Laani's Rant:
Auckland, NZ to Raivaevae, The Austral Islands
22 Apr to 12 May 2011
I have three words for this trip. Wet. Cold. Miserable. I am choosing to leave the swear words out since my Nana will probably read this, but use your imagination. This was 22 days of HELL. Some might say it was 'character building'. I would stab them in the face if they did. We were both aware that this trip would be a very difficult one as sailing from West to East in this area is almost impossible with the prevailing winds. We are well aware that we are going 'the wrong way' or 'uphill', as we are told this by just about every cruiser we meet, since the vast majority generally cruise from East to West, with the prevailing winds behind them. So, in order to make it north to the very bottom of French Polynesia (our destination was Raivaevae, the Austral Islands) we had to go waaaaaaay south first.
The first few days as we headed gradually south and left the NZ coast weren't too bad. We had the odd bit of sun shining through the heavy grey clouds, the wind was reasonably well behaved and I could still feel all my toes. I think at this stage we had not broken anything and all our wind instruments were still working too. I'm not sure at what stage it turned to shit but it was well and truly shit by 40 degrees south. By this stage it took me about an hour to get dressed - my 'day wear' consisting of thermal long sleeved pants and top, second thermal top, fleecy thermal pants, thermal fleece, wet weather overalls and jacket, 2 pairs of thermal socks and knee high boots (my very expensive and worth EVERY SINGLE CENT of $500 boots) and a fleecy balaclava. I may not have been HOT but I sure looked it tsssssss! My nighttime attire usually involved adding an extra beanie on top of the balaclava, a pair of gloves and Ian’s sleeveless fleecy quilted vest - now I really looked glamorous. Oh, and yes Mum, a life jacket on top too, so by this stage I could barely move which was just as well because most of the time I was too scared to anyway.
So, I think we've established it was cold. So we made it South South South down to about 41 degrees which is when we thought we could star to head up. Then we had some bad news from our 'weather guru' (a guy with a great rep in NZ, who works for the Met office) saying there was a 'deep low' forming to our North which would bring terrible conditions our way and we would need to head back towards NZ to avoid the hideous seas and winds it would bring us. Very bad news, as we'd be losing valuable ground, apart from the worry of bad conditions. By this stage it had not stopped raining in days, it was freezing and our solar powered instruments would not/could not charge. There was no wind where there was meant to be plenty or it was from the opposite direction it was forecast to be and we spent a couple of frustrating days retreading our path trying to head finally head North. Moral was very low. Ian decided to be proactive and start preparing for 'heavy weather sailing'. We changed our new and very large headsail for an old and much smaller one. No small feat when it's blowing 30 knots, the rain is horizontal and you can't hear a word the other person is screaming. I had a 'moment' while lying face down on top of the sail we'd brought down (to stop it blowing away), staring into the inky black sea and being pommelled by rain....so this is what cruising is all about hey?...'living the dream'....this has become my chant now whenever things are really shit...'I'm livin' the dream'....no doubt Ian had his own 'moment' when he cut his hand and bled all over his nice new sail!
We had a choice of heading North and monitoring the formation of 'Bob's Low' as I was calling it, or heading further South to about 50 degrees where the ideal winds were now for what we wanted to do. I voted for heading north, there was NO WAY I was going any further south. We headed North East and eventually into high winds and high seas, with the wind on the bow and a terrifying and violent banging sound every time we smashed onto a wave or when one caught us on the side (I called this the bitchslap). Waves into the cockpit and down the companionway made a wet boat even wetter and more miserable. It was still pouring rain. The wind would be 35 knots from one direction 15 knots from another. We dropped tools over the side. Things broke. The main halyard flew loose during one of our numerous sail changes (reef in reef out reef in reef out) and poor Ian had to go up the mast in the midst of all this shit. I was terrified for him going up there. I can only assume he wasn't thrilled either, but as usual he put on a brave face. There seemed no relief and nothing positive, it was as I said in the first paragraph - HELL. And it was two whole weeks of it.
Thankfully we had a bit of a break when 'Bob's Low' miraculously disappeared and we were able to keep on our intended course, which was still incredibly difficult but at least we were headed in the right direction. The forecast we were getting were still not what was actually happening, so just when things were looking up and we thought 'we might be in 2 days' or something like that, we would have to readjust our thinking again. We were both at the end of our tether and had the option of turning the engine on and motoring the last 24 hours. However we had a good forecast for wind which would get us in only a day later than this. Feeling a tad more positive than I had in weeks I suggested we should sail to the last, since we'd only get in a day later and 'wouldn't it be great' to have sailed the WHOLE way. Ian was impressed (and no doubt surprised) by my enthusiasm (as was I) so we kept on sailing. Bad idea. The wind again didn't do as forecast and instead of arriving in and being able to relax we were out, exhausted and irritable for another 2 days. Neither of us were impressed any longer with my enthusiasm. What was I thinking???
After 21 days of being bruised and battered (one event had me thrown from one side of the boat to the other = very sore, lump the size of a Cadbury's cream egg on my forearm), terrified and tired (another event had me throwing a tantrum, on the galley floor when every single thing EXCEPT the item I wanted, kept falling out of the cupboards on top of me while I was trying to cook) and not even one single shower, it all got too much for me. I had a migraine coming on, only the 3rd in my life, and I needed to do something drastic. So, I stripped off, went outside and poured endless buckets of salt water over me. Then I took a migraine tablet (yes, a Mersyndol Seona!) and Ian let me sleep for 12 hours. It was the best I'd felt in weeks! And the next day we were in! Yippeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
The first few days as we headed gradually south and left the NZ coast weren't too bad. We had the odd bit of sun shining through the heavy grey clouds, the wind was reasonably well behaved and I could still feel all my toes. I think at this stage we had not broken anything and all our wind instruments were still working too. I'm not sure at what stage it turned to shit but it was well and truly shit by 40 degrees south. By this stage it took me about an hour to get dressed - my 'day wear' consisting of thermal long sleeved pants and top, second thermal top, fleecy thermal pants, thermal fleece, wet weather overalls and jacket, 2 pairs of thermal socks and knee high boots (my very expensive and worth EVERY SINGLE CENT of $500 boots) and a fleecy balaclava. I may not have been HOT but I sure looked it tsssssss! My nighttime attire usually involved adding an extra beanie on top of the balaclava, a pair of gloves and Ian’s sleeveless fleecy quilted vest - now I really looked glamorous. Oh, and yes Mum, a life jacket on top too, so by this stage I could barely move which was just as well because most of the time I was too scared to anyway.
So, I think we've established it was cold. So we made it South South South down to about 41 degrees which is when we thought we could star to head up. Then we had some bad news from our 'weather guru' (a guy with a great rep in NZ, who works for the Met office) saying there was a 'deep low' forming to our North which would bring terrible conditions our way and we would need to head back towards NZ to avoid the hideous seas and winds it would bring us. Very bad news, as we'd be losing valuable ground, apart from the worry of bad conditions. By this stage it had not stopped raining in days, it was freezing and our solar powered instruments would not/could not charge. There was no wind where there was meant to be plenty or it was from the opposite direction it was forecast to be and we spent a couple of frustrating days retreading our path trying to head finally head North. Moral was very low. Ian decided to be proactive and start preparing for 'heavy weather sailing'. We changed our new and very large headsail for an old and much smaller one. No small feat when it's blowing 30 knots, the rain is horizontal and you can't hear a word the other person is screaming. I had a 'moment' while lying face down on top of the sail we'd brought down (to stop it blowing away), staring into the inky black sea and being pommelled by rain....so this is what cruising is all about hey?...'living the dream'....this has become my chant now whenever things are really shit...'I'm livin' the dream'....no doubt Ian had his own 'moment' when he cut his hand and bled all over his nice new sail!
We had a choice of heading North and monitoring the formation of 'Bob's Low' as I was calling it, or heading further South to about 50 degrees where the ideal winds were now for what we wanted to do. I voted for heading north, there was NO WAY I was going any further south. We headed North East and eventually into high winds and high seas, with the wind on the bow and a terrifying and violent banging sound every time we smashed onto a wave or when one caught us on the side (I called this the bitchslap). Waves into the cockpit and down the companionway made a wet boat even wetter and more miserable. It was still pouring rain. The wind would be 35 knots from one direction 15 knots from another. We dropped tools over the side. Things broke. The main halyard flew loose during one of our numerous sail changes (reef in reef out reef in reef out) and poor Ian had to go up the mast in the midst of all this shit. I was terrified for him going up there. I can only assume he wasn't thrilled either, but as usual he put on a brave face. There seemed no relief and nothing positive, it was as I said in the first paragraph - HELL. And it was two whole weeks of it.
