End Of First Week In Papeete

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Hardly seems like it’s been almost a week already.  Well, the first couple days we were zombies, so that doesn’t count.  Then we had to get used to the heat all over again.  It’s smokin’ hot here but it’s the humidity that takes the most getting used to.  We are just dripping all the time.

We’re forcing ourselves to drink lots of water to stay hydrated.  Once we sort of got used to the hot/wet conditions – in other words, you stop “fighting” it, we’ve been able to start getting stuff done.  At this point, we know where all the grocery/wine/baguette stores are and have walked all over town looking for new LED lights for the compass.  Yes, it finally did give up the ghost.  I tried to solder the connections back together but they were so old and corroded, they just kept falling apart.  So – we went to every marine store, “sorry sold out”, several electronics stores; “Non!” even found an LED light store.  The helpful but slightly snarky young lady there looked at the LED and said, “ooh, that’s really old, we don’t have anything like that!”  Me; “Yes, yes, but do you know where I can find one?”  She (after pausing a beat); “Hmmm, maybe in the past?”

So…as luck would have it one of the other cruisers on the dock has a box full of them that he bought upon leaving the US for a project he’s working on to replace some of his.  He gave us two.  An hour’s worth of tweaking, soldering, etc and we are the proud owners of a fully functioning compass light.  Yay!

Other projects completed to date:

-New jib sheet.  I had to cut one that I inadvertently (and terminally) jammed into the self-tailing jaws when I wound it into the jaws twice.

-New main boom topping lift.  I was looking at the rigging with binoculars and noticed some chafe.  Pulled it down and found chafe through the cover and a nick in the core.  130 feet of yacht braid later and we not only have a new topping lift, but also the two new storm jib sheets I’ve been meaning to get (we’ve been using the spinnaker sheets, but they are too long.  The topping lift was perfect once I cut it in half and threw away the chafed part which was right in the middle).  I also spliced the shackle on the end instead just a knot, for a clean finish.

-Took down and folded “the Whomper” and put the Yankee jib back up.  I think we’ll be beam to close reaching in trade winds (i.e. 15-30 knots) and don’t need the monster jib for the next two legs.  I list this as a “project” because in this heat, it’s a major project to do this much work.

-Ann has polished every bit of stainless – stanchions, blocks, pulpits, binnacle, etc.  People walk by and their mouths drop at how beautiful Charisma looks; no one believes we just got in from NZ.

-Ann has begun provisioning…she made a batch of ginger cookie dough today to be cooked as we get closer to departure.

-New toilet seat.  We actually found a toilet seat that exactly fits our 25 year old marine head (toilet).  The hinge on one side broke – unfixable.  I was going to fit blocks underneath the seat as a sort of fix until we could get back to the US and source a new one, but we sound it here.  Surprise!

One more big project is to fix the deck prism that started leaking.  These are foot long prisms mounted flush on the deck to let light into the cabin.  They are awesome, but every some years the sealing “goo” breaks its seal and springs a leak.  I’ve done the other three over the past several years and now it’s this one’s turn.  This is a two or three hours project in the direct sun, so I’m avoiding it as long as I can   😉

So…another week and then we’ll look for a weather window for the next leg from here to Hawaii.  About another 2400 nm trip.  Different conditions though.  This one starts in warm weather, crosses the trade winds at about a 90 degree angle and two to three hundred miles go through the doldrums of the equator.  More on the trip conditions and trip plan as we get closer, but if you’re looking at a map – we’ll head NNE to the equator, then north to get through the doldrums as direct as possible (they stretch East/West), then stay east of Hawaii as much as the wind lets us until we can sail direct even if the wind turns NE.

 

OK, enough “sailing talk”.  Time for a shower and some ukulele practice.  I’m practicing now in the cockpit (quietly) but am actually getting compliments from the other cruisers so I’m a little more confident in my playing these days.  I’m still using sheet music though.  Next step is to memorize some of the songs.  I understand that John and Lisa from Orcinius are practicing “Tiny Bubbles” so there’s going to be a crazy cacophony when we catch up in Hawaii!

New Photos Are Up

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I’ve posted photos going back to May 17.  As usual, clear your browser’s cache and history or you probably will not be able to see them.

