Week 91: Moorea to Taha’a (133nm)

After a frustrating overnight sail from Moorea, the Leeward islands of Raiatea and Taha’a rewarded us with spectacular beauty and warm, welcoming people. The highlight was a visit to La Pirogue Api, a boutique hotel and restaurant on a private motu, where we enjoyed an incredible day and one of our top meals of all time.

First Mate’s log

Monday 1st June: Went to shore early to get groceries and beer, only to discover it was yet ANOTHER public holiday so I couldn’t exchange our beer crate for a new one (no alcohol sales on public holidays). I think every single weekend in May has had at least one holiday day involved. But, more power to the Polynesians, they clearly are doing life right, I just need to find a list of these sneaky holidays (or perhaps assume all Thursdays, Fridays and Mondays are off limits?). I managed to get the rest of my groceries though, and was very glad I happened to go early as the store was set to shut at 11am (again, for the holiday). We made our goodbyes around the anchorage and got Serenity set up for our first real passage in 5 weeks. We are off to Raiatea and the rest of the Society Islands! Its a shade over 100nm, so an overnighter. The forecast shows moderate winds, so were hoping to fly the kite the whole way. Fingers crossed Neptune is kind!

Tues 2nd June: Well, Neptune can be a dick. The wind refused to settle on a direction for the first half of the sail, necessitating canning the spinnaker, moving to genoa only, then main only, then back to genoa, etc. etc. etc. Then, a weather system set in and the wind completely died under pouring rain, so Mick the engine had to take over. Despite sincere hopes, the wind never returned, and we settled into a long motor. To make us feel better, we decided to make water. LOTS of water. We ran the watermaker for 7 hours and completely filled our tanks, so, the upside of no wind is I could have a bath if I wanted to! We thankfully had a lucky dry spell as we finally approached Raiatea that meant we had good visibility as we made our way into the lagoon through Iriru Pass.

We initially intended to anchor just behind a little island on the reef north of the pass. We snaked our way carefully into the anchorage, weaving through myriad pearl farm buoys and cautiously approached the reef. The water here goes from crazy deep to barely a meter in a very short distance – maybe a boat length. It was nerve racking trying to get the anchor in just the right spot to both catch but also not leave us in danger of drifting towards the shallows. It soon became clear this was an impossible task, plus the water clarity was really poor (not great for snorkelling!), so we decided to abandon. We had a look around one of the little nearby bays on the main island, but all the mooring balls were taken (by what appeared to be abandoned boats?) and the swimming didn’t look any better, so we went for option three – make your own anchorage! I noticed on the satellite image on Google Maps that there appeared to be a spot by the reef where the bottom shelved more gradually. Looking up, we saw there was even someone already anchored there – so it must be alright! After a recce, we decided it looked good and dropped the hook. A quick swim after revealed Bruce was well set and there were no bommies around shallow enough to be a concern for the keel or rudder. But there were enough low down that it was a bit of a concern for catching the chain, so Alec suggested we buoy it, though we were so tired and hungry we decided it could wait until later… foolishly! Of course, while we napped, it caught on a rock, necessitating a tricky manouever to free it. Better late than never, we deployed a strategic buoy to prevent any further issues – see Parting Thoughts below for more on buoying chain. We were so tired after our journey and anchoring experience that it was early to bed for us; Alec was so dead to the world that even squalls in the night couldn’t wake him!

Wednesday, 3rd June: We’ve been having a little trouble with the windlass lately – it has been losing power and slowing down to a crawl (or even giving up all together) when we’re pulling up the anchor. It’s gotten to the point that we’ve even had to winch the last bit of chain and anchor up by hand sometimes! Alec’s tests had narrowed the problem down to the motor itself and today he decided enough was enough – time to take it apart! He unbolted the motor from the winch and popped the top casing off; the problem immediately became clear – the motor was full of corrossion and dust. So, he stripped the whole thing down to bare bones and carefully cleaned every brush, wire, magnet, bearing, etc. Slightly terrifying how much crud came out… But, all worthwhile because when we tested it after reassembly, the windlass was back to its punchiest self. Nice work Alec!!

