Dawn is breaking as we are skirting around the southwest corner of Raiatea, Huahine and Maupiti are becoming visible as the sky brightens and Bora Bora’s silhouette is starting to show on the distant horizon.
It took about 20 hrs. mostly motor sailing to get to Bora Bora from Tahiti and it looked similar on approach as the other high volcanic islands of the region. This one however shows its violent history more vividly than the others. The old calderea was quite recognizable with one side having been blown off in what must have been an asume cataclysmic display.
Now thanks to an abundant amount of rain it stands covered in a mantle of green in a state of dormant tranquility. This is certainly not the cosmopolitan Tahiti but a sleepy town with its’ share of tourists in a compact central area around a beautiful town dock. The island and several smaller islands or motus are completely surrounded by the reef creating a large lagoon where one could circumnavigate it with care. The water is brilliantly clear and one can see down at least 40-50 ft. We stayed just 48 hrs. got some more duty free fuel, cleaned the bottom of the boat and snorkeled a bit. Had dinner at the Bora Bora Yacht Club which is basically a restaurant with some moorings and a shower and no members. Dinner was good but as always, very pricey in Polynesia. Decided to leave about 4:00 PM for our next destination, of American Somoa with a brief at the atoll of Surrarow. This was really the end of a month’s visit in French Polynesia and it felt a bit sad to leave but leaving one spot with an exotic name for another isn’t that bad. A 1200 NM. Sailing trip that will take us from Bora Bora to Pago Pago, is there an echo in here?
The first night out at sea is always an anticipated event with the tranquility and night sky, At least until 3 or 4:00 AM when it starts to get a little long and the eyes get tired. We have been very fortunate to have a full moon on several of the passages which aids watch keeping tremendously. When the moon finally does set the night sky again becomes alive with stars with some familiar constellations, the Big Dipper can still be seen on the horizon and Orion makes his appearance as he vacations from the Northern hemispheres’ summer down here in the Southern’ winter. The only problem tonight is the lack of any significant wind, which means we are motoring downwind. The apparent wind is just about zero which allows the exhaust gas to filter up into the cockpit, never pleasant with a diesel. The main sail is hoisted to help dampen the roll inertia caused by the following seas and it tends to slat and snap as the boat rolls in the light wind and seas. Hopefully tomorrow we will have sufficient breeze to hold up the spinnaker and the engine can be shut down.
Friends of ours on Yai-O-Terra a New Zealand boat that left several days ahead of us reports similar conditions on our daily “net”. Boats bound for similar destinations usually form a radio net, where once or twice a day everyone tunes to a particular frequency and exchanges positions to keep track of one another for safety so positions are know by others in case of emergency. Other boats in the area can then provide assistance if needed. It’s also a good venue to exchange information on weather, advice on mechanical problems and trade fishing stories. We started off with a group on the Panama /Galapagos trip where everyone had started off ahead of us by several days so it provided nice information on what was to come.
Upon landfall we had caught up to several of the boats which were smaller and therefore a bit slower. On arrival in the Marquises we were ahead of most of group with only Yai-O-Terra, Pacific Eagle and Carma ahead of us. The group, mainly English, Australians and New Zealanders will probably tend to break up since different boat speeds and time spent in port has caused them to be spread over a large area of ocean. Yai-O-Terra is the only one in front of us now, a very solid steel yacht about 48 ft. long. We are faster, especially in the light wind of the South Pacific, but she must be in Samoa to make some airline crew connections and left several days ahead of us. The trip to Samoa is about 1200 NM. which we will break up with a quick stop at the atoll of Suarrow. This fairly remote atoll, everything is fairly remote from any major landmass in the Pacific, was made famous by Tom Neal a modern day hermit who lived there for 20 years. Tom always welcomed cruising yachts to his little bit of paradise but died of cancer several years ago. The atolls is administered by the Cook Island group and have a resident caretaker family in the winter months. Tom’s cabin still remains and cruisers who stop do whatever repairs are needed to maintain it as a tribute. Since the atoll is not a port of entry, most cruisers arrive without any clearance from the Cook Islands. The caretakers have reportedly not enforced the infraction and allowed yachts to stay for several days. This is strictly a rest stop since there is no source of provisions, fuel or water. The lagoon which is noted for its’ tranquil beauty supports an abundance of fish free of Ciquatera, Pacific lobsters and aggressive sharks. We will see in four days time when we get there.
First full day out and it’s very hot with little wind, passed Muto an uninhabited and the last and western most of the FP atolls. Have been flying the spinnaker since 9:00 this morning when a little wind from the NE came up and have been trying to keep things steady and moving all day. The wind varies between a broad to beam reach and from a whisper to 12 knots. Our course hasn’t been too far off but the speed ranges from 4.5 to 8.8 knots depending upon the mood of the wind. We don’t carry enough fuel to motor the whole distance so we must sail whenever possible. Fishing hasn’t proved to be much more exciting with no action even though we are trolling 3 lines some shallow and some deep. I did however almost catch another bird. This is the second time that a rather dumb and unidentified species of sea bird has attacked one of my shallow lures. Today’s encounter just caused a lot of squawking by the bird as his foot got caught then freed. The time before, I did all I could to discourage this particular individual but he persisted until hooked and I had to reel him in to remove the hook and set him free. If the birds think the lure is so attractive, why don’t the fish?
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