Enjoy!

Yacht Agent In Tahiti

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For those who are reading this and want to employ an agent to handle the paperwork and in particular the bond exemption, we are using Polynesian Yacht Services and have been most ably served by their agent Laurent Bernaert.  He will also arrange duty free fuel, discounts on boat parts and loads of other stuff.   He was recommended by a fellow cruiser and yacht delivery captain (Dave Berg) in New Zealand.  Laurent makes the customs and immigration process soooo easy, it has been a pleasure.  So if you want “easy” when you enter French Polynesia, Laurent’s email is;  pys@mail.pf  

He has been incredibly responsive.  Highly recommended!

Here's Laurent on Charisma taking care of all the paperwork.

 

Still In Recovery Mode

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We slept a full 12 hours last night. Got up to do a little more paperwork at the marina office and walk over to the market to buy some fresh tuna. I’m going to make tuna steaks done very rare with a salad for dinner. Tried to find baguettes as well and can’t find ’em! Damn! We’re going to ask around. They are so ubiquitous here, they are probably right under our noses and we just can’t see them.

Nice to be back.

View from neighbor's mast.

Taking it really easy today. We folded the sails, put on the covers and once we figure out how to use the darn card system for the water, we’ll hose down Charisma to get all the salt off, but that’s it for today, then nap time.

We’ve already been invited to a pot luck tomorrow night…so it starts. Kaila Vosa has been on the prowl. Can’t keep her away from people after being gone three weeks straight. We weren’t here five minutes before she headed down the dock looking for people to talk with 😉

So…feels really good to have made it here in pretty good time too. I’ve already got the full cruisers’ amnesia – good thing I blogged the passage, ’cause I can’t even remember the scary parts at this point. 😉

Papeete is nice, but very hot. We turned the boat around this morning so the sun isn’t glaring into the cockpit. Now we have some shade and the other bonus is, we’re looking right out onto the waterfront instead of across the bay at the shipyard. Great view! Also, the new marina here is really nice. Holds lots of boats, but with only another week or so before the Puddle Jump boats get here from the U.S., they still have a lot of organizing to do. For example their credit card reader doesn’t work. You have to pay everything in cash. The head of the marina was telling me that the marina is half private and half “administration”, which is “code” for French. He said the administration side is very, very slow to get things done. I told him I knew and that last time we were here three years ago, the Harbormaster had a leak in his ceiling sprinkler. Because things are so slow, he just put a garbage pail in the middle of the room to catch the water since for since for months he couldn’t get someone from the administration to fix it. He said; “That was me, and the ceiling still leaks”!

Ah, the French bureaucracy. Soon, it will almost be as bad as our congress.

Landfall!

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After 22 days, Charisma made landfall at 1000 local time in Papeete. We’re docked at the new marina in downtown Papeete. More later, need to check in and take a shower first!

What a sight!

A dolphin escort into the harbor at Papeete.

Entering the harbor.

Happy to be tied up at the dock.

Only one thing left to do!

WooHoo, a passage very much worth toasting!

Running On Empty

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Position: 17 degrees 39 minutes south; 149 degrees, 54 minutes west 91 NM

Right from the “Johnnie Joe School of Cruising Handbook”, Chapter Three on fuel management and planning. And I quote: “Fuel management isn’t hard. You just load ‘er down like the Exxon Valdez with all the diesel you can get aboard, then run ‘er hard. If ya got any fuel left when ya get there, then ya didn’t run ‘er enough”

Well, we get an “A” from the Johnnie Joe school, because at 0130 in the morning the engine went brrrat, brrart, pblpppt. And all was quiet. We drained out the last drop from the tank. Well, at least now we now know exactly how much we have left. Fortunately that means 10 gallons, which is our on deck jerry jug supply. So, we took a few moments to settle down, had a little something to eat, drank a bit of coffee and then set about siphoning the jugs into the tank, draining the crud out of the Racor, changing the filter, then crack the injectors and bleed the lines. We’re getting proficient at this as it only took us about an hour.

