Posted on August 2, 2012 by Bob Johnson - SailMail
Easy day today. We're pretty sore and stiff from yesterday's climb so decided not to leave today, but will go tomorrow. There's a good weather window for the next day or two with modest winds, then they turn into 20+ knots and 3.5 meter seas, but all downwind and easing as we go west, so we'll be heading into the better weather and leaving the stronger stuff here. About five other boats are heading out tomorrow as well. The folks who are staying here are going to get a strong blow.
So...we dinghied over to the store, and bought some supplies. Ann did some laundry and pre-made a pasta salad to have available for our trip and I uploaded pictures to the blog and Facebook and that's about it for today. Had a nice time with ShantiAna and Bright Angel with cocktails on the deck outside Bora Bora YC, then dinner.
Slow, easy day, but our last day for a while in civilization. From here it's nothing but very small islands for 800 or so miles then Tonga. I think the biggest one has a population of 200 and the small one has about 50 people. Should be interesting.
Going back to July 22, I've added new pictures to the old posts. You probably have to clear your history/cache and go back to the original posts to see the new pictures. Enjoy!
Posted on August 1, 2012 by Bob Johnson - SailMail
Beginning the climb with Chris and Rani from LadybugThe occasional respite from going vertical was traversing through the jungleYou get sort of a feeling for the steepness is you look at the trail on the right and follow it down toward the houses down below over to the leftA quick rest. We actually did the 700 plus meter climb in a little over three hours which boggles my mind. But there wasn't much hiking, it was mostly just up.Made it (Fun,even though we were in the clouds and mostly didn't have a view)We were rewarded with a brief view-this one lastly about ten seconds.The only problem with getting to the top is we still had to come down. Here's Ann about to drop over the edge of one sectionHey that was fun. Let's not do that again!We climbed to the peak on the left hand side.
Way, way. above. Today we climbed the peaks above Bora Bora. Probably the steepest "hike" I've ever done. Actually it was a cross between a hike and a climb. There were some fixed ropes along the route it was so steep-there was some technical climbing involved- so also brought along our own rope and very glad we did. (Mt. Otemanu - 727 meters high).
We dinghied over and met Chris and Rani from Ladybug at 8AM in front of where they were moored-about a ten minute ride from our mooring at Bora Bora Yacht Club. Then a 15 minute walk down the road to town and once in town a left turn, past some houses/huts where folks live and soon we were in the jungle and going up. An up and up. When we didn't have fixed ropes, we were using roots growing out of the trail to steady ourselves for the climb. It was amazingly steep. Looking at it from the ground, even after having done it I can't see a route. The mountain just rises straight up from town to twin peaks about ½ mile apart at the top. We summited at 1130 and were greated with a view of…the clouds. Yep, we were solidly in the clouds we had gone so high. It was clear and beautiful on the ground and solid white on the top. But the clouds cleared momentarily for some quick shots down at the reefs below so we got a few pictures as well as shots of us on the summit. There's a flag, so we can prove we've been there. And since Ann had carried the hand held radio in her back pack we took the time to announce our accomplishment to a few of our friends. Unfortunately several that we called were away from the boat but surprisingly, Orcinius - who was just leaving Maupiti (an island 25 miles away) heard us loud and clear!
The route up with scary at times, the route back down bordered on harrowing since it started raining and got very, very slippery. This is where we fixed our rope to help us down the worst parts. Chris is very agile and light so he would clean the rope after we all went down.
Once back on solid ground we stopped in a couple stores for supplies. I was in the marine store when one of the clerks asked me how I got so muddy? I told him we had climbed the mountain. He was incredulous. "With a guide of course?" said he. "No, ourselves" was our reply. Turned out he had never done it but had heard how difficult it was/is. One of the other clerks had climbed it and he was suspicious. "There is a flag on top…" he started. "Yes, with the words, 'Bora Bora' on the top and bottom", I replied. "Ahhhh", he beamed as then he knew we had joined the club and weren't just claiming to have climbed and not made it.
So, that was our day. We're exhausted, our feet hurt but our souls are happy. We had dinner at Bora Bora YC after watching the sunset from our favorite perch on the deck looking across the lagoon to the reef and sunset beyond.
Another day, another adventure.
Tomorrow we will probably leave here and start our next leg to Palmerston island, some 500 miles and maybe as many days further west. We'll see though. The weather is changing right now and we might be just as happy to sit here for a while longer. Not a bad place in which to have to hang out.