Thankfully we had a bit of a break when 'Bob's Low' miraculously disappeared and we were able to keep on our intended course, which was still incredibly difficult but at least we were headed in the right direction. The forecast we were getting were still not what was actually happening, so just when things were looking up and we thought 'we might be in 2 days' or something like that, we would have to readjust our thinking again. We were both at the end of our tether and had the option of turning the engine on and motoring the last 24 hours. However we had a good forecast for wind which would get us in only a day later than this. Feeling a tad more positive than I had in weeks I suggested we should sail to the last, since we'd only get in a day later and 'wouldn't it be great' to have sailed the WHOLE way. Ian was impressed (and no doubt surprised) by my enthusiasm (as was I) so we kept on sailing. Bad idea. The wind again didn't do as forecast and instead of arriving in and being able to relax we were out, exhausted and irritable for another 2 days. Neither of us were impressed any longer with my enthusiasm. What was I thinking???
After 21 days of being bruised and battered (one event had me thrown from one side of the boat to the other = very sore, lump the size of a Cadbury's cream egg on my forearm), terrified and tired (another event had me throwing a tantrum, on the galley floor when every single thing EXCEPT the item I wanted, kept falling out of the cupboards on top of me while I was trying to cook) and not even one single shower, it all got too much for me. I had a migraine coming on, only the 3rd in my life, and I needed to do something drastic. So, I stripped off, went outside and poured endless buckets of salt water over me. Then I took a migraine tablet (yes, a Mersyndol Seona!) and Ian let me sleep for 12 hours. It was the best I'd felt in weeks! And the next day we were in! Yippeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
Laani's Rant:
Raivaevae and Tubuia, The Austral Islands
12 to 28 May 2011
Oh the relief and the excitement of coming into a new place. Entering a lagoon can be a bit scary for the first time as it's usually very narrow and can have a very strong tidal current running against you. Lucky for us, all the ones we've been through have been well marked. Still I insisted on standing on the bow to try and watch for coral heads. I saw plenty but it was tricky to work out how far below the surface they were. I saw a turtle bobbing along the surface though.
The Austral Islands are the most Southern island group of French Polynesia, are the most remote, the least inhabited and the least visited. We were ecstatic to have arrived but it could have been the end of the earth for all I cared, I was just happy to be at anchor! The first thing we did was jump over for a swim. Bliss. Then while I gave the boat a good clean (it’s very hard to give the boat a good clean when you are heeled over at sea), Ian went ashore to check in with the Gendarmerie (French Police) as the only French speaker on board, and as the master of the boat. Bless him, thankfully he is persistent since they didn't understand where we had come from and that we need some kind of stamp in our passports to say we had done the right thing! We celebrated our arrival that night on board a Dutch boat and got a lot of tips and local info from them. I hadn't even gone ashore, since I was just happy to be able to see the land! Then we slept like two logs.
What a lovely, sleepy little island it was. A baker drove his van of fresh baguettes and toilet paper around the island every morning, so Ian would go in at 6:30 every morning for one. There were a couple of tiny little shops 'magasin's' selling canned goods etc. (we still had plenty on board but it was fun to look), a single road that went the whole way around the island, and one steep one over the centre, everyone waved or said 'la orana' (pronounced yaorana, meaning hello/goodbye in Polynesian), and we were often offered lifts in the back of utes. The majority of the little houses, no matter how basic, were painted (blue or aqua being a very popular colour) and usually had colour coordinated curtains with flowery prints on them. Now here's the florist in me - they were surrounded by beautiful little gardens filled with colourful annual flowers (zinnia's, marigolds) and tropical plants (cordylines, crotons, ginger). I even found orchids growing on the road side. We went 'shopping' on our walks - that is - we picked fruit. We cut off whole branches of tiny green sweet bananas and hung them from the stern of the boat to ripen. We were given ripe papaya by kind men we walked past and developed a keen eye for fruit - limes, guava, green papaya is great in curries, passion fruit and our all-time favourite - pamplemousse. This is a large grapefruit but is sweeter than I remember them being. Oh it is amazing, and we are addicted to them. We keep them in the fridge and when we need refreshing (they do wonders for dehydration but a dribbly mess) we slice them up and eat them over the side of the boat).
Ian celebrated his 35th birthday in Raivaevae and since there were no restaurants or bars to take him to we took the dinghy out to the motu (coral island, palm trees) for a little explore and picnic, then I tried to spoilt him with the promise of a fancy dinner somewhere (when there WAS a restaurant) and cooked him lasagne, baked bananas with brandy custard and got him drunk on the alcohol he brought in NZ.
Unfortunately the trip from NZ wasn't just tough on us; it was also tough on our little Kadoona, so we also had many jobs to do and things to fix/change. So we stayed in Raivaevae longer than we had planned (10 days) as at least there were no other distractions to keep us from doing our work. After a major job of painting the deck, amongst other things, it was time to explore somewhere else.
So it was off a little further North East to a slightly bigger and busier island called Tubuai. Our overnight sail across was great, we even had to slow the boat down so we didn't get in too early. The sailing was easy and comfortable. It was warm. So this is what cruising is meant to be like? I could handle this. I loved it here, even though the island wasn't as pretty as Raivaevae. We anchored in a few metres in the crystal clear lagoon, near some Frenchy friends (they have a 6 month old - we are constantly amazed that nothing seems to have changed in their lifestyle because of this) who had also come over from Raivaevae. Swimming off the boat was just beautiful since you could see the bottom, but you had to be careful you didn't get swept away by the very strong current. I had a funny experience in the post office, waiting for an hour to ask to use the internet and shaking hands with every single person that came in to wait their turn with me while the man being served ahead of me was buying a satellite dish. From the post office? Where else I guess? We also got our first fresh vegies here - glorious cucumber, bok choi, spring onions and lettuce. Oh the joy!
We spent a few days wandering around exploring and swimming and decided the wind was right for us to head North to Tahiti. Unfortunately we had to check in formally with the officials in Papeete so we were conscious of getting this out the way. Also, we had discovered a leak in the hull on the overnight trip across (probably made worse after our rough trip from NZ) which was likely disguised by other issues we'd had over the last few weeks with water tanks leaking in the bilges and other valves that needed tightening. Also, this area is a great stowage area for beer, sewing machine and sails etc. under our bed, so it was a hard place to check regularly. Ian patched it all up with emergency epoxy so it slowed right down. Unfortunately it isn't something we can just ignore.
The Austral Islands are the most Southern island group of French Polynesia, are the most remote, the least inhabited and the least visited. We were ecstatic to have arrived but it could have been the end of the earth for all I cared, I was just happy to be at anchor! The first thing we did was jump over for a swim. Bliss. Then while I gave the boat a good clean (it’s very hard to give the boat a good clean when you are heeled over at sea), Ian went ashore to check in with the Gendarmerie (French Police) as the only French speaker on board, and as the master of the boat. Bless him, thankfully he is persistent since they didn't understand where we had come from and that we need some kind of stamp in our passports to say we had done the right thing! We celebrated our arrival that night on board a Dutch boat and got a lot of tips and local info from them. I hadn't even gone ashore, since I was just happy to be able to see the land! Then we slept like two logs.
What a lovely, sleepy little island it was. A baker drove his van of fresh baguettes and toilet paper around the island every morning, so Ian would go in at 6:30 every morning for one. There were a couple of tiny little shops 'magasin's' selling canned goods etc. (we still had plenty on board but it was fun to look), a single road that went the whole way around the island, and one steep one over the centre, everyone waved or said 'la orana' (pronounced yaorana, meaning hello/goodbye in Polynesian), and we were often offered lifts in the back of utes. The majority of the little houses, no matter how basic, were painted (blue or aqua being a very popular colour) and usually had colour coordinated curtains with flowery prints on them. Now here's the florist in me - they were surrounded by beautiful little gardens filled with colourful annual flowers (zinnia's, marigolds) and tropical plants (cordylines, crotons, ginger). I even found orchids growing on the road side. We went 'shopping' on our walks - that is - we picked fruit. We cut off whole branches of tiny green sweet bananas and hung them from the stern of the boat to ripen. We were given ripe papaya by kind men we walked past and developed a keen eye for fruit - limes, guava, green papaya is great in curries, passion fruit and our all-time favourite - pamplemousse. This is a large grapefruit but is sweeter than I remember them being. Oh it is amazing, and we are addicted to them. We keep them in the fridge and when we need refreshing (they do wonders for dehydration but a dribbly mess) we slice them up and eat them over the side of the boat).
Ian celebrated his 35th birthday in Raivaevae and since there were no restaurants or bars to take him to we took the dinghy out to the motu (coral island, palm trees) for a little explore and picnic, then I tried to spoilt him with the promise of a fancy dinner somewhere (when there WAS a restaurant) and cooked him lasagne, baked bananas with brandy custard and got him drunk on the alcohol he brought in NZ.
Unfortunately the trip from NZ wasn't just tough on us; it was also tough on our little Kadoona, so we also had many jobs to do and things to fix/change. So we stayed in Raivaevae longer than we had planned (10 days) as at least there were no other distractions to keep us from doing our work. After a major job of painting the deck, amongst other things, it was time to explore somewhere else.
