October 2017, Futuna Run part 2

Vuda to Futuna and back, Oct 2017 Part 2
Midday Wed, Oct 11 we finally cleared customs and sailed out of Fiji. Boats can only be in Fiji 18 months without paying an enormous import duty so every year we all check out, sail up to Futuna, check in there, check out and then sail back to Fiji, usually a round trip of about a week. This year we decided to take a different route since we were leaving from Lavuka instead of Savusavu. Traditionally people go through Somosomo strait, a very narrow, reef strewn pass between Vanua Levi and Taveuni. We decided to skip the reefs and go up the eastern side of Taveuni. Looks to be about the same wind angle but open ocean all the way
Of course, we started off dead into the wind but made good time of about 4 knots with the engine on. About an hour out I spotted a marker way off in the distance that seemed to correspond with our course. An hour and a half later when we finally reached it, it proved to be a huge red and white light house on the corner of the reef, miles from the nearest land
Now we could turn the engine off and put up the sails finally. This is actually our first serious sail in almost a year. It is going to take a little time to settle into it. Remember to use the salt water not the fresh whenever possible. Use the pot holders to secure the pots on the stove. Hold on inside and clip on outside. We have decided on 2 hour watches. No one gets much sleep but everyone gets a little. It is only a couple of days. Jib and mizzen sails up. Wind from the east at 15 knots. Easy deep sea swells. Auto pilot on. Overcast but not raining.
Things went well until early Thurs morning, then the navigation program on all of the iPads stopped working. After some period of panic we realized that once again we were in the 180 dead zone, only this time it lasted for almost 2 hours. A very scary time which raised the question, what would we do if they stopped working for real. We have a wind gage and a depth gage but no other GPS at this point and we have never quite mastered the sextant. We have the maps from the Fiji Land Commission that do give lat/long but no real nautical charts. (The maps are F$8 each, the charts are F$200 each.) About the time that I was having these pessimistic thoughts, Alan realized that we were really low on battery power. Our 2 new solar panel are not quite strong enough to run the auto pilot. It is fine while the engine is on but not when we are under sail. So it is back to hand steering helped along by a rope tied to a cleat. The power is also a problem for the iPads. We usually keep one plugged in in the cockpit when we are underway. Since it is wide open ocean out here we will turn it off, check our position once an hour and steer by the compass. We have our course. The winds fair although we are really pinching to hold the course. We are going along at 5-6 knots. And from time to time, we will run the engine to get everything charged up again
By Friday morning the winds have strengthened and shifted to the north east. The swells are all confused and there is a constant series of rain squalls. We reefed down the mizzen and got out our foul weather gear. All the portholes and hatches are closed. The swells are up to 2 -3 meters now. Luckily everything seems to be fairly secure inside but everything is damp and neither one of us feels like eating much. I opened a can of beans for dinner and it took both uf us 2 days to finish it. During our time in Vuda this year I made wind dodgers out of good water resistant canvas which hook onto the lifelines with industrial strength velcro all around the cockpit. This is the first time we have used them and they really made a difference in keeping most of the waves from crashing on board. Of course some made it through and it is raining off and on so we still got soaked. There was a magical moment when the rain came down so hard that it smoothed out all the whitecaps There was a mist over the ocean that looked like something out of a Japanese brush painting. The water was black and shiny like obsidian and the rain mist floated in the troughs of the waves. Absolutely beautiful. Luckily it is warm and our waterproof frog jackets did the job.
Finally, about 9pm we decided to call it quits for the day. Wind gusts are hitting 30+ knots, it is raining and the swells are all over the place. We are only about 3 hours from our goal. If we keep going we will have to heave to until dawn anyway so might as well do it now and get a good nights sleep. Jib down, tiller tied to the side way and reefed mizzen pulled in tight and we just wander in a small circle. We are miles from land and out of shipping lanes so nothing to worry about.
In the morning the wind was back down to 15 knots although still from the NW. Engine on. Within an hour we spotted land and by noon we were anchored in Futuna harbor.
Futuna part 4
Safe in Futuna harbor and the town is dead quiet except for a bunch of boys jumping off of the wharf. We think it is Saturday and we think that the Gendarme and Customs offices and closed but first, time for a nap. Later in the afternoon we launch the dingy and go ashore to check.. In fact the official offices are closed but the grocery store is open so we pick up some baguette and croissant for breakfast. I have about $30 Polynesian francs left from Tahiti. There isn o ATM here, actually not much of a town, just 2 grocery stores, customs office on the wharf, the hotel Fiafia and a string of houses between the steep cliffs and the ocean. The people here look very Polynesian as opposed to the Fijians who are definitely African but they have that same easy going joy of life. Futuna is a French Protectorate and, according to the guide book, the people happily take the high paying French government jobs and then go about their traditional way of life.
Having stretched our legs and done a small amount of shopping we headed back to the boat since we are technically not supposed to be ashore until we have cleared in. In addition to this being the weekend, it must be some sort of holliday because we could hear music late into the night and again most of the day Sunday. Very frustrating to to be able to leave the boat. Monday morning we head ashore again to check in. The customs office is on the wharf but the Gendarmerie is a long walk up the road. We decide to go there first, since we seem to remember from last time that when we went to customs they sent us off to the gendarme. Wrong. When we got to the gendarmerie they were very polite and spoke English but told us that we needed the paperwork from customs. So back we went down the road. It is lovely here, somehow more beautiful than Fiji. The road snakes along the edge of the ocean next to tall cliffs covered with vines and flowers. The houses are neat and well kept There is a notable absence of cows and goats and dogs wandering the streets.
Back at customs we get into a complicated discussion with the customs officers who speak much less English that the gendarme. I have decided that it would be fun to rent a car and drive around the island, instead of just leaving immediately. This means we would not leave until Wed morning. But if we are going to do this then we need to come back tomorrow to check out, instead of doing everything today. It all depends o whether we can find a car to rend. Apparently Patrick at the Hotel Fiafia has the only rental cars. The hotel is at the other end of town so off we go. When we get to the hotel, Patrick is out and the rest of the staff speak only French. With lots of gestures and the use of our “French for Cruisers” book we discover that there are no more cars this week and Patrick will be back in an hour or so. Since we are here, we opt for a petit dejuiner and use of their wifi. Good coffee au lait, good bread, OK wifi. How we miss good bread in Fiji. That is a whole other story. Eventually Patrick comes back and we confirm that there are no rental cars all week. It is indeed a holiday. In fact, it is a whole week of holiday and both cars are booked up. So we make a reservation for dinner and head back to customs to tell them that we will be leaving tomorrow after all at 5am. And then back to the gendarmerie again to have our passports stamped.
Finally we are done, checked in and checked out. Now for some serious shopping. There are no ATM and I am low on francs after our breakfast in the hotel but they will take our credit card if we spend $50 At $10 for a bottle of French wine, the will be easy. So we stock up on wine, cheese, pickles, pate and canned cassoulet. In the evening we head back to the hotel for a wonderful dinner, all the more appreciated since we have not eaten much for most of our trip. A simple, fresh green salad, good wine, sourdough bread, fish for Alan and a thick steak for me. Ice cream and coffee for dessert. The French do know how to do food right. The whole meal including wine was less than $100
Back to the boat, hoist the dingy, fold it up and tie it down ready for a 5am departure. Unless something goes wrong this is the last time we will be in Futuna