"Bang" Repairs in the Tuamotus (#9)
Carl Strange Oct 24, 2019
30 June
Okay, okay, okay! I just checked the running “From the Log of…” and it has been a while since our last update. Just for your information, we arrived safely in Fatu Hiva and stayed for a few days. The morning winds, that blasted down the mountains, drove us away quicker than we would have liked. Since then we’ve checked in at Atuana, Hiva Oa, and spent a few nights anchored at isolated spots on Hiva Oa and Tahuata. We’re traveling in loose company with a British couple on S/V Hannakin.
The general plan in to be drift diving in the pass of Tuamotu island in a few days.
The locals have been very friendly in the small, outlying villages. The one larger town we visited wasn’t so gracious. Everyone has fruit
Rebecca with her catch – a Mahi Mahi
growing in their front yards and we’ve had no trouble trading for limes, bananas, coconuts, and Pamplemousse. French baguettes are available, hot and fresh, at $.40 per loaf. Sadly, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, onions, and other vegetables are harder to come by. The locals have a few farms up in the valleys but we haven’t stayed in one place long enough to work out a trade.
The man on S/V Hannakin was PADI certified in ’92 and hasn’t been diving since. He asked for a class so we’ll work our way through a quick refresher course and head for blue water.
I have managed my first dive in the South Pacific. A short visit to a pretty reef at 40 feet then an hour of scrubbing the bottom. Our brand new Jotun paint isn’t working well at all. Our paint is black. S/V Hannakin has been in the same conditions with Red Jotun and looks great. Our theory is so much pigment is added to make the paint black that the copper/tin additives end up very diluted.
We’re still moving frequently to get to the isolation of the Tuamotus in fairly short order. Still, I’ll make time to sit down and write another installment of “From the Log…”.
19 July
S/V Hannakin in a marina
I’m well aware that you haven’t received any updates lately but I have a much better excuse than “the dog ate it”.
Sailing south from Marquesas to Tuamotus we encountered a squall with 30-35 knots of wind. The seas and winds had been building slowly and we were a little slow on reducing sail. We had the headsail about halfway rolled up when we discovered a crack in the only swage fitting on the boat. I’m getting a little ahead of the story – we didn’t actually see the crack until a few days after the squall.
I was hauling away on the furling line and Karen was handling the sheets when there was a loud “Bang” forward. It took several seconds to realize the headsail was completely missing. The top head stay fitting had exploded and the partially rolled up headsail, roller furling system, and several yards of lines had gone over the side. We managed to drop the mainsail before wind pressure took the masts over the side as well. It took a couple of hours of hard work in squally weather to get the failed rigging back on deck and strapped down. Six miles of motoring into the squall took us to a protected bay in Oa Pou where we met our friends on S/V Hannakin.
We spent a couple of days licking our wounds and figuring out how to make temporary repairs. There was no chance of support from the local village since some of the women still knew how to make rope by weaving shredded coconut husks. After several days of exhausting repairs, we enjoyed sea trials on our new rig. Friday we’re stocking up with whatever fresh produce we can find in the local village and Saturday we’re heading towards the Tuamotus. More permanent repairs will be made in Tahiti and we’ll be replacing a lot of bent rigging in New Zealand. But at least we’re a sailboat again.
After the three or four-day sail to Tuamotus, we’ll rest for a day or two. Then I’ll sit down and catch up on our stories from the Marquesas.
All’s well onboard – sorta.
