Current Location: Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Date: 17 December, 2011
Festive seasonal greetings to all our families, friends, and random visitors. We are landlubbers once again. We hear the surf at night and don’t have to worry ourselves about, ‘Are we dragging anchor?
Joyeux Noel de Tahiti Central Marché
A brief run down of our recent activities: we packed up the boat at Apataki Carenage, then flew to Papeete. We will shortly fly to Australia for several months and will return late March to complete our transit of the Pacific Ocean. The long version follows:
We left Rotoava Atoll and made it to the pass in time for slack tide: it is important to time one’s exit/entrance through the passes in/out of an atoll as the current can run at up to 6 knots (which is about top speed for us). We sailed up the east coast of Toau Atoll, completing our circumnavigation begun a few weeks previous, and entered Anse Amyot late in the afternoon. We were delighted to meet friends we knew from Panama and the Marquesas, John and Zan on Demara and had a little reunion with them. Despite the vastness of the ocean, it has been interesting to arrive somewhere new and frequently within a short time see a boat we’ve met before.
We had a couple of days at Toau and explored the coral heads around the other fish traps which once again were a visual treat. Each time we went snorkelling we saw new marine life, in addition to the now familiar clams and coral polyps. Apologies for any repeats, but it was just so pretty!
Hi! Welcome to Toau Atoll
Our friends Zan and John maintain that moray eels are nothing to be frightened of...I am not as yet convinced
Hi! My name's Bluey
The first couple snorkel swims at Toau we saw no star fish, and then they seemed to be everywhere. This one looks to be hiding from something
As does this one...tho' it looks like it would also make a good draft stopper on a door
The fabulous blue and gold striped fish
Only saw this fish once...reminds me of a fancy shoe
Fish date
Moorish idols and their pals
I have another new friend
Hi! Gee it's good to see ya! (just don't get too close to that mouth....they eat corals for breakfast)
Spikey sea cucumber
My preferred aspect when seeing a shark...swimming away from me
Difficult to see how big this fish was...it was huge! Easily 2'/60cm
Lion fish, or is it a butterfly cod? Either way, stay away from the spines. It did move very gracefully, like a well controlled helicopter
Leaving Toau, reef to starboard
Leaving Toau, reef to port
We left Toau and sailed to Apataki Atoll, arriving with sufficient time to swing by the entrance to the pass for a quick look see. We used the range markers to guide us in and then proceeded across the lagoon to Apataki Carenage away over on the other side, keeping an eye out for the many pearl marker buoys along the way.
Fringing reef at Apataki
Fringing reef and motu, Apataki
Lining up with the range markers, Apataki: the 2 white sticks on the right of the entrance, between land and the motu (small island) in the distance
Getting closer to where we want to be with regards entering the pass: the 2 white sticks are closer together (the ship on the right side of the entrance is the Cobia 3, on which we shall return to Apataki in a few months time)
The range markers (white sticks) are now in line...(unfortunately, it is the deck hardware that's in focus)...and we can proceed into the pass, keeping the sticks lined up is the imperative
We picked up a mooring and called it a day. The following day we started the decommissioning jobs which included a vinegar wipe down for all surfaces in the cabin and lockers, stripping the sails and extraneous canvas from the deck (eg the spray dodgers), changing the engine oil, etc. These various jobs kept us busy until we were hauled out.
Emptying the lockers to give the interiors a vinegar wipe down in an effort to reduce the inevitable mould
Making friends with the local fish: a school of fish like this would appear whenever the water surface was disturbed
Our haul out was delayed a couple of days due to the wind coming from the wrong direction. When we received the go ahead, we proceeded in between the marker buoys atop several large coral heads, and onto the marine trailer. After we were properly positioned, we came ashore, and Wadda was dragged up onto land. So I guess you could say, Wadda was now a trailer sailor.
Stay away from the white balls...and the dark patches: the approach to the haul out ramp at the carenage
Stay away from the coral heads and rocks
Wadda is positioned on the trailer and hauled out with the back hoe
Wadda is now a trailer sailer
Moe pressure washed the hull, Wadda was positioned on the stands. We made a closer examination of the hull and drained the many small superficial blisters…unlike a blister on your skin where you want to keep the skin intact to prevent infection, on a fibreglass boat, you want to pop any blisters once the boat is out of the water and let them first drain, then dry out, before proceeding with the repair.
The propeller was scrubbed clean of marine life, including the beginnings of the coral reef that had appeared at Rotoava…single cell organisms in a matrix emanating from the middle of the propeller… all very interesting from the marine biology point of view, but very tedious to remove.
The beginnings of a coral reef on the propeller
Laundry in paradise, 2: Apataki Atoll, using a spare ladder as the wringer pole
Moe flushed the engine with fresh water. The sails and sail covers were removed and stored below, as was the dinghy, the towing generator, the halyards, the horseshoe MOB collar, the cockpit cushions, throwable cushions, the dodger and bimini. The diesel jugs were already below. At job’s end, the Vee berth was packed like a sardine tin.
