Position: 16 degrees, 59 minutes south; 149 degrees, 24 minutes west

We’re just about 5 miles abeam Tetiaroa, north of Tahiti. We left today at 1230 with a Three Manta Ray Salute. A couple miles outside the reef, I saw a big splash out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought maybe a whale, but as I scanned the sea, just 50 yards away, up blasts a manta ray, then another and another. They were 6-8 feet wide, jumping 5 feet high…and doing backflips!! Crazy! What a fun way to leave French Polynesia.

Adios Morea.

We aren’t actually “out” of French Polynesia, but we have fully checked out of the “country” and we intend our next stop to be Hawaii. We’re basically going north skirting west of the Tuamotus, although if the winds allow we’ll go a couple hundred miles more to the east as we head north. That gives us more options as we get ready to turn for Hawaii in 1500 miles or so at around 15 degrees north latitude. At that point the winds sometimes come from the northeast and we want to be prepared for that.

It’s a nice change right now to be heading out on a passage with the wind around 12 knots, waves around 3 feet and the temp at 80 degrees F. We’re in shorts, t-shirts and bare feet at 1930 in the evening. It’s “winter” down here so the days are short. It’s dark and we’re hoping the clouds will go away so we can see the moon, but all in all, a nice night.