Category: Voyages

Dear F&F,

Moored outside Marina Taina

We had a good day/night/half day sail to Tahiti. I had a sky full of stars with no moon on my first night shift. Then a nice 3 quarter moon to light the way for my 2nd night shift. The mountains of Tahiti are stunning & surrounded by a coral reef. To get to the anchorage area, we came inside the reef, easy entry. We radioed to Port Control for permission to enter. Then we had to radio the airport traffic control to get approval to pass very close to the runway due to the height of our mast. They gave us the ok, but a small jet seemed to begin its descent not so far above our mast.

We spoke to the marina manager, notifying her of our arrival. They did not expect us until Monday at the earliest. There is not yet a slip for us at a dock. There are many boats anchored and on moorings in the lagoon outside of the marina. It is a little tight, but we were able to get on a mooring. This island is so populated & metropolitan compared to all the little Tuamotu atolls we have been. I am ready for some civilization. We took the dinghy to meet our 2 closest neighbors. One a French guy doing work on a charter boat. He will be here one more month then plans to sail back to Europe. Our other neighbors are American, have been here 2 weeks & gave thumbs up on the grocery store & local boat workers.

We went ashore, met Constance & Florant who run the marina. We saw our future slip which should be vacated & ready for us within a week. We had lunch at a lovely bustling open air pizza place. I had a green salad with delicious dijon vinagrette, savoring every crunchy bite! We shared a four fromage (cheese) pizza that was super yum too. Then we walked to Carrefours, the closest, big store which has dry goods as well as groceries. Sort of like K-Mart & a very nice large grocery store combined. We have so much more variety here & the prices less than the other islands. Fantastic.

Todays finds:
kiwi, peaches, apples, grapes, papaya, oranges, a bag of pre-washed spinach, broccoli, green beans, walnuts, dried apricots, brown rice, oats, large assortment of French wines, Sensodyne toothpaste and Plax. I was like a kid in the candy store. Many items are imported from the US, New Zealand & Australia. Anything locally grown is indicated. I am so happy that it is close & I can go nearly every day if I wish. Slowly filling up our stores and eating more to my liking with lots of fresh produce.

At the store we bought a sim-card so we can use our cell phone for local calls. Calling to the US is crazy expensive, but we can use Skype if the internet is good enough. Scott called our agent & he is coming in the morning to deliver our mast track and get our documents so he can check us in with the gendarmerie (police). He will also give us exact instructions for checking in with immigration to renew our long stay visa.

Sleep deprivation caught up with us as we stood in the check out aisle. We had each taken 4 hour shifts for the 30 hour crossing. We were pretty exhausted by the time we pushed the cart back to the marina, loaded all into our dinghy & got it inside \”Beach House\”. But we were motivated to get WiFi working in order to do Skype, so radioed Matthew the tech guy for the WiFi. He sold us an omni-directional antenna booster which works great. He also helped Scott figure out some things on his media laptop that crashed last week. Hence, delays in postings and photos!

Everyone so far has been friendly & helpful. We are happy to be here. I think being on the mooring for a week will be a good transition from the isolated atoll life, to this big city marina.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,

It was a rare excitement to have an evening out. I looked through our hanging closet to see if I could find something cute to wear, but sadly it all smelled of mildew. Plus many things no longer fit. The lack of fruits & veggies in our diet has taken its toll. We cannot get an accurate measurement on the scale when the boat is bouncing around in the wind, so I don\’t know how many pounds I\’ve gained. A tape measure would work despite the motion, but I am not ready face facts on what has happened to my waistline. When we get more variety of food in Tahiti, a chance to walk every day & hopefully swim, I intend to reclaim my lifelong slim figure. Vanity aside, I resorted to a pair of clean shorts & tank top. Mascara & a necklace gave me a somewhat dressed up feeling.

We cautiously drove the dinghy through the very shallow short distance from where we are anchored to the Tikehau Pearl Beach Hotel. The resort is built in Polynesian style with thatched roofs, open air lobby, bar & restaurant. All the rooms are bungalows over the water. We enjoyed sipping a Mai Tai with Wilfred as we watched the sunset. He gave us a tour of a standard bungalow & the hotel\’s best suite. They were simple yet elegant. It was all I could do to control myself from crawling into the gleaming porcelain bathtub! \”Beach House\” is nice�for a boat. I have always been and probably always will be, a great lover of nice hotel rooms. And these were very nice. For $600-1000 per night they should be! Despite the economic downturn & \”off season\” Wilfred said the hotel is 75% full. Most of the clients are American or European honeymooners. Many stay just 3 nights as part of a French Polynesian multi-island tour. But he said they also have repeat customers (actors, politicians, other famous or very private people) who hide out here for 2 weeks or longer. There is a beautiful pink sand beach. The feeling as you step onto the property is relaxed & indulged. Wonderful!

After our tour, we had a glass of wine in the bar area & eventually eased our way into dinner. Wilfred would not hear of me wanting to share something with Scott. In fact, he insisted we each order a starter as well as a main course. I spotted the warm chocolate cake with ice cream & would have been content to start & finish with that alone. Wilfred ordered the froi gras for starter then the duck. Scott had the chicken satay & beef tenderloin. I mopped up the remains of Scott\’s satay sauce with my roll. My starter was tuna tartare followed by a vegetable plate. It was a small mound of mashed sweet potato plus a medley of green beans, onion & other chopped veggies. We were more than full by the time the molten cakes arrived – one for each of us. The taste was heavenly decadence. It was an incredibly generous gesture for Wilfred to treat us, which we did not expect. We giggled that the staff must think we are real V.I.P.s for the manager to spend so much time with us.

