Written by Jon:

The plan was to leave early, before 10am to have plenty of time to get safely anchored in a bay on the west coast of Tahuata before dark. So of course we actually left nearer 11. The stern anchor was well and truly stuck at the bottom of the sea, which I guess is a good thing, but not so helpful when you need to lift it from bottom of the sea by hand into the dinghy. In the end we decided to stick a float on the end of it and pick it up from the bow of Itchy Foot after we lifted the main anchor.

The sail across to Tahuata was nice, but just in-between two points of sail. Between what?

Right, imagine that the front the boat is zero degrees. The right hand side would be 90 degrees. And directly behind would be 180 degrees, then back around to zero on the other side. Well, our course to Tahuata would put the wind about 130 degrees behind us. If both sails are out on the same side the head sail (at the front) is directly behind (as far as the wind is concerned) the main sail. So the headsail doesn’t get much wind and keeps on collapsing and filling, not good for the boat, sails or nerves. If we sail with the wind slightly forwards, say 120 degrees, we’re fine but 130 is too deep.  So you can shift the head sail out onto the other side using a pole to hold the end of it out, but then 130 degrees is not far enough downwind – ideally we need the wind about 145 degrees or higher to sail with a downwind configuration.

So, our ideal course was neither one thing nor the other. After a few hours of sailing we were just off the coast of Tahuata and needed to head downwind to clear the headland. As it was just a short distance we decided to just furl the headsail and run dead downwind under the main alone. Twenty minutes later we were around the headland and being on the leeward side of the island the wind started to drop as expected. We popped on the engine but still had the full main pinned out to the side with a preventer and no headsail. The wind was light and getting lighter, the wind direction was also shifting around a bit behind the headland. Just at that moment one of the fishing lines let out and excited ‘wiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz’ and something big had clearly taken the lure.

Wanting to quickly deal with the fish and make sure the hook was set, Jon stuck the boat onto compass bearing autopilot (so he didn’t have to worry about course too much) and slowed the engine to make the fish easier to fight. It was big, really big and gave a fairly big jump. So started the five minute fight trying to bring this very big silver fish to the back of the boat. Let it run, then when when it stops reel it back in fast, then run again and reel again, repeat. Eventually we get the monster to the back of the boat and use the hooked gaff to lift it onboard. A HUGE Wahoo (Acanthocybium Solanderi – if you must know). It weighted about 50 pounds (20kg) or roughly the weight of a full suitcase. It was taller than Teo, reaching from the deck to Jon’s armpit (130cm).  Jon killed it with a couple of shots of cheap gin to the gills and opened up his nice, sharp, long filleting knife. And just at that moment the wind hit.

The wind speed went from about 10knots to about 30knots in an instant and went forward. The main powered-up. The autopilot/helm couldn’t cope. Itchy Foot went right over on her side as she spun to windward and without a headsail to balance her she just kept going. It was over in about three seconds, Teo being a smart boat kid just sat down on the cockpit floor nicely out of danger whatever happens. Tina and Mia held on. Jon went sliding across the (now 60 degree) aft deck with a 50lb fish in one hand a filleting knife on the other. Thankfully Itchy Foot is well protected with lots of strong guardrails and other things to hold onto and our centre cockpit is a long way from the sea so everyone was fine. As we turned into the wind the boat sat-up. We revved up the engine, released the preventer and got control of the main while motoring to windward. As the anchorage was just a mile or two down the coast we decided to motor the rest of the way while Jon tackled the fish.

There was enough fish to feed about 40 people. It took about half an hour to fillet it and we ended up bagging it into about ten family sized portions. Half of those went into the fridge and freezer to be eaten by Itchy Foot and the other half were shared among the other boats in the anchorage the next morning.

We arrived in the dark, but the entrance to the bay is easy, open and the moon helped guide us in. It is sandy and not too deep so very easy to get the anchor set and no concerns about dragging allowed us to sleep well through the night. The next morning we pottered around Itchy Foot, taking a swim to see the fishes on the nearby coral. Just before lunch a friendly guy from a nearby boat called ‘Today’ paddled over to say ‘G’day!’ The skipper of the boat came over a little later on to say hi, collect some fresh fish and invite us round for drinks that evening.

During the afternoon Tina took a swam into the shore and checkout the beach. After a short stop she returned to the boat looking a little spooked. It turns out there is a local guy living on the beach who is a little ‘strange’ and not very welcoming. He wasn’t nasty or mean, but a touch odd and she didn’t feel very welcome. Oh well, there was lots of nice swimming and snorkelling to be had beside Itchy Foot and along the cliffs.

That evening we headed over to ‘Today’ for drinks and ended up staying for dinner. We combined resources and chefs to produce a wonderful meal of fish tacos, spicy and perfect! Rum and great conversations flowed and a nice night was had by all.

The next day we spent around Itchy Foot, swimming and enjoying the clear waters. Tina decided to enrol the support of a Italian guy on a nearby boat the took our kayak around the headland to the village we sailed past on the coast. By all accounts a lovely little place but a much longer kayak than expected so they hitched a lift back on a yacht they met shore.

Deciding that we needed to pickup the pace a little bit on our time in the Marquesas we set sail that evening, just after sunset we had a nice dinner and then set sail for a night passage to the next island in the group and our first real ‘town’.  Nuku Hiva.