Day 25 We arrive in Hiva Oa

Land Ho
This morning we decided to fix the spinnaker pole we broke while we sailed the last 40 miles to Hiva Oa. We were working diligently when suddenly we looked up and there was the island.
French Polynesia contains 4 island groups or archipelagos. They were all formed by volcanic activity related to the seams in the tectonic plates. The Marquises are the youngest group so they have no coral barrier reef. Instead, the islands, which are the remains of ancient volcanos, rise steeply from the sea bottom. As you will see in the photo page, there are few shallow bays and the island is very steep and rugged.
Hiva Oa is one of the two islands that has a French Polynesia administrative office where visitors must check in and secure a visa.
Total population is about 1500 people of which 1000 live in the major town Atuona. The anchorage for small boats is in a bay that is 2 miles by road from Atuona. The bay has a small stream at the end and the beach is black volcanic sand. One general rule in French Polynesia is that white sand beaches are safe but black sand attracts sharks. The guide book recommends no swimming. (more on that later).
We arrive in the harbor in the late afternoon and set a “Mediterranean Anchor”. This technique is used to ensure that the bow of the boat always faces the oncoming waves. The main anchor is set from the bow and the boat is turned seaward then “backed down” to set the anchor in the bottom. Once the dinghy is in the water, a second anchor is carried astern about 5 times further than the bottom is deep. This is dropped and secured. Now the boat can ride the incoming waves without swinging around and without getting closer to shore. When we arrived, there were three other boats but over the next couple of days as more boats crowded into the small harbor, this anchorage was necessary to keep them apart.
No Regrets was already at anchor so we invited them over and toasted our mutual success at making the passage.