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Birgit

Author's details

Name: Birgit
Date registered: September 22, 2010
Jabber / Google Talk: admin

Latest posts

  1. Fotos von Sorol — March 6, 2026
  2. Pictures of Sorol Atoll — March 6, 2026
  3. Fotos der Eröffnung des Flughafens auf Woleai — February 16, 2026
  4. Pics of the opening ceremony of Woleai airport — February 16, 2026
  5. Life with Slipping Rib Syndrome — February 11, 2026

Most commented posts

  1. The Matuku Marine Reserve and how it came into being — 11 comments
  2. Donations for the Marine Reserve in Matuku — 10 comments
  3. 2 magical, but bouncy weeks on an uninhabited atoll — 8 comments
  4. Hilfsprojekte für Matuku — 7 comments
  5. Leeloo 2000–2021 — 6 comments

Author's posts listings

2016
05
Feb

Travelling by mail coach

by Birgit

…or at least with a modern version of it We hadn’t made it to the central part of the northern coast yet (the anchorages are open and difficult by boat and there’s hardly any traffic going up there so no point in hoping to hitch a ride), but reading the guides about this rugged piece of coastal line we were eager to get there. Yesterday… Continue reading »

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2016
03
Feb

Taipivai

by Birgit

We’re still in Nuku Hiva, waiting for the cyclone season to cool down. The latest predictions suggest that another cluster of cyclones will hit the South Pacific mid February and we hope to leave the Marquesas after that to spend the rest of the season in the Gambier. In the meantime we’ve settled in in the bay of Hakahaa off the friendly village Taipivai. This… Continue reading »

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2016
20
Jan

Kitchen project

by Birgit

Three factors are really grinding down our nerves and energy in the Marquesas: the rolling in the open anchorages, the heat (how can you get anything done when you’re sweating like a pig even in idle mode?) and the nonos (in places where they make it to the boat). Hooumi bay is reasonably calm (at least with a stern anchor), the nonos haven’t found us… Continue reading »

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2016
17
Jan

Nonos

by Birgit

The Wikipedia only says the following about Nonos: Simulium buissoni, the black nono or no-no noir des rivières, is a midge species in the genus Simulium found on Nuku Hiva and Eiao, Marquesas archipelago in Polynesia. This short sentence gives no idea how annoying these critters are. Their bites itch at first, but after two days they get infected, swell up and keep itching like… Continue reading »

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2016
10
Jan

Exploring

by Birgit

The giant Baie de Controleur east of Taiohae is divided into 3 inner bays: we just spent a few days in the easternmost Hooumi, we stayed in Hakahaa with its charming village Taipivai when we visited 2 years ago and today we took the boat over to the westernmost bay of Hakapaa. Despite the northeastlery wind direction there were still quite some confused waves coming… Continue reading »

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2016
07
Jan

Time-out

by Birgit

After all the holiday activities, we have sought the quiet of Hooumi bay on Nuku Hiva and spent much time on the boat catching up with chores and, of course, chilling out a bit.

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2015
30
Dec

Amazing Hospitality

by Birgit

After we had cleared the boat after the passage, cut the tuna and had breakfast it was still only 9 o’clock in the morning, so we contemplated what to do. Head straight for the bunk and catch up with sleep or use the sunny weather to explore the island? We decided to seize the day, launched the dinghy and headed to Vaipaee’s dock. There was… Continue reading »

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2015
30
Dec

Merry Christmas

by Birgit

We had a very merry Christmas indeed. There was a fun international fleet of cruising boats anchored in Hantefau, we had a dinghy raft-up with drinks, tapas on different boats and for the 25th we asked the friendly people of the neighbouring village Hapatoni whether we could have a pot-luck at their little artisanat hall. They didn’t only agree with our plan, but decided to… Continue reading »

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2015
30
Dec

Ua Huka

by Birgit

We wanted to sail up to Ua Huka on Sunday, got the boat ready, were set to go–but then the engine didn’t start. Not even a cough, just a sad little clacking sound. Christian found the faulty connection on the starter the next morning, so we decided to sail with one day delay, even though the forecast predicted very light winds. In the end we… Continue reading »

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2015
21
Dec

HAKA!

by Birgit

The last two days were long, exciting, vibrating and exhausting. We had a fishing boat rented to take us over from Tahuata to the neighbouring island Hiva Oa and after a calm period the wind was up to 20 knots, the waves accordingly high and the 1 hour ride in the small boat quite adventurous–especially as we had a similar boat following in our wake,… Continue reading »

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2015
17
Dec

Festival des Arts des Iles Marquises

by Birgit

Every 4 years cultural festival takes place alternately in one of the six populated islands of the Marquesas. Tomorrow the 10th Festival will kick off on the island of Hiva Oa and dance and drumming groups, choirs and artisans from the Marquisian islands of Nuku Hiva, Ua Huka, Ua Pou, Fatu Hiva and Tahuata, but also groups from Tahiti, the Gambier and even Rapa Nui… Continue reading »

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2015
14
Dec

Dolphin show

by Birgit

The sea around the Marquesas is dark because of the black volcanic bottom, the water often murky and notorious for sharks, so it’s not too inviting for swimming and snorkeling. But sharks aren’t the only big predators around here–today we’ve had a large group of dolphins visiting the anchorage. Locals also call Hanatefau the dolphin bay, because they come here so often. It was exciting… Continue reading »

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2015
11
Dec

The world is standing still

by Birgit

…at least our little world on Pitufa We sailed just 2 miles south to the next bay Hanetafau where we’ve found the first calm spot in weeks. It’s amazing how your energy comes soaring back when you sleep through the whole night and no longer constantly bump head and toes on the rocking boat. We used this rush of energy to explore the island per… Continue reading »

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2015
02
Dec

Back in Fatu Hiva

by Birgit

We have returned to spectacular Baie des Vierges where we made our first landfall in the Marquesas two and a half years ago. The picture of this bay adorns the cover of Ocean7′s current edition

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2015
30
Nov

Diesel days

by Birgit

Our Pitufa plus gear is generally very benign–when things break they usually do so at a suitable time (if there’s ever a good time for that…). E.g. the windlass stopped working just before we sailed to Tahiti where spare parts could be found, the clew of the genoa ripped off just 4 nm before we reached Huahine and the fuel line of our Yanmar engine… Continue reading »

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