So it was off a little further North East to a slightly bigger and busier island called Tubuai. Our overnight sail across was great, we even had to slow the boat down so we didn't get in too early. The sailing was easy and comfortable. It was warm. So this is what cruising is meant to be like? I could handle this. I loved it here, even though the island wasn't as pretty as Raivaevae. We anchored in a few metres in the crystal clear lagoon, near some Frenchy friends (they have a 6 month old - we are constantly amazed that nothing seems to have changed in their lifestyle because of this) who had also come over from Raivaevae. Swimming off the boat was just beautiful since you could see the bottom, but you had to be careful you didn't get swept away by the very strong current. I had a funny experience in the post office, waiting for an hour to ask to use the internet and shaking hands with every single person that came in to wait their turn with me while the man being served ahead of me was buying a satellite dish. From the post office? Where else I guess? We also got our first fresh vegies here - glorious cucumber, bok choi, spring onions and lettuce. Oh the joy!
We spent a few days wandering around exploring and swimming and decided the wind was right for us to head North to Tahiti. Unfortunately we had to check in formally with the officials in Papeete so we were conscious of getting this out the way. Also, we had discovered a leak in the hull on the overnight trip across (probably made worse after our rough trip from NZ) which was likely disguised by other issues we'd had over the last few weeks with water tanks leaking in the bilges and other valves that needed tightening. Also, this area is a great stowage area for beer, sewing machine and sails etc. under our bed, so it was a hard place to check regularly. Ian patched it all up with emergency epoxy so it slowed right down. Unfortunately it isn't something we can just ignore.
Laani's Rant:
Tahiti, The Society Islands
29 May to 08 Jun 2011
The guide books warned us not to expect a tropical paradise here filled with beautiful beaches. I think when people say they've been to Tahiti it is often the other islands they've spent more time in. It was still enjoyable though. The 3 day trip up was mostly easy, apart from the wind as usual not doing as it was forecast and dying completely in the early hours of the last morning. We drifted in circles just off the coast and I swear I was being stalked by a seal or dolphin. Either that or someone with their scuba gear coming up for air at the back of the boat constantly. It was a little freaky. We anchored in the lagoon South of Papeete in a very busy spot called Maeva Beach. It was very crowded compared to what we were used to but still a lovely spot. Our French friends were there again, and a few other boats we met in Raivaevae.
We got the official stuff out of the way and breathed a sigh of relief. Not quite as complicated as we'd expected, but I still had to fork out $1200 for a repatriation bond, most of which I get back when I leave, apart from bank fees. Papeete is a cool little city, great markets full of fresh produce (the smallest, hottest most lethal chillies I have ever used in my life), fast food (the best 4 cheese pizza I've ever had and I will be going back for more) and arts and crafty stuff. Definitely a place to revisit when we go back. I managed to get a desperately needed haircut without speaking a word of French (very frustrating, since I keep reverting to the little Spanish I remember). Oh and the MASSIVE supermarket near our anchorage and the marina - it has an entire aisle dedicated to cheese. Oh I want two of everything please. My all-time fave - cheddar cheese isn't common at all here (I think enmental is the standard cheese), and I have just run out from the supply I brought in NZ. So far I've only tried enmental and brie but I do plan on working my way down the aisle.
There were strong winds forecast for our area and we weren't keen on being in a crowded anchorage for them, and we also fancied having a look further South at a place called Port Phaeton. Tahiti is shaped a bit like a large (Tahiti-nui, the North part) and a small (Tahiti-iti) island joined together by an isthmus. Port Phaeton is in a very well protected part of the isthmus and has a rep for being safe in a cyclone. We had a lovely sail down the coast, even sailing through the very narrow and very disconcerting pass (huge waves breaking on sucking reef on both side) - I was leisurely taking pictures (I wouldn't have been that relaxed 2 years ago) but sadly none of them do it justice. We anchored in time to set up our huge rain cover and Ian set about catching rain and filling up our tanks, which was the first time we'd done it. I washed sheets and towels out in the pouring rain - the luxury of having running water! The Dutchies we met on our first night in Raivaevae were here so we caught up with them and met some other cruisers. We caught a bus south to the end of the road (the road just stops) to Teahupoo - the world renowned surfing spot. The swell was massive but sadly it was too windy for the surfers and it was just a few mad kite surfers out there. What a dangerous looking reef break, no way you'd catch this timid small wave surfer out there! Would love to see it when it's busy and 'working' one day. Was great to be out on the local bus for the day anyway.
We got the official stuff out of the way and breathed a sigh of relief. Not quite as complicated as we'd expected, but I still had to fork out $1200 for a repatriation bond, most of which I get back when I leave, apart from bank fees. Papeete is a cool little city, great markets full of fresh produce (the smallest, hottest most lethal chillies I have ever used in my life), fast food (the best 4 cheese pizza I've ever had and I will be going back for more) and arts and crafty stuff. Definitely a place to revisit when we go back. I managed to get a desperately needed haircut without speaking a word of French (very frustrating, since I keep reverting to the little Spanish I remember). Oh and the MASSIVE supermarket near our anchorage and the marina - it has an entire aisle dedicated to cheese. Oh I want two of everything please. My all-time fave - cheddar cheese isn't common at all here (I think enmental is the standard cheese), and I have just run out from the supply I brought in NZ. So far I've only tried enmental and brie but I do plan on working my way down the aisle.
There were strong winds forecast for our area and we weren't keen on being in a crowded anchorage for them, and we also fancied having a look further South at a place called Port Phaeton. Tahiti is shaped a bit like a large (Tahiti-nui, the North part) and a small (Tahiti-iti) island joined together by an isthmus. Port Phaeton is in a very well protected part of the isthmus and has a rep for being safe in a cyclone. We had a lovely sail down the coast, even sailing through the very narrow and very disconcerting pass (huge waves breaking on sucking reef on both side) - I was leisurely taking pictures (I wouldn't have been that relaxed 2 years ago) but sadly none of them do it justice. We anchored in time to set up our huge rain cover and Ian set about catching rain and filling up our tanks, which was the first time we'd done it. I washed sheets and towels out in the pouring rain - the luxury of having running water! The Dutchies we met on our first night in Raivaevae were here so we caught up with them and met some other cruisers. We caught a bus south to the end of the road (the road just stops) to Teahupoo - the world renowned surfing spot. The swell was massive but sadly it was too windy for the surfers and it was just a few mad kite surfers out there. What a dangerous looking reef break, no way you'd catch this timid small wave surfer out there! Would love to see it when it's busy and 'working' one day. Was great to be out on the local bus for the day anyway.
Laani's Rant:
Raitea, The Society Islands
09 Jun to .......
We expected the overnight trip from Tahiti to Raiatea to be fairly easy, but King Neptune had other ideas. Just when I was unfurling the headsail after we had been motoring away from Tahiti for the last hour, a gentle breeze of 10-12 knots all hell broke loose and it was all of a sudden 35 knots. Eventually we had the stay sail up and the 3 reefs in the main and it was a pretty rocky rolley trip across to Raiatea. Typical – just when I was start to see the appeal of a nice gentle sail…anyhow we made good speeds even if we didn’t get much sleep, and sailed all the way into the beautiful lagoon and up to the boatyards and picked up a mooring. It’s yet another public holiday here this weekend (they seem to have more than Aussies) so we don’t come out of the water until Tuesday. Then we shall spend the week working on the leaks in the hull. Ian will do most of that with the guy doing the welding, I’ll probably get on to the rust spots we’ve been meaning to get to as well as more anti-fouling (terrific – I love being covered in that black stuff) and remarking the anchor chain so we know how much we have out.
It’s really lovely being on this mooring, a beautiful breeze out here and a lovely clear blue swim off the boat. It has a nice feel about it and I’m not even jealous of the luxurious bungalows I can see on the beach in front of us. We aren’t really looking forward being on a stand in the yard – how will we cool down??? We borrowed some bikes yesterday and went riding into town – it was great fun. I had a really groovy hot pink ladies bike with a very comfy seat, screeching brakes and no gears. Still cool though, since I haven’t been on a bike in probably 6 or 7 years. If I was doing this again and had unlimited funds and space I’d definitely buy one of those fold down bikes. I’m currently yearning for a kayak so I can explore the little bays and inlets around the place. Pity, NZ or Oz would’ve been the best place to purchase one, but I didn’t know how much I would come to want/ need one. I’m on the lookout. But in the meantime it’s back to work so I’ll keep you updated on how our work week goes (hopefully fast and successful).
It’s really lovely being on this mooring, a beautiful breeze out here and a lovely clear blue swim off the boat. It has a nice feel about it and I’m not even jealous of the luxurious bungalows I can see on the beach in front of us. We aren’t really looking forward being on a stand in the yard – how will we cool down??? We borrowed some bikes yesterday and went riding into town – it was great fun. I had a really groovy hot pink ladies bike with a very comfy seat, screeching brakes and no gears. Still cool though, since I haven’t been on a bike in probably 6 or 7 years. If I was doing this again and had unlimited funds and space I’d definitely buy one of those fold down bikes. I’m currently yearning for a kayak so I can explore the little bays and inlets around the place. Pity, NZ or Oz would’ve been the best place to purchase one, but I didn’t know how much I would come to want/ need one. I’m on the lookout. But in the meantime it’s back to work so I’ll keep you updated on how our work week goes (hopefully fast and successful).
