Arrived At Fatu Hiva

After 26 days at sea we arrived in Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands. It was amazing to see the islands on the horizon at dawn and a relief to know your navigation was good and GPS still worked after crossing 3000 miles of ocean.
The small bay was crowded with 9 boats on our arrival so we ended up anchoring in 85 ft of water. With the anchor down we looked around and what a fantastic place. Beatuiful rugged peaks and jagged pinnacles around the bay and a lush green valley leading up from the beach.
Our 26 day voyage was a great experience but very long in our minds. The 26 days at sea was hard for us who are used to getting lots of exersice and walking a lot. Dorothy did a great job with the cooking in a boat that is constantly rolling and pitching meaning you always have to be hanging on with one hand, or braced against something if you need two. Dorothy did not get seasick at all on the crossing by using seasick medication occasionally.
We had no major problems on the crossing, though we did have a couple of breakages. About seven days out of PV I was woken up at 5am by a big bang and Dorothy calling out that the mainsheet and ripped out of the boom, allowing the mainsail to crash forward against the rigging. I put a 3rd reef in main and tied boom off the rigging and went back to bed to wait for daylight. The attachment had just been riveted on so it was a fairly easy job to drill out the old rivets and enlarge the holes for quarter inch bolts and it was as good as new an hour later.

One morning we were down below and we heard a loud bang on deck. I ran up and everything looked ok until I started walking around the boat checking the rigging holding up the mast. I found the lower shround on port side had 2 broken strands sticking out, this shroud is the opposite one on starboard side I replaced in La Paz. I had a spare wire on board but did not want to tackle replacing it at sea. So I had a short piece of wire I shackled to lower turnbuckle and then bull dog clamped to wire above break. to back up wire if it finally broke completly, and it actually lasted all the way to our landfall, though we did not push boat quite so hard, as we had 700 miles to go.
The sailing was absolutely fantastic with day after day of almost perfect winds. More later.
We are currently at Nutka Hiva.
INFO
- After 26 days at sea arrived in Marquesas at Fatu Hiva  April 22 2010.  Dropped anchor at 10 27.771S   138 40.203W in 80ft.  Calmer in anchorage but occasionaly got wind gusts to 25 knots and sometimes to 40 knots.
-April 25 left for Hiva Oa after exploring previous island, had no French money so just traded for  some fresh fruit.   Had good sail over to Atuana bay and anchored in 28ft at 09 48.325S   139 01.981 and checked in in morning. Then moved boat closer in to better anchorage at  09 48.23S   139 01.92W  in 20ft but had to put out stern anchor like everyone else.
-April 28 left for Tahuata island and anchored in Hanamoena bay in 33ft at 09 54.42S    139 06.27W
larger surf here so anchored dinghy and swam in.
-April 29 left at 3AM for Ua Pou 63 miles away.  Anchored in 13ft at 09 21.53   140 02.83W
did a hike up local hill and then put out stern anchor when another boat came in.