One could divide the Marquesas in two island groups with these major islands:
- Nuku Hiva, Ua Huka, Ua Pu to the northwest
- and Hiva Oa, Tahuata, Fatu Hiva to the southeast.
Current Covid regulations allowed
us landfall in Nuku Hiva only, which we have seen before, 12 years ago.
Getting from Nuku Hiva to the islands in the southeast is against the
trade-winds, against the waves and current, which is no fun and wasn't
in the plan.
But then, the trade-winds were forecast to lay down for a couple days
and we saw a chance to motor-sail to those islands in the southeast,
which we have not visited before. There was no other chance in the forecast for the next 2 weeks or more.
After getting the boat ready quickly, we left Nuku Hiva by lunchtime and passed the windward side of Ua Pu with it's picturesque rock pillars.
It wasn't clear how far we get before the trade-winds start blowing again, we could have stopped in Tahuata and be happy about that. As the sun rose next day there was even less wind and we kept motoring. After a total of 22 hours we ended up at Fatu Hiva, the island furthest to the southeast.
