We spent almost three months in the Gambiers and we are so glad we did. It’s not the easiest spot to get to, but that makes it part of the fun and adventure. And the friendly people, hiking, kiting and friends made it one of our top favourite stops in all of French Polynesia.
Passage from Hao to Gambier – Lightening Storm!
We were waiting in Hao with three other boats – Due South, Sea Rose and Jollydogs. Another couple of boats were nearby waiting for a weather window also. We saw a possible weather window materialize (basically a break in the trades accompanied by a nearby trough), and we hoped – this could be it.
The weather window didn’t look great but we’d waited for over a month and wondered if we didn’t take this window, then would there be another one? Would we miss Gambiers entirely this season?
Not willing to miss the Gambiers, we were okay to take a bit of a gamble with the forecasted light winds and potential for squally weather. That, and we have confidence in Slingshot even if we ended up running into challenging weather. And we preferred a bit of unpredictability rather than 450 miles beating into reinforced trades. So we decided to go for it. The rest of the boats decided to take the gamble too. So off we went – all 6 boats left for the Gambiers, hoping for the best.
We had light winds and rain as squalls passed, alternating between sailing and motoring. The second day provided quite a bit of excitement. We watched the approaching squall and heard the thunder. And then we saw the lightening. We decreased sail area and turned off all of our electronics and put our phones and computers in the oven. And waited.
“CRACK” We all turned our heads as we heard and felt the power of a lightening strike the water which felt way to close to us but in reality was about 1 km off of Slingshot’s transom. The kids were laying side by side in their bunk with the covers pulled up to their necks snuggling and peering out at me with big eyes and scared faces.
A fleeting feeling of guilt coursed through me as I felt the full weight of responsibility taking our kids into a potentially dangerous situation. “Don’t worrry,” I assured them, “we will deal with whatever happens. We have a liferaft, we have a ‘lightening deflection rod’ at the top of our mast, we have our emergency equipment to alert authorities if we need it, and Slingshot is such a strong and well built boat,” I soothed them (and myself!).
Of course you can never be sure what will happen if your yacht is struck by lightening, from nothing really wrong but fried electrical equipment, to actual holes on boats or fires – its all possible, though the holes and fires are on the rare side. We have an entire backup electronic navigation computer ready to go if our two usual ones were compromised. And we also were marking our position on paper charts in case our electronic systems went down. We also have plenty of fire extinguishers and a damage control fire suppression system in the engine room. But no one likes thinking about these things – especially when at sea as a family!
Luckily we just had that one close encounter. And the following evening we were lucky to be ahead of most of the squalls and lightening activity. Other boats we went with were not so lucky and they were stuck overnight in the middle of the lightening storm with multiple nearby strikes and resorted to pulling all their sails down and sitting inside waiting for the system to pass by.
At this point we were wondering if maybe beating into reinforced trades was better? Luckily we were within VHF range of our friends Due South for the majority of the trip and managed to stay out of the lightening area and motor sailed most of the rest of the way to the Gambiers.
Were we ever happy to arrive! What an amazing place. The Gambiers are a bit off the beaten track of most cruisers (mostly due to the eastern and southern position of them making it a bit more challenging to reach if you don’t sail directly there from Panama).
Glorious Gambiers!
Wow, the memories of our challenging passage soon dwindled in our memories as we took in the beautiful scenery of the Gambiers. Tall lush mountains surrounded by motus – it reminded us a mix between the Marquises and the Tuamotus.
There are many fantastic things about the Gambiers- but our favourites were defintiely the multiple hikes and amazing bounty of fruit on offer – a welcome addition after the virtual fruit desert of the Tuamotus.
Shortly after our arrival we heard mention of wild raspberries. We were in disbelief and I imagined only a few shrubs here and there. But after our first full day hiking to a nearby peak, we were amazed to see endless raspberry bushes in the shade of the towering pine trees as we hiked for kilometers treating ourselves to the delicious treats.