Ann in front of the Bora Bora Yacht Club. Sounds bigger than it really is ;-)Kickin' back with a cold oneOur Berkeley Yacht Club burgee is now hanging in the Bora Bora Yacht Club (all the old ones blew away in a hurricane so they are looking for new ones and gave us a free Bora Bora burgee in return)With a couple of the staff. Really, really, nice people.The grand view. Yep, this is the club, with our burgee of course.
We relocated back North from where we were anchored and are now moored in front of the Bora Bora Yacht Club. Got some swag already as well. Turns out their roof blew off in a hurricane so they lost all their world yacht club flags and are giving free Bora Bora Yacht Club flags in exchange for ours. We "donated" our Berkeley YC flag and now have a lovely Bora Bora one to fly.
This place is truly amazing and beautiful. The architecture is very simple. Just some tall thatched roof huts for the bar, and dinning room and an expansive deck that leads seamlessly to a deep water dock where you can bring your boat to get water or supplies.
We sat on the dock and had Mai Tai's watching the sun set over the water and a distant motu and reef off Bora Bora. I can't even describe how lovely, picturesque (we forgot the camera though, so this description will have to do for now) and peaceful it was looking out toward the sunset with a dozen sailboats moored in front of us.
This morning was fun. We were sitting in the cockpit having coffee when the folks from Ladybug came rowing over in their dinghy. We invited them aboard for a coffee and next thing we knew, Buena Vista also came by and we invited them on board as well. All six of us were enjoying some coffee and talking about how fun the Great Dinghy Raft was the night before when we heard Orcinius hauling up their anchor. They got it up and motored over by us where we could shout our good-byes while I blew my conch shell horn. They are leaving French Polynesia for the Cooks. Their first intended stop is Rarotonga. That's where we're hoping to go so we've arranged to talk each night on the shortwave at 0600 Z (that's 2000 local Bora Bora time) on channel 8B (6227.0 MHz).
Tomorrow's big event is going to be (drum roll please)....a hike to the top of the Bora Bora mountain. Look it up on Google-it's steep. We'll see how we do and report back.
Look at the shadow on the bottom of the boat in front of us. Now that's clear water.
Sunset dinghy cocktail party anyone?Don and Deb from Buena VistaLisa and John from OrciniusJim and Karen from SockdologerThis isn't fun anymore, let's go home...NOTJust a big dinghy raft....with food and drink!
We were lucky. No wind and a gorgeous sunset.It's getting a little dark, but let's do this again!And the "morning after" coffee klatch on Charisma
We moved away from town and went "around the corner" to a most beautiful spot. It's about 1/8 mile off the Hilton Hotel bungalows where people pay $500/night or more to experience paradise. Well, we are anchored in their backyard. The bungalows are out on the water and are very nice, but we're right on the edge of the reef, so the water is stunningly clear and we have a view of the signature peaks of Bora Bora. All in all, a very nice spot. We spent much of the day snorkeling. First I dove the anchor. Then Buena Vista showed up so I stayed in the water to dive their anchor, then while I was waiting for them to back down on it, I saw what I thought was an octopus in a coral outcrop under their boat. I was going to dive and poke it, but thought I'd wait until they shut off their engine. Good thing. The "octopus" was actually a large (4-5') Moray eel who was jealously guarding his domain. Don (Buena Vista) and I dove it later on and the eel would come out and chase us away.
After a break for lunch we went back in the water and swam all around the reef by the boats. After an hour of that, Don and Deb from Buena Vista got their dinghy and the four of us went ½ mile to another spot and snorkeled some more. I can honestly say; "I'm pooped" after spending upwards of a couple hours in the water.
Cocktails tonight should be fun. There's about four boats here, all of whom are friends and we were thinking how are we gonna get all these people together on one boat for sunset cocktails. My solution? A dinghy raft. We're all going to make our cocktails (Charismas for us of course), then get in our dinghies and drift about 20 yards back behind our boat into six feet of water near the reef, throw out an anchor or two and raft up to watch the sunset. Should be unique!
OK, so now it's 2200 and we're doing dishes from dinner (well, Ann's actually doing them, I'm writing). The dinghy extravaganza was a big hit. We had four dinghies attending: Buena Vista, Sockdolager, Orcinius and Charisma. Each couple brought their own drinks and a snack. We were anchored in the middle of the Pacific Ocean having a cocktail while rafted together. OK, so we were inside the barrier reef of an island in the middle of the Pacific. It was still way cool. The sun set and the moon came out and the eight of us sat in our little rubber boats. In Paradise. We saw a couple manta rays jump. We could see the sandy bottom. We had our cocktails. Everyone said it was the most unique cocktail experience they had ever had and wanted to do it again.
