Position: 16 degrees, 36 minutes south; 151 degrees 33 minutes west

View of Bora Bora in the distance from where we're anchored

Sunset with Bora Bora in the background our first night at Tahaa

(It’s pretty cool where we’re anchored right now. We’re a half mile off the island in about 12 feet of water up against the reef. In the distance, on the island we can hear drums beating marking the rhythm to the hulu dancing. I get the same feeling listening to this and seeing the surf, sky and stars as Captain Cook must have when he first showed up those hundreds of years ago)

We had a lovely sail today. We headed north on the passage inside the reef on the eastern side of Raiatea, up the island and then across to Tahaa and up the west side inside its reef. Two things made it great; it was flat water all the way and it was downwind. After pulling up anchor at about 0830, we unfurled the jib and headed downwind with just the jib at 5 plus knots all day long. All we had to do was watch for the channel markers which were spread about every mile or so and watch out for reef markers which from time to time were right in the middle of the channel. You definitely had to be on your toes or you could hit a reef doing five knots, but for the most part it was just a tremendous cruise.

We followed Astarte and Ladybug (AKA Charisma – Victoria -once you check out of French Polynesia as they did, you need to travel incognito and they decided that there were enough Charismas around that they could just “blend in”) followed us. Each vessel was about a half hour behind the next so we were in very loose formation. We ended up sailing 17 miles and are now in a spectacular spot with a view of Bora Bora in the distance. At twilight the view was amazing. Many shades of blue with the outline of Bora Bora in the distance and the outline of a motu with coconut palms tracing the sky in the foreground.

We’re anchored at the northern end of Tahaa right up against a sandy reef. When I say “right up against” I mean it! Both Ann and I dove the anchor to make sure it was dug in sufficiently. The anchor is in about 25 feet of water. Charisma is in about 12 feet of water, but her rudder (at the back of the boat) is only about three feet off the bottom. We’re in the “blue water”, but right up against the light blue water. It’s amazing to look at. The “treachery” of these waters was apparent when I dove the anchor the first time. What I saw was the chain wrapped around a “bommie” (a big coral rock that sticks up and can pierce the bottom of your boat). There was another big chunk of chain also wrapped on the bommie from someone who had been here before and had to cut theirs loose to get away. I debated leaving the anchor “as is” but decided it was a bad omen to allow it to be wrapped on a piece of coral that had a broken chain already wrapped on it. So…after diving the anchor the first time, we pulled in the anchor chain and moved a bit, then reset. Now we’re out of bommie territory. I also have a float on the chain to hold it off the bottom and above the bommies if we swing.

So, that’s our day. We’re also starting to plan our post-Polynesian trip since we have to exit these waters within the next week having been here for our allowable 90 days. Wow, it went fast. We’re currently thinking of the following rough itinerary: First the Cooks: Aitutaki and/or Raretonga, then Palmerston and finally Nuie. Then possibly Samoa if the weather permits and Tonga. That’s today’s plan anyway.

Tomorrow, weather permitting we’re going to dinghy across the shallows to a spot that’s supposed to be great for snorkeling. It’s called the “Emerald Garden”. We’ll see and report back in the evening.