16º 51.972s 148º 16.097w
Thu Jul 25 2019
Of
course, all this rests on the assumption that my carte de sejour (1 year long
stay visa) actually is granted and available while we are in Papeete the next
couple of weeks. Isabel is already good to go for now, but no telling what that
silly Brexit thing will do to her long stay privileges.
Looks
like we’ll arrive Tahiti tonight and be in Marina Taina somewhere between
Monday and Wednesday for a (hopefully) short stay. We’ve engaged the services
of a very reputable project manager to hopefully ensure the canvas and
fiberglass work that needs doing happen in a timely manner. Thank you for that
assist, SV Hullabaloo! With any luck we’ll be in and out of Papeete in around 2
weeks, but time will tell. In Mexico it’s always a palaver to get any sort of
worker to actually do as promised on schedule; they’re usually not too bad for
sticking to agreed-upon budget figures if you can just get them to quote a
price in the first place, but it’s really rare to get anything done on time
unless an American project manager is running the crew. We did meet exceptional
Mexican craftsmen and workers in several marinas, but it takes a while to find
out about those people. We’ll end up paying extra for the project manager but
hopefully things get done quickly and we can be on our way. Marinas cost money
too and we dislike spending too much time in them anyway. That said, Marina
Taina apparently has a bar with the local craft beer on tap at 2:1 happy hour
prices, so that might influence me to enjoy the experience more. My good craft
beer low light is blazing brightly!
If
all goes well we’ll escape the marina on time then wander around the protected
anchorages of Tahiti or sail all of 10 miles over to Moorea to explore Cook’s
Bay and some other points of interest. With (hopefully) new kite gear on board
we’ll be able to practice our meager skills on those breezy days, then return
to Tahiti for refueling and provisioning before pushing on back towards the
Tuamotus. Back towards the Marquesas by October, a few weeks off the boat in
the US and UK, then return in December. January 2020 will see us wandering
towards the Gambiers for a month or 2 there, then back slowly through the
Tuamotus to be in the Societies by early June. It’s all about which direction
the wind blows.
We’re
figuring we’ll be ripe for visitors after Christmas as we enjoy the Marquesas,
sail to the Gambier, then come back through the Tuamotus. Many locations have
scheduled local airline service from Tahiti, then we’ll hope to enjoy some
visitors in the Societies June and July. The leeward islands of Huahine,
Raiatea and Bora Bora all sound lovely and there’s easy airline access back to
the only international airport in Tahiti.
Sooooooo,
if you’re thinking of coming to visit we’d love to host you. If you want
remote, the Marquesas, Gambiers and Tuamotus are your bag. If you want easy
then the Societies are the hot ticket. In most cases there’s always the option
of staying at a shoreside resort (think thatch roof huts, some built over the
turquoise blue water) and snorkeling, day sailing or kiting with us in an
adjacent anchorage.
Right
now we’re leaning towards moving on towards New Zealand by November of 2020,
which will give us a brief glimpse of the Cook Islands, Tonga, and Minerva
Reef. Perhaps more, perhaps different destinations. By then we’ll surely want a
bit of time off JollyDogs for some dirt travel, and she’ll likely need a bit of
maintenance too.
2020
is the year! Have a think! Come see us! We’ll do our best to show you a great
time!
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