The second day dawned, me getting up at 4AM in the morning to take over my shift from Dad. Heidi had given over here shift to Dad with a healthy five knots of speed, but during the night the wind had dropped, so Dad and then me carried on with only four knots (I think it was). Got reprimanded by Heidi later on (heh), but what should we do.
The fog was still out, but the chances of meeting someone were even lower now. Just stick your head out every fifteen minutes or so to check for sounds and sites and then back into the warm interior of Artemis with a good book and tea. Generally you can hear big boats coming from quite a distance, as the noise their engines make can be heard over miles of water. The big risk is other sailing boats, as all of us tend to be rather quiet, but that’s a risk you take sailing.
After your first Covid injection you have to wait three weeks for the second. The thought of 21 days in Tahiti was not that appealing so we decided to head north to the coral atoll of Tikihau.
There is a lot of sky on the reef
The wind was against us as always so we tacked to the end of Tahiti before heading hard on the wind the 170 miles to Tikihau. Sail changes kept us fit and occupied as squalls continuously descended on us. A front crossed over us and provided five hours of uninterrupted excitement with wind from every direction and loads of rain.
We reached the pass in to the lagoon on a rising tide but still fought a strong outgoing current to enter the small opening. Once inside we followed the marked fairway before heading off through the coral boms to anchor near a luxury hotel. Our depth meter stopped working so we found a sandy patch, guessed the depth, swam to the anchor to see it was set and subsequently checked the depth with the lead line. It worked for Captain Cook and it worked for us.
Artemis at anchor
At anchor we found the Austrian sailing boat Mikado with Nicole and Georg on board. They have decided to take a break from sailing and go back to work so we were happy to help by taking excess food and herbs off their hands. Nicole admitted that, like other sailors we know, she feels trapped in Polynesia, frustrated at the inability to continue their voyage and homesick. Paradise is not always a South Sea Island. We shared a few drinks and a meal with them before they headed off to a yard to haul Mikado out and fly home.
We sailed across the reef looking for the isle of Eden. Here a religious cult have their community far from the “rest of the world”. The village was closed because of Covid but on the beach a man sold us succulent, fresh vegetables and herbs all grown on this tiny palm island. The next island belongs to the 74 year old Frenchman “Claud”. He is at anchor off the beach and uses the island as his base for sailing trips to Alaska and Antarctica. Claude has been sailing for forty years, has travelled the world but still insists that he only speaks French.
The wind turned so we once again crossed the stunning blue waters inside the atoll keeping a permanent watch for the coral boms and pinnacles that crop up without warning and that can rip the bottom off your boat. With the sun over your shoulder they shine like underwater lights but when it is overcast or the sun is in front of you, then they can be hard to identify and Heidi has to stand at the bow watching carefully.
As I write this we are anchored off the tiny village. We walked all round town in a few hours yesterday including visiting the airport just after the last house. The people are friendly, the shops have no eggs and everyone hides in the shade. A traditional Tuamotus village.
And tomorrow we plan on heading back to the city after our “holiday”.
So, the big crossing, the one that a lot dread, the bane of sailors of yore,… and a bit more of some sayings like that. In modern times it is still interesting, as the winters can be rather harsh and in summer you’re out in the middle of the ocean with not a lot of information coming in other than from passing ships or satellite phones (which we didn’t have).
Max joined us as crew for half a year and sailed on Artemis from England to the Canary Islands. Here are the blog posts he wrote about his time on board.
So, I had been promising to write a blog about my time on Artemis with Dad and Heidi forever now. It seems like Dad has given up pestering me for a blog (but it’s understandable on his end) and now I feel bad for nearly letting two years go by without writing it. First of an apology from my end to both my captain (Dad) and his first mate (Heidi) for dragging this out so long. But I should still be able to get a rather good recap of all the things we managed to do together, as sailing for that long is rather memorable (and I still have the unedited four day crossing of the Bay of Biscay).
It is great reading your blog – what a fantastic trip and I am sure you must be thinking what timing compared a pandemics and lock downs in the populated parts of the world ! Have you seen much impact on your travels because of COVID or are you pretty much missing it ?
Until now, we have tried to avoid too much Covid-19 or Corona or pandemic or whatever in our blogs. It appears to be all the rest of the world writes about so we don’t need to add to the flood of negative news spewing out of the media and Internet. But just this once.
Our current plan is to sail round the world. We had thought we would now be in New Zealand cycling the 3000 kilometre trail from north to south. Polynesia was going to be where we would visit a few islands and atolls to get a flavor before continuing on downwind. But instead, because of border closures further west, we have now been here almost a year and it appears we will be staying a while longer. So yes, the pandemic has massively impacted our travel plans.
Our “refugee pass”. Thank you Hiva Oa!
But it is equally true that we arrived in the perfect place at the correct time. French Polynesia spent most of last March and April in lockdown. We were at sea for 54 days so missed the whole affair and were declared “virus free” on arrival during the last days of April. The border was officially closed so we spent a few months in “official limbo”; we could not clear in to the country but were allowed to stay and move freely among the hundreds of islands. Sort of high end refugees.
When we told the neighbours that we were off to explore Tahiti-Iti with our bikes they commented “We have bikes on board and should use them but they are so much work to assemble.” They were correct on both counts. You should really use your bikes to see the islands you visit and yes it is a bit of work. Needless to say while we enjoyed two days exploring the island they remained on board, sweated in the heat and missed the fun.
