Our personal, lighted dinghy dock! The fish come right up through the coral and you can snorkel right from the dock.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
We weighed anchor at 0530 to head out of Huahine's pass in what was delightfully calm weather and quite a contrast to entering.
Dan and Michelle got the main up and we headed out for Bora Bora. The 65nm passage turned out to be light to no wind, but the views of Raiatea and Tahaa, and the approaching Bora Bora, were gorgeous.
Dan and Michelle got the main up and we headed out for Bora Bora. The 65nm passage turned out to be light to no wind, but the views of Raiatea and Tahaa, and the approaching Bora Bora, were gorgeous.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Confetti's anchored in front of the Hotel Bora Bora and we are enjoying the amenities after a great few days of cruising.
On Tuesday we sailed about 100nm through the night from Moorea to Huahine, in order to enter the tricky pass with first light. We hoped to show our lovely new crew a star-studded, moonlit night sail, with dolphins shooting through the phosphorescence and the boat gently cutting through the darkness. But as luck will have it, whenever either one of our families visits us we get heavy weather! Doubled-reefed and mostly hand-steering, the night consisted of squall after squall, each bringing pouring rain. Despite minimal sleep (and a little fish-feeding) everyone faced the elements with alacrity.
We arrived at the pass into Huahine late morning. "Nerve-wracking," "hair-raising," "heart-pounding," "white-knuckling," might be used to describe the entrance. We were all set on our approach into the pass, within reach (!) when a final squall came through. We spun the boat around, tacked back to windward in 30-knots, and watched from a safe distance off as the driving rain reduced visibility in the pass to zero. Once it cleared, the pass was deep but dotted with fish traps. As the pass narrowed there were spooky 8-foot rollers that began rising above our heads. To each side the waves, churned up from the squalls, were crashing on the reefs just boat-lengths away.
Inside the pass is a large bay surrounded on all sides by the densest jungle we've seen. The trees seemed stacked on top of each other up the cliff-faced mountains. The ridge lines are conifers that sit atop acacia canopies with scattered palm trees sticking out of the steep hillsides. We anchored as the sole boat in front of the small town and rested from our night out. Later we watched outrigger canoe practice and made tropical rum drinks before seriously crashing.
Photos to follow.
Cheers from what is TRULY paradise!
On Tuesday we sailed about 100nm through the night from Moorea to Huahine, in order to enter the tricky pass with first light. We hoped to show our lovely new crew a star-studded, moonlit night sail, with dolphins shooting through the phosphorescence and the boat gently cutting through the darkness. But as luck will have it, whenever either one of our families visits us we get heavy weather! Doubled-reefed and mostly hand-steering, the night consisted of squall after squall, each bringing pouring rain. Despite minimal sleep (and a little fish-feeding) everyone faced the elements with alacrity.
We arrived at the pass into Huahine late morning. "Nerve-wracking," "hair-raising," "heart-pounding," "white-knuckling," might be used to describe the entrance. We were all set on our approach into the pass, within reach (!) when a final squall came through. We spun the boat around, tacked back to windward in 30-knots, and watched from a safe distance off as the driving rain reduced visibility in the pass to zero. Once it cleared, the pass was deep but dotted with fish traps. As the pass narrowed there were spooky 8-foot rollers that began rising above our heads. To each side the waves, churned up from the squalls, were crashing on the reefs just boat-lengths away.
Inside the pass is a large bay surrounded on all sides by the densest jungle we've seen. The trees seemed stacked on top of each other up the cliff-faced mountains. The ridge lines are conifers that sit atop acacia canopies with scattered palm trees sticking out of the steep hillsides. We anchored as the sole boat in front of the small town and rested from our night out. Later we watched outrigger canoe practice and made tropical rum drinks before seriously crashing.
Photos to follow.
Cheers from what is TRULY paradise!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Our last night in Tahiti, with Moorea in the background.
What NOT to do the next time you are in Tahiti: Buy what you think is pure, fresh (!) coconut milk at the grocery store, ignoring unimportant extra ingredients like “crevettes.” Then proceed to mix up some homemade Pina Coladas (yay!) with several different kinds of rum and juices and the said “coconut milk.” NOT a good idea. Make sure to learn your French seafood before trying to mix your own drinks.
What NOT to do the next time you are in Tahiti: Buy what you think is pure, fresh (!) coconut milk at the grocery store, ignoring unimportant extra ingredients like “crevettes.” Then proceed to mix up some homemade Pina Coladas (yay!) with several different kinds of rum and juices and the said “coconut milk.” NOT a good idea. Make sure to learn your French seafood before trying to mix your own drinks.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Dave Lee flew back to the northern hemisphere Tuesday night and Schimy is off to Australia tomorrow morning. Confetti is rocking and rolling at the dock, as the wind is blowing, but somehow it is still SO HOT!