The north pass at Raiatea. Again, the breakers if you stray outside the channelLandfall Bora BoraComing in the pass at Bora Bora
Left Raiatea this morning. Took the inside passage up inside the reef all the way North through Tahaa doing 6 knots under sail in 15-20 knots wind. Beautiful sail. Went through the pass on the NW side into the ocean and did the 14 or so mile passage to Bora Bora. We are now moored inside the reef at Bora Bora. We had a wonderful evening starting with happy hour cocktails with friends we've met along the way including Mike and Barbara from Astarte, Craig and Bruce from Gato Go, Bruce and Marcellle from Adventure Bound and Robbie and Bev from Mersoliel and then Ann and I had a great dinner at the Mai Kai. Charisma is moored all of 100 feet from the restaurant's dock. Nice. We finished the evening with after dinner drinks at Gato Go with Craig and Bruce who are moored right behind us.
We're looking forward to the promised let up of wind tomorrow, but in any case, we'll go ashore and do some exploring. It's late, so that's it for now.
We've added some new pictures going back to mid-June. You may have to clear your cache and/or history in your browser to see them. Enjoy!
We're moving today out of Raiatea. Nice day. 20 knots and we heard from another boat that the waves are not too big. Let's hope for a smooth ride over to Bora Bora.
Wow, seems like just yesterday we got here. Oh well, time to say; "au revoir" to French Polynesia and move on to the Cook Islands. They promise to be more primitive with longer passages in between. We're looking at Aitutake, Palmerston and Niue. Maybe Raratonga but have heard there may be issues getting in there. For some unknown reason they have chosen the height of the sailing season to dredge the harbor. There have been rumors that it's closed and we're trying to ascertain first-hand knowledge. Anyway, for now we leave tomorrow and go to Bora Bora for fuel, then maybe a little island called Maupiti, which is a bit west and north of Bora Bora and then we're off on a 500(ish) mile leg to one of the Cook islands depending on weather and what we find out about Raratonga. Just for information, Charisma averages about 120 miles a day in normal winds (10-15 knots). So long trips ahead.
Today along with getting our official clearance out of the country, we also bought some more groceries (important stuff like papaya, beer and rum) and Ann's now doing laundry at a machine we found in the boatyard. By the way, we hitched into town again. Once again, it took about ten cars before a nice Frenchman in a Citroen kind of small panel-van picked us up. He didn't speak any English and our French is still on the beginner side, but we had fun communicating with the few words we could all muster up. Fun.
By the way, Gato Go (Craig and Bruce) showed up yesterday. We haven't seen them in quite a while so we had them over for cocktails and dinner which then led to games and how do I say this- lots of drinking. We went pretty much through a 3 liter box of wine and at 0030 they poured into their dinghy for the 100 yard ride back home. Lots of fun but minor hangovers for most this morning. Great to see them and catch up. For future cruisers-getting to know people as you sail has been one of the most fun parts of this trip. Always, always, get to know the folks in your anchorage. Many are great people and you will likely be seeing them for months if not years as you move along. One thing that's useful is to make boat cards. They are just like business cards but have your personal and boat info on them. That way you can easily pass your personal email, boat email, cell phone, blog, etc. Almost everyone has one that they will give you when you meet.
Well that's it for now. A slow day, so I'll add that for dinner, we bought duck legs already spiced and marinated ($2 each for very large legs) that I'm going to roast and broccoli since we'll not likely see that kind of veggie for a long while.
Kind of like gardening and home maintenance combined. Some stuff you need to maintain, and other stuff you need to fix.
Today was a mixture of both. Sitting at our mooring, today I rebedded a chainplate that's been leaking into the food storage cabinet I "fixed" it in Hiva Oa when we got to French Poly, but the fix didn't last. Looks like the heat there created a bubble in the bedding compound and it popped leaving a nice hole. This time it's cooler and the bedding went on nicely. I think (cross fingers) that this one will work for a while. In any case, they never last much over a year or two before you need to do them again.
Then, while Ann went off to the store, I changed the oil. Not a bad job this time since I just did the filters in Mexico, so this change was oil only. Nice to do it here, since we're right off a little boatyard where they have oil disposal. That way I don't have to carry the old oil until who knows when-probably New Zealand before we see another yard like this.
