| Tahiti, Tuamotus, Moorea, Huahine, Bora Bora |
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| 2400 miles upwind from Kauai to Papeete. What a slog!
Here are the boys enjoying our 90 minutes of calm at about 8 degrees N., between the NE trades and the very brisk SE trades
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| Tahiti & Moorea were great for spending our month with the boys. A few nights on the quay, a few nights provisioning & projecting at Maeva, and the rest of the time spent bouncing around the beautifal anchorages of Moorea. The boys got certified here and the diving was suprisingly good.
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| Beautiful Fakarava in the Tuamotus. Nice anchorage near village on north side of the atoll is almost 10 miles from the exciting West Pass. Currents were strong, and naviagation a bit tricky with our hand-drawn chartlets from Papeete. The pass dive was spectacular! Great pearl shopping. Fantastic French Restaurant on the beach. Ordered local charts that were flown in on the supply plane, very inexpensively.
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Toau was a superb stop. The anchorage in the SE corner of the lagoon was as good as any in the South Pacific. Great comraderie with crews from Mithrandir and Roxanne... and our local host, Pamela the only female pearl farmer. Wonderful eats from the sea...
Also enjoyed a short visit with Taupiri's family in the small bight on the west end of the atoll, and the luxuries of civilization (fresh produce and a haircut) on Rangiroa. Survived a nasty SE'erly in Rangiroa anchorage that took one cruiser up on the beach.
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| Huahine was not to be missed. Provisioning was good in Fare, and anchorages all along the west coast were superb. Bora Bora is a bit touristy, but we had a good time there waiting for a critical piece of gear to fix the autopilot's wind vane.
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| Suwarrow National Park & Papa Joane |
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| There are no words that can do this experience justice -- fishing, crabbing, lobstering, sharking, oystering, crafting, and learning the 57 uses of the coconut palm... not to mention dining among friends every night at the 'yacht club'. But in the end, it's Papa Joane, one of the most amazing people we've ever had the pleasure to meet, who makes Suwarrow the paradise it is.
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| Tonga -- Vava'u, the Ha'apai, Minerva Reef |
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| Vava'u Tonga, the friendly isles, was a welcome site as we were completely out of beer and other essential supplies. The many calm anchorages, an abundance of cruiser friends, and great provisioning made this an easy month. Had some great dives with Bob from Wandering Star, listening to the whales and chasing the giant manta's. Our brief cruise through the Ha'apai group was superb. No pics from Minerva reef, but we have unforgetable mental images of our pass dives and reef hikes with crews of Scott Free, Kela, Wandering Star, Infidien, and others.
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