Yesterday we had a final lunch with some friends in Bora Bora at a famous place called Bloody Mary’s before hauling up the hook and motoring out of the pass and into the open ocean. We splurged for burgers and bloody marys because tomorrow on my birthday we’ll likely be eating tunafish on baguettes and gatorade.
Out of the pass we caught some wind and pulled out all our canvas. We sailed west on a reach making 6 knots in 8 knots of wind on calm seas. We passed Maupiti just at sunset as great colors lit up the sky behind the high island.
Good wind held through most of the night, but on my graveyard watch the wind swung astern and dropped to 4 knots. I put up the spinnaker single hand and stretched out on the trampoline to watch the stars and keep an eye out for boats.
We are getting our sea legs back after a good deal of time at anchor. We are trying out scopolamine patches to take the edge off the first few days at sea. After that your body get accustomed to the motion and all is well. So far so good. No signs of side effects which apparently include blurred vision and “acute toxic psychosis”. Sounds like a real dozy of a combination on the graveyard watch!
Today conditions were pretty flat and calm. It was a great day to lay out in the trampoline and read, but not so great for sailing. Fixed a plugged diesel hose, made yogurt, and made 12 gallons of water. All in a day’s work. Got a strike on one of my fishing lines, but not a hook up. I’ve heard fish don’t like flat, sunny conditions. I’m also a terrible fisherman. Good thing we stocked the boat full of Pringles and Gummy Bears.
We should pass north of the island of Maupelia in a few hours. The wind is filling in and we’re back under sail. All good aboard tonight.
In my limited French, this is what I have come to understand about Tahitian pearls. Apparently, there is a pearl-governing body in French Polynesia that buys all of the pearls from the little farms around the Tahitian islands regardless of quality and only permits the perfect ones to be sold for export.As far as I can tell they crush any with imperfections and dump them back into the sea!It makes me cringe!Sounds like this is designed to maintain high quality and a sparkling reputation for exported pearls.The little farms don’t care; they’re still being paid for all their pearls, but it’s the jewelers that are making the profit from the deal. We did, however, ferret out some exceptions.
Few are interested in trying to sell flawed pearls.It took us four months to track down a source!And then it was all hush-hush, doing deals in back rooms, shifty eyes and whispers. I think the imperfect pearls are the most interesting. Some look like inverted Saturn, others like snowglobes, or tear drops. All different colors, lusters, and pretty good size too. We felt like true pirates, smuggling out handfuls of contraband treasure stowed away below decks. Flew them back to the states disguised in an M&M bag. Tricksters.
Motored out of Passe Paipai before sunrise in flat water leaving Taha’a in our wake on our twenty mile passage to what is reportedly the most beautiful island in the world. We got complacent with the flat seas and had a horrific accident just outside the pass, completely destroying THE most important piece of equipment on the boat: the French Press. NOOOOO!!! Left it sitting on the table and ran right through a ferry’s heavy wake. We weren’t sure how we’d make it the next 19 miles to Bora Bora uncaffeinated, but somehow we got through it, despite steering by hand.
Bora’s twin peaks on a central masiff rises sharply from sprawling fingers of the island. All around the island is a ring of taller motu just inside a reef. The lagoon between the island and the motu is deep and dark, and the outer lagoon is bright, clear and shallow.
We motored south through the lagoon then around the inner island of Toopua where we anchored in seven meters of clear sand as far as the eye could see and the kind of electric blue water that makes you pinch yourself and grin like and idiot. I was in the water almost before the anchor.
Took the dinghy over to the pass just south of Toopua to check out a drift dive we’d heard about. Clouds of fish greeted us, looking for hand-outs, but unfortunately I’d left my bread and multiplication worksheets back on the boat. We drifted along the pass and spotted a spotted eagle ray, then two together, then four in a group, then FIFTY in a swarm! They are usually solitary so they may have been mating. As we watched them a fifteen foot manta ray winged past us. Of course the camera was dead for this round, so you’ll have to take my spotty word on it.
It had been a rough day, what with missing pictures of the spectacular rays and the looming prospect of a morning without proper coffee so we rinsed off back at the boat and made a couple margaritas with our contraband tequila. Sat on the trampoline alone in the lagoon and played guitar. The night was so bright and the lagoon so calm you could see the reflection of the Milky Way in the water. Looked like the bright band dove into the sea and swam up to the boat. What a place.
The next day we went back and snorkeled the same spot armed with the camera. Eagle rays showed up, but not in the number of the previous day. No mantas though. Wah wah.
A few days of enjoying the lagoon and it was back to some business. We picked up our much awaited part, which necessitated a two-mile dinghy ride to the airport on an outer motu. Pretty cool to be able to dinghy up to an airport though. Installed the part and tested out our autohelm. Looks like we’re in business. Welcome back Otto! Now get to work!
The outer islands of Bora Bora are unreal. The lagoon is otherworldly blue and the motu are packed with luxury hotels masquerading as bungalows. The main island is home to regular local folk. The streets are dirt, the town is small and rough around the edges. It’s an interesting juxtaposition.
Looked at our itinerary and decided we better get moving. We’ve been three months in French Polynesia! We’re planning on heading from Bora Bora straight to Tonga with a possible stop in Nuie if weather permits. So we’re anchored off the little town getting the boat in passage making shape. We fueled, watered, provisioned, cooked meals, changed oil, and the like. It’ll be twelve days across to Tonga and we’ve been spoiled by the short-hops afforded by French Polynesia. To give you some perspective, sailing the 1200 miles from Bora to Tonga will be like traveling from Minneapolis to Miami at a brisk walking pace for two weeks. Maybe a jog if the winds are favorable. Wish us luck.
Bye-bye French Polynesia!
For folks who’d like a perspective on the distances we’ve covered here, this map overlays the country on top of a map of Europe. Pretty neat. Red = our trip aboard Tayrona.
