Day 33 Fatu Hiva

A day of sailing
The Tiki Gods of Hiva Oa finally decided we were safe and sound so they released us for the next leg of our journey. I am well, the rudder post is tight and the cooling water leak is repaired. We have donated our dinghy anchor to the bottom of the bay but otherwise we are complete and shipshape.
At 0630 we pulled up the hook and motored out of the harbor on a Southern heading for Baie de Hanavave on Fatu Hiva. Most of the islands in the Marquises have the word Hiva in their name. The explanation of this is a bit hard to understand with the differences in language but from what we can tell, each island represents a part of a house - the house of the Marquises. Fatu Hiva is the roof.
Hanavave Bay is one of the most photographed anchorages in Polynesia due to the spectacular pillars of stone that remain from the original crater. According to the guide book, “the bay was originally named Bay des Verges by early explorers because of the shape of the rocky pillars. Supposedly the missionaries disapproved and inserted an “i” making it Bay des Vierges which translates to Bay of Virgins.”
Fatu Hiva is also one the remaining places where Tapa is made. Tapa are stylized ink drawings on bark paper. The inner layer of bark of the mulberry, breadfruit or banyon tree is moistened and pounded with a special wooden mallet until it is very thin and about 5 times larger than its original dimension. This paper thin material is then bleached with tapioca and dried. Horse hair brushes are used to created traditional designs of tikis, fish, birds, mountains or heavily tattooed people. They are very beautiful and sell now for about $50 to $150 in Fatu Hiva and more when they are exported to Tahiti.
Tattooing is also very popular in the Marquises with each island having its special designs. All the men and some of the women wear intricate decorations representing some part of their identity or a favorite animal, fish or bird.
Another mark of the Marquises are the racing outrigger canoes. Most are one person craft that look like sleek kayaks with an outrigger. They are beautifully painted and the men who race them look like body builders with huge arms, shoulders and backs - and of course tattoos depicting boats.
We covered the 35 miles in a little over 6 hours. Speedy No Regrets beat us to the anchorage and we were later joined by Dirigo and Far Niente. There was a small Dutch boat already there and the 5 of us crowded into the tiny harbor.
Fatu Hiva is a small island (7 miles by 3 miles) that rises abruptly out of the sea to a height of over 3000 feet. Most of the shoreline is nearly vertical offering no chance for a boat to land. Hanavave Bay is hard to pick out from the sea but once you get close, the tiny (half-mile wide) opening looks like the home of King Kong.
Fatu Hive has about 350 residents and most of them live at the other harbor a few miles south. There are about 20 houses in Hanavave plus a church, a primary school, a post office and a store. These last two are 10’ X 15’ buildings. There is also a wonderful fresh water tap at the harbor. The word harbor is maybe a bit of an overstatement. There is a breakwater and a concrete wall onto which one can tie a dinghy. Next to is it a small boat ramp and that’s it.
The entire village is VERY clean. Everyone’s property is well maintained and there is no trash at all. House construction is minimal but in keeping with the climatic needs.
We spent the late afternoon and early evening setting anchors and cleaning the bottom of Southern Star.