23rd – 29th April 2025
Leaving Hiva Oa as the first glimpse of the sun came up from the horizon, our path was set for Fatu Hiva. Motoring out of the harbour we were hoping the wind would soon catch our sails, we were wrong. We contemplated diverting to Tahuata, but kept seeing ripples in the distance, so we kept edging further. 2 hours of motoring later, the wind filled our sails and we were flying in perfect conditions.
Whilst I was having a mid-morning nap, Adam shouts ‘fish!’, I scramble up half asleep, and head to the stern where I start to pull on the very heavy line. Heaving as hard as I can I eventually get the fish closer to the boat for Adam to gaff.
We got it on deck and soon realised it was a lot bigger than we first thought… we looked down and there was blood all over my leg, we didn’t know if it was from the fish or whether Ads had gaffed me! Whilst we were distracted the mahi managed to flip back into the water – we were gutted we thought we had lost it, but it was still on the line! Resuming our positions I pulled it back in and this time Ads managed to gaff it, and once on board, I flung my whole body weight onto the mahi to ensure it didn’t escape. Success! Killing the fish, bleeding it, and then filleting it required both of us due to how big it was! We had to tie the fish to the life raft to stop it from sliding off the boat.
Hours passed and we had a mahi-mahi baguette for lunch, perfect. Soon the green mountains of Fatu Hiva came into view, the sun was shining and we were sailing beautifully. Coming into Hanavave, we were blown away with the scenery, rocky outcrops towered into the sky, trees and bushes clinging to their sides, as cerulean water loomed beneath. It was beyond magical. As the anchorage came into view we saw Pinnacle reflecting the late afternoon sun, a small town with children playing on the shore, whispers of the surf break in the distance, and we knew we had arrived in paradise.
Feeling tired from our day sail, we opted for a chilled evening of scrabble and dinner before beginning our explorations the following day. Pinnacle arrived at 8 and we hopped in their dinghy, yapping away as we had so much to catch up on. Arriving in the small village we were greeted with streets lined with hibiscus, fruit trees, and different coloured houses.
Jesse and Roux (the two boys from Pinnacle) were having endless fun playing with their monster trucks on the walls and road, meaning Steph, Rich, Adam and I has a slow walk to the waterfall, chatting the whole way along. As we ventured into the forest, fruity aromas surrounded us, and soon we got a glimpse of the cascading waterfall coming down the rocky cliff. Stripping off, the cool water was welcoming and we soon felt squeaky clean after our fresh water rinse. Naturally Rich and Adam had to jump into the waterfall, and snacks were shared before starting the trek back.
Arriving back in the town, we soon got called over by a local who was harvesting his mango tree, our limited French allowed us to thank him profusely, our t-shirts filled with mangoes. Next a guy was offering us some limes, and finally we came across Lea and Sopi, who had bananas and pampelmousse. Our trip out was fruitful, quite literally. With fruit growing everywhere we got everything for free, the kindness of the locals here is unreal. The boys’ pram now stocked with tropical fruit it was time to head back to the boat and explore beneath the surface.
Our first snorkel in the Marquesas did not disappoint. Paddleboarding to the cliff adjacent to the anchorage, we saw a big black thing in the water, a manta ray, excitement flooded through us, we had heard so much about these ocean giants in the Marquesas and we had finally seen one! Insane visibility, shades of blue so deep and rich, and contrasting bright fish provided the perfect environment to explore.
With the large amount of mahi-mahi, an evening meal and more chatting was had on Pinnacle, with plans being made to surf the following day, our first day in Fatu Hiva had been a special one.
Rich came over with Fred and Chelsea (Steph’s brother and girlfriend) to say they were heading to surf, so after putting our dinghy in the water, we motored 5 miles to the surf break. The dinghy ride was incredible, steep green mountains to our left, deep blue beneath us, and spinner dolphins came to play in the wake! Just extraordinary.