OK, now we have to sail most of the rest of the way. Fortunately the time spent motoring last night got us into a position where by sailing all day, we’re now six miles away from the SE point of Moorea, just across from Tahiti. We’re going to tack in a few and go across to Tahiti, then heave to for the rest of the night (it’s 1830 local NZ time) and at sunrise, which is about 0430 local NZ time we’ll head down the channel the last ten miles to Papeete. At least that’s the plan right now. When the moon comes up it may give us enough light – and confidence to head closer to Papeete tonight. We’ll still stand offshore, but the reason we’re not going closer for now is there are a lot of lights here and it’s not very clear what’s a stop light on shore and what might be a ferry boat or fishing boat. Better to just hang and go in with the vis is better.

Landfall!

So that was our day. Oh – one highlight was seeing Ann’s face this morning when she came up from her off watch. The sun was up and she said, “Good morning”, then turned around and there in front of us was the mountain studded island of Moorea looking for all the world like it was just a few miles away. It was actually still 35 miles out, but the beaming smile that broke out on Ann’s face made the whole day worth it.

Here's our path approaching Tahiti (on the right, Moorea on the left). We had to stand out waiting for some wind since we didn't have enough fuel to make it all the way in from here.

Return to Tahiti (by Ann)

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Position: 18 degrees, 00 minutes south; 151 degrees, 21 minutes west 107 nm

The “distance to waypoint” on the GPS just switched to 100.9 miles! Wow, we are almost there. Back to Tahiti. Our memories of Tahiti are not full of tropical evenings and exotic landscapes. We have a few of those memories, but Tahiti meant being at the quay in noisy Papeete waiting for medical news. Our dear friend had had a diving “incident” in the Tuamotos and was being looked at in Papeete. It was a tense time. Thank God he is fine. Tahiti, and sailing to it, has always been on Bob’s list. Ever since he was a young boy following the travels of Robin Lee Graham in the National Geographic series. I heard about this desire early in our relationship. It went like this (on about date five): Bob – “I’m going to sail to the South Pacific in 2012. You can come too if you want. I mean I would like it if you did.” Seriously, he was that determined. He had hit his “Make it Happen” point. Tahiti, just saying the word out loud was my “Make it Happen” point. I enjoy a Facebook group called Women Who Sail. It is full of wonderful women interested in sailing. I think over half of the posts include angst from these women on how to make it happen. We dream about doing this but getting there is different. I never dreamed I’d be here. But saying “Tahiti” made it happen. I walked into my boss’s office at 3 o’clock on a Friday afternoon. Timing was important. I told him I needed to talk and he invited me to sit. I looked up and with tears in my eyes, it was a scary moment, I said, “Jim, there is no easy way to say this so I will just blurt it out. I am sailing to Tahiti.” His look was one of confusion. What? I clarified. “That means I need to quit.” Well that got his attention. He sat up straighter in his chair and said, “Holy crap, shit, that means you’re taking Bob!” I had worked for him for 17 years. Bob was our most prized consultant that I was dating. “Well, not really, he is taking me!” To his credit Jim gave me a huge smile and nearly jumped out of his seat to hug me. Oh my God! How exciting! Wow! And I stopped the tears of fear. I had done it. I said the word, “Tahiti” and now there was no turning back. It was going to happen. Jim stuck his head in my office as he left for the weekend. He still had that huge grin on his face. “I am so very excited for you…today. But come Monday after all of the implications have set in over the weekend I will be hating you. Have a great weekend.” So here we are, returning to Tahiti. Making it happen still. Time to go put the champagne in the fridge.

(From Bob) OK, on the sailing front, we’re still not “laying” Tahiti, more like Bora Bora, so I decided to follow the “Johnnie Joe School of Cruising” advice and “Run ‘er till she’s empty”. Yup we’re motor sailing for all we’re worth in order to head direct. If we just kept sailing, we would have to go around the west side of Moorea and then tack somewhere northwest of Tahiti. I would add at least a day, if not two to the passage. I’ve estimated we have about 20 hours of fuel in the tank, so we’re running 15 hours then we’ll shut down and sail a while and see where we are. Unless my estimate and/or our consumption is off. If things all of a sudden get quiet, we’ll know where we stand. We have ten gallons in jerry jugs on the deck, so when we’re well within that range, we’ll dump those in the tank and use that for the final push.

