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Firefly - Planning our time in the Marquesas



Firefly will be 2/3rds of the way from Galapagos to French Polynesia later today. Wind and weather remain favorable. The fastest World ARC yacht, Nexus, a 60 foot catamaran is 260 miles ahead of us - some of the slower boats are about 300 miles behind us. We are mid fleet, Firefly performing extremely well given her relative size.


The pilot books have been out and we have been reading details related to the places we will visit in the Marquesas and have a rough itinerary in mind. Hiva Oa will be our landfall, we will then go slightly south to Tahuatu, then further on to the South West to reach Fatu Hiva, this apparently being the jewel of the islands. We will then head north west to Niku Hiva for a World ARC gathering at the beginning of April and will probably stop at Ua Pou en route - all told we are likely to be in the Marquesas for a couple of weeks before heading to the Tuamotos (also known as the Dangerous Archipelago due to the numerous shipwrecks).


Due to our sedentary lifestyle on board, only having an area of 43 x 12 feet - there is talk about going hiking on each of the islands to get some exercise (we are also looking forward to drinking beer and expect that we will combine the activities!)

The anchorage at Atouna on Hiva Oa is relatively small and we think its going to a squeeze to get in. From the position report e mails we receive we know about 15 to 20 of the big World ARC yachts will be there just before us. As in the Galapagos, its usual here to anchor with both a bow and stern anchor. This is done in order to keep the boat pointed into the swells which often enter the anchorages, to limit the amount the boat rolls. This method of anchorage does also mean that the envelope of space required is less as the boat does not swing.


Paul, Peter and David  


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