Wind and Squalls

I am updating this with little new to add unfortunatly. The strong winds have continued and I am still moored at the Taravana Yacht Club. It is comfortable and the food is great. I have met some really nice people. The wind is supposed to finally drop in a couple more days so I can move on then. The Tahitians call this wind Mara'Amu. It happens when a strong high pressure passes by to the south. It has remained stationary for days now. The seas outside are very rough. Luckily inside the the lagoon it is fine. So I am relaxing and getting boat projects done, while waiting out this weather.

Polynesian Show

I went to my first Polynesian show at the Taravana Club on Tahaa. It was really good with a small intimate setting. There was an audience of about 40 people all from the sail boats. The food was great and the singing and dancing was excellent. They kept it up for 3 hours with alot of audience participation. I was invited to join another couple at their table who I had met before so that worked out well.
I am hanging out here for awhile because it is comfortable and I can get a few projects done. The wind is quite strong so exploring new areas with the deep anchoring is not inviting right now. I would like to go to Uturoa to shop but the wind would have me pinned to the dock. This cruising is not simple. The weather plays such an important part of your daily life. The weather now is great except for the wind. Next week should be better as the high moves away to the east.

Taravana Yacht Club

It has been said that cruising is defined as working on your boat in exotic locations. No doubt that is partially true. Today while moored off the scenic Taravana Yacht Club I was engaged in repairing the toilet. It was a real mess inside. I scraped out salt deposits and other crude. Then I replaced some worn parts. Now the toilet is working well. The yacht club provides a nice restaurant/bar and other cruiser friendly ammenities. One being the mooring I am using, as the water is 100' deep. Bill Hannah was quite impressed with my manual windlass where you crank in 300' of chain 3 inches at a time. Anyway the mooring is appreciated. It seems very comfortable here so I will stay for a few days.

Back to Raiatea

We are back to Raiatea for Bill and Mary's flight back to Hawaii. We had a great time in Bora Bora. After a fantastic dinner at the Bora Bora Yacht Club we went looking for snorkling spots. We found a good anchorage right next to a pretty reef with lots fish and coral. Bill found a really nice shell but it was still alive to we put him back on the reef. The water is amazingly clear. At night we could hear the Tahitian drums from the Hotel Bora Bora's Polynesian show. We moved on the next day to other diving spots and settled in for the night at a very peaceful anchorage. There are many anchoring locations in shallow water with a sandy bottom. We motorsailed back to Raiatea with light winds and calm seas. I have some boat projects and chores to do. I plan to cruise over to Tahaa for awhile to relax and do my chores.

Bora Bora

After seeing Judi off at Raiatea, Bill and Mary arrived the next day. After a pleasant evening the rain began. The next morning we sailed for Bora Bora with the weather not looking too good. We ended up with a downwind sail in 10-20 kt winds with a 2 meter south swell rolling us around quite a bit. Mary succumbed to "mal de mer" but then recovered for our arrival after 5 hours. We proceeded through the lagoon to the Bloody Marys restaurant anchorage. In rainy weather we went ashore for dinner but then found out reservations were required. So we went down the street a ways to another very nice restaurant where they could get us in since it was early. We had a great seafood dinner then headed back to the boat. Soon after it really started pouring rain and continued all night. In the morning we moved the the Bora Bora Yacht Club anchorage. We have the required dinner reservations for tonight. The anchoring here is challenging in the 90 foot deep water. Swinging room from your neighbors needs to be considered. Also bringing 300 feet of chain and anchor up with my manual windlass is a workout. Bill had his turn at that this morning. After this trip I can really see the advantage of a larger boat, powered windlass, and a larger more powerful dinghy. The rain has cleared, so after shopping today, we will head out to the reefs for some snorkling tomorrow.

Raiatea

We are back in a wifi zone at Raiatea. We really enjoyed Huahine. We motored down through the channel to Avea Bay. It was really amazing how beautiful everything is, from the color of the water to the green textures of the jungle forest. The island has many fiord type bays which can be explored. Avea Bay was very peaceful. We went snorkling in very clear water and saw many tropical fish and two large sting rays which looked rather dangerous with their long tails raised up. The next morning we navigated back to Fare and the pass to head for Raiatea. We had a pleasant sail in light winds and as they say "mer belle peu agitee" We arrived through the pass at 1300 and anchored behind a small motu. After lunch we headed out for more snorkling. It was again very nice with deep coral reefs and thousands of fish. The water had at least 150' visibility. Now we are moored at the Marina Apooiti where all the charter boats are based. Judi has to catch her flight back to Hawaii. Tomorrow Bill and Mary arrive here for the next leg. The weather has been perfect. I hope it holds as we plan to sail to Bora Bora from here. It is only about 15 miles.

Huahine

We left Papeete at noon to sail 100 miles to Huahine. It started off with little wind so we were motoring. At about sunset the winds picked up to 18-20 kts from directly behind. So the jib was rolled out and the engine could thankfully be turned off. There was a south swell running about 6 feet so it would roll the boat around quite a bit. Judi summed it up saying "This Sucks!!". Well it was rolly but otherwise a nice night with no rain. I kept an occasional lookout for interisland traffic and had 3 cargo vessels pass by during the night. That is always cause for concern. I did manage a little sleep. I would set the alarm for one hour periods then go up and check for traffic. We arrived in Fare, Huahine at 0800 with a sunny morning and big canoe races just getting started. We launched the dinghy and checked out the town. It seemed very "South Pacific" and is very small, a nice change from Papeete. Judi bought a colorful pareo and we had lunch at a classic beach restrauant. Today we head south within the lagoon to Avea Bay, a remote beach and reef for snorkling and a secluded anchorage. Friday we sail for Raiatea for Judi's flight out on Saturday. Then Bill and Mary arrive from Honolulu on Sunday.