EXPLORATION
During my expeditions I have plenty of gear with me. Apart from the board, paddles and sailing rig, I bring waterproof bags with clothing, navigation equipment (2 x Compass, 2 x GPS, IPhone with navigation maps, satellite phone, satellite tracker and solar panel to charge cameras and navigation gear), tent, sleeping bag and camping mat, water and some food. The satellite tracker is a nice way for my family to keep track of where I am. Although sometimes it is a cause of worry when it doesn’t work or I forget to charge the batteries. My wife Dagmar wrote the following on Facebook while I was doing this crossing:
“A lot of you might have checked his tracker during the day and realized that it didn’t work. Actually, as I knew he would start in the morning, after 10 hours not seeing his tracker and knowing he would be out there on the ocean in an area which is part of the most remote in the South Pacific, I got really worried. Being married to this guy for almost 20 years I have learned to live by his mantra – “We worry when we have to worry”, which through the years, I must say, has rescued me from a lot of anxiety attacks I might have suffered while he was on one of his expeditions. So I tried to stay calm and tell myself if I don’t hear anything by the time it gets dark, I should start to worry. The time difference from here on Maui to the Marquesas is only +30 minutes. Finally at around 9 pm, 2 hours after dark, he calls and tells me that he is safe and close to the island. What a relief !!!!”
The next three days I spent exploring the island on foot, retracing the footsteps of Thor Heyerdahl on Fatu Hiva Island. I visit small roads in the valley and eat fresh papaya, juicy mangos and pomelos – a huge sweet and mild grapefruit with white thick flesh. I swim in the waterfall a few miles out of town. While I explore I also recover from the 16 hour crossing. By the second night the wind starts to blow hard and we get strong gusts through the valley. For me with a tent on land, no problem, but the sailing boats anchored in the bay have bigger problems. One after the other drags their anchor. I had given a bag with some of my electronics and valuables to Dick and Monique from the boat I had stayed on. They have a catamaran and try 4 times to re-anchor, after which they decide to leave the bay, but with my gear! Luckily they realize that and spend the night outside and return with my bag the next morning. Without my GPS, compass and some other essential items it would have been hard to do the crossing to the next island.