We’d intended to spend the afternoon snorkelling, but the water visibility was pretty poor, and we noticed the forecast was now calling for a windy night. The wind direction was not favourable for our spot and we didn’t fancy a bad night of sleep worrying, so changed our plans and decided to head north in search of more protection. It was a truly glorious afternoon – 12 knots from the SE, so we chucked out the genoa and cruised gently along up the East coast of Raiatea. The views were stunning! Soon we left Raiatea behind and headed up the East side of Taha’a (the island immediately to its North). We turned into Ha’amene bay – a long, narrow inlet (fjord?) that cuts almost to the centre of the island. Couldn’t be more protected! We anchored near the town at its head and watched the sun set in possibly the calmest water we’ve ever seen. I think we’ll sleep well!!

Thursday, 4th June: Went on a morning visit to Ha’amene’s town, seeking a place to swap our empty crate of Hinano for a full one. Which we found! Huzzah! Then anchored up to go check out the pretty spot behind the motus just outside the bay, hoping the wind had dropped enough to make it comfortable. It was tricky to navigate the coral with the chop, as the visibility through the water was obscured, but we managed to find our way into an okay spot and got settled. It was quite lumpy with the wind, which was a touch stronger than forecast, but we decided to stay anyway. Later, I went to dive on the anchor, and decided we should buoy the chain to prevent the swing from damaging a couple of nearby coral heads. That proved rather tricky in the waves! But, I was mostly successful… see more in Parting Thoughts below.

Friday, 5th June: We had a very bumpy night with the strong S/SW winds; neither of us slept much and we were both feeling pretty flat in the morning. So, there was nothing for it but to make a big pot of coffee and a mound of banana pancakes. Then we were feeling a bit better able to face the day! And it turned out to be an excellent one. Post pancakes, we had a relaxed morning ticking off a few jobs (some of which have been on the list for AGES), and it was one of those rare times when they all went smoothly. Honestly that never happens; boat jobs seem to always go awry. High off a productive morning, we got the dinghy in the water and set out in search of a good snorkelling spot. We’ve discovered that Google satellite images (the satellite view on Google Maps) might be the most useful tool available for identifying where good-looking coral spots are, and it was bang on for us again today. We found an area near-ish the pass but sort of out in the middle of the lagoon that looked perfect and it didn’t dissapoint. I reckon very few people stumble upon this area, so we felt especially lucky. It had the highest density of fish we’ve ever seen – thousands of them! And an impressively healthy swath of reef. But, after a while we started to get cold (it is nearly “winter” here after all) so it was time to head back. Alec then prepped some fresh banana and pineapple, and even opened a coconut. The fruit and coconut water went into the blender for an epic smoothie, which we enjoyed watching the sun go down in the cockpit. It’s difficult to do justice to a beautiful, simple day like this – but it was one to savour and cherish; I felt incredibly grateful today to get to do what we do!

P.S. A big low pressure system has been passing through the southern part of French Poly (well away from us, don’t worry) sucking all the warm, tropical air south and pulling cold air down from the north. Temperatures for us over the weekend are expected to plummet to 19 or 20 degrees C (66 to 68 F), so we are digging out the blankets, sweatshirts and limited warm clothes we have!

Saturday, 6th June: Can life get better than yesterday? Apparently so! See Story of the Week below.