Tahiti-Iti is the small, less populated half of Tahiti. Far from Papeete life is a little slower here and it has more the feeling of the outer islands. We are currently anchored in the lagoon so can start and end each day with a swim in clear refreshing water. Just across from us are some houses with gardens running down to the sea so we asked at one house if we could leave our dinghy at their dock and assemble our bikes there. No problem! (of course – this is Polynesia)
“Normal sailors” – at least the sailors we know who claim to be normal – don’t sail against the wind. They wait for the wind to change and then cruise down wind to their destination.
But we were in Rurutu in the Austral Islands, three hundred miles south of Tahiti. The weather forecast was for very strong winds the following week and the small, badly protected harbour was not the place to be. The wind was from the north – directly against us – but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
Hardly anybody has even heard of the Austral Islands and Rurutu is not a place you read about in mountain bike magazines. The islands are so hard to visit that it is a wonder any tourists arrive at all. If you have crossed the Pacific andreached Tahiti, you still have to take another flight south before you are finally in the Austral islands. Unsurprisingly most people who make it don’t have mountain bikes or the time to explore.
But! If you have a sailing boat and if you have two mountain bikes on board, then Rurutu is “the” bike destination in the south Pacific.
Having sailed overnight from Tubuai, we visited the local mayor’s office and asked if they had a mountain bike map. No! But they do have a map of all the 4×4 tracks and paths which served our purpose.
The first day we met Terry who we knew from Tubuai. He showed us a cave hidden deep in the forest and together we crawled through a tiny opening to explore the hidden world of stalactites and stalagmites. Terry had a plane to catch so we left him and continued around the island.
Rurutu, like all the other Pacific islands, was formed when a volcano erupted and rose above the ocean. As it slowly sank back in to the sea a coral reef developed around the shore. A later upheaval pushed the island back up and the reef became mighty cliffs all around the island. It is all very impressive and the result is many caves in the coral cliffs and steep roads to cycle up and down. The tour round the island is only 36km but has 800 meters of climbing. And that in the middle of the tropical summer.
The next day we cycled up to a view point and then on up through the forest to the summit of the third highest mountain. The route was steep, the temperature was hot and the path not obvious. It was a challenge but the view from the summit, across the island and reefs were well worth the effort. The trail back down was steep and technical. Real mountain biking.
On the third day we took a rest from biking and instead rode local horses. We rode to the same summit as on the previous day and really felt for the horses as they carried us from sea level to above 300 meters. I can now confirm that cycling down steep, rocky tracks is definitely easier than riding down.
The next day we cycled to the highest summit and then along the summit ridge to the south end of the island. Another technical trail downhill and then two passes to get back home. The views were stunning but every local we met greeted us with “It is so hot today!” On the final climb my body gave up and I ended up pushing with no energy left. Heidi picked fruits from the forest to give me sugar but what I really needed was a day off.
After a day of lounging around, swimming and eating, we returned to the bikes and managed to cycle every trail on the map before we finally set sail back north.
Mountain biking the hills of Rurutu is a challenge. Steep uphill, technical downhill and the hot sun combine to suck the energy out of you. But it is absolutely worth it. The tracks are lonely, the views are beautiful, the people friendly and the trees are loaded with fruit.
Endlich haben wir wieder die Möglichkeit euch die genialen Bilder von den Austral Inseln zu zeigen 👍 hat ein bisschen gedauert aber wir hoffen, dass sie euch genauso gut gefallen wie uns 😀😀🤣🤣.
After a long break we managed to upload the fantastic photos from the Austral Islands. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed these amazing islands 😀😀🤣🤣
Here is a link to our private “polynesian concert” on the summit of Tubuai. The singer is Mila! Hier ist der Link zu unserem Privatkonzert auf dem höchsten Gipfel in Tubuai mit Mila, der Sängerin
Live in Tubuai
A local singer made a video on Tubuai. Everyone in the video except the singer is from the island. Dieses Video ist in Tubuai gedreht worden und alle außer der Sängerin sind von Tubuai.
The same singer sang the “Mermaid song” which Heidi learned to dance to. Diese Sängerin sang auch den “Meerjungfrau Song” bei dem ich den polynesischen Tanzstil gelernt habe.
MOÏRA (Steve et Dalida)
Finally. Two other great musicians from Tubuai who we met at an official dinner. Diese zwei Musikanten sind berühmt hier in den Austral Inseln und wir haben sie getroffen, als der Präsident von Französisch Polynesien in Tubuai war.
Before we sailed to Tubuai we heard from other sailors that they had spent a month anchored off the island. We had philisophised about what you found to do for such a long time. When we finally left, after over two weeks, we could easily imagine being stuck on this beautiful island.
We cycled every track on the island with Arnaud ( chief of the gendarmes and our guide) spending three days ensuring we missed nothing. He showed us hidden temples, jungle covered ceremonial stones and unknown petroglyphs. We climbed the mountains from three sides and cycled everything you can ride a mountain bike along.
Ina & Hervé – two amazingly friendly people – fed us great food, organized a gas refill, visited us on board, told us everything about mountain life and lent us their kayaks. We paddled across the lagoon to the tiny basalt island of Motu Ofai. This is the summit of a volcano that is slowly sinking in to the reef. For us it was our private tropical island to snorkel and sunbathe on totally alone.
The president of French Polynesia visited the island so there was a sit down meal to celebrate. Our friend Mila ensured that we were invited to represent the few sailors who reach this far flung island. Mila also invited Heidi to a traditional dance lesson with some local ladies where they swayed to the sound of Meherio – the mermaid song.