We have been working on exorcising the autopilot demon and various other projects. Dan is getting used to walking around without a shirt in public (something he would never do at home) but all the local men do it here. Actually not just the men! Clothing is definitely more "optional" in French Polynesia, even in restaurants. It's a very casual atmosphere.
We have been working on exorcising the autopilot demon and various other projects. Dan is getting used to walking around without a shirt in public (something he would never do at home) but all the local men do it here. Actually not just the men! Clothing is definitely more "optional" in French Polynesia, even in restaurants. It's a very casual atmosphere.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
After some rest over the weekend we got to work this Monday morning getting all of our paperwork (immigration, customs, etc.) done and working with Patrick (Pa-TREEK), a marine electrician, on our autopilot. We’ve got quite a list of projects to do this week, but being tied to the dock, with electricity and fresh water, makes them much easier. We thought it might be cooler down here in Tahiti than the broiling Marquesas, but it is actually very hot, making mid-day work more challenging.
I had the pleasure of visiting a French doctor today for an ear problem (swimming related). There’s nothing like a socialist country to show you that healthcare for everyone actually exists! (No comments please - I don't want to be a socialist!). But I do rank this morning as one of my best medical experiences ever. I may be biased, since regaining hearing in my left ear was quite exciting after a few weeks of deafness, but also it was easy, friendly, cheap and the doctor was on time! Not to mention he was a surfer and gave me the inside scoop on where all the good longboard breaks are in Tahiti!
We have escaped the heat a few times for some cold drinks and French food at the nearby restaurants, although the ever-present (at every meal!) cigarette smoke is hard to take. We are probably considered extremely gauche by the locals. In fact we showed up for dinner at 6:45 on Friday night (tired and hungry after our passage) and were severely scorned by the host and hostess, who shooed us out and told us to come back at at 7:15 after the kitchen opened. I guess we are early-birds.
I had the pleasure of visiting a French doctor today for an ear problem (swimming related). There’s nothing like a socialist country to show you that healthcare for everyone actually exists! (No comments please - I don't want to be a socialist!). But I do rank this morning as one of my best medical experiences ever. I may be biased, since regaining hearing in my left ear was quite exciting after a few weeks of deafness, but also it was easy, friendly, cheap and the doctor was on time! Not to mention he was a surfer and gave me the inside scoop on where all the good longboard breaks are in Tahiti!
We have escaped the heat a few times for some cold drinks and French food at the nearby restaurants, although the ever-present (at every meal!) cigarette smoke is hard to take. We are probably considered extremely gauche by the locals. In fact we showed up for dinner at 6:45 on Friday night (tired and hungry after our passage) and were severely scorned by the host and hostess, who shooed us out and told us to come back at at 7:15 after the kitchen opened. I guess we are early-birds.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
It is good to be tied to a dock. While we have had some relaxing time at anchor since we left Mexico, it is not really possible to ever truly unwind and let our guard down when cruising. In the back of our minds (or more often the front!), we are always trying to heed the practical, but brilliant, advice of Roger Taylor: to keep the water out of the boat, keep the boat from hitting anything, keep the boat going (or not if at anchor), keep the crew safe and healthy, and to keep our reputation.
In the words of J.M. Synge, “A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned…for he will be going out on a day he shouldn’t. But we do who do be afraid of the sea, and we do only be drowned now and again.”
Suffice it to say, last night was the first night I slept all the way through since Mexico, and it was fantastic! Confetti is safe and secure against her fenders, and even quite at home, with lots (!) of other sea foam green-painted boats around.
This is a true international port, with mega yachts and boats from ports of call around the world. We are figuring out transportation on “Le Truck,” and finding the right places to buy fresh baguettes, goose pate and pamplemoose (the local equivalent of grapefruit).
Rylin took her leave and flew out on a midnight flight last night, bound for Seattle (just in time for the sun to come out!). And my aunt Julia flew in last night from Los Angeles. She plans to take a boat to the Tuamotu Islands for a few days, before uniting with more of our family who arrives at the end of the week to join Confetti’s next leg. Schimy is getting ready for an exploration of Moorea, the closest Society Island. Dave and Julia went this morning to the local church service, which is supposed to be a very interesting cultural experience, according to Julia’s travel-business friend.