A Delicate Dance

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Position: 18 degrees, 52 minutes south; 153 degrees, 07 minutes west 97 nm day (and thanks to Carol on Arnementia for finding my little mistake on yesterday’s position report)

So, if sailing in light air is a delicate dance, sailing in light air on a squally day is like mud wrestling! It’s not very pretty.

In light air you spend a little time balancing all the inputs; jib, main, helm, and windvane and you can achieve a balance that will last for days. Until today, I hadn’t had to touch anything – Charisma was sailing just fine all by herself. But last night the squalls kicked in. Every squall has the same pattern. The wind increases – in this case, from a nice comfortable 10 knots to 20 knots. That part throws everything off balance. You have the big sails up, so you have to furl the jib and/or reef the main. Then the squall lasts 30-45 minutes and once it passes it takes all the wind with it and leaves almost a vacuum. Nothing. Charisma just wallows with no wind to guide her. That part usually last another half hour where you have to go to the helm and try to just keep the boat from spinning in aimless circles using the very small amount of boat speed you might have – maybe 0.5 knots or less – for rudder input. Then the wind fills back in. Now you unfurl the jib and/or unreef the main and go through all the little adjustments to rebalance everything hoping this time will be the last.

Once everything is set and you think you can go get some sleep you look up and see the next squall just upwind, and you know you’re going to do it all over again.

By the way, Ann now belongs to the “On the bowsprit when it goes underwater” club. She was out on the tippy end feeding the jib into the slot when we went up, up, up and big wave and came down, down down and the bowsprit and Ann were christened by the Southern Ocean.

Almost, almost, almost

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Exhaustion. It was a long night last night and we wear it like a layer of thermal underwear. It’s too hot for thermals this close to Tahiti. Almost there. Just over 200 miles to our waypoint off the island as I write this. But the exhaustion is palpable. For Bob especially. Sailing in light air, fluky light air close hauled is not easy. Wilson, our fabulous windvane is trying but it is not easy as the squalls, not big ones, small ones just big enough to disrupt the fine balance Bob has achieved. Charisma is trying but she answers best to Bob. I try but know that I can only adjust so much. Bob gets awakened by the imbalance of the boat and arrives in the companion way to do his magic. He stands and listens to the input from Charisma and deftly applies the necessary adjustments. She listens and we are off again. Until the next squall sucks all of the air and changes the fine balance. I pray for wind adjustments. I know God doesn’t make deals but perhaps the angels can work with the winds. Perhaps the squalls can give Bob more than 45 minutes sleep each time. That’s how it was last night and through the morning. This afternoon we had to lower the “Whomper” jib and adjust the furling line. It is a big sail and was not furling properly. Working with a sail this large is no easy feat under sail. Bob is an expert from his younger years as an ocean racer; we got it done. Seems a small adjustment made a big difference because it is furling better now. Bob made more adjustments and the wind shifted behind a squall. We are now headed on a better course and the winds are building some. Maybe it will be an easier night. Because we are almost there…

A Little Wind (very little)

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We Found Some Wind

Last evening it was looking a little grim. We are pretty much out of fuel, except for our last 10 gallons of “get in” fuel in the jerry jugs on deck. By 10 PM the wind had all but quit. The speedometer was bouncing between zero and 0.5 knots. Charisma was pretty much just drifting in slowly spinning circles. But, at 12:01 AM the wind started to fill in. Within minutes we had a whopping 6 knots of wind and were going 3 knots boatspeed. That wind held and the rest of the night we were making between 3 and 4 knots toward Tahiti. Today, the wind increased a bit more, in the 10-15 range and we’re still there at 8PM doing 5-6 knots. Now all we need is for it to go just a bit more south and we can lay Tahiti on this tack. If it doesn’t we’re going to miss Tahiti to the west and we’ll be out here another day or two longer than if we can ride this wind straight in.

So, that’s about the extent of things here. It’s beautiful, the moon is up, sky is pretty clear and we’re just trucking along almost in the right direction. What a difference from the first half of this passage. Good thing there’s a well-known cruisers’ affliction known as “passage amnesia”. We’ve already almost forgotten the terror of the lightning and 50 knot winds.

Almost.