The forest was filled with the delighted shouts of all the kids as they foraged from bush to bush, ignoring the scratches on their bodies and squealing as they filled their tupperware. Wow! What a fantastic discovery.
And then there were the groves of pamplemouse along the trail. What a delicious treat to enjoy at the top of a peak after a good few hours of hiking. My absolute favourtite hiking snack is to peel a juicy fragrant pamplemouse picked en route. Amazing! We went on many hikes with the kids and our families. It felt so good to stretch our legs and take in the awesome views.
And then there are the friendly people of the Gambiers. Valerie and Herve on Taravai welcome cruisers to their beautiful home for barbeques and volleyball on the most picturesque court we’ve ever seen. We spent multiple afternoons with other cruisers as we played volleyball into the evening and the kids befriended the puppies and cats.
And then when the wind forecast showed the potential for kiting, we’d head out to the nearby motus and kite morning and afternoons with some schoolwork done in the middle.
It was here that Julia really began her kitesurfing practice in earnest. Many days spent with the trainer kite, then body dragging and then with the board. She had her first long run by herself in the Gambiers and we all cheered with delight! Wow! I loved seeing Nathan cheer Julia on and it was fantastic to see her build confidence. We had fun incorporating ‘kite school’ as PE into her day and it was fun as nearby kids on Due South and Belladonna were all joining in kite school and learning watersports too.
All 8 kids also had a sleepover on a nearby Motu which was great fun. It was a perfect moonlit evening and we heard them shout and laugh as they ran across the motu in the moonlight. There were some tired smiles the next morning – a good time was had by all.
Brush with Disaster – Medical Emergency in the Gambiers
It was in the Gambiers that we had a second and more serious brush with a medical emergency. No one aboard Slingshot this time, but an incident on another nearby boat.
It started with a report over the radio of, “Do you know what treatment we should give for a jelllyfish sting?”
We’ve had a few jellyfish stings over the course of our trip – mostly from Portuguese Man-o-Wars or ‘Blue Bottles’. Yes they really sting but the pain subsides and they can be treated by flushing with warm fresh water – as hot as you can manage.
So we got out our medical books and resources and read information over the radio. As there is a lot of information in our medical book about how to treat various jellyfish stings, I rushed over with our book, some ice, and our epi-pens, just in case. We carry several epi pens aboard Slingshot, both for children and adults. None of us have anaphlaxis allegies that we know of, nor have any of us experienced anaphlaxis, but since it’s a life threatening reaction, our good friend Suzanne who is a physician recommended we have these on board when cruising in remote areas. I always remember her advice before we set off on this trip: “You can’t hurt someone by giving them an epi-pen, but it could save their life if you think they are going into anaplhactic shock.” This advice was gold and we are so thankful to Suzanne and her fantastic help in preparing us.
It was clear on arrival at the other boat this this was a serious jelly fish sting. The degree of pain and reaction was extreme and we were all immediately concerned. As time progressed, the situation became more serious and Gavin called on the radio to inquire about medical services in the Gambiers. We’d just arrived and had headed directly to a kite spot so we were not familiar with the town or any facitilies. This was quickly becoming an emergency situation.
The cruising community kicked into high gear. Friends on SV Sugar Shack and SV Auntie flagged down a local on a panga within minutes of our call and asked them to get out to our boat (a 6 mile distance from the main town). The folks on the Panga did not hesitate and rushed out to meet us. Sugar Shack and Auntie also maintained radio contact and reached out to the nearby medical clinic so they were ready for our arrival. We hadn’t even met these folks in person yet and they were bending over backwards to help. The cruising community is pretty special!
Meanwhile, Nathan stayed aboard Slingshot and covered radio communications to help guide the boat to our location while Gavin and I and others assisted with the worsening situation of the jellyfish sting. We later had several folks compliment Nathan on his radio skills during this high pressure situation. He was able to relay information and help guide the Panga to the correct location.