Laani´s Rant:
Raitea, Bora Bora, Huahine, Tahiti and Moorea...
June, July, August
RAITEA…SIX MONTHS IN A LEAKY BOAT (there’s a song in that!)
13 JUNE TO 22 JUNE 2011
We worked our butts off for a week in Raitea while the boat was out of the water. 12-14 hours days in a hot and dusty boatyard that managed to escape any of the cooling trade winds….surprisingly we actually had a great time there as we met heaps of wonderful and interesting people and got a lot of satisfaction from fixing our major problem (holes in boat) as well as heaps of jobs we hadn’t planned to do (like remarking the anchor chain). I think pictures speak louder than words so I’ll leave them to show mostly what we were up to. So, when Kadoona was safe on dry land and Ian began ‘exploring’ around the leaks and small holes we could see, it didn’t take much for his screwdriver to slip through to the other side of the hull, and there were many more areas than what we thought. Seeing daylight and the ground brightly and clearly through the bottom of your hull is a rather disturbing moment….although I suppose it beats having water streaming in. While Ian monitored and liased with the welders (and their boss) and worked on sanding, priming and antifouling the enormous sections they replaced I was mostly on deck chipping, banging, scraping, treating and painting the rust on deck. Both were huge jobs in their own right, but Ian also had to ride a borrowed bicycle into town to purchase paint and equipment (locating it in a strange variety of shops – I think it was next to fruit and vegetables in the end - as well as translating and hoping it’s what we needed), then lug litres of it back. Even simple things take so much longer in a new country.
When the time came to put us back in the water we held our breaths while we checked we were floating and there we no more leaks……phew… we were SAFE and tied up on the boatyard dock for a couple of days while we cleaned after all the messy work and tried to restore a bit of order to our little floating home. After a week sleeping on the couch (the work done was under our bed, which was completely dismantled) it was nice to sleep in our bed again, and I think we slept the best we had in weeks knowing that the problems underneath us were no longer zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
*** see above for pics from Raitea ***
LIVING THE DREAM….FINALLY!
For those of you sitting at work reading this, trying to ignore the crappy rainy weather outside (its winter in Oz) and the phone ringing and the constant demands on your time….THIS is probably where your sympathy for me and my past ramblings runs out. THIS is where I finally get to brag. THIS is what I thought cruising would be more like……
Tahaa
22 to 23 June 2011
A very short but sweet stay in the sparkling lagoon of this island. We anchored in front of the most expensive hotel in French Polynesia (about $1000 per night) and stunning waters and took the dinghy ashore. Between the hotel island and the next tiny motu is a gorgeous coral garden loaded with fish. We didn’t need fins and didn’t even need bread to feed them, we just slipped in the water at one end of the island and were taken gently by the tide through the maze of coral to the other end of the island. The fish were incredible, every colour you could imagine, and so curious. Back to the boat, sipping our drinks at sunset, gazing at the expensive over-the-water bungalows from our own floating home and wondering aloud ‘where else would you be?’
*** see above for pics of Tahaa ***
BORA BORA, not bora-boring after all
23 June to 30 June 2011
Bora Bora….the name that conjures up vivid images of stunning white beaches, crystal lagoons and an exotic culture….I have to say firstly that my expectations of Bora Bora were incredibly low. From what I’d heard and read I expected an overpriced, cheesy, touristy resort island with not much going for it and fairly average beaches (since I grew up on the best beach my standards are very high).
We arrived in time for the beginning of the Heiva which is a month long celebration of Polynesian culture and life involving dancing, singing, music and games. Every island takes part in the Heiva, but Tahiti and Bora Bora have the biggest festivities. Our initial main aim was to get a bit of culture and of course, finally relax and enjoy our holidays. We got tickets to the opening even of the Heiva and had a great night enjoying local cuisine (raw fish in cooked in lime and coconut milk), beautiful singing and incredibly sexy dancing to the beat of drums. Captain Cook and his crew must have honestly thought they had died and gone to heaven when they were welcomed this way! We loved it so much we went the next night as well, but opted for a free seat on a rug at the side of the show – it was no less impressive!
We took Kadoona away from her ‘town’ anchorage to the West side of a little island, still within Bora Bora’s lagoon. Here we got the sun, sea and snorkeling dose we wanted (but had not expected). There was a lovely small motu nearby, which was well kept, with lovely thatched huts, and raked sand but when we went for a look we were told it was private, despite there being no signs up to say so…it was probably shared by several hotels who charge guests a ridiculous amount of money for lunch on a ‘deserted island’! After a few days we anchored south of Bora Bora on a sand patch and had our very first shark encounter. It was only a small reef shark but Ian and I both made a beeline for Kadoona, not willing to take any chances! A little exploring ashore again and we were ready to leave Bora Bora, surprised that it had enchanted us as it did.
*** see above for pics of Bora Bora ***
Huahine - my favourite island paradise
30 June to 10 July 2011
Our expectations of Huahine were the opposite of Bora Bora, and were thankfully exceeded. Huahine is a very relaxed and slow paced island, close to busy islands but not trying to keep up or out do them. It’s also less visited by tourists and cruisers but was where we had our most social and fun time yet. We anchored in a beautiful beach close to the village and the surf and passed a few days swimming, surfing (Ian’s first and only surfs in months) and sipping mai-tai’s in the little bar overlooking the water and sunset.
Our dear friend Rosie from Sydney, bought his boat Wanderlust IV in Vancouver is sailing her back to Sydney and we finally arranged to cross paths and spent a week mucking around together with him and his ‘crew’ Sika and Paul. I can’t tell you how great it was to see him again, a familiar face/guest/drinker at our place in Cronulla and someone to easily talk shit to, without having to explain what you are on about….it was also great to have some ‘girl time’ with Sika. The trade winds were doing their usual thing so we went in search of a more secure anchorage at the south of the island and found it…in a place we nicknamed ‘Gusty Bay’, a gorgeous beach still hit by the wind but very secure. Lucky for us we had some other great friends down there and spent several days being very social, playing games, having movie nights, eating, drinking and being generally very merry. We sailed Kadoona and Wanderlust back up the channel while Paul and Sika zoomed around in Rosie’s dinghy taking pictures of us. It was a great photo shoot – and the first time we’ve EVER seen Kadoona under sail, or had the pictures to prove it! She really is very photogenic! Sadly we had to say goodbye to our friends and sailed out of the pass the next day together, both heading in opposite directions (but Rosie’s direction, towards Oz and downwind, being the easier of the two!). Typically, when we needed the wind it deserted us and we had to motor most of the way back to Tahiti to pick up our visitors.
Tahiti and Moorea….and our first real guests on board!!!
*** See above for pics of Huahine ***
10 July to 29 July 2011
Carrie (Ian’s sister) and Jon (hubby) flew into Tahiti a few days before the end of the Heiva celebrations. Needless to say there was much alcohol consumed (starting with a bottle of bubbly the morning they arrived) and much fun had, and of course the world was put to rights….several times. Not all of our plans worked out as planned – there was trying to find some nightlife in Papeete and ending up in a titty bar and being warned by the police to watch our wallets. They didn’t have wine so we only stayed long enough for the other three to wet their parched throats on a beer. The police seemed to be a bit panicky about leaving 3 tourists in the bar and hung around anxiously until we left. Then there was the long walk to a Heiva event, of boulder throwing and coconut chopping went – we never found it, but instead had a nice long dusty walk… But we did manage to see the closing ceremony of the Heiva (more singing and sexy dancing) and the fruit carrying races. Fruit carrying you ask? This event is high on my list of recommendations for the ladies….mostly very muscular, sweaty tattooed or painted men in sarongs running a race with poles laden with fruits (bananas, coconuts – whatever takes their fancy) which weigh up to 50 kgs….very exciting and I got some great photos in between swooning.
We spent a glorious week in Moorea…a stunning beach anchorage with a rainbow of fish to snorkel through, eating and drinking loads and trying out our new addition to Kadoona’s family – Snotty the green sea kayak. She is GREAT – I love the freedom of exploring on my own, and being able to get her on and off the boat without assistance. We had a fantastic (and much needed) hike up the mountains from Opunohu Bay (this is where Captain Cook first anchored, not Cooks Bay, surprisingly), what a view over the two bays, and the walk back down through the jungle of enormous ficus with their twisting roots and behind the maraes (Polynesian temples/ places of worship, made of stone). We were even joined by a group of overweight singing sarong wearing Polynesian nuns, hopping along from rock to rock in their thongs, as happy and as lightly as can be. Finding a heap of wild passionfruit was an added bonus to an already successful day.
