June 2006 - Permanent Crew Nick Sambrooks gives this extrtact from his journal:

"Fatu Hiva, our first stop in the Marquesas and our entry into French Polynesia, to celebrate we peeled half a cubic metre of bananas to make banana daiquiri. Yummo. Fatu Hiva of course made famous by Norwegian anthropologist/ adventurer Thor Hayadal. In a failed attempt to get back to nature and live like the primitive man Thor and his wife lived in the jungles of Fatu Hiva for a year and effectively became the first hippies.

We stayed on the ship because we weren't as tough, and hadn't cleared customs and immigration. So as is usually the case when arriving in a new part of the world the anchor was dropped and the bar was opened and frivolities insured. The residents of the deep obviously got wind of our arrival as we were visited by dolphins, manta rays and a brilliantly coloured sail fish.

Next morning the anchor was raised and we set off for Hiva Oa to check in. On arrival at Hiva Oa we collected 3 more voyage crew who also brought with them much anticipated crew mail.

Hiva Oa gave us all an opportunity to test our hitch hiking skills as it is pretty much the only way to get around.. Once ashore some of the crew went hiking, some went souvenir hunting whilst others bought beer from the supermarket, sat on a wall and amused themselves by giving names to the local stray dogs and putting bets on which one was tougher than the other. This became quite a common occurrence through out the Marquesas.

Our next stop was Ua Huka. The anchor was dropped and all seemed fine until a quick glance to the shore revealed that we were dragging our anchor. Chaos followed soon after and “ALL HANDS” was called. The Avon inflatable was lowered to the water and some emergency bow thrusting was put into action whilst the anchor was raised. After that bit of fun and games it was decided to go to another anchorage on the other side of the island.

This anchorage revealed a beautiful deserted beach with breaking waves and a ring of coconut palms . Getting in and out of the boat was slightly hampered by crashing waves but nothing the crew of the Soren Larsen couldn't handle. Voyage crew and permanent crew spent the day ashore in the bliss full pursuit of relaxation, swimming, hiking and body boarding.

Staying back until the very last boat some of the permanent crew began to revert back to primal ways and sat round a camp fire eating the flesh of fresh coconuts and drinking the sweet liquid found within. Once again we were on the move. Nuku Hiva being our destination. We arrived in a rain shower that pretty much didn't let up for the next 8 hours. The island of Nuku Hiva, as with the rest of the Marquesas, is volcanic in origin and rises above the sea to a great height. This sudden rain shower caused a multitude of waterfalls to form and it was quite spectacular to watch the rain rushing off the various cliff tops that ring the island.

The deckhands, being a culturally aware bunch and always living by the maxim of “when in the Marquesas, do as the Marquesans” decided to immerse themselves in the local ways by undertaking the tradition practise of tattooing. With the voyage crew also being represented a local artist gained himself a nice tidy days income and the crew members walked away with permanent pieces of Marquesan artwork.

On our last day on Nuku Hiva and in the Marquesas both voyage crew and permanent crew put on sensible shoes for the first time in ages and set off on a 4 hour round trip hike to a magnificent waterfall. Many attempts were made to swim underneath the falls but the force of the water proved to strong.

Back at the anchorage we took the Avon out to Soren and the next morning prepared the ship for sea.

And the cycle continues,
the anchor is raised,
sails are set
and the voyage goes on. "

Nick.