Tahiti; The Society Islands, French Polynesia
06/17/2004 - 07/02/2004
A sunny warm day, with flat seas and light winds. Ready for an awesome 48 hour gennaker run to Tahiti?
The "Sampler" Passage
The passage from Fakarava in the Tuamotu Archipelago to Tahiti in the Society Islands was a mixed bag -- a Whitman's Sampler of possible conditions.
We relaxed and really enjoyed the first eight hours of wonderful light-wind gennaker sailing. Unfortunately, the next 40 hour period was a roller coaster of wind speeds and sail configurations.
At the end of the first day (6/17/04), Duncan entered "Fun factor dropping" in the ship's log. "Chaos. Rain squalls, big seas, fluky wind". We had about 12 hours of great sailing, 12 hours of mediocre sailing, 12 hours of yucky sailing, and 12 hours of no sailing at all (i.e. motoring).
Not exactly! We encountered a real mix: big winds, big seas, and a wet bash; followed by no wind, a centered main, and hours of motoring. The good news? The most uncomfortable bashing only lasted about 8 hours.
Robin bundles up during the many hours of rain and cold. "Cold" (70°F) is relative, but it seeps into a tired body.
We were very glad to make landfall in Tahiti. This passage was short but challenging.
Landfall in the Society Islands
Nearing landfall, we remembered why short passages -- one to three days -- are harder on us physically and mentally than a four-or-more day passage. It takes at least two full night watch schedules to get into a rhythm and overcome the initial fatigue. With short passages, we just arrive cranky and tired. We were very happy to be arriving in Tahiti.
We anchored, slept, then put together a plan for our week in Tahiti.
Tahiti is the first stop in the Society Islands for most boats transiting the Societies. Ample provisioning, fuel, ship's chandleries, and yacht services are all available in Papeete (pah-peeYEH-tay), the main town and capital of French Polynesia. Maeva Beach is the anchorage of choice for most cruisers entering Tahiti and Papeete. It is south along the coast of the big island of Tahiti Nui. Maeva Beach is south of downtown Papeete and the airport on the island's western side. It offers good protection for all but strong westerly winds (SW-W-NW). This detail will be important later in this log.
The volcanic origins of Tahiti are pronounced as we pass the northern shore of the main island of Tahiti Nui. A smaller peninsular island (Tahiti Iti) is connected at the south end of the main island.
The town of Papeete becomes visible. Nice homes are perched on the verdant hillsides. Urban sprawl in paradise.
This French "Coast Guard" helicopter practiced take-offs and landings at the airport. The channel to Maeva Beach runs parallel to the runways, and boats with masts must get clearance from the air-traffic controllers before passing each end of the airport runway.
Moorea is visible over Tahiti Nui's turquoise lagoon. We are looking forward to our quick week of chores then relaxing in Moorea's beautiful lagoon -- just a 20 mile sail away. No long passage!
The Detailed Itinerary
In 1998, we toured Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti. We spent two days here before flying to meet our Moorings Charter boat in Raiatea. We stayed at the Beachcomber resort in Tahiti and enjoyed a great couple of days recovering from the long flights.
Unfortunately, our 2004 visit to Tahiti (on our own boat!) will be primarily administrative and project related. Tahiti is beautiful, but we will skip it this time to ensure we have time in Moorea and Huahine -- islands we did not visit in 1998.
As of mid-June, our arrival in Tahiti marked the end of day-60 on our 90-day tourist visas. We have only 30 days left to visit Moorea, Huahine, and Bora Bora. These were the only other Society islands we'd have time to visit before moving on to the Cook Islands. We needed to move quickly to get out of Tahiti in a week. We also needed to research whether we could receive extensions to our tourist visas while in Tahiti. We wanted at least 30 more days on our 90-day visas.
The Beachcomber resort in Maeva Beach. This is where we stayed in 1998 on the way to our Moorings Charter
Every evening, the paddlers practiced by rowing up and down through the anchorage.
To Robin's delight, some of these Polynesian men were quite buffed.
Not every paddler looked like they were having this much fun!
Our Agent
We were excited to get a mail drop in Tahiti, and find several spare and replacement parts waiting. We used an agent -- Laurent Baernart -- for the parts and mail receiving, and we also used Laurent to clear us in and out of French Polynesia.
In addition, Laurent "vouched" for us so we didn't have to pay the $2000+ bond ($1000 per person) that French Polynesia requires. The money is deposited in escrow to ensure you don't stay -- and if you do, (and don't already have a plane ticket out), they use the bond money to fly you out.
Laurent handled our package receiving with Customs and delivered the stuff directly to our boat. He filled our propane. He worked out a one week extension to our Visa. He scurried around town looking for parts for us. Later, when the Ertec dodger window finally arrived from Norway, he delivered the window to the bay where we anchored in Moorea!