We decided to get extremely adventurous and took Kadoona and her crew in a very narrow and shallow pass and channel to see if we could anchor near the famous ‘stingray world’. With Carrie and I up the bow spotting for depth and coral heads and Ian taking it very slowly at the helm Jon monitoring actual depths, we only just managed to turn around and head back the way we came. I found out later the depth sounder read ‘0.00m’….but Ian must’ve decided I’d overreact if I knew that and he was quite right too! We anchored for a few hours in a safe spot and took the dinghy down to ‘stingray world’ – a sandbar where loads of stingray’s come right up to you, along with loads of reef sharks. To be honest, I had I NO desire whatsoever to swim with these alien creatures (or the sharks for that matter) but once I was there I thought ‘why the hell not?’ And you’d think by splashing it scares them enough to swim away? Nope, it actually makes them come right up to you – eek! Unfortunately it was the one time I forgot my camera, so we will have to rely on Jon for his fabulous underwater shots.
Cooks Bay finally gave us a respite from the wind and a secure anchorage and we spent a few days mucking about. Ian’s thoughtful family treated us all to a tasty dinner out with a hilarious toothless maître‘d/ waiter/ chef/ comedian...this guy seemed to do everything, and very well too. What a rare treat in a place where we really only have two complaints: 1 – how expensive everything is. 2 – The internet. Oh and there is a third one which is the wind and how completely unpredictable it is but I’ll let Ian rant about that.
By far the clearest, most incredible water I’ve seen so far was at our final anchorage on Moorea’s east coast. Wow. We all took heaps of pictures but none of them will ever do it justice. Shame we only had one night there, and then sadly had to take Jon back to Tahiti for his flight home.
And then there were three….
29 July to 04 August 2011
Our well thought out and researched plans of sailing to the south of Tahiti and anchoring near the Botanical Gardens were of course thrown into complete chaos when the forecast winds did the exact opposite and increased to 35 knots, amongst huge swell and rain….and I was hoping those days were gone forever! Lucky for Carrie, she got a small dose of what previous trips were like for us, heeled over and completely uncomfortable…unfortunately I kept smiling in the pictures she was taking as proof, I think it was a nervous twitch.
Since it was impossible to get where we’d planned we turned around and went north to Point Venus, Matavai Bay, where Captain Cook took his unsuccessful sighting of Venus, and where the Endeavour and the Bounty were anchored. I’d just finished reading ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ so I was rather taken with the fact that we were anchored there, and happened to be repairing sails and working a little as they’d have done. It was a nice secure spot in spite of the gusty winds, with very hot black volcanic beaches and surprisingly clear water.
We eventually made it to the Botanical gardens, but on buses instead of the boat. The buses were the most interesting part of the day. There are no bus schedules here. They just leave when they are full, when they feel like it, or when they have finished their nap/lunch/newspaper. The trip took about 90 minutes, we stopped for petrol and snacks, the bus driver new everyone – it was great entertainment. The trip back wasn’t so exciting, neither was waiting by the dusty highway for over an hour wondering if there was even a bus coming! And people complain about the buses in Sydney?? Sadly, the gardens were a disappointment (and they charged to get in). I think I’ve been completely spoilt with Kings Park in Perth and Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. I was also blessed to have worked at PoHo Florist for the last few years, where I had access to such a wide range of flowers and quality specimens. Still, it was good fun to get out for the day and do something different.
Carries final day with us was one of our best. We loaded up the dinghy with snorkelling gear, freshly chopped coconut and a flask of punch (alcoholic of course – it’s the holidays) and towed the kayak down to the reef near the pass that we will soon exit one final time. We’d passed it so many times entering and exiting Maeva Beach, and always wondered what was around. We had a great time kayaking, snorkelling and listening to 4 different stereos from 4 different little floating thatched bungalows (people hire them for parties). There aren’t many beaches here so the sand bar is the next best thing, they just much around in the water the whole time. There was even a floating barbeque. Yes that’s right! I don’t know why this hasn’t caught on at home yet, maybe because we have so many beaches. It’s only a matter of time though; it’d be perfect for Australia Day!
And then there were two….
04 August 2011 to ???????
It was very quiet when Carrie left. Of course there were tears (mainly mine). After so much time in solitude it was great having people around us, and strange to have them gone. There isn’t anyone else coming to visit us in the foreseeable future, so it’s just down to us against the elements again and it’s a bit of a daunting feeling, a bit like leaving NZ. We are both ready to move on from here (we certainly can’t afford to stay) and explore somewhere new, but it’s also a little scary. Before we left NZ I simply didn’t KNOW what it would be like to be at sea for 3 weeks. Now I’ve seen how crappy it can be, I’m just hoping it’s more pleasant than that. So the plan is to leave here this week and head south east to the Gambier Islands (still French Polynesia, but even more remote than the Australs where we came in). The trip will take roughly 10 days and I’m sure we’ll stay a week or so to break up our sailing a bit. From there we HOPE to get to Pitcairn and Easter Islands, again to break our journey up. Anchoring here depends entirely on perfect weather, so we may have to sail right on past if it’s not ideal. That will be tortuous since it could then mean a continuous 4-6 week trip on to the Galapagos Islands. We will have to wait and see. Until next time…..
*** See below for pics of Tahiti, and Moorea ***
13 JUNE TO 22 JUNE 2011
We worked our butts off for a week in Raitea while the boat was out of the water. 12-14 hours days in a hot and dusty boatyard that managed to escape any of the cooling trade winds….surprisingly we actually had a great time there as we met heaps of wonderful and interesting people and got a lot of satisfaction from fixing our major problem (holes in boat) as well as heaps of jobs we hadn’t planned to do (like remarking the anchor chain). I think pictures speak louder than words so I’ll leave them to show mostly what we were up to. So, when Kadoona was safe on dry land and Ian began ‘exploring’ around the leaks and small holes we could see, it didn’t take much for his screwdriver to slip through to the other side of the hull, and there were many more areas than what we thought. Seeing daylight and the ground brightly and clearly through the bottom of your hull is a rather disturbing moment….although I suppose it beats having water streaming in. While Ian monitored and liased with the welders (and their boss) and worked on sanding, priming and antifouling the enormous sections they replaced I was mostly on deck chipping, banging, scraping, treating and painting the rust on deck. Both were huge jobs in their own right, but Ian also had to ride a borrowed bicycle into town to purchase paint and equipment (locating it in a strange variety of shops – I think it was next to fruit and vegetables in the end - as well as translating and hoping it’s what we needed), then lug litres of it back. Even simple things take so much longer in a new country.
When the time came to put us back in the water we held our breaths while we checked we were floating and there we no more leaks……phew… we were SAFE and tied up on the boatyard dock for a couple of days while we cleaned after all the messy work and tried to restore a bit of order to our little floating home. After a week sleeping on the couch (the work done was under our bed, which was completely dismantled) it was nice to sleep in our bed again, and I think we slept the best we had in weeks knowing that the problems underneath us were no longer zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
*** see above for pics from Raitea ***
LIVING THE DREAM….FINALLY!
For those of you sitting at work reading this, trying to ignore the crappy rainy weather outside (its winter in Oz) and the phone ringing and the constant demands on your time….THIS is probably where your sympathy for me and my past ramblings runs out. THIS is where I finally get to brag. THIS is what I thought cruising would be more like……
Tahaa
22 to 23 June 2011
A very short but sweet stay in the sparkling lagoon of this island. We anchored in front of the most expensive hotel in French Polynesia (about $1000 per night) and stunning waters and took the dinghy ashore. Between the hotel island and the next tiny motu is a gorgeous coral garden loaded with fish. We didn’t need fins and didn’t even need bread to feed them, we just slipped in the water at one end of the island and were taken gently by the tide through the maze of coral to the other end of the island. The fish were incredible, every colour you could imagine, and so curious. Back to the boat, sipping our drinks at sunset, gazing at the expensive over-the-water bungalows from our own floating home and wondering aloud ‘where else would you be?’
*** see above for pics of Tahaa ***
BORA BORA, not bora-boring after all
23 June to 30 June 2011
Bora Bora….the name that conjures up vivid images of stunning white beaches, crystal lagoons and an exotic culture….I have to say firstly that my expectations of Bora Bora were incredibly low. From what I’d heard and read I expected an overpriced, cheesy, touristy resort island with not much going for it and fairly average beaches (since I grew up on the best beach my standards are very high).
We arrived in time for the beginning of the Heiva which is a month long celebration of Polynesian culture and life involving dancing, singing, music and games. Every island takes part in the Heiva, but Tahiti and Bora Bora have the biggest festivities. Our initial main aim was to get a bit of culture and of course, finally relax and enjoy our holidays. We got tickets to the opening even of the Heiva and had a great night enjoying local cuisine (raw fish in cooked in lime and coconut milk), beautiful singing and incredibly sexy dancing to the beat of drums. Captain Cook and his crew must have honestly thought they had died and gone to heaven when they were welcomed this way! We loved it so much we went the next night as well, but opted for a free seat on a rug at the side of the show – it was no less impressive!
