We left you as we were leaving Fakarava to sail to Tahiti but neglected to tell you that we left Henry, one of Tony’s crew from Wolfhound, in a dinghy hanging onto a buoy. This was not his daily exercise but his kind attempt to help us take a mooring buoy in the pass. As we battled with the tide in the pass and observed how close the buoy was to the reef, we abandoned our planned last night with Tony and Henry in Fakarava and set sail to Tahiti.
French Polynesian culture is focused on the ocean and we were appropriately welcomed into the pass through the reef into Tahiti by exuberant dolphins. We next had a ‘first’ for Amelie. We had to wait for a Boeing jet to take off. The lagoon from the pass to the marina cuts across the airport runway and we awaited clearance to cross from Papeete flight tower. In the event we sailed around in circles until the L.A flight had taken off and we were given clearance to cross. During our waiting time we were entertained by a local fisherman in his dugout canoe spearfishing with a wooden spear - surreal!
Marina Taina proved to be welcoming, helpful and efficient. Within 15 minutes of arrival, the marina staff removed ‘M’ (poorly RIB) and had her sitting forlornly in a dinghy stand on the dockside. Our experience with the company who finally repaired her was not so good. It took them almost a week to collect ‘M’ and at the moment of her relaunch it was discovered that they had lost her plug (with a ‘it wasn’t our problem’ attitude) and we nearly lost the plot. It was eventually sorted with the help of Philippe (Marina Manager) and Bob from Crazy Daisy who enabled her to take to sea again.
Papeete itself was pretty run down and a disappointment however Tahiti did redeem herself in other ways, which we will now tell you about.
Firstly, Jaz joined us, her flight arriving at 5am - we draped the traditional floral garland around her neck and welcomed her to paradise. That day we went black pearl shopping and having been to the ‘Pearl Museum’ which was really a ‘Robert Wan’ showroom and shop, we then visited pretty well every other pearl shop in Papeete - and there were lots. We finally agreed on who would take our money and Jaz got her birthday present; Katie a slightly belated one and for good order, Debbie got a very belated birthday gift. Well worth waiting for.
The following day we resolved that Amelie should not be the only boat in the fleet not to have caught her supper. Yves from Satika took Stephen shopping for some serious fishing equipment. That evening the Tahiti Tourist Board had organised an event for the Oyster World Rally fleet. We were treated to traditional dancing, drumming, garland making, pareo tying and fire dancing (the youngest looking only around 5 years old). The highlight of the evening was a traditional Skippers Blessing which was basically: a very warm welcome to their island, enjoy yourselves and make sure you know you’re leaving! Stephen was anointed with coconut milk and adorned with a garland by one of the beautiful Polynesian girls. This was an improvement on the OSTAR blessing when the vicar forgot the words of the Lords Prayer!
Michael and Serena from Fario, who sadly are no longer in the fleet, had entrusted us with a 1988 Pomerol to be drunk in Tahiti. We shared this with Richard and Claire from Sotto Vento in trepidation that the age and the traveling may not have fared well for the wine - it was delicious and we toasted absent friends.
Before setting sail from Tahiti we celebrated Jaz’s birthday and the highly recommended restaurant looked like a beach shack (well it was a beach shack) but they served excellent French/Marquesan cuisine overlooking the reef. In the evening the youngsters of the fleet (oh well not us then!) took it upon themselves to ensure Jaz would have a birthday never to forget - including gatecrashing a Superyacht pontoon party. For us the following day (for Jaz a continuation of her party landing) we did the dreaded provisioning trip to Carrefour with Jaz nursing a hangover (makes a change from the hospital patients). It was the best supermarket since Antigua and we duly filled 4 trolleys at huge expense. We need to eat it all before Australia because of their restrictions on food imports.
Our next stop was Cooks Bay, Moorea with stunning mountains and terrain as a backdrop to the anchorage. The snorkeling was a disappointment as the visibility was poor. The original plan from Moorea was to sail to Raiatea and join in the Pearl Regatta. A lively overnight sail, motoring through a narrow pass into a fabulous anchorage lifted our spirits only to be dashed later that day. The heavens opened for almost 4 days, visibility was poor and various boat equipment issues caused us to abandon plans to join the Regatta. This was later to prove a bonus for Jaz who, whilst missing a few Regatta parties, ended up swimming with Tahitian Stingrays in Tahaa instead. Tahaa proved to be a great spot (photo of Skipper, 1st Mate and M attached) and during our 6 nights we had 3 trips to the 5 star Relais & Chateau Hotel restaurant and 3 boat parties with other Oyster World Rally yachts in the anchorage. Snorkeling in the Coral Garden was stunning and some great views from Amelie of Bora Bora.
Our last port of call in French Polynesia was Bora Bora and our expectations had been tainted by gossip of hotels and commercialism. The reality is that Bora Bora is about the most beautiful island we have seen so far. We took an off road 4x4 tour of the island, and yes Landrovers even make it this far. Joshua our guide was both entertaining and informative. Together with Paul and Trish from Babe, we got some great views of the island, lagoon and reef. We hadn’t known that Cook had been unable to enter Bora Bora (originally known as Pora Pora) because the only pass was deep enough only for canoes. It wasn’t until the American occupation in 1943, when they blasted a deep passage in the coral reef, that allowed access for their water craft and later the OWR fleet. We found the people really helpful and friendly, even towing a revitalised ‘M’ to the fuel dock when the skipper set out without enough petrol. A valuable chance for the girls to do some unsupervised retail of local crafts, including a coconut shell bikini top!
There were a number of meals ashore but they were eclipsed by the farewell party at Bloody Mary’s. They opened especially for us on the Sunday evening, band and crews partied with gusto on a floor of sand. Yes we did end the evening drinking Bloody Marys. The party continued on Amelie until the early hours of Jaz’s last day. Her return now included a short flight from Bora Bora to Tahiti and we joined her on the water taxi to the airport. A few tears later, Amelie was back to two crew.
Now on our way to Tonga - we will be in touch.