The view of neighboring Moorea from the marina.
In the words of J.M. Synge, “A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned…for he will be going out on a day he shouldn’t. But we do who do be afraid of the sea, and we do only be drowned now and again.”
Suffice it to say, last night was the first night I slept all the way through since Mexico, and it was fantastic! Confetti is safe and secure against her fenders, and even quite at home, with lots (!) of other sea foam green-painted boats around.
This is a true international port, with mega yachts and boats from ports of call around the world. We are figuring out transportation on “Le Truck,” and finding the right places to buy fresh baguettes, goose pate and pamplemoose (the local equivalent of grapefruit).
Rylin took her leave and flew out on a midnight flight last night, bound for Seattle (just in time for the sun to come out!). And my aunt Julia flew in last night from Los Angeles. She plans to take a boat to the Tuamotu Islands for a few days, before uniting with more of our family who arrives at the end of the week to join Confetti’s next leg. Schimy is getting ready for an exploration of Moorea, the closest Society Island. Dave and Julia went this morning to the local church service, which is supposed to be a very interesting cultural experience, according to Julia’s travel-business friend.
The view of neighboring Moorea from the marina.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Docklines are secured!
Confetti is firmly tied to a concrete wharf in Marina Taina, 4 miles south of Papeete. It was an uneventful motor from Fakarava, so we made it exciting by coming through the reef in the pass south of Papeete. About 300-feet wide, surfers were riding waves on either side of us, over the submerged reef. The island of Moorea is directly west of us. Everyone is healthy and happy, although we are a little tired from schlepping about Papeete trying to clear customs this afternoon. Will add some photos after some good dock sleep tonight!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
papeete
It is 0130 Tahiti time and we are 58nm from Papeete. We have been motoring in "Lake Pacific," without a breath of wind for 24 hours. Thankfully the engine is working really well and we are set to arrive by early afternoon.
Tahiti bound
Thursday, 0445 Tahiti time
We are en route from Fakarava to Papeete, Tahiti. There is a half-moon hanging above us and the wind is so light that we are motoring. Our time at the atoll was incredible. While drinking coffee at anchor this morning we got a call on the VHF from the owner of the pension-style resort directly ashore, offering to make lunch for our whole crew if someone could do a small wiring job on one of his boats. Since Dan has become quite the marine electrician we responded affirmatively and "Manihi" came
to pick us up in his 40-foot marine-plywood cigarette boat. It was still early so he drove us out to the south pass and dropped Schimy and Rylin off for snorkeling, and Dan and me off for surfing. Dave had been scuba-diving earlier in the morning, so he went back to the resort with our new friend. Dan later got the electrical job done, no problem, and we enjoyed a delicious fish-stew lunch. Most of us are now over our South Pacific shark fear, as we have seen so many of them, even just under our
surfboards! But these are not the great whites we so fear at home, and there aren't any seals or sea lions here that a shark might mistake a human for. ETA Papeete: 1400 Friday.
We are en route from Fakarava to Papeete, Tahiti. There is a half-moon hanging above us and the wind is so light that we are motoring. Our time at the atoll was incredible. While drinking coffee at anchor this morning we got a call on the VHF from the owner of the pension-style resort directly ashore, offering to make lunch for our whole crew if someone could do a small wiring job on one of his boats. Since Dan has become quite the marine electrician we responded affirmatively and "Manihi" came
to pick us up in his 40-foot marine-plywood cigarette boat. It was still early so he drove us out to the south pass and dropped Schimy and Rylin off for snorkeling, and Dan and me off for surfing. Dave had been scuba-diving earlier in the morning, so he went back to the resort with our new friend. Dan later got the electrical job done, no problem, and we enjoyed a delicious fish-stew lunch. Most of us are now over our South Pacific shark fear, as we have seen so many of them, even just under our
surfboards! But these are not the great whites we so fear at home, and there aren't any seals or sea lions here that a shark might mistake a human for. ETA Papeete: 1400 Friday.
Dan getting the wiring job done. Although it may look as if I am taking a nap, I swear I was ready and willing to pass any tools at a moment's notice.
The dive boat.
Rylin checking out an extremely curious "remora," fish, a creature with suckers on top of his head that latches onto larger fish and mammals for free rides. This one was living under our boat at anchor and aggressively trying to attach itself to anyone who got in the water.
The dive boat.
Rylin checking out an extremely curious "remora," fish, a creature with suckers on top of his head that latches onto larger fish and mammals for free rides. This one was living under our boat at anchor and aggressively trying to attach itself to anyone who got in the water.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
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