OCEAN 39 PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2011

Silver in the sun

The 50-metre world cruiser Exuma is a remarkable superyacht, with an onboard amphibious vehicle that makes her ideal for exploring the myriad islands of French Polynesia. Second stewardess Georgie Lloyd has kept an online journal of her adventures in paradise.

Text by Georgie Lloyd Photography by Georgie Lloyd / Fraser Yachts

It takes a very special superyacht to let you sail into isolated locations and explore with ease, and MY Exuma is about as special as they come. While most large yachts will leave you with a long tender ride ashore only to discover you are unable to reach land without dropping anchor and getting wet, Exuma is equipped with a unique amphibious vehicle to transport her guests ashore in comfort, no matter how remote or untouched the destination might be. With her sleek, 50-metre long silver-grey hull, plum bow and futuristic lines, she looks like something from a 007 film set. Join us aboard, as we island hop our way through the Pacific paradise of French Polynesia.

Exuma’s unique Iveco amphibious vehicle, stored discreetly out of sight below decks in the hull garage, is the ideal way to get from ship to shore in the shallow bays of the South Pacific.

Approaching any of the Marquesas Islands will take your breath away. Arriving in Taiohe, Nuku Hiva, you can see a skyline of jagged peaks ascending from lush emerald green mountains, a narrow valley nestled below and cliffs that disappear into the crashing waves. The Marquesas Islands are an eco-tourist’s dream, offering an abundance of nature, culture and history. There are no five-star resorts and you’re lucky if you can stumble across a place to eat that is actually open. The majority of visitors here are cruisers all enjoying one of the most interesting and dramatic cruising grounds in the world. Getting around the tracks which form the roads of these islands is made easy with the Iveco Terramare amphibious tender, housed in the port bow. The 24-gear jeep meanders its way with ease up the windy razor sharp cliffs. It’s at the top the full effect of the sparsely populated island sets in. Time almost stands still here, all that can be seen driving kilometre after kilometre are copious numbers of cows, horses, pigs, and goats all roaming freely by the side of the road. Driving from one side of the island to the other allows you to take in the diverse terrain, which gives these islands their unique character.

Exuma’s Iveco amphibious vehicle allows guests to explore inland at their leisure.

Anchoring in the sheltered bay of Hakahetau allows a perfect view of the 12 distinctive rocks that shoot up like giant missiles making Ua Pou so famous. Exuma is not limited to where she can anchor with her shallow draft, zero speed stabilisers and stern anchor allowing you to reel in the fishing lines and stop off at any anchorage along the way regardless of the swell.

Rocky outcrops in Ua Pou look like space rockets ready for launch.

The Marquesan people are a most generous, warm and content bunch, proud of their history and always happy to discuss legends as well as trade some of the most deliciously sweet fruit you will ever taste. Whilst stopping for provisions we were welcomed into a local man’s house to see his giant carved wooden drum and learn about his spice garden. In Ua Pou a keen local fisherman invited us spear fishing and then prepared and cleaned all the fish for the evening’s barbeque. France is all-prevalent from the French language that is universally spoken to the baguettes and croissants, which are standard breakfast fare. If it was not for the volcanic, tropical, black sand beaches and postcard worthy waterfalls, you could be forgiven for thinking you were deep in Provence.

Local fishermen prepare their catch in Ua Pou.

Hiva Oa boasts some of the most picturesque bays that again show the diverse terrain. Hanamenu bay is a cove made up of sharp, barren, red cliffs and plenty of marine life. While out on a paddleboard you can easily see, as we did, a school of manta ray enjoying the isolated north of the island. Further north is Hanaiapa Bay where you will find a small town hidden behind a mass of coconut trees. A quick stroll ashore here, and its hard not to fall in love with this tranquil town and its perfectly landscaped gardens. The final stop in the Marquesas is Fatu Hiva, home to the ‘Bay of Virgins’, which is labeled one of the top five bays in the world. This is the perfect place to have a sundowner on the bow and take in the natural untouched beauty of this island.

Beach cabins line the shore in Fakarava (above) and Tuamotus.

Coming across the Pacific from San Diego, cruising the Marquesas and still with the Tuamotus to explore you’d expect fuel to be a concern. Exuma takes a green award here with her ability to cruise at a fraction of the cost of another boat her size. If this is not enough to sell you wait until you see inside.

Approaching the Tuamotu Archipelago is very dramatic; a line of coconut trees appears on the horizon and breaks only at the entry to the crystal clear lagoon of one of the atolls. The Tuamotus were volcanoes that slowly sunk many thousands of years ago and now just the surrounding coral reef remains. What was the centre of the island is a giant lagoon famous for pearl farming. Island hopping between Ahe, Rangiroa, Apataki and Fakarawa you’ll learn to love, as we did, the diving, pearls and turquoise lagoons that make up this island paradise.

Ahe, Tuamotus: Oysters nestling beneath a rickety pier yield their precious cargo.

Visiting a pearl farm in Ahe is an incredible experience. From the moment you pull up to the rather tenuous jetty you can see clusters of pearls in the transparent lagoon. Oyster shells lay cast aside under a tree forming a mountain of mother of pearl. You can sit on the waters edge and watch a local farmer crack open oysters and carefully pull out pearls in front of your very eyes. Once opened their texture resembles the brown of a mushroom and the actual edible part of the oyster a segment of an orange. It’s potluck what the farmer will find when he stabs open the oyster to fish out a pearl. We saw him open a dozen in front of us and the pearls varied in shape, size, color and form.

Exotic Polynesian black pearls.

Apataki is another undiscovered gem in the Tuamotu Archipelago. The most memorable encounter here was with a pet nurse shark. The locals feed her fish by hand right on the coral beach every morning whilst patting her head. Sharks in French Polynesia are just like any other fish, harmless and fascinating. Navigating the lagoon can be challenging as the sun goes down, shallow bits of coral appear like a minefield across the entire lagoon. This posed no problem for the stylish grey and yellow hovercraft housed in the starboard bow. There is no part of these atolls that has to be missed when exploring on Exuma.

Petting friendly nurse sharks in Apataki.

Fakarawa is famous for diving and has one of the world’s healthiest shark populations. The atoll is broken by two passes through which there are typically two outgoing and incoming currents per day. It is in these passes that most of the marine life activity takes place, and, here where you can see “walls” of Grey Reef and Black Tip Sharks. The south end of the atoll is dotted with postcard perfect ‘motus’ islands and very little civilization. Anchoring here will allow you to feed sharks from the stern of the boat whilst looking out to coconut palms and turquoise lagoons. If diving is not for you, fear not, the reefs on the lagoon side are ideal for snorkeling and are home to an abundance of small and large reef dwellers including the very rare Napoleon Wrasse.

Georgie Lloyd feeding sharks from the bow of Exuma.

Leaving the Tuamotus and their breathtaking beaches is hard, but made easier by heading to Tahiti in the Society Islands. It’s time to refuel, replenish, and get ready for the next South Pacific adventure.

Exuma shines silver in the sun.

Exuma is available for charter at Euro 175.000 per week plus all expenses, all year round. Her upcoming cruising itinerary is as follows: September 18th, 2011: Fiji. Open for charter until mid/late October. December 2011: New Zealand (available in Fiji for Christmas/New Year). 2012: New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, PNG.

Fraser Yachts + 64 9 302 0178

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Full story at fraseryachts.com