Sunday, 7th June: With the wind meant to pick up, we headed round to the lee (W) side of Taha’a in the morning. Our aim was the Coral Garden anchorage, which is just next to the swanky Taha’a Island Resort & Spa. While the hotel is off-limits to cruisers, the Coral Garden itself is open to all. But, we had to get there first, and that proved more challenging than expected. We are always on alert for buoys when we navigate in proximity to islands (in the Caribbean, there were fish trap buoys EVERYWHERE), and had been warned that Taha’a and Raiatea boasted a lot of pearl farm buoys. As long as you keep a sharp look out, normally its no problem to avoid them. But apparently we hadn’t met REAL pearl farm buoys yet! As we motored along, Alec spied two long rows of buoys out ahead of our path, but noticed there was a channel between them, which was presumably for boats to navigate. Not so! We noticed something was different when, as we proceeded, we heard a couple of thunks on the hull. We peered over the side to discover there were in fact long underwater lines hung between the visible buoys, which were suspended about 2m below the surface, held up by small, submerged buoys. Submerged! We quickly realised we were now in the middle of a huge web. We proceeded slowly forward, hoping perhaps the lines were just low enough for us to scoot over, but then of course promptly one snagged on the rudder. We quickly put the engine in neutral and allowed the wind to blow us back off the line. Now what? Alec then worked out that all the lines were strung parallel to each other, so we could (in theory) turn 90 degrees and follow the channel between two lines to the end of the farm. The width between the hanging lines was only a few meters more than the width of the boat, but we nosed ahead, with me on the bow calling directions while Alec drove from the back. We made it about halfway out before the wind pushed us across another line, but luckily we didn’t catch it. Following the next channel was a long, tense few minutes, but thankfully successful. We breathed a huge sigh of relief as we skirted the edge of the farm and made it back out into clear water. Well, now we know to be MUCH more wary of pearl farms! We shortly found a decent spot to drop the anchor near the coral garden and then treated ourselves to some time to decompress. Once again, boat life always keeps you on your toes!!

Story of the Week: When Everything Goes Right

This might come as a surprise, but there are precious few days aboard a cruising boat that don’t have a hiccup or two or seven. Wind changes, forecasts are wrong, you can’t find internet / phone signal, pearl farms hang invisible line traps, stuff breaks, more stuff breaks, you accidentally drop things irretrievably overboard, or, most commonly, you start tackling what should be a fairly straightforward repair job only to have it turn into a marathon all day event that you may or may not even be able to finish and probably discover there is also a part you need that we don’t have. So when we have a 100/100 day, its incredibly special. Saturday this week was about as close to 100 as we’ve come in a long time, so I hope you’ll forgive me indulging myself writing about its every detail here. These are the ones to really remember!

To start, we decided to have a day devoted entirely to fun (okay, okay, we might do a small boat job or two, but mostly fun!!). The morning dawned sunny and flat calm – exactly as forecast. So, we pulled up the anchor and first headed about a mile N where we dropped the hook on a sandy bank just outside the channel, the nearest anchorage to Faaopore village. We dinghied in to the stone public pier of this pretty but unassuming little hamlet and walked maybe five minutes up the road to the Vallee de la Vanille farm. Taha’a famously grows around 80% of all the vanilla in French Polynesia (an important export crop), and we’d heard this farm was particularly welcoming to visitors. A lovely lady met us as we arrived and took us straight out into the fields to show us the plants. She didn’t speak any English, but it was a great opportunity to practice my French! I was delighted to discover I could understand most of what she explained and translate for Alec (thanks Fran for all those French lessons!). For the process in detail, see photo captions below, but in summary – growing vanilla is a LOT of work. All for a good reward though! We invested in some pods from the farm, which we can use to flavour coffee, rum, baked goods, etc. We’ll report back on how that goes :).

By now, the sun was high overhead, and the wind remained calm, perfect for our next adventure – navigating the coral fields on the outer reef to find the moorings at the private Motu Moute, which houses La Pirogue Api, a boutique luxury hotel and fine dining restaurant. Normally, visiting a place like this would be WAY outside our price range, but this is where boat life really wins. The hotel offers two moorings, which are free to visiting yachts who at least buy a drink at the bar. Ideal! So, up came the hook and I climbed onto the pulpit at the front of the boat to keep a look out for shallow, uncharted coral heads while Alec watched the charts / satellite view / instruments and drove from the back. It wasn’t as bad as expected; only a few times did I call for a direction change and even then it was just precautionary. Between the two of us, we navigated a tidy route, avoiding anything even remotely questionable.

