We spent 3 lovely nights in Huahine. It was at least a 12 hour sail from Moorea (wind depending) and so we decided to leave after dinner one night hoping to arrive early in the morning. We got away a little later than we wanted as we had a head (toilet) problem that definitely needed looking at before we left. So as the sun sunk below the horizon we finally pulled up our chain and got moving. The first 8 miles of this trip were some of the worst we’ve had so far! There was no wind, but a strange cross swell that had the boat rocking side to side so violently that the saloon was an absolute war zone by the next morning! The girls and I huddled in their berth trying to sleep while Joel battled the swell. Once we were out of the lee of the island the wind filled in with 20 knots on our aft quarter and Joel had us doing close to 10 knots for a while, racing the mega yacht on a similar course that left the anchorage just after us. As the wind strengthened overnight it shifted more easterly so we decided to sail up the east coast of Huahine to avoid gybing overnight, and then come down the West and enter a northwest Pass in the lagoon surrounding the island. We then motored almost the length of the coastline south inside the reef to get to a lovely bay called Avea. We saw several boats along the way that we recognised from Papeete or Moorea and it is reassuring to know everyone is like minded and moves in similar circles.
After provisioning at the main town Super market –which was quite large in the scheme of things, we sailed to Raiatea. Just as we headed out of the passe, we saw a splash and then saw a whale out of the water. Mind you this was near close to the horizon – we weren’t getting splashed! But the thrill of seeing it was just so lovely. Joel contemplated going over for a closer look, but it seemed pointless when it could take up to 30 minutes or more to get there and by then who knows where the whale would be. We were glad to know that they are around, and occasionally showing off!
It was an excellent sail over, with the winds light we took the opportunity to use the kite. Joel was thrilled when we were doing 8 knots in only 11 knots of wind! Not bad. Of course all good things can’t last forever, and for the final 5 miles we motor-sailed in order to get to an anchorage during daylight.
Raiatea looked to be a busy place with at least one charter boat company having a base there. The anchorages are very deep and we decided to go straight to Tahaa and anchor in a bay with good protection. As we approached a set of mooring balls right on dusk we noticed that they were indeed private so we ended up anchoring in 107ft! Crazy deep. It was calm and eerily quiet that night, so at least we sleep well.
By next morning we were keen to explore some more and find a more suitable anchorage for our next night. It is amazing that the lagoon surrounding the island can be so deep –around 100ft mostly and then near to the reef it comes up to 6 ft, or less, making for some lovely swimming and snorkelling. We found a shelf of 50ft to anchor on and spent a lovely lunchtime ashore a motu, enjoying a little frolic and cool down in the water. Another day we anchored near some coral gardens between two motus. The idea is you walk down to the coral heads on the beach and then swim out and let the current pull you slowly back up towards the lagoon. It was very pretty and quite enjoyable – although some spots I had felt I needed to breathe in to make it over the shallow coral heads.
Bora Bora
More to come soon...