His services seemed reasonably priced and the "hassle-factor" was very low. While others scampered around Papeete for a half-day (or longer) on both check-in and then check-out, Laurent bought us a cappuccino, asked us a few questions, then did all the paperwork and footwork for us. It saved at least a day and cost us less than $300 US for everything (in the end, doing it ourselves would have cost at least $200 US in just the bond process).
The only cautionary note for people having parts shipped in is that the Customs Agent that Laurent uses can be expensive! You may want to handle your own parts receiving with Customs or negotiate the fees with Laurent and his Customs agent in advance. For instance, our $100 worth of Honda Outboard parts came in FedEx with a shipping cost of $200 (my mistake for not asking Downwind Marine for a shipping quotation)! This $300 (yes, against all logic, they include shipping) exceeded the $150 lower limit for no-fee Customs importation, and the agent charged us $80 to receive it in (negotiated down from $120). The $100 worth of parts cost us $380! On a positive note, the Customs agent later completely waived any fee for the Ertec dodger window -- it cost us nothing. Go figure.
View from the anchorage. The lagoon-front property is covered by shacks. The hillsides, by nice homes.
Around Papeete
The first order of business was to scope out the shopping. We found the local mega store (Carrefour), just minutes from the anchorage. We found the fuel dock, the marina, the bus system, and the ships chandlery. We also found a few decent restaurants. The Casablanca restaurant at the Marina served excellent food and was packed most nights of the week and at lunch.
Eureka! French wine! In bottles! With corks! Unfortunately, the prices actually drove Robin to sample several cheap box wines. Yuck.
Civilization. A Chrysler dealer. The first car dealership we've seen since Mexico. This nice showroom was all indoors. The second floor on the upper left, is also covered with new cars.
One of the few buildings in Papeete that appears to have hired an architect.
And with civilization comes traffic. This is rush hour.
Obviously there is some disposable income on the island. This gorgeous BMW probably only gets a few hundred miles a month.
Restaurant Jimmy's: Our favorite restaurant for reasonably priced Thai, Chinese, and Vietnamese food.
Robin and Duncan get their first haircut since Mexico.
There is no escape. At least we didn't see a Starbuck's.
The large inter-island catamaran ferries shuttle passengers and autos between the Society Islands.
The wharf at night. Two cruise ships, the Paul Gauguin and the Tahitian Princess, await their embarking passengers.
Every evening at the wharf, "the trucks", or "roulette's" set up their mobile restaurants. Every type of food is available and at a reasonable price (by Tahitian standards). The word "roulette" might have had the unintended consequence of steering us toward a sit-down restaurant.
We ventured into town with MJ and John from Island Sonata. The nightlife isn't too wild when we hit the clubs at 9 PM. Most don't start simmering until 11 PM -- about two hours past our bedtime!
The Tahiti Beachcomber.
The Tahiti Beachcomber
We returned to the Tahiti Beachcomber to see how it had changed since our stay in 1998. One of the pictures we took then has served as Duncan's computer desktop wallpaper for the last 6 years. When working, it helped him to keep focused on the cruising dream. We always said, wouldn't it be cool to come here some day on our own boat.
Here we are.
Duncan took this picture from the Beachcomber pool side in 1998. It has served him well as his desktop wallpaper.
The same boat, six years later. This view is from the water, as we cruise past in Whisper, on the way to Maeva beach.
The same show, six years later. Although we didn't recognize any of the dancers.
The jacuzzi pool near the pool bar. As inviting now as it was then.
Projects & Provisioning
Arriving in Papeete, provisions and fuel were low. We were out of beer, wine, and liquor (oh my!). The infamous generator was overheating (i.e not running or generating). The watermaker was running on only a single pump and delivering half its rated output. The dodger window needed replacing and the replacement was being shipped in from Norway (for free!!! -- Thank you Hallberg-Rassy and Ertec -- the window manufacturer). The dinghy outboard could only be started by removing the cover and using a pull-rope -- replacement parts from Honda were ordered and shipped from Downwind Marine (Thanks to our friend Richard for doing all the calling around and footwork back in San Diego!). The main engine was in need of its periodic preventive maintenance; oil, filter, and coolant changes. Lots of work. Little time.
We also wanted to find a few decent restaurants and get haircuts. We needed to get a website update out. We needed to meet Duncan's sister Susan in Huahine on July 11th.
Our time in Papeete would be very busy. We hoped we could get it all done in about a week, then move on. Dream on.
Whisper tied up at the dock in Marina Taina. No power, but easy to get on and off the boat while working on it.
After a few days, it was time for work to begin. We explored Papeete, visited with friends, and checked out the local eateries. Enough fun, time for chores.
