Tahiti or Bust! 22 Jul 19

15º 48.209s 146º 09.183w

Mon Jul 22 2019

Well, we’ve finally gotten to the point that Tahiti is the next logical stop on our itinerary. Our brief flirtation with the Marquesas, essentially Nuku Hiva and a quickie at Ua Pou informed us that we need lots more time there, and we’re planning our return by mid to late October. We’re on our third atoll in the Tuamotus, Toau, now at what’s called a “false pass” on the North end. It’s a lovely spot called Anse Amyot, complete with a small restaurant and nearby pension (guest house) great snorkeling, terrific spear fishing, coconut palms and more. Best of all there is generally cell phone and 2G data available, but it’s been broken for about a week now so there’s no need to hassle with the news or gmail. That stuff can wait until we get to the big city in just a few days. In the meantime Isabel called her dad and Simon called his folks on the sat phone so everyone is up to speed.

Just under JollyDogs yesterday was a nice size Napoleon Wrasse, a beautiful fish about 2’ long. There’s another one much larger in a nearby fish trap, apparently found its way in there. They’re beautiful fish to look at, get quite enormous, and apparently can be good to eat with light blue flesh, but the local restaurant folks who have the trap didn’t intend for that one to be in there so perhaps they’ll set it free. That particular specimen might be a bit large for optimal flavor – for its sake let’s hope so.

Simon has been fun to have aboard, and we’ve been in the company of SV Halcyon for quite a few days now; always fun and interesting folks to hang with. Yesterday they did a bit of spear fishing and delivered enough fish for Isabel to crank out a great big Thai curry. All seven of us gathered on JollyDogs for sundowners and a feast, and just like clockwork everyone was home before cruiser’s midnight (2100). Newlyweds Rachel and Adam, visiting John and Becca on Halcyon got the nickel tour and contributed to the lively conversation that did involve a bit of rum. Best I can tell a good time was had by all.

It’s about 220 nautical miles on a Southwest course to sail from here to Tahiti’s Point Venus. Lots of boats left early yesterday morning including our new-found friends on SV North Star who needed to deliver their daughter to catch a flight then will get some repairs done. A couple more boats departed early this morning, and a continuing examination of the weather forecast yields a Wednesday afternoon departure for us in light build slight building conditions. Looks like around a day and a half to get there, and the very sheltered anchorage behind Point Venus is one that we can safely enter at night.

So if things go to plan we’ll wake up within shouting distance of Papeete Saturday morning, and likely hear some beach bar music blaring away during the wee hours. We’ve engaged the services of a local project manager who can get us a slip in Marina Taina and arrange for various crafts people to visit and quote us cost and schedule for the repairs and modifications we’re interested in having done. Right now our objective is to motor into a slip by Wednesday morning August 1st, although with our current plan a Monday slip date might enable a more efficient work plan.

The Papeete “metro” area offers everything we need in terms of talent, tools and materials to accomplish our tasks. There is a large Carrefour “hypermarket” near the marina as well as Polynesian Traders, a large shop that sells a variety of Costco’s own Kirkland branded products. Cell phone data will be 3G or 4G, and the local bars will have WIFI. Back in the land of plenty, and an opportunity to spend plenty of sawbucks. On the upside, the bar at the marina has a 2 for 1 happy hour deal on local craft beer (reputed to be quite good) so we’ll get our fix of that stuff. Isabel did a thorough job of provisioning while we were hauled out in Rocky Point and then topped us up before departing Puerto Vallarta, so we don’t need a lot of staples or spices, but the temptation of nice French wines and cheeses will be strong.

The last time we saw city lights or heard a siren was April 16th, and we’re not keen to fall back into the consumer lifestyle that always accompanies marina life, but a break from the remote atoll life will be fun for a couple of days before it starts feeling a bit goofy. Hopefully the work will go quickly and we can be out of the marina and stop bleeding money within 2 to 3 weeks, and for sure we’ll be craving peace and quiet by then. Perhaps the most exciting thing (and most expensive) about visiting Papeete will be the opportunity to purchase some kite board gear to support our new habit. With luck we can get a 9 or 10 square meter kite, a board, a bar with lines, harnesses and life jackets and enjoy that for the next few weeks.

We’ve got our first visitor coming around September 19th, and Shawnee will be be carrying a few items for us including a replacement for a failed relay, a pizza stone, and likely some additional kites if the US prices and availability are much better than those in Papeete. She’ll be with us for about a month as we spend a few days showing her a bit of Tahiti then begin moving back through the Tuamotus towards Nuku Hiva. We’ll have around a month to make the journey, taking advantage of good weather windows to push back to the Northeast. Our current plan is to secure JollyDogs with a caretaker, anchored in Taiohae Bay where we first checked in to French Polynesia, then the 3 of us will catch a local flight to Papeete to connect with an international flight back to the US. We’ll likely spend 4-6 weeks between the US and the UK looking after various responsibilities before returning in early December in time for a major cultural festival on Ua Pou.

We bloody well hate schedules and generally write ours in the sand at low tide, but heavy boat maintenance and airline tickets are forcing our hand right now. Arrrrrrrgh matey!