Societies Concluded
I tour a few more of these beautiful islands and prepare for my longest passage yet
After the engine troubles were thankfully resolved at Papeete and I’d seen Kristen off at the airport, it was time to provision the boat and prep for a northwesterly passage through the Societies. First, I set off on an extended engine test from Papeete to Moorea, where I set the anchor at Cook’s Bay to await a favorable weather window to Huahine.
The following evening, I set off on a 20-hour sail to Huahine with favorable winds out of the south/southeast at 20-25 kts. I flew the staysail and a triple-reefed main; at night, singlehanded, this is my standard configuration in anything more than 15 kts of breeze. I arrived at the anchorage near the main town of Fare and anchored near my friends Marcus and Lily on SV Sula. We went ashore to explore the town, have lunch, and drink some coffee with locally made coconut milk. My impression of Fare was that it was very clean, well manicured and tidy, and serene, and I enjoyed it the most of all the French Polynesian islands.
At Huahine, there is range of mountains that the locals very proudly describe as the silhouette of a pregnant woman. Here’s my take:
A day later, I followed Sula through the narrow channel to the south bay where Hotel Le Mahana is located, and where I had wanted to take Kristen by boat. A sailing acquaintance I had made on another Hallberg-Rassy, Yann1 and his partner Brigitte on SV Viking, were there, and Yann dinghied over to help me tie up the boat to a mooring ball. I was very glad for it as the next three days had strong winds and I got some good rest not worrying about anchors dragging. Marcus, Lily, Yann and Brigitte came over to Wind River one evening and we discussed our sailing goals and shared stories.
As usual, it was soon time to move on, and I bid Marcus and Lily goodbye as they set off for Fiji, while Yann and I continued on our separate boats to Raiatea. Exiting an atoll pass always requires concentration, and Huahine’s was no different. But once clear, it was a smooth sail to Raiatea, where I arrived and anchored at the guest dock in Uturoa, just behind Yann and Brigitte.
Uturoa reminded me of a cowboy western town minus the gunslingers, and with a lot more humidity. It has two main streets and seems to exist solely for commerce. So I took advantage of the supermarkets there and stocked up with provisions for a week. I then followed Yann and Brigitte to another bay an hour south, where we anchored for several days to wait out a large storm system. When it eased, we went ashore to visit the botanical garden.
It was then a short hop back to Uturoa to reprovision more extensively for the 1900 mile solo crossing to Fiji, and to complete the official exit formalities. The gendarmerie were professional and friendly, and they issued me the all-important “Zarpe” that I would need to present to the Fijian authorities upon arrival. I then sailed to Tahaa (the next island north of Raiatea, ringed by the same coral reef) where I waited for my weather window to depart. I chose not to visit Bora Bora as there were too many stories of the restrictions on boaters, the limited and very expensive moorings, and the overcrowding.
I will probably get asked “Why didn’t you spend more time exploring French Polynesia?” or “Why did you skip [insert island name here]?” Visas were one issue (standard is 90 days for US citizens, although these can be extended to 15 months with advance planning). A second issue was time, which had a funny way of slipping as I waited more days than expected for storms to pass or wind directions to become more favorable for sailing. There still were the Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, and Vanuatu as possible destinations, and only 2.5 months remaining to enjoy them before the start of the South Pacific cyclone season, when insurance requires that boats are either in New Zealand, Australia, or near the equator. Sadly, when you’re on a schedule, destinations get cut.
Yann is a very unique individual. Aside from being a professional mariner who had lived much of his life at sea around the world, he was also the project manager and captain of the Hermione, an exact replica of the 18th century French tall ship frigate that brought General Lafayette from France back to the United States in 1780 to rejoin the American Revolutionary War.
You can read more about the Hermione here:
Fair Winds Raffi…
Love hearing from you and even more to see two photos of you!!! Keep your stories coming!! Xo Erinne