Tahiti and the Society Islands - Iles du Vent
Without a doubt, these are the islands most associated with the South Pacific. Just the names of Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea conjure up images of palm trees, white sand beaches and beautiful Polynesian people. We read the Lonely Planet South Pacific and Moon Tahiti guidebooks like novels before arriving. This is, indeed, the stuff dreams are made of.
The Society Islands are divided into two groups: The Windwards (Iles du Vent) including Tahiti, Moorea and 3 smaller islands and the Leewards (Iles Sous le Vent) which include five islands, Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa, Bora Bora and Maupiti.
The original plan was to stay a bit longer in the Tuamotus, but we heard more and more about the Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendezvous in Papeete and decided to participate. We are not usually "rally" folk as we don't enjoy traveling with a crowd, but this was special. A joint effort by the French Polynesian/Tahiti Tourism Bureau, the Tahiti Port Authority and several commercial supporters (Latitude 38 & Tahiti Yacht Club among others), the rendezvous is French Polynesia's way of welcoming the 2009 Puddle Jumpers (sailboats annually crossing the Pacific are called "puddle jumpers") to French Polynesia and celebrating the crossing of a major portion of the Pacific. It's a three day event and about 40 boats participated.
We arrived in Papeete thinking that the main yacht quay in downtown would be full and we'd be scrounging around for an anchorage. Not so! The downtown yacht quay had plenty of room and both water and electricity on the dock. The rates weren't outrageous and actually one night was "on the house", provided by the Port Authority at no cost to the 2009 Puddle Jumpers. What a thrill to be right in the heart of Papeete, two blocks from the market and able to feel the pulse of the city while sitting on "Cups". I kept pinching myself to make sure this wasn't a dream.
Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendezvous - Pape’ete Yacht Quay
17S32.42 / 149W34.24 (Lat and Long)
The 250 mile sail from Fakarava was pleasant enough. Seeing the green hills and rugged peaks of Tahiti was a thrill in the early morning
The Downtown Marina in Pape'ete was absolutely wonderful. Located right on Blvd Pomare, it's right in the heart of town and close to all the festivities.
Everything was made easy for us. The Port Captain's office, Immigration & Customs are all housed at the same spot and check-in took only minutes to complete. The sign-up tent for the Rendezvous was right on the dock.
These are beautiful people!
Tatoos appear in interesting places and here they have traditional significance. We found most of them quite attractive
Moorea - Opunohu Bay
17S29.40 / 149W51.09 (Lat and Long)
The rally left Papeete and headed for Opunohu Bay in Moorea. There was no wind, so we motor-sailed all the way (18nm). A tallship was anchored in the scenic bay when we arrived. Captain James Cook anchored in Baie Opunohu in 1777.
Outriggers with Polynesians in traditional dress greeted us on arrival in the anchorage. Later, traditional music, dancing & cocktails were offered on the beach.
The next day was spent participating in competitive traditional Polynesian games, including outrigger canoe races. Four cruisers plus two Polynesians paddled in each canoe. This was a highlight for us. what a thrill!
Our team: Joan on "Tender Spirit", Hailey and her dad, David, on "Incantation", David & I. We called ourselves "ODL" = Oh, Dead Last! However, Incantation won the overall race from Tahiti to Moorea.
One event was coconut husking. We husked, cracked open, scraped and squeezed out the milk from a coconut using traditional Polynesian tools. Above, Hailey scrapes the meat while Marcie squeezes and collects milk.
Next was a fruit relay. A bamboo pole laden with fruit (not all that heavy), was carried while running a short circuit, then handed off to the next member of the relay team.
We both managed to finish the short circuit, but were no match for the younger cruisers we were competing against.
One competition was stone lifting. Jordan, one of our Tahitian hosts, explains how to properly lift the heavy stones (80, 150, 200 #). No thanks!
We collected so many leis from the rendezvous that the boat smelled of fragrant tiare for a change, instead of diesel!
It wasn't hard to check on our anchor or chain. We anchored in about 15' of the clear, warm aquamarine water.
A long walk to head of the bay gave us several great photo opportunities of Mt. Muaroa.