We took Kadoona away from her ‘town’ anchorage to the West side of a little island, still within Bora Bora’s lagoon. Here we got the sun, sea and snorkeling dose we wanted (but had not expected). There was a lovely small motu nearby, which was well kept, with lovely thatched huts, and raked sand but when we went for a look we were told it was private, despite there being no signs up to say so…it was probably shared by several hotels who charge guests a ridiculous amount of money for lunch on a ‘deserted island’! After a few days we anchored south of Bora Bora on a sand patch and had our very first shark encounter. It was only a small reef shark but Ian and I both made a beeline for Kadoona, not willing to take any chances! A little exploring ashore again and we were ready to leave Bora Bora, surprised that it had enchanted us as it did.
*** see above for pics of Bora Bora ***
Huahine - my favourite island paradise
30 June to 10 July 2011
Our expectations of Huahine were the opposite of Bora Bora, and were thankfully exceeded. Huahine is a very relaxed and slow paced island, close to busy islands but not trying to keep up or out do them. It’s also less visited by tourists and cruisers but was where we had our most social and fun time yet. We anchored in a beautiful beach close to the village and the surf and passed a few days swimming, surfing (Ian’s first and only surfs in months) and sipping mai-tai’s in the little bar overlooking the water and sunset.
Our dear friend Rosie from Sydney, bought his boat Wanderlust IV in Vancouver is sailing her back to Sydney and we finally arranged to cross paths and spent a week mucking around together with him and his ‘crew’ Sika and Paul. I can’t tell you how great it was to see him again, a familiar face/guest/drinker at our place in Cronulla and someone to easily talk shit to, without having to explain what you are on about….it was also great to have some ‘girl time’ with Sika. The trade winds were doing their usual thing so we went in search of a more secure anchorage at the south of the island and found it…in a place we nicknamed ‘Gusty Bay’, a gorgeous beach still hit by the wind but very secure. Lucky for us we had some other great friends down there and spent several days being very social, playing games, having movie nights, eating, drinking and being generally very merry. We sailed Kadoona and Wanderlust back up the channel while Paul and Sika zoomed around in Rosie’s dinghy taking pictures of us. It was a great photo shoot – and the first time we’ve EVER seen Kadoona under sail, or had the pictures to prove it! She really is very photogenic! Sadly we had to say goodbye to our friends and sailed out of the pass the next day together, both heading in opposite directions (but Rosie’s direction, towards Oz and downwind, being the easier of the two!). Typically, when we needed the wind it deserted us and we had to motor most of the way back to Tahiti to pick up our visitors.
Tahiti and Moorea….and our first real guests on board!!!
*** See above for pics of Huahine ***
10 July to 29 July 2011
Carrie (Ian’s sister) and Jon (hubby) flew into Tahiti a few days before the end of the Heiva celebrations. Needless to say there was much alcohol consumed (starting with a bottle of bubbly the morning they arrived) and much fun had, and of course the world was put to rights….several times. Not all of our plans worked out as planned – there was trying to find some nightlife in Papeete and ending up in a titty bar and being warned by the police to watch our wallets. They didn’t have wine so we only stayed long enough for the other three to wet their parched throats on a beer. The police seemed to be a bit panicky about leaving 3 tourists in the bar and hung around anxiously until we left. Then there was the long walk to a Heiva event, of boulder throwing and coconut chopping went – we never found it, but instead had a nice long dusty walk… But we did manage to see the closing ceremony of the Heiva (more singing and sexy dancing) and the fruit carrying races. Fruit carrying you ask? This event is high on my list of recommendations for the ladies….mostly very muscular, sweaty tattooed or painted men in sarongs running a race with poles laden with fruits (bananas, coconuts – whatever takes their fancy) which weigh up to 50 kgs….very exciting and I got some great photos in between swooning.
We spent a glorious week in Moorea…a stunning beach anchorage with a rainbow of fish to snorkel through, eating and drinking loads and trying out our new addition to Kadoona’s family – Snotty the green sea kayak. She is GREAT – I love the freedom of exploring on my own, and being able to get her on and off the boat without assistance. We had a fantastic (and much needed) hike up the mountains from Opunohu Bay (this is where Captain Cook first anchored, not Cooks Bay, surprisingly), what a view over the two bays, and the walk back down through the jungle of enormous ficus with their twisting roots and behind the maraes (Polynesian temples/ places of worship, made of stone). We were even joined by a group of overweight singing sarong wearing Polynesian nuns, hopping along from rock to rock in their thongs, as happy and as lightly as can be. Finding a heap of wild passionfruit was an added bonus to an already successful day.
We decided to get extremely adventurous and took Kadoona and her crew in a very narrow and shallow pass and channel to see if we could anchor near the famous ‘stingray world’. With Carrie and I up the bow spotting for depth and coral heads and Ian taking it very slowly at the helm Jon monitoring actual depths, we only just managed to turn around and head back the way we came. I found out later the depth sounder read ‘0.00m’….but Ian must’ve decided I’d overreact if I knew that and he was quite right too! We anchored for a few hours in a safe spot and took the dinghy down to ‘stingray world’ – a sandbar where loads of stingray’s come right up to you, along with loads of reef sharks. To be honest, I had I NO desire whatsoever to swim with these alien creatures (or the sharks for that matter) but once I was there I thought ‘why the hell not?’ And you’d think by splashing it scares them enough to swim away? Nope, it actually makes them come right up to you – eek! Unfortunately it was the one time I forgot my camera, so we will have to rely on Jon for his fabulous underwater shots.
Cooks Bay finally gave us a respite from the wind and a secure anchorage and we spent a few days mucking about. Ian’s thoughtful family treated us all to a tasty dinner out with a hilarious toothless maître‘d/ waiter/ chef/ comedian...this guy seemed to do everything, and very well too. What a rare treat in a place where we really only have two complaints: 1 – how expensive everything is. 2 – The internet. Oh and there is a third one which is the wind and how completely unpredictable it is but I’ll let Ian rant about that.
By far the clearest, most incredible water I’ve seen so far was at our final anchorage on Moorea’s east coast. Wow. We all took heaps of pictures but none of them will ever do it justice. Shame we only had one night there, and then sadly had to take Jon back to Tahiti for his flight home.
And then there were three….
29 July to 04 August 2011
Our well thought out and researched plans of sailing to the south of Tahiti and anchoring near the Botanical Gardens were of course thrown into complete chaos when the forecast winds did the exact opposite and increased to 35 knots, amongst huge swell and rain….and I was hoping those days were gone forever! Lucky for Carrie, she got a small dose of what previous trips were like for us, heeled over and completely uncomfortable…unfortunately I kept smiling in the pictures she was taking as proof, I think it was a nervous twitch.
Since it was impossible to get where we’d planned we turned around and went north to Point Venus, Matavai Bay, where Captain Cook took his unsuccessful sighting of Venus, and where the Endeavour and the Bounty were anchored. I’d just finished reading ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ so I was rather taken with the fact that we were anchored there, and happened to be repairing sails and working a little as they’d have done. It was a nice secure spot in spite of the gusty winds, with very hot black volcanic beaches and surprisingly clear water.
We eventually made it to the Botanical gardens, but on buses instead of the boat. The buses were the most interesting part of the day. There are no bus schedules here. They just leave when they are full, when they feel like it, or when they have finished their nap/lunch/newspaper. The trip took about 90 minutes, we stopped for petrol and snacks, the bus driver new everyone – it was great entertainment. The trip back wasn’t so exciting, neither was waiting by the dusty highway for over an hour wondering if there was even a bus coming! And people complain about the buses in Sydney?? Sadly, the gardens were a disappointment (and they charged to get in). I think I’ve been completely spoilt with Kings Park in Perth and Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. I was also blessed to have worked at PoHo Florist for the last few years, where I had access to such a wide range of flowers and quality specimens. Still, it was good fun to get out for the day and do something different.
Carries final day with us was one of our best. We loaded up the dinghy with snorkelling gear, freshly chopped coconut and a flask of punch (alcoholic of course – it’s the holidays) and towed the kayak down to the reef near the pass that we will soon exit one final time. We’d passed it so many times entering and exiting Maeva Beach, and always wondered what was around. We had a great time kayaking, snorkelling and listening to 4 different stereos from 4 different little floating thatched bungalows (people hire them for parties). There aren’t many beaches here so the sand bar is the next best thing, they just much around in the water the whole time. There was even a floating barbeque. Yes that’s right! I don’t know why this hasn’t caught on at home yet, maybe because we have so many beaches. It’s only a matter of time though; it’d be perfect for Australia Day!
And then there were two….
04 August 2011 to ???????
It was very quiet when Carrie left. Of course there were tears (mainly mine). After so much time in solitude it was great having people around us, and strange to have them gone. There isn’t anyone else coming to visit us in the foreseeable future, so it’s just down to us against the elements again and it’s a bit of a daunting feeling, a bit like leaving NZ. We are both ready to move on from here (we certainly can’t afford to stay) and explore somewhere new, but it’s also a little scary. Before we left NZ I simply didn’t KNOW what it would be like to be at sea for 3 weeks. Now I’ve seen how crappy it can be, I’m just hoping it’s more pleasant than that. So the plan is to leave here this week and head south east to the Gambier Islands (still French Polynesia, but even more remote than the Australs where we came in). The trip will take roughly 10 days and I’m sure we’ll stay a week or so to break up our sailing a bit. From there we HOPE to get to Pitcairn and Easter Islands, again to break our journey up. Anchoring here depends entirely on perfect weather, so we may have to sail right on past if it’s not ideal. That will be tortuous since it could then mean a continuous 4-6 week trip on to the Galapagos Islands. We will have to wait and see. Until next time…..