Once Ann came back, she jumped in the dinghy to scrub the green slime that grows on the hull at the waterline. I'm sure it slows us down a bit, but it also looks unsightly. Everyone gets it and we're always either in the dinghy or swimming in the water scrubbing the waterlines of slime and barnacles. The anti-fouling that KKMI put on is working great though. There's nothing on the bottom at all. I don't have to touch it, whereas I see some other boats that are scrubbing their entire boat underwater. Great Job KKMI (call Bob Hennesey at KKMI in Richmond, Calif) if you want great service from a great boatyard) putting on the "good stuff" that really works (I think it was "Trinidad") for those who want to know.
A big squall just pushed through both cleaning off the boat of salt water, but also soaking everything on deck. Unfortunately I had emptied the lazarette into the cockpit to get at the oil and changing pump so now it's all wet and I have to wait for it to dry out to put it back. Which reminds me. Future cruisers: buy one of those self-contained oil change pumps and make sure you know how to change oil and all filters (oil and both diesel ones) by yourself. You'll have to change oil and filters in some remote places. Carry enough oil for at least one full change if not two as you will not always find the type of oil you use (if you find oil at all). Obviously lots of filters too, you'll never find those. We use a great product. I don't know the name, but it's a five gallon plastic jerry type jug with an electric motor, alligator clips for power and a ¼" hose that you can put down the dipstick tube. Takes about 10 minutes to empty the sump. Priceless when you're in the middle of nowhere as the thing is also plenty large enough to carry/store your used oil through several changes until you find a yard with a recycling bin where you can dump it. OK, we'll close this now. It's 0030 hours. Craig and Bruce from Gato Go just left. We had a delightful evening catching up. It was great getting a radio call from them when they showed up in the anchorage this afternoon, but it's time to get this blog out and go to bed.
A slow day. Slow in that we didn't do too much. Slow in that it takes forever to not do too much in the South Pacific. First we had to hitch-hike into town, which is about 10 miles or so away. Fortunately that is a very accepted way of getting around the islands and it only took about 10 minutes before a very nice gentleman named Simon (his English name) picked us up. He was Tahitian, lives on Raiatea and works the Travel Lift at the Moorings base here (i.e. he drives the big crane that lifts boats out of the water). A very responsible job. He considers himself very lucky as in an area where there are not a lot of jobs he's had this good one for 24 years. He's also a musician and plays Tahitian drum and ukulele in a local troupe. He goes to Japan for vacations with his group to demonstrate Tahitian music, presumably along with the hula dancers. Anyway, a very nice man and we were so glad to get the ride.
Simon dropped us off at the Gendarmarie so that we could "check out" of French Polynesia since our 90 day is complete. After waiting for almost an hour, we were chagrined that the Gendarme didn't speak English at all. He also would not process us since we wanted to get a short waiver for the weather ( It's very windy, into the 30's and we'd like to have a more comfortable ride when we depart) as well as wait for a part for the engine we've ordered for safety. It's a spare impeller and they are sending it via air from Tahiti. It's due in tomorrow. He also was not interested in dealing with that and sent us across the street to the Ministry (I'm not sure of what). I guess they trump the Gendarmerie. They were very friendly, spoke English and when we said the Gendarme wouldn't let us wait two days, in typical French fashion then snorted in the air and rolled their eyes to indicate the Gendarme was being, um, French? Anyway, they were very nice and after many considerations they decided what would be best is for us to get the receipt for the parts and THEN just go to the Gendarme and check out, even though we'll be a couple days later than our 90 days. When we asked if that would be a problem, their answer: "If you were in France (snort, roll eyes) you would have big problem, but here, nothing!" OK, so we'll check out in a couple days. To be on the safe side, we'll bring our paperwork for the part as well as the broken part itself just in case. If you don't hear from us, call the U.S. Embassy please.
Since that took most of the morning, once we were done, we decided lunch would be in order. Don't have lunch here unless you have at least two hours. I won't go into the whole story, but more of the day, gone. Finally the store and then a taxi ride back with four bag and two backpacks of groceries. Not enough beer yet, so we'll go back tomorrow sometime I think-although we have a couple boat projects including changing the oil, so that takes priority.
We're back on the boat now. Ann washed all the vegetables and fruits that we bought in anti-something-or-other and I took apart a winch that has been squealing in order to grease it. Turned out it was full of water and all the grease was washed away. Hopefully that's now fixed. I also checked our mooring (future cruisers, do this many, many times/day for moorings and anchors-chafe is you enemy) and found the shackle I put on the harness was unscrewing itself. I neglected to safety wire it and in about 12 more hours it would have unscrewed and we would have gone walkabout in whichever direction the wind was blowing at the time. I hate it when I don't do something I know I should do and then find out I should have done it. What do you call that? Oh yeah, lazy, I think. Boy, you can't be lazy out here, the consequences are too high.
