On Thursday, October 6, I picked up the rental car again and headed toward the port of Papeete. I stopped by to see Michel at the Taina Chandlery and he fixed my butane hose so it would work. And I dropped off my empty butane tank to be filled at the Mobil station. Then I stopped at Technimarine to confirm a haul-out appointment. The next day, early, I headed to the airport to pick up Todd, Laura and their friend Jeff. I made them go with me back to the marina to give a package to Bob on Rhapsody, and then I dragged them to Nautisport to pick up my diving BC that was being repaired. We tried to have lunch at Point Venus but it was way too early, so we headed around the east side of Tahiti toward Port Phaeton. That night we had a very nice dinner at Terre-Mer, which you can see from the boat.
The next day was a tourist day, while we still had the rental car. We went to Teahapoo, home of the famous surf break, and then up to the Belvedere lookout on Tahiti Iti for a nice view of the intersection between the two halves of Tahiti. Lunch was a very nice one at Loula et Remy in Taravao. Jeff and Todd also looked at some of my small electrical/engine problems and came up with solutions.
The next day we drove a long way up the west side of Tahiti to find the public beach (Plage Vaiava) where snorkeling was supposed to be good. The snorkeling wasn’t great, but we each had a nice swim before heading for lunch at Lani’s BBQ. Nice place. It was a Sunday, which may have explained the long wait for service.
On Monday, we stopped at Ace Hardware for a new switch for one of my lamps and then hiked to a waterfall on the east side of Tahiti. We then headed to downtown Papeete to see the market and had lunch at Jimmy’s, a couple of blocks away. When we returned to Port Phaeton, we did a shopping run at the Carrefour to load up for a sailing trip.
On Tuesday morning, we dropped off the rental car and then left the mooring ball at 8:00 a.m. We were through the pass by 9:00 a.m. Outside the reef, the seas and winds were calm and from behind us. But as we got closer to the rounding point on the southwest side, both seas and winds built significantly. We had winds in the mid-twenties and I had to hand steer to appease the autopilot. It was a bit rowdy for my guests, who are not sailors. But as we finally got near the pass south of Marina Taina, things calmed down and entry into the pass was benign. We found a spot near where Linda and I had anchored previously after trying to find a spot in front of the huts at the Intercontinental. We nearly hit a shallow reef before Todd managed to get my attention.
The next morning we got up early and got fuel at the fuel dock before heading to Moorea. The wind was light and on the nose so we motored the whole way. We first tried anchoring out in front of the town of Maharepa but it was very crowded and our spot was too shallow, so we moved well into Cook’s Bay, where it is plenty deep and there was plenty of room.
On Thursday, we took the dinghy to the dock near the Snack Rotui and started walking around the bay toward Maharepa. We passed the Allo Pizza restaurant, which looked good, and took a look the the place where cruise ships drop off their passengers for land tours. Then we kept walking around through and past the town. We ran into Andrew and Liane from Waveriders and all of us stopped at the Moz Cafe for refreshments. As we started back, we ran into Bob and Sarah on Rhapsody for a quick chat before finding a great snack truck. We had delicious fish tacos and poisson cru there before continuing our sojourn. The next stop was the hotel Kaveka, which has a very nice atmosphere and a very friendly staff. After a couple of beverages, we headed back to our part of the bay, picked up some things from the SuperU store and headed back to the boat. That night there was a nice fireworks show for the benefit of the cruise ships that were in the bay.
Friday was a rainy morning. Jeff went off in the kayak and Todd joined him in another kayak later. Meanwhile Laura and I took the dinghy out to the reef for some unimpressive snorkeling. On Saturday, we walked 4.5 miles from the bay up to the Belvedere lookout. There were far too many tourists there so we turned around after a quick look at the view and headed back to the boat. On Sunday, we picked up a rental car and drove all the way around Moorea, checking out the sites I hadn’t seen before. We stopped for beverages at the Hibiscus hotel and lovely Sunset restaurant and then headed over to the Tipaniers resort where we had lunch before going out on a whale watching trip.
The whale watching was exciting. The captain and guide would spot whales and then we follow the guide into the water and swim toward the whales. The first swim was really long and seemed ridiculous in that you can’t chase whales in rough water forever. We did see some, however. We then got back in the boat a few times so the boat could get us better positioned, and we went in again. Each time seeing whales. The best view was right above a mother and her baby. I’m not sure how much the whales liked to be harassed but the guide and the boat captain were very responsible in their approach.
After dropping off the car on Monday morning, we pulled up anchor and motored back to the Marina Taina anchorage on Tahiti. It was a day earlier than planned but the weather models were inconsistent and I was afraid that it could be a miserable trip on Tuesday and slightly less miserable on Monday. As it turned out, Monday was pretty calm and we motored the whole way. After relaxing for a bit, we put the dinghy in the water and I took Jeff to shore so he could go to a hotel. Todd and Laura and I joined him that evening for dinner at La Casa Bianca at the marina.
On Tuesday morning, Laura and I went to the marina and did four loads of laundry, which took forever to dry. I was so grateful that that task was done. After we returned to the boat, Todd and Laura packed up and I took them back to the marina to catch a cab to their hotel. Hopefully they enjoyed a nice resort afternoon before their early morning flight to Los Angeles.
Back on my own, I walked to the Mobil station to pick up my butane tank, which had been filled and was waiting for me. Then I headed back to the boat to relax and clean. It’s always a similar drill between guests. After getting the laundry done, I defrost and clean the three refrigeration/freezer boxes, re-organize the galley, clean the heads and tidy up. I also run the watermaker in 1-2 hour shifts when the sun is producing ample solar power. I did take an afternoon off to go over the Waveriders with the Rhapsody crew to play games. It was quite fun.
