World ARC yachts have steadily been arriving into Atuona harbour over the last few days and there are now 21 crews on the island of Hiva Oa, exploring the town, island and local hotels, restaurants and guest houses. All the crews arriving so far have reported some great sailing conditions and as many have said, ‘when it’s like that, you wouldn’t mind continuing for a week more’.
But Hiva Oa is certainly not somewhere to bypass. The crews have received a friendly welcome from Jean-Jacques and Sandra from the Commite Tourisme de Hiva Oa who have quickly helped to orientate them to discover what the town and the island have to offer. There’s also a daily shuttle service into town and many crews have organised taxi tours and hire cars to find out more. The local hotel & restaurant, Hanakee Pearl Lodge has been busy, as well as the Areke guest house and the Relais Mauhou restaurant.
But still the second half of the fleet are to arrive. The conditions have been largely favourable for the crossing but they have encouraged the fleet into two groups, with the second half of the fleet enjoyed slightly less helpful wind than the first. As a consequence, there is now a gap of about 24 hours between the two groups and we wait until Friday evening to welcome them in.
So all is well in the remotest parts of French Polynesia. The yachts and their equipment are in reasonable shape and the crews are well and enjoying making their first landfall in the Pacific.