It became clear that we needed to take action and administer the Epi-Pen. Gavin’s calm steady and decisive approach saved the day. Wow, the effect was immediate. Things were still serious but improved greatly and we all breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Shortly afterward the Panga showed up and we were concerned about a bumpy ride to the medical clinic. But when we saw the size of the Panga and realizing the gravity of the situation, we boarded the Panga and zipped straight to the medical clinic.
Thanks to the other cruisers, the clinic was ready for our arrival and they expertly took over. After a few hours of care and supervision with the remote help of medical folks in Tahiti, we all left the clinic. They said we’d all done the right thing and that it was very good to have the Epi-pens on board and to have administered it. We were all feeling very thankful. We made it back to our boats by the evening with the help of the same friendly Panga drivers (upon whom we lavished gifts to convey our immense thanks) and it was the end of a long exhausting day with a very happy ending.
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So What Kind of Jellyfish Was it Anyway?
Gavin stayed behind with the kids when the group of us went to the medical clinic. He found long tentacles on some clothing left behind, describing them to look like ‘long translucent rice noodles’.
We asked the medical clinic what type of jellyfish stings they see and they said they’d never treated a serious jellyfish sting there. They’d only seen the blue portuguese man-o-war type stings that appear from time to time. Nothing like the reaction we saw first hand nor the type of tentacles that Gavin described.
Other cruisers who have a background in marine biology noted that they’d seen a species of box jellyfish on the northern reef the last season they were in the Gambiers. That gave us pause. Box jellyfish are extremely venomous and cause severe reactions. Those types of jellyfish do seem to have the long translucent tentacles. So maybe….
We’re still not sure what type of jellyfish it was. Needless to say, we all wore full protection in the water after that. Long legs and arms just in case. Luckily no one else had an encounter with this type of jellyfish and we enjoyed two months of play in the water in the surrounding area without any further jellyfish incident.
Weather Balloon Launch – Homeschool Win!
It was here in the Gambiers that we were able to visit the local weather reporting station and got a first hand look to see how the data for weather forecasting we as sailors consume is actually collected.
The friendly meteorologists invited us to the weather station as they filled a large biodegradable weather balloon with hydrogen. Then, a contraption for collecting data is tied to the bottom and off to the launch spot for the 2pm launch.
Nathan was the lucky one who got to let go to the balloon, and up it flew away as we craned our necks and squinted our eyes to watch it climb higher and higher into the sky.
Then it was off into the lab where we watched all the data being collected. Weather stations like these all around the world launch weather balloons into the sky every day at the same times. This data is than plugged into different weather models which form the basis for the grib forecasting models that we download daily as we watch weather.
The kids were wide eyed as we watched the data pour in, and the weather balloon go higher and higher. It was a fantastic afternoon for us all. It was so much fun that we went back another time. The meteorologists were only too friendly to patiently explain things to us and answer our questions (mostly in French – and that was good practice for us too).
Gambiers to the Tuamotus
After almost three months of hiking, kiting, volleyball and fantastic good times in the Gambiers, it was time to make our way north and west again. Finally! This time we’d be going with the trades.
We were sad to leave our new friends. Valerie, Herve and their family are the sweetest family and we said our heartfelt good byes and were incredulous when they arrived to send us off, each with an individually made flower lai to hang around our necks from the flowers growing in their garden. They even gave us a fifth lai to throw in the water when we left as a promise that we would return.
We’d already talked about doing another season in French Polynesia – (a third!) – so we happily promised and waved goodbye to the Gambiers watching our beautiful lai dissapear in the violet depths.
We chose a light weather window for this passage and it was a dream. Light winds with our Asymmetrical spinnaker up and we drifted along effortlessly making excellent pace. We love the asymmetrical!
The passage was easy and uneventful compared to the way down and we were happy to arrive in Hao just before dawn.