Wilfred encouraged me to review the \”spa menu\”. Since we have a 24 hour stint of travel ahead of us, it seems somewhat a waste to indulge in these luxuries at this time. It was 9:45 pm when we returned to \”Beach House\”. The dinghy hit bottom briefly in the dark. The wind was not as strong as last night & we had told Wilfred to sign us up for the morning dive, but when we awoke & saw the wind kicked up again, we decided to pass.

Weather permitting, we will bid farewell to this final Tuamotu atoll & make our way to Tahiti early tomorrow. The first of the Society Islands. We are glad we had this extra month in the Tuamotus but are now ready for a stint of dock life. We have a chance to see humpback whale mamas & babies in Tahiti & Moorea. We also have a few friends who live there that we look forward to seeing.

The procedure for renewing our visa is not entirely clear so we decided it is best not to wait until the last minute to check in with Immigration. We also have quite a bit of research & ordering to do before my trip to CA.

I will surely weep with joy when I see rows of vegetables & fruit for the first time since Costa Rica. I am down to my last apple and a few carrots. May you all eat your veggies with gusto & be glad you don\’t live on an atoll. Nice places to visit, but it\’s been a long stretch since decent shopping. Mary of sailboat \”Giselle\” wrote me that the cheese aisle was longer than her boat! Yippee!!!

My next report will likely be from Tahiti.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,

September 6, 2009
Passage to Tikehau

We were up at 5:00 a.m. & heading out the Rangiroa pass by 6:30 a.m. The wind was steady 15-18 knots all night & we were both done with sitting in the wind. We knew the direction to Tikehau would keep the wind & swell at our back, so we decided to go for it. The current was going out so there were steep choppy waves, some standing at 5 – 6 feet just outside the pass. We know the boat can take the up & down jarring motion, but we don\’t love it. I pretty much hold my breath, partly cover my eyes, but pray. Knowing my able Captain will guide us safely through the rough patch of water. He did & it was all smooth sailing from there. We gibed a couple of times. It was a very comfortable ride, even though the swell was 5-6 feet. We just surfed down the waves, no problem. Downwind is definitely the preferred direction.

The pass entrance here at Tikehau is on the leeward side of the island, but there is still a lot of wind & chop inside the lagoon. Sort of like entering San Francisco Bay, but warm. There were red & green navigational buoys to guide us toward the village & on to the Tikehau Pearl Bay Hotel, where Wilfred is the Assistant General Manager. This is the last of the Tuamotu atolls we will visit. This is number 6 for us of the 78 islands spread over 1000 miles.

We received an email this morning that Wilfred was looking forward to our arrival. When we got in range, he answered our VHF radio call. It is so exciting to have someone to meet when we arrive at a new place. He stood out on the pier of one of the bungalows built on stilts over the water. Dressed in white shirt & pants, welcoming us to \”his island\” with a big wave. He directed us to the best place to anchor & we got secure. There are 2 other sailboats here, but we are well spread out. One of them looks rather locked up & unattended. Wilfred has invited us to join him at the hotel for dinner. What a fun treat! We will shower & spiff up a bit.

We will probably stay here only a couple of days. Our life will change once we dock at Marina Taina in Tahiti. In some ways our \”vacation\” will be over with much work to do. My heart is already in California. As we get closer to Papeete, I feel a few steps closer to seeing my loved ones.

Cindy & Scott

Dear F&F,

September 4, 2009
Rangiroa

We are so affected by the weather. We are just waiting for this to subside so we can move on. The prediction is for the wind to be less by Sunday morning but the seas may stay lumpy. We anticipate an 8 hour run to Tikehau. We had a lull just before lunch to zoom into the dive center with the dinghy & retrieve our gear since we are not going to dive in these crappy conditions, even though they are taking other tourists out. The dive masters admit the visibility & sea state are not good. Scott fortunately is a safety freak. I may be tempted to go despite the 6 foot pounding waves above our heads (outside the pass) just to get away from the incessant rocking of the boat & flapping wind noises. But after having a marginal experience Thurs a.m. Scott was done diving here. We paid our bill for the 3 dives we did. $70 each dive for each of us, that includes a $10 discount for using our own gear. Everything is so expensive here.

I finished the book \”The Invisible Wall\” & began reading another book. This one loaned me by friend Lori \”Bookseller of Kabul\”. I\’m sure not that uplifting, but I like reading about how different people live even if it is somewhat distressing. It helps me feel more grateful for what I have. I am very glad I can read without feeling seasick in these conditions.

Scott just got an email from Skye that his cousin Steve died at age 57, heart problem. They were not particularly close, but family nonetheless. He was a son of Suzanne\’s brother. On a happier note, this weekend is Aunt Barbara\’s granddaughter Lisa\’s wedding. Skye will fly up with Barbara to attend the redwood grove ceremony, followed by reception at cousin Janice\’s house. Aunt Barbara is twice a great-Grandma & very much enjoying her expanded family.

It will be fun to see Wilfred in Tikehau, assistant manager of the Pearl Beach Hotel there. We met him when we went diving with Marc in Manihi.

Each passing day brings us closer to Tahiti which means closer to me flying to California. I am soooo ready for some off boat time. It has been too long.

Cindy & Scott