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THE SOCIETY ISLANDS
May 7 – June 12, 2010
The islands ( archipelago ) of the Societies extend for 400 nmiles and it has the highest population of any of the other 4 chains in French Polynesia. It is volcanic in origin with 7,000 ft. high mountains, lush green, white sand beaches and fertile soil. They are separated into the Leeward and Windward islands of which we will visit both groups.
TAHITI
It is 200 nmiles from the Tutumoto’s to Papeete. I woke up at 7:30 am and we were already past the entrance markers to the Rade de Papeete and the Bounty Quay. Bounty Quay is newer and the main place for the smaller yachts. At the Quai des Yachts are ferry catamarans, cruise ships, and the Maltese Falcon ( famous oversized yacht ). This is the largest island in the Societies and the capital city of Papeete lay before us. It is morning rush hour. I haven’t heard the humming of the highway since we left Panama.
We were the first to arrive and so we picked a spot on the floating piers and spent the whole day cleaning and repairing and setting up appointments with a sail maker. Two days later the dock was beginning to fill up with Rally yachts and
we full-dressed the boats. Adrian left at 5 am for the two day trip back to Mallorca and
Mike changed the ensign and took down Adrian’s yacht club flag. We now have a new skipper at the helm.
We would have left in several days but it took awhile to repair the genoa. We did the tourist thingy and walked through the government part of town to
the presidential home. This is where the President of France stays when he comes to town. The rest of the Rally was just coming into port as we were preparing to leave. It is 120 miles to Raiatea and if we are going to make the Tahiti Pearl Regatta we need to leave soon. I said I would sit out the race because I don’t like all the stress and yelling that seems to be the backbone of racing. Mike told me that although he and Dean are big time racers this is going to be more of a party cruise than a serious race. Plus, he said, I was colour on the boat. I think he just wants someone to make breakfast and lunch.
Bob had asked me if I cared if he went with us for the race and I said “Why not?”. So he asked Mike and privately Mike asked me if he could invite Bob for the race. “Why not?”. So Mike went back to Bob and asked him and Bob said “No! He could not leave and not let his skipper know where he was going.”
So much for an extra hand for the race.
We left at 4pm and motored most of the dusk and night. Seas were light, the stars brilliant, and the night was cool.
We had several light squalls and I have to wonder why we keep getting so wet when it is the dry season in these islands.
Again, I woke up just as we were entering the quay at Raiatea. It was quite full and we docked portside to the major pier instead of wedging ourselves in Med style on the yacht quay. No sooner we got settled in and it started raining….hard. Today is the check-in and practice race but with pouring rain and no wind we decided to invite some of Mike’s friends over for an extended luncheon. A short nap and we were off for the first party of the race. A couple sat at our the dinner table and I recognized them and they recognized me…or more exact they remembered I was on Gaia two years ago for the same race. We retired early to be fresh and ready to go for an 8:30 am start to the race.
TAHITI PEARL REGETTA
Mike was quite calm and said he would be calmer if Pierre would show up but he never did. I guess he did too much partying with us the night before. We did have a local kid join us. Arthur is a quite, polite kid that knows his way around a boat. The wind is very light, the skies clear, and we had a good position for the starting gate. The race was slow, the waters of the reef are a beautiful teal green, and the coastline is covered in palm trees. This first race was around the inner reef of Raiatea
( note the band of bright light green showing the reef ) then through Passe Teavapiti into the open ocean and back through Passe Teavanui into Bora Bora. Arthur was instrumental in letting us know that the current running through the Pass was strong and to stay to one side.
We anchored and Arthur and I went snorkeling. Mike cleaned the waterline on the boat and Dean is always hungry. At the celebration party we learned that we finished 10th out of 21 boats in our class.
There was lots of dancing and people were
Playing party games.
The following day we were up at 6:30 am to get ready for the second day of racing. This race is from Bora Bora through the same pass and into the pass for Tahaa. Mike and Dean were jabbering all the way and they gave in to each other for the technician advice on how to proceed. This time we finished 3rd overall.
We were greeted warmly for the celebration with blowing of the conch shells, lighted torches, and fragrant leis.
The third day was going to be tricky and we really wanted Pierre to join us for his local knowledge and skill with the boat. He is still sick.
So off we went from Tahaa, stayed inside the reef for a high wind – low sea performance, and finished 5th.
There were several near collisions and this picture does not show how close or how fast this big boat is climbing up our stern.