To the west of the anchorage, a couple of miles away was a place for "swimming with stingrays". Though we disagreed with the concept of feeding the rays to bring them to this spot, we thoroughly enjoyed playing with them. There were perhaps 50 or more of them, each about 1 meter wide, graceful and gentle. They would come right up to us looking for a handout of raw fish. We could pet their backs and bellies, soft and smooth as velvet, as they glided by.
Moorea, which means "yellow lizard", a name taken from a family of chiefs, is Tahiti's heart-shaped sister and known as "The Island of Love". The channel between Moorea and Tahiti is called "Sea of the Moon".
James Michener’s mythical island of Bali Hai was likely based on Moorea.
After five days in Moorea, we decided to head back to Tahiti. We wanted to explore a bit of Tahiti's south coast and decided to head to Port Phaeton and the village of Taravao at the narrow isthmus where Tahiti-Nui (big Tahiti) and Tahiti-iti (little Tahiti) join.
Passe Teputo is the entrance to Port Phaeton through the reef. As we approached and saw huge breakers, we rechecked our charts. Once closer and lined up with the markers, the way in was clear and smooth.
Port Phaeton / Taravao, Tahiti
17S44.01 /149W19.62 (Lat and Long)
The anchorage here was considered to be a "hurricane hole". Quiet and well protected from all winds with a muddy bottom and good holding. No bad weather when we were there, so no tests of the hurricane hole theory. We chilled out here for three lovely days.
A 110-km belt road circles Tahiti. Red and white numbered stone kilometer markers called PKs (pointe kilometrique) are numbered in each direction from the Catholic cathedral in Pape'ete and meet in Taravao.
One of many river signs on the island.
The sail back to Pape'ete was rather boisterous, partly due to cape effect and partly because there was a lot of wind. We saw 45kts true. Since it was downwind, however, it was much easier to handle and the following seas made fast work of the miles back to the city.
L'arc en ciel... We've never seen so many rainbows as we've seen in Tahiti. On our way back from Port Phaeton, we saw one after another and not just partials... these were the real thing with a full spectrum of bright colors and a complete arc. David quickly tired of my rainbow song repertoire.
The Society Island archipelago owes its name to Captain James Cook who christened it "Society Islands" in tribute to the Royal Society of London which financed his voyage.
The Tahitian greeting "ia ora na" literally means "let there be life".
The Tahiti Nautic Center was a small marina which did haul outs for smaller boats, had a sailmaker and produced aluminum boats. They also offered free tie-up for dinghies and fresh water at the dock.
Back in Pape'ete - Marina Taina
17S34.80 / 149W27.23 (Lat and Long)
Instead of staying at the Downtown Marina on our return, our budget preferred the anchorage
at Marina Taina. Though very crowded, we managed to find a spot and snugged in.
Marina Taina was definitely upscale. It offered both moorings as well as Med-moor slips. Several restaurants, a bar, a dinghy dock, dive center, used oil disposal, trash disposal, laundry ($$$), and a dozen other amenities were offered even to those who anchored out.
Carrefour is the largest supermarche chain in Tahiti and was located only a short walk from the marina. They allowed us to take the shopping carts back to the marina with us so provisioning, though expensive, was quite convenient. We hadn't been in a proper grocery store since Chile in February, so this was quite the treat!
Though many food items were very expensive, there were some bargains as well if you looked for them. Our list of best buys included: 1CFP ~ $0.01 (USD)
UHT milk/1 ltr - 112CFP
Salted peanuts/1 kg - 350CFP
Greek olives/1/2 kg - 250CFP
UHT OJ from concentrate/no sugar/1 ltr - 127CFP
Fresh baguette - 50CFP (ooooh la la)
Canned coconut milk - 90CFP
Fresh tuna /kg - 650CFP
Fresh kiwis (pkg/7) - 250CFP
Where else would beef tongue and tripe be packaged as convenience foods?
The cost of food is exorbitant here since most everything is imported. There are some subsidized foods, however, and we were constantly on the lookout for the red PPN signs which indicated a lower price.
A walking tour of downtown Pape'ete was fun and interesting. Above Notre Dame Cathedral.