*** See below for pics of Tahiti, and Moorea ***
Laani´s Rant:
Tahiti to The Gambier Islands
August 2011
On this trip I finally began to understand why people enjoy sailing. In spite of me being pretty ill for the first week of the 10 days it took – it was an easy and truly beautiful time. We had lovely sunny days and clear, bright, starry nights with a huge full moon. We had a bit of hand steering and our route wasn’t exactly direct (sailing northeast, then dead south, before we could finally head south east) but it was really pleasant. I was scared shitless by a whale metres behind us, lit by the full moon – two nights in a row! We were actually able to wash ourselves on deck in the sun (I can’t tell you how much that made a difference to our mental state) and I got to sit around naked and save on washing! Perfect! Oh apart from Ian losing yet another expensive lure to a big fish, I told him to wait till we were out of French Polynesia!
Our destination, being the most south eastern group of islands in French Polynesia was well worth a visit, and not just to break up the trip or have a rest. The group of islands is quite different to the others we saw, almost like a smaller version of the Bay of Islands (NZ) with mountains and little deserted coves and sandy beaches. We explored, met a few other cruisers and met some slightly mad but welcoming locals. One in particular being an old German man named Fritz, an ex-French Foreign Legionnaire, who married a local and had family there after he was posted to the area during the nuclear testing in Mururoa. He was very welcoming, especially after his first beer at 9am, and let us use his washing machine and fill up water there, in return for some of Ian’s Irish pub tunes…
We then had a beautiful but very long unplanned sail to another island called Taravai. I say unplanned because we had aimed for another island but spent a long time dodging huge underwater pearl farm ropes and buoys and looking for the sort-of-marked-channel to get in, only to decide once we got close that it wasn’t deep enough for us (turns out we were dead right). Then the swell was so huge at the next anchorage that it was smashing against the rocks……and so all our back up options (there were about 5) were struck off until we sailed to our last option. We were guided in by radio by a fellow yachtie to this cute little island, in late arvo (not ideal for seeing what reef is under you) through a very shallow channel (probably just as well I couldn’t see how close it was) and anchored just in time for a swim and sunset drinks. Then the tide went out and we could see very shallow reef just behind us so we had to re anchor…oh it’s so relaxing this life!
We spent another few days here doing repairs and odd jobs. I snuck off in Snotty a couple of times on scouting missions along the shore, and to explore what I could of Taravai. There are only 4 families living on this island and one cute abandoned, but well cared for, church. The doors are unlocked but you can let yourself in and explore, it’s like the people just walked out and left everything. One man was kind enough to show me his place, and where his great grandparents lived and introduce me to his little son. The kids in the Gambiers are the least shy and most polite I’ve come across. I even got kisses on my cheeks from this little boy – how sweet!
We were keen to get moving to Pitcairn but the wind wasn’t doing us any favours, so we delayed our departure and spent a very windy couple of days hanging round on the boat hoping we wouldn’t drag into the reef, or have to leave a very difficult channel in the middle of the night. When we did leave it was still horrendously windy with huge swell, and we made it out the channel okay. It was a 3 to 4 day trip east to Pitcairn, and I was back to wondering why on earth people enjoy sailing….
Our destination, being the most south eastern group of islands in French Polynesia was well worth a visit, and not just to break up the trip or have a rest. The group of islands is quite different to the others we saw, almost like a smaller version of the Bay of Islands (NZ) with mountains and little deserted coves and sandy beaches. We explored, met a few other cruisers and met some slightly mad but welcoming locals. One in particular being an old German man named Fritz, an ex-French Foreign Legionnaire, who married a local and had family there after he was posted to the area during the nuclear testing in Mururoa. He was very welcoming, especially after his first beer at 9am, and let us use his washing machine and fill up water there, in return for some of Ian’s Irish pub tunes…
We then had a beautiful but very long unplanned sail to another island called Taravai. I say unplanned because we had aimed for another island but spent a long time dodging huge underwater pearl farm ropes and buoys and looking for the sort-of-marked-channel to get in, only to decide once we got close that it wasn’t deep enough for us (turns out we were dead right). Then the swell was so huge at the next anchorage that it was smashing against the rocks……and so all our back up options (there were about 5) were struck off until we sailed to our last option. We were guided in by radio by a fellow yachtie to this cute little island, in late arvo (not ideal for seeing what reef is under you) through a very shallow channel (probably just as well I couldn’t see how close it was) and anchored just in time for a swim and sunset drinks. Then the tide went out and we could see very shallow reef just behind us so we had to re anchor…oh it’s so relaxing this life!
We spent another few days here doing repairs and odd jobs. I snuck off in Snotty a couple of times on scouting missions along the shore, and to explore what I could of Taravai. There are only 4 families living on this island and one cute abandoned, but well cared for, church. The doors are unlocked but you can let yourself in and explore, it’s like the people just walked out and left everything. One man was kind enough to show me his place, and where his great grandparents lived and introduce me to his little son. The kids in the Gambiers are the least shy and most polite I’ve come across. I even got kisses on my cheeks from this little boy – how sweet!
We were keen to get moving to Pitcairn but the wind wasn’t doing us any favours, so we delayed our departure and spent a very windy couple of days hanging round on the boat hoping we wouldn’t drag into the reef, or have to leave a very difficult channel in the middle of the night. When we did leave it was still horrendously windy with huge swell, and we made it out the channel okay. It was a 3 to 4 day trip east to Pitcairn, and I was back to wondering why on earth people enjoy sailing….
Laani´s Rant:
Pitcairn Island – Mutiny on the Bounty
03 to 06 Sept 2011
Oh Pitcairn glorious Pitcairn. We weren’t sure if we’d even manage to get ashore here since all the information available insists that one person remains on board at all times – the island is notorious for weather changing in an instant, uncomfortable swell and anchors dragging. Lucky for us we only experience the latter. Our first night was spent on the south coast, under huge cliffs and behind a huge rolling swell with only migrating humpback whales to keep us company. The colour of the water surrounding this island is like nothing I have ever seen, it’s such an incredibly clear cobalt blue (for want of a better description – it looks fake, unreal, like someone has dropped some blue food colouring into the water). We were anchored in 25 metres and could still see the ripples in the sand of the sea bed.
We anchored in the famous Bounty Bay (where the mutineers arrived and eventually burned the Bounty to escape detection) for the next couple of nights, still hoping, but still uncertain, if we’d get a good enough break in the weather to get ashore, either together or separately. The anchorage was hideously open to the sea swell and by far the MOST uncomfortable anchorage ever (the first to rival and out-do our experience at Lord Howe). But, all I can say is that it was worth every second of frustration at not being able to put anything down, the banging, the lack of sleep (we slept separately in our sea bunks, it was that bad), the chunk I cut off my thumb because of the rocking…it was all worth it. Pitcairn is THE highlight of my trip so far. And yet we were there for such a short time.
We got a lucky break in the weather, with reasonably low winds and decided the forecast was good enough that we could both get ashore for the day. We had to pay a fee (US50) to be collected in a long boat (local fishing boat) as our little dinghy and tiny engine were not strong enough to deal with the very tricky/dangerous landing. Well, we might’ve made it IN okay, but getting back out would have been a problem. Fifty bucks is a big expense for us, when you had on the tourist visas etc as well, but in the end it was well worth it. We were collected by Brenda (descendent from Fletcher Christian the mutineers leader, Pitcairn’s policewoman, matriarch and I believe, the absolute heart and soul of the island) and Russell (a kindly Kiwi, and a rep from the NZ police service) to process customs and immigration etc. You’d assume this would take place in some sort of formal setting, but nope, we jumped on the back of their quad bikes (every Pitcairner has one) and taken up the very steep, and the only paved road (the rest are red dirt tracks) to Brenda’s house on top of hill with an amazing 250 degree view of the ocean. We were introduced to her lovely hubby Mike (a Pommie beekeeper extraordinaire who considers himself an islander, even if they still call him an ‘off-islander’) and a guest named Charlie (a lovely older Kiwi man, a descendent from Matthew Quintal, the guy who set the Bounty on alight, on a much awaited and longed for trip-of-a-lifetime). We had coffee with them, chatted away and completed the paperwork and assumed we’d be left to our own devices after that. Instead Brenda offered to take us on a quick tiki-tour round to a few good spots on the back of her quad. The ‘quick’ tour lasted all day, with our host and multiple others joining us throughout the day, including Charlie, Russell and Mike and a couple of little rug rats at different locations on their quad bikes. They fed us lunch and our thirst for knowledge as they answered all the questions we had, and much more, about their lives and the local way of life. The generosity and kindness they showed us in opening their homes and lives to us, and simply spending so much time with us, I will always remember. I expected nothing from them, but I gained so much. Ahhh I could gush forever….Anyhow, such a striking island of high cliffs, fertile soils, rich history and as I mentioned before, incredible blue seas. We got to see all the magnificent viewpoints around the island, more whales, petroglyphs left by early Polynesian explorers, beautiful rock pools and even watched Brenda ‘She-Woman’ I shall call her, pluck several octopus out of their homes. For anyone that doesn’t know the story of the ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’, get the book from the library, it really is a great read – and it’s true!
