Saturday, May 20, 2017

Gimme Shelter

0800 Position 9-42S 139-00W. At anchor in Hanatekuua Bay, Hiva Oa.

It rained all morning and into the afternoon yesterday. It must have been a low pressure system passing through. We ate and read and napped and talked until we couldn't stand it and then decided to brave the elements and head north to Hanamenu, a favorite bay of mine on the north side of Hiva Oa. This normally arid bay has a spring fed waterfall and pool right next to the beach. It was uninhabited when we were here thirty years ago and we had it to ourselves for a couple of days.

Out came the fishing lines as soon as we departed Tahuata. We tried to watch them closely as we motor sailed north but we weren't watching close enough. When we pulled them in as we entered Hanamenu we found that Longy's lure had been destroyed and mine had the hooks bent straight. We never saw any fish strike the lures.

The anchorage at Hanamenu was not good. There was too much northerly component in the wind and waves and it was pretty bumpy at anchor. After a half hour of rocking and rolling we decided to press on to Hanatekuua Bay ten miles further up the coast which appeared on the chart to be more protected. We arrived there just before dark and found it to be a much better anchorage.

I didn't put out a line for our second trip, but Longy and Rob did. Rob lost his lure and Longy's was thrashed. It seems like the fish are toying with us here. We put lures out and the fish take or destroy them when we are not looking. Nobody stays for dinner.

The rain slowly diminished as the afternoon progressed, and by the time we had anchored in Hanatekuua it had just about stopped. Later in the evening we could see some stars and this morning it is a typical trade wind day. It looks like the bad weather has moved on.

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