Arriving at the surf break, it was pumping, with the most incredible backdrop, the sunlight glimmering through the top of the steep rocky outcrop. Chelsea and I were on camera duty and the boys jumped in. With the size of the waves, we sat in the dinghy’s full of apprehension, it wasn’t a fun surf to watch! As we were chatting away, a large set came through, 7 or 8 waves pummelled the shore, and we could only see one person out back, and we couldn’t tell who it was. Giving it a few minutes we were hoping we would see the other two figures. 10 minutes or so passed and we were scouring the shore and sea for signs of Adam and Rich, by now we had realised Freddie was out back. I think by this point we were both panicking but didn’t want to scare one another. As we were looking, we saw Adam paddling past us, but no Rich. Chelsea shouted to Freddie, and put her hands up to hopefully portray we had lost Rich. Adam got the memo too, and they began paddling to find Rich. We couldn’t see a surfboard so his leash couldn’t have broken, but worse case scenario was definitely going through my mind.
Deciding to dinghy closer to where they were searching, I tried to lift the anchor, but it was caught on rocks around 10m deep. I was diving down, but with increased heart rate I couldn’t hold my breath long enough to get down, free the anchor, and then come back up. After much faffing we saw them paddling back, with Rich, and I don’t think I’ve ever breathed such a massive sigh of relief. A few scratches but nothing serious, phew, that was a bit too close to comfort. All feeling quite shaken up, we went into the small town of Omoa and got a baguette sandwich, all thankful that we were all there and in one piece.
After recovering from the exciting morning, we headed into the small village where we were anchored and watched the locals signing and making crafts, as the Aranui was anchored in the bay, a cruise ship-cum-cargo ship. A funny looking thing! Another gorgeous mahi-mahi curry onboard Pinnacle, the mahi-mahi feeding us well! Now providing 5 meals!
Waking up on my 24th birthday in paradise, I sat on deck, surrounded by volcanic peaks, feeling extremely fortunate to be in such an incredible place. I read and sketched, whilst enjoying my surroundings, and Ads made pancakes. Steph offered to do some birthday washing for me, quite the treat, with an added pick up and delivery service! So kind.
Of course I had to go for a birthday snorkel and as soon as we jumped off the paddle board we saw a manta ray, and a huge school of fish, who were very inquisitive. I was determined to have a picnic lunch by the river, and after traipsing through some long grass, I found what I thought was the perfect spot, but I was wrong. Mosquitos and small flies swarmed, and Adam was not in his element. Wolfing down the picnic lunch we thought it would be nice to take a dip, until we saw a rather large eel swim past…
Safe to say the picnic lunch was not a success but still nice to take a walk and spend time by the river. Back to Nanuka for a paddle board in the late afternoon sun, Jesse and Roux joined in their birthday party hats! So adorable. Our clean washing had been delivered, but that wasn’t all, Pinnacle had left a card and some birthday goodies. I couldn’t believe it! I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful friends on my birthday.
Preparing ourselves for dinner, we dinghyed to shore and walked along to Lea and Sopi’s house, where they had prepared an absolute feast for us, Pinnacle, and Open Range. Open Range are a group of 5 young American’s, fellow surfers, so the evening was filled with great conversation and laughter. Poisson crux, papaya salad, curried goat, and cooked bananas filled our bellies, and gave us a taste of local Marquesan food. It was so delicious. Next came desert, two cakes! Steph and the boys had made a delicious victoria sponge, and Lea had also made a huge cake, and when I say huge, I mean massive. This cake could have fed the entire village. After over indulging, we slowly walked back to the dinghies and headed back to Nanuka under the starlit night.
Our final day saw another surf, accompanied by Open Range, and a mission to town to fill up our water tanks from the tap onshore. What we thought would take maybe 10 minutes, soon took an hour. Kids were playing in the harbour and were asking (in French) for fishing line. Ads took them off in the dinghy as we have some spare on the boat, and I was stood on shore giggling to myself about the fact that Adam had no way of communicating as his French is, let’s say, sub par! The kids soon came back chuffed with their new line and helped us to carry the jerry cans full of water back to Nanuka.
As we were dinghying out the harbour, another local called us over and asked if he could come for a quick fish, of course we said yes, and Alan jumped in the Banana Boat, trolling his line. Motoring around the bay, we found out a bit more about life in Fatu Hiva.
Dropping Alan back to shore, we had a quick turnaround before heading to Apollon for dinner, who had turned up the day before. Anton had cooked up a delicious curry, and we finished off some birthday cake, whilst I got sung the most brilliant birthday song in Danish, again I felt so happy being surrounded by such lovely friends. An early night as we were planning a long day sail to yet another island the following day. Fatu Hiva felt like a dream, catching up with friends in the most enchanting surroundings.
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