TAHITI

After a slow sail from Kauehi to Tahiti, we arrived in Marina Taina a day later than expected. The main reason for a marina berth was for our trip back to the UK. As the story unfolds our three month berth proved to be imperative to our solutions for work and maintenance.

Tahiti, originally known as O Taiti, became a popular trading hub for the Europeans, with the ease of access through a series of passes into the lagoon, the first European settlers were British Protestant missionaries and the island became an important Pacific gem for control amongst the warring English and French. Eventually France established a protectorate under the reign of Queen Pomare IV in 1842. In 1880, King Pomare V gave the islands to the French.

Tahiti, today, is the economic, cultural and political centre of the French Polynesian Islands. Tahiti is made up of two masses of green, mountainous land connected by an isthmus. The northern, larger mass - Tahiti Nui (Big Tahiti) and the smaller mass - Tahiti Iti (Little Tahiti) are almost enclosed by a reef, with a narrow lagoon that encircles the land masses. The land mass resembles a figure of eight.

Pape’ete is the busy capital, the only large port in French Polynesia but not much larger than a western town with very few colonial buildings remaining due to a destructive cyclone in 1906 and a German naval bombardment in 1914. It is the distribution centre for supplies for the whole of French Polynesia and the Port for the French Pacific naval fleet. It has a vibrant character, despite it’s chaotic, grimy nature. Pape’ete in Tahitian means a “basket of water” and it is thought to describe the springs where the locals and the European traders collected their fresh water, back in the 17th and 18th centuries. Everywhere we’ve been during this Polynesian adventure, we’ve seen surfers but the mother of all waves is to be found on Tahiti Iti, at Teahupoo. Every morning a steady train of sun drenched, muscular young individuals together with their surf boards, strut along the pontoon to make their journey to Teahupoo, either by car, bus or moped. International competitions are held here annually with surfing stars from all over the world wanting to ride the famous waves.

Previous blogs have referred to the Polynesians in the past centuries using “oral recitation as their fountain pen” when sharing their history, culture, stories etc. Written word was introduced by the missionaries in the 19th century by printing texts for religious purposes in Tahitian. Several famous English speaking writers, R.L.Stevenson, Herman Melville, Jack London, Somerset Maugham, James Norman Hall, Charles Nordhoff and more recently Elizabeth Gilbert have written travel blogs about this part of the world. They also offered valuable historical details of Polynesia to Europeans throughout the 1800s and early 1900s. Art in the South Pacific is synonymous with Paul Gauguin, a post-impressionist, who spent his later life in Polynesia. He was responsible, through his paintings of Polynesian individuals and scenes of everyday life, for how the Europeans viewed Polynesia as paradise. Later Jacques Bouillaire painted fabulous watercolours which supported the Gauguin portrayal.

Tahiti has provided the backdrop for many novels, adventure stories, films and surfing documentaries, consequently it has been portrayed as the South Sea paradise..

So why were we in Tahiti so long? Firstly we had planned a month back in the UK so Amelie needed a berth. Certain boat jobs are easier to dowhilst attached to a dock so we used the opportunity to purchase a new anchor chain and stowed it in the anchor locker with the help of the marina staff with their immense strength. Mat the rigger did a thorough rigging check, fabricated a new bow roller and made new chocks for Wally. Pete Sanders back in Lymington, UK made a new suit of sails and without a hitch got them transported to Pape’ete, together with all our Oyster spares and watermaker requirements. During an energetic, hot afternoon we hauled the sails up smoothly. The engine got a service and we finally sorted the watermaker. A long, mundane story unfolded but eventually we had put the last provisions on board, tidied the deck for departure the following morning, last WIFI opportunity and ……. the generator died! Despite both of us feeling pretty low and desperate to get to anchor, we rallied and Stephen ordered a new one from Australia. Our agent, Laurent has been a blessing as he takes the sting out of officialdom and his efficiency allows these events to go without a hitch. He also recommended an electrical engineer, Dominique, who was brilliant and didn’t mind getting his hands dirty and helping out with the heavier jobs ie winching out the old and replacing the new generator.

Travelling around Tahiti we were encouraged to hitch hike and without fail, we were picked up by Polynesians, sometimes changing their travelling plans to get us to our destination. Eating out with “Manatee” at the Roulottes was an experience. These are caravans, parked up in a parking lot, producing reasonably priced food from their van with their diners eating al fresco. The restaurants in the marina complex were great, ranging from pizzas, pasta, burgers in a couple and excellent French cuisine in the third. Stephen found the fruit juice from the island of Moorea started his day with a zing.

Each weekend we took time off from boat jobs to have some fun, this generally involved taking “M” out into the lagoon or through the pass into the “Sea of the Moon” (body of water between Tahiti and Moorea) where we witnessed Humpback Whales breaching and finning. The pass is well marked with surfers and paddle boarders riding the surf onto the reef.

Debbie even had time to make some Marmalade!

During our time on the French Live-aboard pontoon we befriended other international cruisers, all involved in getting their boats ready for passage.

After 12 weeks in dock we released our lines and headed out towards Moorea.