Soon, we were tied up and admiring one heck of a paradise! The managers of the hotel, Pierre and Aurelie, invited us to spend the afternoon enjoying the “motu” (the Polynesian word for one of the small islands that sometimes form on the reef of an atoll), which was heaven. We lounged in beach chairs with a few cold Hinanos, played with an adorable boxer dog (belonging to another visitor), waded in the calm, shallow lagoon and generally enjoyed ourselves immensely. We hardly ever just sit back and relax for an afternoon, so this was a real treat. What the heck, let’s have dinner here too!

We headed back to the boat about 4pm for a nap and a shower before dinner. As we drove, a school of 4-5 eagle rays swooped past below us. I’ve never seen rays move like that or that fast! It was like watching a flock of birds zooming along; a beautiful if fleeting moment. As we approached Serenity, we noticed that another boat had arrived and tied to the other available mooring. We stopped by to say hello and discovered the lovely French couple aboard were actually the owners of La Pirogue Api. That probably explains a bit more why the motu is so friendly to cruisers!

We donned real clothes (but not shoes – we’re embracing the Polynesian way) and headed back to the island just as the sun was setting. We did not realise quite what awaited us; turns out Pierre is a Chef with a capital C. WOW. It was just us, but he was kind enough to run the restaurant anyway and it was truly fabulous. Scallops, tuna, local vegetables cooked in all kinds of interesting ways, even local-ish shrimp (from Teahupo’o in Tahiti)! One of the best meals I’ve had, even without considering the atmosphere. As if that wasn’t enough, Pierre invited us afterwards to join him just out the back of the restaurant where he threw the cooking scraps to “his children,” aka five waiting black tip sharks (some over 4ft long)! I am surprised they came into such shallow water (maybe 1-2ft max?), but I think its because, as he explained, he’s been feeding this crew since they were just pups. So they know there is good food to be had each evening!

And as if even THAT wasn’t enough, Pierre and Aurelie insisted that we stay for an after dinner drink on the house. They are so kind! As we were settling in to our digestifs, Pierre spotted a light in the lagoon. A catamaran housing two of their good friends had parked up nearby (brave to arrive to the anchorage in the dark, we thought! But turns out they know the area very well) and they were dinghying in to shore. So we enjoyed our drinks while meeting a lovely Frenchman, who had been cruising for 30 years, and his son, who’d just bought a monohull to strike out on his own adventure. A delightful way to wrap up a wonderfully special day – one that reminds us that, no matter how many things might break on board, to experience life by sailboat is truly a gift <3.

Parting Thoughts: Buoying the Anchor Chain

Our arrival at Raiatea and Taha’a brought our first experiences buoying our anchor chain. There is so much coral here that it is pretty much impossible to find a place to anchor that is just sand. That means your anchor chain is always in danger of damaging coral; obviously that is the LAST thing we want to do! I would be devastated if we harmed coral, especially because there is so little of it left alive and healthy. The solution to this conundrum? Buoy your chain! It is exactly as it sounds – hang buoys (or in our case, fenders) along your chain to float it above the coral and thereby prevent damage. This does not reduce its effectiveness at holding the boat, as long as the buoys aren’t too close to the anchor. You need maybe 10m of chain on the bottom and then can buoy after that. So, that means all you have to do when anchoring is find a 10m radius area to drop in – much more possible!

What we are still figuring out is how to deploy said buoys in the most effective way. We’ve started with putting the chain out first, then swimming along it to work out where we want fenders, and finally swimming down with ropes to tie around the chain in the specified places, which we tie to the fenders. Its very effort intesive though… I believe the ideal is that you deploy the fenders as you deploy the chain when you first anchor, but so far that feels like it would require two more hands than I actually have. We’ll keep working on it!