The pass in Hao can be tricky with a number of boats experiencing challenges with strong currents through it and we thought it prudent to wait until light before entering. Fortunately we had good timing and experienced only a moderate current against and made it in with no problem.
New Friends in Hao
We ended up spending another month in Hao as we reconnected with the world (4G internet again -so fast!!!). The internet in the Gambiers when we were there in 2021 was VERY spotty and challenging. So we got caught up on administrative tasks and the kids had a number of online exams to complete (we’d prepared for the anticipated lack of internet signal by making sure that we had our school materials to work on off-line but the exams were only available online, so the kids were very busy with more review and doing their exams).
The wind continued to be light for most of our time there and we were so happy to make great use of the byte as Julia, Nathan and their friends sailed it almost every day we were in Hao. They also sailed with the local kids and there were many days of sailing and the kids trading off with one another.
Supplies are very good in Hao (comparatively to the Gambiers and other Tuamotus) so we stocked up and then went on our way to our next stop – Tahanea again!
New Friends in Tahanea
We had another pleasant overnight sail to Tahanea and then enjoyed another month there. We met new friends SV Wild Thing and SV Macusla as well and ejoyed some fantastic kiting and watersports. While Due South and Belladonna had to get back to Tahiti after a couple of weeks, we stayed on for another three weeks, visiting Faite and Fakarava and having many fun adventures with our new friends.
By the time late early June came around we were ready to head back to Tahiti to rejoin more friends and restock on supplies and, oh my goodnes, visit our first ‘real’ grocery store in ten months. The luxury!
Some Practical Tips – IF YOU GO:
If you’re planning to go to French Polynesia and have some questions feel free to send us a note. We would be happy to share any information along that we’ve collected during our time here. A few topics came to mind that might be of interest.
A Note on provisioning in French Polynesia
I’ll start with an anecdote from a cruising friend new to French Polynesia who went for a run on an atoll in the Tuamotus and popped into a small store for a look on what they had. She saw a few cabbages and thought she’d go back to the boat to shower and come back later. When she came back not long afterward – all the cabbages were gone!
Lesson: the old cruising adage applies in French Polynesia (even in Tahiti): buy it when you see it – because when you return to look for it, inevitably it will be gone. We’ve learned this the hard way a number of times!
After a year spent among the island groups here, we are fairly experienced in sourcing food and finding what works best for us. It is possible to buy ‘staples’ such as pasta, flour, rice, frozen meat,onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots and cabbages in most inhabited atolls and in the Gambiers. And there are even local farms with fresh produce on some of the atolls . The catch is that you may need to time your purchase at the stores with the arrival of the local ship if you want any ‘fresh’ items. Once a month (Amanu) or every two weeks (Gambier, Hao) in some places and in more frequented locales, once per week (Fakarava). And sometimes the nearest anchorage is not always friendly to wait out the timing (Makemo, Amanu and Hao). That said, everything is cheaper in Tahiti before the goods incur more costs for shipping. So we averaged $500 USD per full cart at the Carrefour as we stocked up on basic staples. We filled Slingshot with at least 6 full carts. We have a large freezer so we we filled that with meat, berries and vegetables.
We were very happy to have a boat full of stores and a full freezer as it meant that we can last well over a month still eating fresh and delicious food and then when we did need to restock, it’s not a massive re-provision – only resupplying the fresh foods.
And yes, food is expensive in French Polynesia – it has to travel a long way to get here. But some things are cheap (baguettes! 50 to 80 cents each) the most delicious and fresh tuna we’ve ever had ($5to 15USD a kg depending where you buy – cheaper of course right from the fishing boats) and subsidized ‘red label’ foods such as pasta, rice, milk, etc. And for expensive….well, a small box of cereal not completely covered in sugar such as Special K, was $16 USD in Hao. And a bag of carrots in Makemo, maybe 20 reasonably sized carrots was $ 16 USD. Oh and a small box of fresh berries is $15 to $20. Fresh spinach -$15. But really we’re not complaining. We found good quality frozen vegetables that we ate a lot of and and felt lucky to enjoy the beautiful remote locales where we weren’t spending much money anyway.
