20th January

Just before 6 a.m. we made landfall off one of the easternmost Marquesas Islands, Na Huka and, having passed the south coast we made for the small bay on Nuku Hiva, in which Taiohae lies. We have traveled 3,860 nautical miles to get here.

Approaching the bay

Approaching the bay

Sightly closer, the bay lies between 2 rocky islands

Sightly closer, the bay lies between 2 rocky islands

Guests on our foredeck and deck 6 watch Polynesian dancers, (who have sailed with us) as we approach the bay

Guests on our foredeck and deck 6 watch Polynesian dancers, (who have sailed with us) as we approach the bay

A sharp turn between the headlands and the bay lies before us; now all we have to do is find somewhere to anchor; the bay is full of sailing boats, many of them in the area where we planned to ‘drop the pick’ (anchor) šŸ™‚ Ā 

Track into the bay

Track into the bay

Our anchorage, to the north, full of boats

Our anchorage, to the north, full of boats

A conference with the officers on the Bridge and a new anchorage position is decided upon; it will be further away from the pier than intended, however it will give us room to swing full circle, negating the use of azipods to hold a heading and thus save fuel, (1 diesel for Hotel load only).

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There’s some tidal current here and we swing as anticipated, almost through 360Ā° during our stay.

The Karen’s went ashore, however I had several items of ship’s business to take care of before I could venture ashore for your photos. Ā It’s hot and muggy, however, as I had other work to do after my sojourn ashore, I stayed in uniform, brave of me under the circumstancesĀ  šŸ˜Ž

And so now, a photo journal:-

A ride in a tender

A ride in a tender

A view of the Tender pier.....

A view of the Tender pier..

....where there were local beauties handing orchids to guests as they disembarked

….where there were local beauties handing orchids to guests as they disembarked

....and much drumming....

….and much drumming….

The Amsterdam in the bay, all the pesky yachts

The Amsterdam in the bay, all the pesky yachts

...and another one

…and another one

Feeling particularly artistic for this one

Feeling particularly artistic for this one

The inevitable local trinkets....

The inevitable local trinkets….

and 2 of the sellers......

and 2 of the sellers……

Black sand beaches, the top of the island (2900m) hidden in cloud

Black sand beaches, the top of the island (2900m) hidden in cloud

Guests enjoying a break

Guests enjoying a break

As are the ladies and band

As are the ladies and band

Our wonderful crew, refreshing lemonade and water, while waiting for a tender

Our wonderful crew, refreshing lemonade and water, while waiting for a tender

Coconuts a'plenty

Coconuts a’plenty

The main road, most of the island one has to use 4-wheel drive though.

The main road, most of the island one has to use 4-wheel drive though.

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We leave in 2 hours, bound for another Tropical isle, or atoll really, Avatoru on the island of Rangiroa. Ā One enters through a gap in the reef with a tidal current of 6 knots, it should be interesting; more on that later, we arrive on the 22nd. Ā Until then, stay safe and well……..

 

6 thoughts on “20th January”

  1. Captain Jonathan,

    Thank you for your blog. The sunset photo is now my computers desktop. Top notch. Thanks again.

  2. I am enjoying your updates. Please let Karen Hartung know that Moni says ‘hi’ (and she should call me)!

  3. Enjoyed the charts on this post. Hope you will be able to include some for Rangiroa because I have been totally confused about exactly where we entered the lagoon and where we ended up on our last Tahiti cruise. Sometimes things just don’t look “right”!

    Thanks for taking so much time out of your day to post!

  4. Thanks for the report and great pictures. We enjoyed it all and are with you in spirit. George & Jean H

  5. This was one of my favorite islands on the fall trip on the Amsterdam. The only thing missing last fall was Capt Mercer wasn’t the Captain but I know you deserve time off.

  6. Thanks Captain,
    The hills look greener than the two times we’ve been there in November.
    I hope the passengers get on deck for the sail in and out at Rangiroa, which is impressive, though sailing with you in and out of Yap was the best, (for us but I think not for you!)
    Jill and Joe

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