Position: At out present speed the GPS says we will spot the island of Fatu Hiva, French Polynesia, in 85 hours. Our position is:
09 00.37S 131 04.45W
*Note: I am told you can copy and paste these coordinates into google earth and it will show you where we are.
Mileage: 610nm -460nm = 150nm
Number of miles to go:460nm to go of approx. 3850nm. French Polynesia keeps getting closer.
Fish count: The count remains the same. 4 Mahi Mahi, 2 Cero and 6 tuna. One Marlin that we were happy got away! No fishing rods out still. We are going to wait until we get closer to the island as we have no room in the freezer still.
THE WIND RETURNS
Good brisk winds return today. But with the increased wind speed, of course we get much bigger waves. Poor little Spirit of Argo and her occupants are getting tossed around a bit today. Glad we got a few things sorted in the ‘lull’ yesterday. People, dogs and objects are being tumbled around making any toilet breaks and work twice the effort. The good news is we have speeded back up and only have a few more days before we make land fall.
SSB reception has been very bad. We have been having troubles getting even the blog out. As a result, until we can get a better signal, we have to keep our return correspondence down to minimum. Once we are locked onto a stations, receiving does seem to upload very quickly, so we have enjoyed your updates on the world out there, your words of encouragement and of course news on the football. Keep them coming!
FRENCH POLYNESIAN ISLAND GROUPS
The 118 islands and atolls of French Polynesia cover an area of the South Pacific the size of Western Europe. The islands are divided up into neighboring groups called ARCHIPELAGOES. If you have access to the internet you can look up a map of the island groups. The best way to imagine them is to think of a square with a group of islands or Archipelago in each corner and a big smug of atolls running through the centre.
TUAMOTU ARCHIPELAGO
That smug of atolls is know as the Tuamotu Archipelago. It is the largest chain of atolls in the world. This chain runs from the Northwest to Southeast of the region. Best known for its pearl farms and superb diving in the many passages and cuts through the coral rings.
SOCIETY ARCHIPELAGO
Houses the most popular known islands of French Polynesia. The holiday destination of Bora Bora and the administration centre Tahiti. The Society Archipelago is located in the top Northwest corner of our square. Easiest to fly to and best know for their cultural festivals.
AUSTRAL ARCHIPELAGO
Due south of the Society islands the Austral Archipelago islands are rarely visited by tourists. Isolated on their own in the bottom Southwest corner or our square. Best know for their Humpback whale watching as they outnumber people by 10 to 1.
GAMBIER ARCHIPELAGO
Sharing similar isolation is the Austral islands southern partners the Gambier islands. This Archipelago is located in the Southeast corner of our square. Their closest southern neighbors to the East are the fabled Pitcairn and Easter Island. Adventurous sailors can chose this route to enter French Polynesia in the right season and with the right weather windows. Also famous for whale watching.
MARQUESAS ARCHIPELAGO
The trade winds from the Americas usually bring sailors to the Marquesas islands as their first stop. Up in the top Northeast corner of our square is the final group of islands. These will also be our first stop during our visit to French Polynesia and we will talk more about them in up coming blogs. But these steep volcanic islands are most famous for their dramatic waterfalls.
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