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We were elated to finally be on our way from Tahiti. Moorea is only about 10 miles north or 15 miles marina to anchorage and we were excited to have a favorable weather forecast. In the Caribbean we had weather forecasting down really well but here in the Pacific it is proving to be more of a challenge. We motored out of the pass in Tahiti only to find no wind at all and a nice short period swell on the beam…niiiiice. We motored as fast a possible around the north side of Moorea and into Cook’s Bay for the Tahiti Moorea Sailing Rendezvous. Looking south into Cook’s Bay:
click for full screen view
Nice homes and small resorts:
We anchored in front of former Bali Hai Hotel, now Aimeo, for the rendezvous. This was the backdrop:
Looking south into the bay:
Bali Hai Hotel:
We signed up for dinner and a show after the rendezvous presentations. Fun:
Presentations on the windward and leeward islands of French Polynesia, anchoring restrictions, and so on:
Claudia’s photo bomb (lol):
Dea Latis and Quo Vadis:
The show was really nice, Polynesian music, dancers that shake their hips 100mph, and then the fire show:
The next day we moved over to Opunohu Bay to swim with the stingrays, more on that next update. Opunohu Bay, nice anchorage at the base of that mountain:
We did have a nice time while trapped in Tahiti. Our wonderful friends on SV Quo Vadis were off on an adventure so they loaned us their bikes for a few days. We had a blast riding all over the northwest corner of Tahiti.
Afternoon tea and homemade scones with Claudia and Tibby, SV Quo Vadis:
We should have brought bikes from the start:
Why do they put metal posts in the middle of the sidewalk? Road rash:
We rode three towns over to the east. They call this a town hall but the way I read into it it is more like a county seat of government. The several “town halls” we did see were just as nice and elaborate:
Plaque in front of the town hall:
We were trying to ride to Point Venus, where Capt Cook did his astrological observations, but it was a bit mountainous. So we’re going up this switchback?
We made it to the top and decided that was enough. We were miles from Papeete so we had to factor in the return trip! Luckily we found a really nice scenic overlook:
Looking west toward Papeete, Moorea in the hazy distance:
We stopped at several places along the way. We had lunch at a wonderful little place, bought a set of dishes to take back home…yes, and were quite tired upon return so we hit the food trucks for dinner again. The food is so good and reasonably priced. Coconut curry rice and bobun salad, mmmmm:
We heard the interior of Tahiti was quite beautiful so we rented a jeep for a day. The weather forecast was perfect but evidently the mountainous interior of Tahiti does not regard forecasts. It rained and poured most of the day but we still had a great time:
There is a “road” that goes through the middle of the island but it rained so much they had to open the dam which flooded the river and forced them to close the road. Really beautiful lush scenery:
Waterfalls everywhere:
Then we came to this bridge which we assumed was a pedestrian bridge until we saw a truck come racing across:
Crossing this river:
Here we go:
We found out shortly after this the road was closed so we headed back for a visit to the Jardin Botanique!
Galapagos turtle. Glad they had one of these because we missed the Galapagos…
The rain turned to an off and on drizzle so we walked through the garden, it was really interesting:
And no joke, chutes de fruits!
Beautiful:
After a trip to the market we headed back, turned in the car and made our way back to the marina. With the boat back to normal, topped off with food and fuel, and our wallets completely empty (lol), we left Tahiti for Moorea. Leaving pass de Papeete, Moorea in the distance:
We spent a few days in Moorea before heading to Bora Bora. Moorea was beautiful, we wish we could have spent less time in Tahiti and a few weeks in Moorea.
Right now we are enjoying Bora Bora while we wait on weather for the next leg of our journey.
I don’t like to get out of order on the updates but we are in Moorea and had a great time this morning swimming with stingrays and sharks. There should be a video below…
We thoroughly enjoyed Tahanea, but we were having a boat issue and the clock is ticking on this trip so we moved on to Tahiti. We had a great weather window and were able to sail a good portion of the way but ended up on a flat calm when we arrived in Tahiti. …flat calm sure beats a gale!
We arrived in Pateete, contacted port control for permission to enter the port, then made our way to the downtown marina. Dea Latis in Papeete Marina:
The marina is right downtown. Our first night in Papeete they closed off the waterfront and had five or six bands playing. This was really fun for a change:
They have food trucks every night of the week:
Marina:
Dea Latis, two over from the black hull sailboat:
Mega yachts:
Marina and harbor at night:
Coral garden in the marina:
Before we could completely relax we had to fix things…of course…
Our Xantrex inverter charger had been a problem since day one. Long boring story aside, it finally died. Our expensive inverter-battery charger failed in French Polynesia. We could not have found a more expensive place for this to happen if we tried. This is my fault, I knew it was a piece of junk and I should have replaced it before we left. Years ago when it was installed we had problems from the start. My very first call to Xantrex tech support years ago, I was told to “hit it with a hammer”. He then went on to explain that I should not dent it, but hit it just hard enough to knock the relays loose. Hit it with a hammer…
Anyway, we found a (the only) chandler that sells real inverter/chargers here in Tahiti. We were very lucky that he happened to have one of the exact model I wanted. Electricity in 80% of the world is 220 volts, our boat being from the US is 120 volts. He ordered this 120 volt model last year by mistake and could not get rid of it. He said “I will give you a deal” and he did! With his discount and the favorable exchange rate we ended up paying less than we would have paid back in the US!
