Point Venus

It is June 3, 1769, and Captain James Cook, the naturalists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander and the astronomer Charles Green are standing in the black sand, observing the transit of Venus with their telescopes. Sweat is pouring off them because it is mercilessly hot. The sun is shining and there is not a cloud in the sky. The sand does the rest and temperatures reach just over 30 °C. James Cook writes about this day in his diary:

Point Venus with a view of Moorea, Tahiti

This day proved as favorable for our purpose as we could wish, there was no clowd to be seen all day, and the air was perfectly clear, so that we had every advantage we could wish for in observing the whole passage of the planet Venus across the solar disk: we saw very plainly an atmosphere or gloomy shadow around the body of the planet, which greatly interfered with the times of the planet. contacts, especially the two internal ones. Dr. Solander observed as well as Mr. Green and myself, and we differed in observing the times of the contacts much more than might be expected. Mr. Green's telescope and mine had the same magnifying power, but Dr.'s was greater than ours.

Point Venus beach, Tahiti

The preparations were extensive. Cook had been anchored in Matavai Bay with his bark Endeavour since April 12. The observations could not be carried out on the ship. So the construction of Fort Venus began the next day. An observatory was set up in the fortified camp in Te Auroa. Point Venus was one of the three locations on Earth that were to record this event. The other two locations were the North Cape in Norway and Fort Churchill in Hudson Bay. It was extremely important to obtain the most precise data possible, as the next transit of Venus would not take place until 1874. Even during the observation, a black veil was detected, which made it extremely difficult to record the data accurately. As a result, the Royal Society, which commissioned the work, was very disappointed with the results of the data. As Charles Green died during the return journey to England, he was blamed for the failure of the observations. Today we know that the “black drop effect” is an observational phenomenon that made better observation impossible. But as it still is today, it was the same in the past: someone has to be to blame. Perhaps I should mention for all non-sailors what all the effort was for. In navigation at that time, it was very difficult to determine longitude. In order not to make things too complicated now, you need the solar time at a defined location on a longitude and a precise clock that shows the difference to the ship's local time. The problem on long sea voyages was always knowing the exact reference time. Today, this is no longer a problem thanks to satellite navigation. 

Lighthouse at Point Venus, Tahiti

However, it is still just as hot at Point Venus on 25.04.2024 as it was in 1769 when Cook made his observations here. Incidentally, the lighthouse was not built until 1867. Cook and Blight of the Bounty still had to make do without a beacon. The bay is very shallow, and you have to anchor quite far out. There is a store and a restaurant next to the lighthouse. Unfortunately, there is no way to get ashore except at Point Venus itself, as the area is obstructed by private land. Unfortunately, you have to walk the 1.5 km to get to the Super U or Champion supermarket. From there you can also take the bus to Papeete. It was a day trip for me, and I was very surprised to find Daniela and Mike, who were actually planning to leave today. 

Bus station in Papeete, Tahiti

But when they tried to start the machine, nothing moved at first. The fault was quickly found and the spoilsport, the battery, was replaced. However, this also took another day. One man's joy, another man's sorrow. It gave us the opportunity to spend another evening together. During my wanderings through Papeete, I also discovered an agent who could clear the new sails through customs for us. The lady behind the counter is very nice and explains to me what is needed to ensure everything runs smoothly. So I set off to work through the list she gave me and provide her with the documents as a PDF file. Now all that's left is to get the sails. But it will be a while before then. So, as always, I wish you fair winds at all times and keep a stiff upper lip.