Polynesians love music, singing and dancing and it was not unusual to find people playing and singing on the downtown streets.
Tres Brasseurs is a boutique-brewery and quite popular for a happy hour beer (5-7PM). A pitcher of beer: ~$30US!
The Pape'ete Market (Marche Municipal ) is an amazing place. It opens daily early in the morning and is unbelievably colorful. Fresh fish, meat, bread/pastries, veggies, fruit, flowers, pearls, souvenirs. lunch. you name it, it's here and it's usually the best price.
The upstairs area of the marketplace offers lots of boutiques and souvenir shops, even a tattoo parlor. From pareos to Marquesan carvings, Gaugin coasters to vanilla pods and pearls, if you can't find it here, it's probably not available in Pape'ete.
Hôtel de Ville in Pape’ete might appear to be an actual hotel based on a literal English translation, but we learned it was the government administration building.
Buses run from the marina into downtown. Le Truck, a converted cargo vehicle with long benches on the inside, is an economical and convenient way to get back and forth to the city
or around the island.
Carved tikis reminded us of totem poles from the Pacific NW.
One of the last stops on our agenda was a visit to historic Pointe Venus where Captain Cook camped in 1769 to observe the transit of Venus across the sun. Captain Bligh also camped here with the crew of the Bounty. The lighthouse was erected in 1867.
A visit to the Pearl Museum was quite interesting and provided information on the history of pearls, the development of the pearl industry in FP and of course, the opportunity to buy pearls. The admission was free.
Now time for work... We left the anchorage at Marina Taina at 0600 for an 0700 haulout at TechniMarine Boatyard. The route passes the end of the airport runway and it's necessary to check with Traffic Control to get permission to transit. The low-flying plane in the photo on the right is the reason why!
Marcie painted the bottom with anti-fouling paint (two coats).
Meanwhile, David, as usual, kicked back and relaxed
We had intended to stay out of the water for just 5 days, but didn't quite make it. Here's what we accomplished:
Repair keel from reef damage
Replaced cutlass bearing
Serviced all through-hulls (14)
Replaced prop zinc
Applied two coats anti-fouling paint
Replaced prop shaft coupler
Aligned engine (x2) - once out of the water and once when we were back in
Rebedded a repaired SS stanchion
We finished all of our chores mid-Saturday morning, but the boatyard was closed and we couldn't splash until Monday. Sigh! The boatyard folks felt so badly for us, they loaned us a car for the weekend! Wow! We made use of their loaner and spent the weekend touring the island and visiting the all the places we’d missed.
If you think Pape'ete is just a little South Pacific town, think again. Here's the view from the beltway heading into city.
the isthmus at Taravao that connects Tahiti-Nui with
Tahiti-iti.
A view of a river valley along the way. The difference between city and "country" was distinct.
An old stone country church in Tautira. This area was very verdant and lush. Lots of farms, grazing cattle and gardens dotted the landscape. We picnicked at a little park by the beach.
There are only three main roads on Tahiti-iti: one to the Taravao Plateau, one to Tautira and the last to the surfing town of Teahupoo.
The Gaugin Museum didn't have any original Gaugins
at all, but lots of information about Paul Gaugin and his life in French Polynesia as well as prints of his works. It was well worth the price of admission.
Cups has a lot of varnish!
Since we planned to spend several weeks in Tahiti, we thought it would be a good time to order new batteries and other spare parts. In theory, the ship with our batteries and the other boat parts was due in on Saturday, 10 July. With the weekend and Bastille Day to contend with, we didn't find out until the following Friday that our parts were NOT on the ship. A painful, poor connection via Skype to our freight forwarders in Miami confirmed that the shipment was on another ship due in on July 25th, so we had a couple of weeks to kill. Not in the plan, but you gotta roll with the punches. It was a good opportunity to get caught up on Nine of Cups’ varnish, and so we began that project. Then, of course, there was stainless to polish and lots of other odd chores to accomplish.
The shipment finally arrived on 31 July, leaving us limited time till our visas expired. We worked hard all weekend to get everything aboard and installed and then headed out for Huahine in the Leeward Islands on the afternoon of 3 August. Come join us…