out in the ocean again. We have already seen ourfirst whale about 3 hours out of Panama. She sounded several times about 200 yards off our starboard side. We are in companyof 2 other boats. Emily Grace is a 46' Nordhaven with Tom, Kim, and 9 year old Emily aboard. They have been out for 1 1'2years now and hail from Connecticut. Atalanta, a Cabo Rico, with Keith a single hander on board from Miami. We are all headed for thebeautiful Las Perlas Islands off the coast of Panama. Most cruisers heading to the Glapagos and Marquesas make a stop in theArchipelago of Las Perlas and many regret not having planned a longer time here as it is so pretty. Quoting from our guidebook,The Perlas got their name when the Spanish conquistadores Gaspar de Morales and Francisco Pizarro robbed a large amount of pearlsfrom the indigenous King Toe. In 1515 they defeated the king and enslaved his skilled pearl divers. Queen Mary Tudor of England's31 carat 'peregrina' pearl came from these islands. He goes on to say you can still get pearls from the locals at a good price.HMMMMMM. We will anchor at Isla Contadora tonight and wait for 2 more boats, to make us 5 in total, before we make the week longcrossing to the Galapagos. One is a catamaran and the other a sailboat. Albatross III and Aurora B. Albatross is from SouthAfrica and Aurora B is from Great Britain. We will have a party tomorrow night when the others join us aboard Imagine! We planon staying in Las Perlas a week so we can clean the boat bottom, rudder, and do some snorkeling. Contadora is a resort Island forthe rich Panamanians and is noted for its restaurants and beauty. Imagine was greeted by the largest dolphins we have ever encounteredon the way into the bay. We noticed some feeding and soon they came swimming to the boat and played in our bow wake. Dolphins always make us smile and feel welcome. There are hundreds of pelicans and commorants here, as well. We plan on finding anuninhabited island to anchor off of this weekend, before the tourists arrive.

Tsunami

In the early morning of Friday February 26 while at anchor in La Playita, Panama we received
a tsunami warning via the VHF radio. An earthquake of 8.8 on the rector scale had hit Chili
in the Valpariso area and it was believed Panama City would be hit with a tsunami in the
area of our anchorage. A tsunami is a wave action caused by the displacement of a large body
of water caused by land or ocean earthquakes. All we could think about was the Tsunami that
had hit Indonesia, Christmas 2004, and destroyed the coastline and took many anchored
boats in its wake.
I was in our stateroom changing from my pj's when Stuart advised me of the warning and told
me to hurry up as we were going to weigh anchor and get out to deep water. In just the few
minutes it took me to change and get behind the wheel there were already many boats up
and moving out of the anchorage. We were soon behind them and motored out to 80' and
waited. We had a report that it should arrive at 9:50am but we did not know what to expect.
We had battoned everything below down and closed all the hatches, ports, and companionway.
We had our life jackets out and our safety harness ready to hook up in the cockpit should we
see a wave of sizeable volumn approaching. There were boats out past us at this point and we
knew they would give a warning if a wave came. The appointed hour of 9:50 came and went
without a ripple. We were advised to stay out at least another hour to be safe. We did. Finally,
we motored back into the anchorage with a constant look towards the ocean and any sign of
danger. It was later reported that the "tsunami" had hit Mexico with a 12" wave and Hawaii
with a 12 to 16' wave (good surfing waves). Lots of excitement but fortunately no damage to
boats or property on land. Thank you Lord! Stuart and I had visited the Valpariso, Chili
area 3 years ago at this time and it is/was a beautiful seaside resort area. We are very sad
to hear the reports of destruction and loss of life there.