We were anchored off from everyone else closer to shore and at midnight we were dragging anchor! It was blowing 30 knts with gust who knows how high and the rain was stinging my eyes. I was trying to hold a flashlight off the bow looking for buoys when all of a sudden the sky just glowed so brightly I thought some huge ship was bearing down on us and had their spotlight trained on the boat. This glow lasted a good 5 seconds and you could see everything so clearly that we pinpointed where we wanted to anchor and then we spent the rest of the night on a limited anchor watch.
The fourth and final race was inside the reef but the winds were gusting to 25 knts. Some boats had opted to cancel and not stress their boat. We had fantastic positioning for the starting line and once we crossed it we immediately got the lazy sheet wrapped so tightly around the loaded sheet that Mike called it quits. Not worth hurting the boat or ourselves for this short race. We moored at Apooiti Marina, licked our wounds, and went to the party. Even though we cancelled the last race we still came in 8th overall. A very respectable finish and we are looking for the next race ( T-CUP ) we heard about somewhere in these islands.
You really know when you are with the diehard racers when someone is sitting on the pier next to a fresh water pipe – shaving - and using his glasses for a mirror.
Pierre was now feeling much better and he and Sophie invited us over to their home for a curry chicken dinner. Some of their friends joined us and we continue to expand our friendship base in the isles.
Dean kept buying loaves of fresh French bread from the guys motoring around to the boats every morning before the beginning of the races. I thought Americans were the throw away society but the Brits sure think bread / mustard / fruit is so cheap in France that you eat what you want and throw the rest away…I cannot do that. So the next night I made two trays of Chicken & Leek Strata and we had a party. All our new friends showed up and it went without a hitch. This is a wonderful place to relax before we hit the ocean hiway again.
TAHAA
This island shares the same reef with Raiatea so we only needed to traverse up the windward side of Tahaa to anchor at Isle Tautau.
The island faced Bora Bora and its distinctive mountain. Isabella had said it was her favourite place to snorkel. She and Nickolas were going to go for a last trip before heading back to France. There is a sweeping sandy ledge that supports several islands and we anchored just off the edge in 4 meters of water.
We walked up the motu and started the trip back to the dinghy with a slight current. The coral was very close to the surface so you had to pick your way around the heads. The snorkeling was great and the fish nibbled at my bikini ties!
There were many different fish and coral and this one I don’t ever remember seeing before today. The book says it is an alpha male wrasse. The next day the winds were unfavourable so we went snorkeling and kayaking all day.
Later we had planned on going to the entrance to the reef as this is always the best place to go snorkeling when Mike got a phone call. As usual plans can change in a minute. We are now going to the other side of Tahaa and join the outrigger canoe race and see
the most important marae in all the islands. Raiatea was the center of the Polynesian culture for 100’s of years. Teams from all the islands as far away as New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga, as well as the local islands get together in these
catamarans and race around the island. We could not anchor in the deep water because we do not have enough chain so we went to the next bay, dropped anchor and added 50m of rope, and walked over to the festivities. There were reader boards for the marae and I learned a lot more about them such as there were international, national, communal, and family marae. When we got back to the boat we thought we had an extra 2 hours to get back to Apooiti Marina for the night before the T-CUP race but circumstances would make us late for the marina.
Getting up the rope and anchor took an hour as the line became wrapped around some coral and we had to winch and tug and move the boat back and forth to raise the anchor. Mike told me to put my back into it and I swear my arms are 2” longer. Then we were going through the same path in the coral we came in but got hopelessly snagged on some coral. We marveled on how much of a team we were in a crises situation. Dean immediately got out the spare anchor, I dinghy around looking for the stress pattern, and Mike snorkeled looking for the best path out of the shallows. I took the anchor on the angle Mike was pointing to, dropped it in 8’ of water, and Dean began hauling in the line to pull the boat out of its resting spot. I stayed in the dinghy to make sure it did not interfere with the boat and we motored to the safety of deeper water.
Now it is sunset and if we do not hurry we will not make the marina. This is critical because all the markers are not lit and we will not be able to see our way between the reefs. Full speed ahead, all eyes on deck, and we made it to the lighted markers before full dark. The irony is that even though we have not seen a rally boat for two weeks Roundabout ( the boat I went through the Panama Canal with ) was moored permanently waiting for the skipper to recover and we rafted up to them.
