Pitufa.at

We considered two options for our first cyclone season in the South Pacific: Staying either in the Marquesas or the Gambier Islands. According to weather records, both archipelagos are relatively save, particularly in El Niño-neutral years. We checked out both places and our choice was easily made since we’d totally fallen in love with the Gambier Islands.

2013
14
Nov

Back to soup-and-socks weather

Ever since we’ve got back it’s been grey and rainy, first because a front stalled and became stationary over us and then it left a trough behind. So we stay at home and get indoor projects on the boat done. In July all the locals assured us that the weather’d be great in spring and summer, so we feel like the weather’s taking the piss… Continue reading »

2013
11
Nov

Photos of Ua Pou

2013
11
Nov

Photos of Nuku Hiva

2013
09
Nov

Rushing along!

Yesterday we were stuck under thick clouds with everchanging wind directions, gusts, rain and very annoying conditions. In the evening the wind was suddenly blowing hard from the south, so we even decided to motorsail for a while. The weather forecasts didn’t look good: the French forecast predicted strong wind from the southeast (great, that’s where we wanted to go), the grib files contradicted completely… Continue reading »

2013
08
Nov

Update

After 2 days with nice sailing conditions, we’re now back to squally, annoying weather. 200 miles to go.

2013
05
Nov

Squalls!

Last night was really terrible. We passed through so many squalls, about 1 every hour, which slowed down our progress substantially. Not only was the permanent reefing/unreefing tedious, but also the fact that inbetween the squalls the wind was very light and from the wrong direction was frustrating. We lost many of the eastward miles we previosly had fought for so hard. Now we have… Continue reading »

2013
03
Nov

Goodbye Marquesas

When we set off yesterday we still hadn’t decided whether we’d stop on the way in Tahuata or Fatu Hiva again, but the wind made the decision for us: 20 to 25 knots from the east (instead of 12 from the northeast…) made it impossible to reach the southern islands of the Marquesas on our tack, so we’re heading straight to the Gambier. We can… Continue reading »

2013
02
Nov

Sailing south again

Yesterday we explored Ua Pou a bit: we walked up from ‘our’ bay on a little path to the coastal road and then for two hours north, because we wanted to get a view of the gigantic stone spires the island is famous for. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy, so the highest peaks were hiding from us, but on the other hand the overcast… Continue reading »

2013
16
Oct

Cruising info on the Gambier Islands, French Polynesia

Find our cruising info on the Gambier Islands under Destinations in the Menu or click here.

2013
28
Sep

Shoes

After 2 years of cruising we’d advise everybody who’s setting out with similar plans from Europe or the US to bring several pairs of good walking shoes along. Cruiser’s life’s hard on the shoes, they’re exposed to tropical sunlight, get immersed into saltwater from time to time and have to be washed regularly because of muddy hikes. Our high quality trekking sandals gave up after… Continue reading »

2013
27
Sep

Hakaui valley and Vaipo waterfall

Today, we went by dinghy to the neighbouring bay and village, Hakaui, where the path into the Hakaui valley to the Vaipo waterfall starts. Landing the dinghy looked scary amidst the many breaking waves. The tide was high enough though, and we could go over a sand bank into the small river. The village was larger than we expected and it looks almost manicured with… Continue reading »

2013
26
Sep

Baie Hakatea

The swell got worse again in Taiohae during the last few days and the constant pitching and rolling (despite a stern anchor) made life quite strenuous on the boat. So this morning we said good-bye to our friends Fabio and Lisa. We’d met them and their boat ‘Amandla’ in the Gambier and spent the past few evenings together–it’s amazing how cruising life brings completely different… Continue reading »

2013
16
Sep

Article on Kuna Yala in Ocean7 magazine

The current issue (September/October 2013) of Ocean7 features our article about Kuna Yala. Birgit Hackl, Christian Feldbauer: Kuna Yala — Paradies mit Ecken und Kanten, OCEAN7 05 (September/Oktober) 2013, p. 24–29. download PDF (in German only)

2013
14
Sep

Nuku Hiva–biggest island of the Marquesas

During the last few days it got uncomfortable in the bays of Tahuata, first it poured down for days and the wind picked up and the easterly swell somehow made it into the bays on the western side. Pitufa rocked and rolled, so yesterday we decided to check out a bay just a few miles north on the northcoast of Hiva Oa, the neighbouring island… Continue reading »