…nothing is ever easy. Before I could dig into the electrical system of the boat we needed shore power. The electricity here is European 220volts so I had to buy a European shore power cable, they don’t sell complete cables. Soooo I had to source the parts for a cable. Nobody sells all the parts for a complete cable. It took us three days walking/riding the bus all over town to source the parts for a shore power cable…but we did it!
Shore cable complete but again, nothing is easy. Our boat uses 120volt electricity so we had to find a 220 volt to 120 volt step-down transformer before we could plug into shore power. Every store we went in either didn’t have transformers, was sold out, or wanted hundreds of dollars for one. Walking back to the boat frustrated, nearly defeated, hot, tired, sore, I decided to walk into a run-down appliance parts store to see if they could help. I cut to the chase, “parley vous English?” to which he replied in perfect English “yes”. Oh thank God I thought to myself. Where can I find a transformer? He told us (even drew a map) to walk up the street to this particular hardware store and assured us they have transformers. The hardware store and the people working there were awesome, and they did have exactly what we needed!!! OMG the final ingredient so I can get to work and fix the boat! …that statement just doesn’t have the happy ring I thought it would have but…we would be able to fix the boat, that is the important take away… Our new 2000 watt step-down AND step-up transformer:
New Victron 120 volt 3000 watt inverter with 120 amp charger, installed and working perfectly, it’s nearly silent. Our POS Xantrex sounded like a shop-vac.
For about 11 seconds I actually contemplated bringing the Xantrex back home because parts of it still work…and then I laughed and with great joy I hauled all 75 pounds of it and the associated cabling and sensors to the marina dumpster, held it over my head and chucked it in!!! BOOM!!! The dumpster was empty!! BOOM!!! What a great great day! I have NEVER felt so happy or relieved or overjoyed (?) to be throwing $1200 into a dumpster. I should have used that Xantrex POS to reenact this scene from the movie Office Space, where these guys let off some steam on a perpetually malfunctioning piece of office equipment. This is a “clean” version but you still may want to turn down the volume:
OK, Ok, I’m done.
Sooooo nearly five full days of our first-ever stop in TAHITI were spent fixing things and cleaning up. Remember that time I took you to Tahiti so you could do laundry? Yeah:
When we were able to catch our breath we went to a sidewalk cafe across the street and…oh yeah one full liter!!! (We had dinner too)
After the dust settled a bit we spent a few days around the downtown area eating out and exploring. We found a great brew pub called The Three Brewers. Excellent beer, great food, live music, 2-4-1 happy hour:
Downtown during the day, and the ferry terminal:
More on Tahiti in the next update. We did more than just fix, clean, eat and drink…well a bit more anyway. We are currently in Moorea which is really beautiful, next stop is probably Bora Bora.
Categories: General|Comments Off on Tahiti, But Not Really…
After enjoying Makemo for a few days we moved on to Tahanea.
Tahanea is uninhabited for the most part. There is no permanent village, only a few camps that are used when people come to harvest coconuts. The water inside the atoll is amazingly clear and unlike Makemo there are only a few coral heads to avoid.
Anchorage just inside the pass:
We use fenders to suspend our anchor chain which keeps it from getting tangled on the low lying coral heads:
Dea Latis anchored at the very east end of the atoll:
The water is so clear, that is about 20 feet deep:
This is about 40 to 50 feet deep, and much more clear in person:
We snorkeled quite a bit. This guy looks like he belongs on a playing card:
Grouper poking his head out:
…and then the sharks arrive which is when we usually finish up:
We eat really well when we are on the boat. Tuna steak, beans and rice. Mmmmm:
Sunrise back in the main anchorage:
We really enjoyed Tahanea!
After spending a few days in Tahanea we took the next weather window to Tahiti, which is where we are now. We have been here for almost three weeks fixing up the boat and enjoying civilization. After emptying our bank account it is time to move on! (You can not imagine how expensive it is here! The only thing reasonably priced is the marina berth, baguettes, and brie!) We are departing Papeete tomorrow morning. We plan to spend a few days in Moorea, we have reservations for dinner and a show, then we will jump up to Bora Bora and check-out of French Polynesia. Our “plan” is to stop at one of the Cook Islands, then on to Niue, Tonga, Fiji, New Caledonia, and Australia. We have really enjoyed French Polynesia but it is time to move on!