So our recommendations: stock up on specialty items (indian curry pastes!) before you get to French Polynesia. But you can buy everything you really need here – you will just pay more the further you are away from Tahiti. And if you want the most flexibility in cruising and not needing to dictate your cruising to your provisioning needs, we recommend a good, well insulated freezer and dependable watermaker.
A FEW MORE TIPS:
Join the Facebook Group: French Polynesian Cruisers – for news, support and up to date information on the area
Facebook is used prolifically by most folks in French Polynesia and we often found news and many stores and even the haute commissionaire would distribute the most up to date information on Facebook. And fellow cruisers share great information on this site. Including more information on all the tips noted here.
Download the latest version of the Tahiti Cruisers Guide
This is a lengthy document that has hyperlinked table of contents to all things you will likely need and need to source in French Polyesia. A group of cruisers make efforts to keep it updated and it’s an amazing resource. Here is a link: https://www.tahiticruisersguide.com/
Participate in the French Poly-Mag Net: SSB Channel 81730
It runs every day in the morning at 18:00 UTC (8am local Tahiti time) and at 0400 UTC (6pm local Tahiti Time) and is a great way to share information and learn about what is happening in French Polynesia.
The morning is usually a checkin for any vessels underway and the evening net is a checkin for those underway and for general checkins.
Yes you need an SSB to participate, but we’ve found it a great way to connect with friends in the area and meet new friends. And I like speaking to a person when underway to give them our position.
Internet
Internet is expensive and challenging in French Polynesia (unless you have a google FI account, but even then the speeds can be challenging and often slower). In 2021 it is $80USD for a 10 gigabyte ‘tourist card’ and believe us, 10 gigs goes faster than you would believe.
If you’re in the area for a while, we recommend taking your longstay residency papers and getting a Vini contract which is the most reasonable we found at $50 per month for 30 gigabytes, but you need to commit for a year.
Otherwise, there are cheaper internet options if you are in Tahiti or Moorea (ORA) or other providers provide some cheaper options.
Also, we found purchasing internet cards for larger downloads where you pay by the time, ie ($20 for 5 hours) where you use a Vini or Manaspot at a post office or other location, can be a great way to meet internet needs. When we moved to an online school delivery model, these cards were a saviour. And yes, using a youtube downloader, and screenshots it was possible for us to still participate in an online school delivery even when we were out of signal for months at a time. With the understanding of our teacher, we’d just make sure we’d send batches of materials once we got into signal range again. It was a great solution.
Oh and be prepared for slow internet speeds in some atolls and no signal whatsoever in other spots. While connectivity is getting much better, (we even noticed an improvement from our visit in 2019 compared with our arrival the following year), it is a far cry from the cheap unlimited internet plans we’d gotten used to in New Zealand and at home. Then again, it is also wonderful to ‘unplug’ and forget about checking your phone as the weeks go by in some spots.
Looking for Other Kidboats?
We’ve found the best way is to participate in the monthly location update on Kids4Sail facebook group were we can update the area we are cruising in, our kids ages and plan for the month. It’s a great way to keep tabs on the kid boats in the area.
Other tips? Check the TAHITI CRUISERS GUIDE – it has mostly everything you need to know!
Great to read your updates, thanks for sharing. We’ve never met but we’re a Canadian (Toronto) family with 2 young kids (4 and 7) and have just embarked on our 3 year trip aboard our 45’ sailboat. Also a fan of Sundeers for over 20 years!! Love your boat! It’s been fun to follow you the last 2 or 3 years and hope to make it your way…someday.
Thank you Brian – Congratulations on cutting the docklines and setting off on your adventure. I hope you have a fantastic time and so glad you’ve followed along.