The second day was far rougher and windier than the last and Ian, like the good captain he is decided to stay with his ship while I was lucky enough to get ashore, having once again been collected by Brenda. They opened the museum for Charlie and I, I got to serve myself, weighing my own onions and getting bags from behind the counter in the tiny shop and sent postcards from one of the most isolated places I’ve been. Brenda and I hiked up to ‘Christians Cave’ where he used to go to look out for ships and be alone. I struggle up the steep flat rock in my Teva sandals with a light back pack on, being buffeted by the strong winds. She hopped along ahead of me, barefoot, with a 2 year in an old backpack with holes cut out for her legs. No fear this woman, honestly!
We were given amazing snapper and coral trout the day before from one of Brenda’s three fishing boats that had been out that day. To add to that I was then taken round to several homes and plots (every family has a couple of fruit and veg plots, since they have to provide for themselves – and almost everything can be grown here), introduced to people and Brenda’s quad bike was laden down with huge branches of bananas, mountain apples, enormous cabbages, eggplant, kilos of tomatoes and little bugs bunny carrots, spring onions, parsley, dill, thyme and coriander….oh wow – we hadn’t had so much glorious fresh fruit and veg on board since NZ – I was in heaven – and they wouldn’t accept a thing in return. Getting myself and all these goodies back on board the ship while she was pitching and rolling was fun! Brenda managed to get me alongside for long enough to jump up, the rest was quite literally thrown up from a safe distance (we had all our fenders out but unless they ran the entire length and height of the hull, it would’ve been scraped raw).
Ian’s day on board confirmed what we thought – it was time to leave Pitcairn. Far better and more comfortable to be at sea than spend another night at anchor in those hideous conditions. It took us a while to get ready and get the anchor up (that was fun in those conditions too – since Ian cranks it all up by hand while I steer) but we were gone just after sunset. WHAT A RELIEF!!!! Once we had the sails up and the engine off it was sheer bliss and we had to sit back and have a nice calm comfortable drink to celebrate the next leg of our voyage.
We anchored in the famous Bounty Bay (where the mutineers arrived and eventually burned the Bounty to escape detection) for the next couple of nights, still hoping, but still uncertain, if we’d get a good enough break in the weather to get ashore, either together or separately. The anchorage was hideously open to the sea swell and by far the MOST uncomfortable anchorage ever (the first to rival and out-do our experience at Lord Howe). But, all I can say is that it was worth every second of frustration at not being able to put anything down, the banging, the lack of sleep (we slept separately in our sea bunks, it was that bad), the chunk I cut off my thumb because of the rocking…it was all worth it. Pitcairn is THE highlight of my trip so far. And yet we were there for such a short time.
We got a lucky break in the weather, with reasonably low winds and decided the forecast was good enough that we could both get ashore for the day. We had to pay a fee (US50) to be collected in a long boat (local fishing boat) as our little dinghy and tiny engine were not strong enough to deal with the very tricky/dangerous landing. Well, we might’ve made it IN okay, but getting back out would have been a problem. Fifty bucks is a big expense for us, when you had on the tourist visas etc as well, but in the end it was well worth it. We were collected by Brenda (descendent from Fletcher Christian the mutineers leader, Pitcairn’s policewoman, matriarch and I believe, the absolute heart and soul of the island) and Russell (a kindly Kiwi, and a rep from the NZ police service) to process customs and immigration etc. You’d assume this would take place in some sort of formal setting, but nope, we jumped on the back of their quad bikes (every Pitcairner has one) and taken up the very steep, and the only paved road (the rest are red dirt tracks) to Brenda’s house on top of hill with an amazing 250 degree view of the ocean. We were introduced to her lovely hubby Mike (a Pommie beekeeper extraordinaire who considers himself an islander, even if they still call him an ‘off-islander’) and a guest named Charlie (a lovely older Kiwi man, a descendent from Matthew Quintal, the guy who set the Bounty on alight, on a much awaited and longed for trip-of-a-lifetime). We had coffee with them, chatted away and completed the paperwork and assumed we’d be left to our own devices after that. Instead Brenda offered to take us on a quick tiki-tour round to a few good spots on the back of her quad. The ‘quick’ tour lasted all day, with our host and multiple others joining us throughout the day, including Charlie, Russell and Mike and a couple of little rug rats at different locations on their quad bikes. They fed us lunch and our thirst for knowledge as they answered all the questions we had, and much more, about their lives and the local way of life. The generosity and kindness they showed us in opening their homes and lives to us, and simply spending so much time with us, I will always remember. I expected nothing from them, but I gained so much. Ahhh I could gush forever….Anyhow, such a striking island of high cliffs, fertile soils, rich history and as I mentioned before, incredible blue seas. We got to see all the magnificent viewpoints around the island, more whales, petroglyphs left by early Polynesian explorers, beautiful rock pools and even watched Brenda ‘She-Woman’ I shall call her, pluck several octopus out of their homes. For anyone that doesn’t know the story of the ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’, get the book from the library, it really is a great read – and it’s true!
The second day was far rougher and windier than the last and Ian, like the good captain he is decided to stay with his ship while I was lucky enough to get ashore, having once again been collected by Brenda. They opened the museum for Charlie and I, I got to serve myself, weighing my own onions and getting bags from behind the counter in the tiny shop and sent postcards from one of the most isolated places I’ve been. Brenda and I hiked up to ‘Christians Cave’ where he used to go to look out for ships and be alone. I struggle up the steep flat rock in my Teva sandals with a light back pack on, being buffeted by the strong winds. She hopped along ahead of me, barefoot, with a 2 year in an old backpack with holes cut out for her legs. No fear this woman, honestly!
We were given amazing snapper and coral trout the day before from one of Brenda’s three fishing boats that had been out that day. To add to that I was then taken round to several homes and plots (every family has a couple of fruit and veg plots, since they have to provide for themselves – and almost everything can be grown here), introduced to people and Brenda’s quad bike was laden down with huge branches of bananas, mountain apples, enormous cabbages, eggplant, kilos of tomatoes and little bugs bunny carrots, spring onions, parsley, dill, thyme and coriander….oh wow – we hadn’t had so much glorious fresh fruit and veg on board since NZ – I was in heaven – and they wouldn’t accept a thing in return. Getting myself and all these goodies back on board the ship while she was pitching and rolling was fun! Brenda managed to get me alongside for long enough to jump up, the rest was quite literally thrown up from a safe distance (we had all our fenders out but unless they ran the entire length and height of the hull, it would’ve been scraped raw).
Ian’s day on board confirmed what we thought – it was time to leave Pitcairn. Far better and more comfortable to be at sea than spend another night at anchor in those hideous conditions. It took us a while to get ready and get the anchor up (that was fun in those conditions too – since Ian cranks it all up by hand while I steer) but we were gone just after sunset. WHAT A RELIEF!!!! Once we had the sails up and the engine off it was sheer bliss and we had to sit back and have a nice calm comfortable drink to celebrate the next leg of our voyage.
Laani’s Rant:
Pitcairn to Easter Island – Crap Crap CRAP!!!
06 to 18 Sept 2011
Crap crap crap!!! I won’t rant too much about this trip apart from I really hated it, in spite of the relief of leaving our Pitcairn anchorage and a beautiful starry first night out. It was 12 days of the following: variable winds (direction and strength changing constantly, so you’d just have the sails and steering set for one course and it change, then change again….and again); or NO wind (we eventually got tired of the frustrating small gusts and the damage the slamming of the sails was doing to the rigging sails and took them all down, only to put them up again if we were teased by the wind, which never lasted. So that was 2 full days of drifting and despite our best efforts, going BACKWARDS); or TOO MUCH wind with gusts up to 40 knots and rain squalls after relative calm. As I may have mentioned – CRAP!!!
We did however eat like a king and queen with the ‘freshies’ we had on board and we did learn a few lessons – the main one being sometimes it’s better to pull the sails down and watch a movie or two, something we never do on passage. Oh and the mad Irishman decided to go for a swim in the deep blue when we were drifting. I kept shark watch. I like to see the bottom…
We did however eat like a king and queen with the ‘freshies’ we had on board and we did learn a few lessons – the main one being sometimes it’s better to pull the sails down and watch a movie or two, something we never do on passage. Oh and the mad Irishman decided to go for a swim in the deep blue when we were drifting. I kept shark watch. I like to see the bottom…