We made several discoveries during the decommissioning: Moe found a stow-away gecko whilst we were still in the water – we had no idea how it got aboard, as we have not been at a dock for over a year. One of the foul weather boots in the wet locker was half full of water, which we concluded was acquired during our Panama-Galapagos passage (we hadn’t worn the boots, but the starboard side of the boat did get a bit wet). I picked up the last 6 pack of tonic water for the Friday night gin’n'tonic and noticed they seemed rather light…4 had struck leaks…bummer.
Gecko stow away, returned to land
Apataki Carenage has been in operation for a couple of years now. It is fairly basic with regards creature comforts, however the family who own it are most obliging and welcoming. The travel trailer haul out went very smoothly and we feel comfortable with the idea of leaving Wadda there for the next few months.
Apataki Carenage: catamarans lined up like tin soldiers, sunset
We had heard from another sailor that the production costs for pearl farming were about twice the current market price ie a tough way to make a living presently. The driveway for the boat trailer was inlaid with pearls…yes, the driveway at the boatyard was inlaid with pearls…that was a pretty good indication to us that times are tough in the pearling industry.
The haul out driveway for the trailer at Apataki Carenage...decorated with pearls
We have now spent time in 5 boat yards, and can say without hesitation that our present location is hands down the prettiest. The aqua waters of the lagoon beckoned, however there was the small matter of packing up the boat for several months. At night and in the early morning, the land crawled with crabs: scarlet hermit crabs, and the brown land crabs that seem to like the coconuts. [We have since learned that the metal collars on the coconut trees are to dissuade rats rather than crabs as reported earlier.]
Land crab
Fight! Fight! Fight! Land crabs go mano a mano...or is that pincer a pincer?
Seems it was some sort of territorial fight: one of the crabs retired to its hole which was occupied by ? Its mate
One of the larger hermit crabs
Eventually, all the jobs were finished and it was Wednesday 14 December. We climbed aboard the panga that would take us back across the lagoon to the air strip, and were immediately each presented with a lei of gardenias and oleander flowers…they looked very pretty and had a lovely perfume. We observed later at the airport that this was a local custom, as every arriving passenger was greeted by their family members with a garland of fresh flowers and a kiss on each cheek…and what an absolutely delightful custom it is. The preferred mode of transport at the village was tricycle with cargo box on the back…on a per capita basis I think it could be the tricycle capital of the world.
Get lei'd at Apataki! Margaret, in dire need of a haircut
Apataki airport: this is the arrival hall, departure lounge, baggage handling, and re-fueling area. Note the tricycle with cargo box on back in the foreground: the preferred mode of transport
Despite the current market for pearls, many of the village people are involved in the pearl industry, and as we walked around waiting for our flight, we observed many people working on their pearling paraphenalia.
The twin otter plane arrived, seating capacity of 16, however there were only 4 passengers, and we received the safety briefing on the tarmac before departure…apparently not enough room for a flight attendant. We had an excellent aerial view of a couple of atolls en route, and in time the mountains of Papeete came into view.
The twin otter plane that transported us to Papeete
Aerial view of an atoll showing fringing reef and lagoon
Papeete was a big change after the small communities we had been amongst since leaving Panama City. We attended to various chores in town: a visit to the port captain and a visit to the inter island freighter company with whom we shall return to Apataki (the plane service will either stop or be cut back in January) in a few months time. Interestingly, we found the humidity quite oppressive.
Inside the cathedral: Madonna col bambino – give us this day our daily breadfruit
Christmas in the tropics: model at the Hotel de Ville (town hall) of snow clad village
Christmas decorations with Hotel de Ville in the background, Papeete
On our wanderings about town we enjoyed listening to the ukelele busking bands that were dotted around the place: typically they consisted of 4 to 6 mature aged men singing and playing ukeleles (both solid, and the mini-guitar shape), a guitar or two, and perhaps someone on spoons or home made 1 string fiddle. Compared with the ear splitting music that we remembered from the Dominican Republic, the ukelele bands were wonderful. We had a walk through a couple of the large hardware stores and the vegetable market, to give us an idea of what was available locally for when we return with Wadda next year.
Ukelele band at central market
Street ukelele band, 1
At the central market,1
At the central market, 2
One half of the central market ukelele band
The other half of the central market ukelele band
Our hotel is located in the Mahina area, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump (up and over a large hill) from Matavai Bay and Point Venus. Point Venus is where Captain Cook and the scientists set up camp to make the observations of Venus during his first voyage. There is a light house located there. It was also the spot where the first European came ashore (Wallis in 1767). Captain Bligh on the Bounty lay at anchor at Matavai Bay whilst the bread fruit seedlings were gathered from the nearby Tua’uru Valley. These days it’s a local picnic spot.
View to Moorea at sunset
View to Moorea at sunrise
The lighthouse at Venus Point
Outrigger canoes at Matavai Bay
View across Matavai Bay to Tua'uru Valley (I think)
All that remains to be said is thanks for visiting and commenting, and greetings of whatever festive season you celebrate.
Margaret and Moe
