Panama to French Polynesia – Visiting French Polynesia – Day 35

Position: At out present speed the GPS says we will spot the island of Fatu Hiva, French Polynesia, in 50 hours. Our position is:

09 23.76S 133 40.44W

*Note: I am told you can copy and paste these coordinates into google earth and it will show you where we are.

Mileage: 460nm – 305nm = 155nm

Number of miles to go: 305nm 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.

GETTING EXCITED
I know we are supposed to be enjoying the ‘sailing adventure’, but after over a month at sea, maybe we have ‘seen that – done that’ now. Do not get me wrong. The sky cleared last night and the whole Universe opened up before us. Millions of stars, the clustered streak of the Milky Way and the coloured reflective light of our nearest neighboring planets. All very beautiful as you get whiplash from the waves crashing the boat side ways and try to hold on. That is when I head down to the comfort of the sea berth and leave the night watches to the humans.
But we are getting excited as the idea we will be making port soon becomes a reality. As we get closer the humans are already planning the celebrations. Before we do that there is still a few more days to go. We may even have to ‘hold off’ for an extra night if it looks like we will not make the anchorage in day light. Better safe than sorry!

SSB reception continues to be hit or miss. But we will continue to try and send out the blog and pick up your well wishes. Does anyone know how England did in the World Championship quarter-finals today?

VISITING FRENCH POLYNESIA

For most people, visiting French Polynesia means flying to Tahiti. Situated in the middle of the Pacific, this is no small trip. Flights from either Los Angeles or Australia run 8 hours. It is a shorter flight, 5 hours, if you take a stop over in Chile, Hawaii or New Caledonia. From Tahiti you can get connector flights to many of the other islands. You can visit any time of the year. There are seasonal fluctuations. Winter, May to October, is the dry season. Summer, November to April, is the rainy season and also the time that cyclones attack the South Pacific.
For sailors the trip is 4 weeks from Panama. Three weeks if you stop over in the Galapagos Islands. Most sailors wish to make it completely across the South Pacific before the cyclone season starts in November. French Polynesia is on the very Eastern edge of the cyclone belt. As a result it rarely suffers from cyclones. This means sailors can arrive early, enjoy the area before leaving when the settled winter weather starts. February and March are normally the high season to transiting yachts leaving Panama and the anchorages in French Polynesia quickly become busy before the great exodus begins as yachts try to enjoy the cyclone ridden islands before the winter months are up.

For sailors there is no need to rush through the South Pacific all in one season. Although French Polynesia issues an automatic 3 month visitors visa to all tourist, they have gone a long way making longer visits easier. For European Union members, there is no restriction on the length of your visit, but you will have to pay taxes on you boat if you stay longer than 3 years (now 2 years). For other countries you can apply for an extended Visa, but it has to be done before entering the country. With the more ‘relaxed’ visa regulations there is no reason why yacht owners can not spend a season, or two, enjoying more than just a ‘whirl wind’ visit of the main islands before pushing off.

It is our plans to use the ‘remainder’ of our British EU membership to see more of French Polynesia than the average visitor. We hope to have the opportunity to see many of the islands in all the Archipelagos, especially the rarely visited South, before we move onto the rest of the South Pacific. We are going to start with the Archipelago in the far Northeast, the Marquesas. And then decide where to go from there.

Tomorrow, if the Gods of SSB radio allow, I will send you some information on the Maruqesas Archipelago and then our proposed first landfall Fatu Hiva.

END