We thought plugging in at a marina dock would make easy work of the battery charging and equalization that the AGM batteries sorely needed. It would also allow Duncan to work on the generator and still have sufficient electric power via our shoreside charger. The only problem is that Whisper is not set up for 220V, 50Hz electric, and the transformer we borrowed wouldn't work. Oh well. It was just nice to be at the dock (we did have water to wash the boat and top the water tanks).
The starboard settee becomes Duncan's workbench. The tools are stowed under the settee and come out when big projects are in progress.
The rest of the boat gets shuffled when parts are retrieved from under the v-berth in the forward cabin. The contents of the v-berth get swapped to the main salon portside settee.
This was the first and easiest installation project. The Spectra watermaker Clark Pump is replaced with a refurbished pump provided by Spectra. We received a new membrane in the shipment too, and that will be installed later. The old pump was returned to Spectra via DHL (at our expense; $260 US).
The main watermaker panel must be opened up to install a new pump -- a big job and a painful process.
Re-provisioning is well underway. Fresh veggies and eggs! Baguettes and cheese. Rotisserie chickens and fresh fruit. Asian food and pizza. Frozen quiche fromage. Excellent.
In order to find room for the new stuff, the current provisions usually need reshuffling.
On one of the trips to the chandlery, we replaced our two-month old French courtesy flag. It was a tattered mess. This flag and a stash of replacement oil filters for the Volvo completed our parts spending at the local chandlery.
Project Status
With the watermaker up and running again, Duncan was ready to tackle the generator overheating problem. An impeller blade on the raw water pump disappeared into the raw water side of the cooling system (a month prior). The impeller was replaced, but the blade was never found.
Duncan flushed the generator cooling system (lines and heat exchanger), then drained and flushed the raw water cooling side (several times). Duncan blew out the raw water side of the cooling system with fresh water and compressed air. Unfortunately, the generator continued to overheat. It would be another month before the missing impeller blade is discovered and the problem is finally resolved.
The clouds and rain gather over Moorea. The wind will blow steady for three days, with gusts on the first night reaching 52 knots.
The Big Blow
Right in the middle of our time at the dock, a large low-pressure system formed and cruised by Tahiti. The corresponding winds (up to 50 knots) wreaked havoc in the anchorage and in the marina. Many boats dragged into each other, several motored all night in place to take the strain off their anchors -- usually dodging other dragging boats. Several boats suffered damage, but only a couple ended up aground near shore.
Whisper was at the dock, but she too suffered some minor damage to the gelcoat. Luckily, $200 US fixed her up again, but a final repair will be made in New Zealand.
The steady 25 to 35 knots for two days tested everyone's anchor holding.
Gusts the night before topped at 62 knots.
With Whisper heeled at 20 degrees broadside to the marina dock, her fenders were buried under the dock. This lovely chain-plate that anchors the dock was amidships on Whisper's starboard side. The white powder around the bolts is our gelcoat and some fiberglass.
The glass and gelcoat suffered minor damage. A local craftsman fixed it, but it could not be returned to its original level of polish.
In the middle of the blustery night, we added this extra line off our port-side to the quay across the basin. It held us off the dock for the rest of the night, but the damage had been done.
It began to clear on the third day. We were glad we were not in the anchorage. We slept, while the rest of the anchorage spent at least one sleepless night. Several boats slipped into the marina basin to affect repairs.
30 knots? No problem. Get out the wind surfing gear. Denis and Shari on yacht Bobulona, break out their high-tech wind toys.
Back in the anchorage, Whisper is ready to move on. We have spent over two weeks in Tahiti. This is a week more than we had hoped to spend. With visas running out at the end of July and a guest is arriving in 8 days at an island well up the road, we better get moving! So much paradise, so little time.
Time is getting short.
The Tension?
How could we possibly feel tension in paradise?
On the positive side, the watermaker works again, we saw lots of friends, ate out at some decent restaurants, found a few needed parts, and published a last minute website update.
On the downside, we sat out a big blow (with a bit of damage), failed on a major generator repair (it still overheats when under a big load), did not get our batteries fixed/equalized or replaced, and we did not receive our new dodger window. We also spent way more money than we thought we'd spend and could only get a one week (informal) extension to our visa.
As we arrived at the end of our second week, we felt a real urgency to get out of Tahiti and over to Moorea. We felt the pressure of a schedule and a bit overwhelmed by the pace and cost of Papeete. Duncan's sister Susan finalized plans to arrive in Huahine in on July 11th and we wanted to spend at least a week in Moorea before arriving in Huahine. Weather windows might prevent us from getting to Huahine on time. For the first time in a long time, we started to feel the pressure of a schedule -- something that we don't like to feel. Off to Moorea, and not a moment too soon!