THE T-CUP RACE
We got up early and were off to the starting line without knowing when it actually started. We were dragging our dinghy and
you can see by the picture how serious this race was to us. The post party had lots of dancing and even though we goofed off by not flying the spinnaker, using a very small sail so we could jibe, and taking the safer, long way, through a reef we came in 8th. Not bad for only caring about the dinner and dancing. When they called our name all three of us came, hand in hand, and bowed down on our hands and knees to the judges to great applause.
The next day we motored to Marina Apooiti ( again?? ) to wait for the electrician. He had bad news for us; the batteries will not hold a charge. We are stuck in Raiatea for several days ( bummer! ) and so goes the romance of sailing. After 24 hours of being on shore power and charging the batteries the electrician has given us a clean bill of health. There are 6 batteries instead of the usual 4 and so we need to just spend more time charging and less time opening the fridge to get a beer.
The Rally has caught up with us. I feel like a sea captain’s wife eagerly waiting on the dock to spot his ship on the horizon. I really miss the family that the Rally has become. Mike has no intentions of staying with the Rally and I have come to the conclusion that I want a change. Within 2 days I have checked off of Mercury Rising and onto
Spirit of Nina. It’s all Bob’s fault. He took one look at me and said I looked sad. Gilly has said the same thing…I am not myself. Spirit of Nina has asked how long do I intend to stay and I said I know they have promised a spot on the boat to Allden who is currently on Briet. I will have to find other accommodations when we reach Fiji. I have options so keep reading…and no betting...on where I’ll be come the end of July.
Spirit of Nina had pump problems so we were stuck in Raiatea for several days. We made the most of it with snorkeling, visiting with other yatchies and provisioning. Being on SofN is civilized. You can take a hot shower anytime you want. There is a washing machine, ice maker, microwave, and no limit to what you can power up because there is always enough battery power.
I have the largest berth ever and
This is no galley it is a kitchen. John is a great captain as he has had me go to the bow and raise the spinnaker…something no other captain has let me do; I am always stuck in the cockpit. John believes that everyone should learn everything about the boat in case he gets injured and can’t help. I’m loving it!
BORA BORA
This is the furthest north island in the Society chain. It has less French influence with prices quoted in USDollars. It is mostly inhabited with Polynesians and is suffering from the worldwide recession. Many of the resorts are closed and the ones that are open are sparse. Club Med has closed its resort and many of the mooring buoys are available.
Aqualuna and we went for a bicycle ride around the island and found many great sites in-between the rain squalls. Every night finds us inviting someone over for dinner or being invited on someone else’s boat. Every few days we find a new bay with
new snorkeling experiences. The Coral Garden which was a high light two years ago is dead. There was a cyclone in January and it killed all the colourful coral. It is a shame with all the variety and colourful fish and dead grey coral.
The birthday parties keep piling up and it is hard to out due the one before. For one party we had a band and
(no x-2 photo)
everyone got a chance to get up and show their talent.
We anchored at several locations around the island with one passage being a little scary because we had to go over a reef that was only 4’ deep ( We draft 3.6’ ). Several boats had scraped their keels but nothing serious. Bob ( Gaia ) says he loves being crew because if the boat scrapes bottom he’s not the skipper. By the way, for those of you that know Bob & my relationship I hardly ever see him because our boats are never in the same port or anchorage at the same time. Since Bob committed to crew on Chisel in the Marquesas I have talked to him, in person, only a handful of days.
The snorkeling was fantastic and the dinghy ride across the reef was like skimming over a swimming pool. Rays like the warm shallow water and we had wonderful views of
them gracefully ‘flying’ over the bottom. Eventually we will have to leave for the Cook Isles but as there is no wind we would rather spend several days enjoying the beauty of this island.
We kept getting conflicting reports about the weather but finally decided to leave not really having a clear idea of what would happen. What did happen was we had two days of fitful seas and torrential rains.
This was followed by two days of complete calm.
So calm I could do see myself in the water off the bow of the boat and we are traveling at 5 knts. We found out from several boats that left after we did that they had more than 2 days of bad weather so we feel lucky to have left when we did.
There are big differences between a catamaran and a monohull. This cat does not yawl because of the double hull. You never want the waves on the beam because rolling is bad news. In both the bedrooms are escape hatches incase the boat rolls completely over. What was exactly like Gaia was the pitching. Gilly did not want to cook so I volunteered. My feet left the floor and there was no need to stir the stew it was quite capable of doing it by itself because the stove is not on a gimble. We have be wondering how it can be so cold when we are so close to the equator ( 1,200 miles or so ). There have been big waves with no rain for two days and we made it into the port of Avariti on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands just as the sun was setting.
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