Raiatea to Tahaa to Huahine

We sailed from Raiatea (Uturoa area), to Tahaa (anchored in SW Apu Bay, red dot, then Mahea black dot), then on to Fare, Huahine

We left Raiatea on a Friday, ultimately bound for Tahiti, but since there are a couple of islands very close to Raiatea we thought we'd take some time to visit them and do a little "research" for when our friends come to visit in August and September.

The weather predicted that some strong southeasterly winds (called "Maramu" in Polynesian) would be headed our way so we thought we'd check out some possible anchorages in the nearby island of Taha'a, looking for protection on the west side. We left Raitea and went north to Taha'a which shares the same fringing reef as Raiatea. What we found was that because of Taha'a's tall mountains the western anchorages were directly hit by strong katabatic winds that rushed down elevated slopes at great speeds. We thought about anchoring at the famous Coral Gardens halfway up the west side (supposedly good snorkeling), but anchoring next to the reef would have put us on a lee shore in those strong katabatic winds. (Lee shore=when the wind blows you toward a shore or reef. Not good.) We tried a couple of other anchorages and they were also a bust for various reasons (too deep, too windy, anchor wouldn't hold). After what turned out to be our day-long island tour of western Taha'a we went back south to a mooring field we saw earlier in the day in Apu Bay. It is a favorite stop of all the boat charters and we were extremely lucky to grab the last mooring ball late in the afternoon. There was a big charter cat right behind us hoping to get the mooring but we beat them to it. It was a Friday and apparently a resort on land does a Friday night feast and dance festival, hence the crowd. We could hear the drums and music late into the night, followed by loud talk and laughter as the oversaturated cruisers dinghied back to their boats.

Aerial view of our anchorage in Apu Bay, Taha'a. (photo courtesy of Moorings)

We had a nice surprise the next morning. The Tahiti Pearl Regatta was happening that weekend and Cinnabar was right next to the buoy race course! Many of the boats sailed by and eyeballed Cinnabar's racey-looking red hull, wondering if we were racing. But we don't race our home anymore so we just saluted them with our cups of coffee and relaxed into our beanbag chairs for the show. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the 38 boats racing right next to us. 

We were surprised to see our rigger Fred sail by on this boat.

This colorful spinnaker had a wicked wrap and they were passed by the green spinnaker following them.

Then green spinnaker had an epic round down (crash), lost their spinnaker and finished last. 

We stayed in Apu Bay for 5 nights while the winds raged over us, but the mooring was strong and we were pretty comfortable. Once the winds subsided we decided to head over to Motu (Island) Mahea on the east side of Taha'a so Tom could check it out for future kiting sessions.

Mahea is a small island in the reef surrounding Taha'a (photo courtesy of Moorings)

Motu Mahea has a lot of coral heads so after making a few circles around the area we picked our spot and dropped the anchor. When we jumped in the water we saw that the chain was snaking over a coral head so we had to attach a buoy to lift it. The snorkeling wasn't great, but it was interesting to snorkel around an old, abandoned pearl farm. This was the second abandoned pearl farm we'd snorkeled, and we were struck by the fact that everything was just left there, piles of junk under the water. It was eerie.

After a couple of nights at Mahea we departed for the nearby island of Huahine. We knew our friends on JACARANDA were there and we were hoping to see them before they left.

We anchored near the town of Fare and VERY CLOSE to the red channel buoy. 

Sunset behind our close friend the red buoy.

After a couple of nights on the anchor a mooring ball became available so we moved over to it. We reconnected with Chuck and Linda on JACARANDA and met some of their friends, a father/daughter sailing pair, on a Swiss boat called KYORI. Linda, Sondra and I treated ourselves to a wonderful girls' day out and lunch at the deluxe Maitai Lapita Village Resort. 

Girls' day out with Linda (JACARANDA) and Sondra (KYORI) (photo courtesy of KYORI)

The village of Fare had a laid-back, surf town sort of vibe which we really liked. Although small, it was a bustling town and had a huge, well-stocked, grocery/hardware store, not to mention outdoor market stalls for fresh fish, fruit, vegetables and prepared food. The supply ships came in and out of the small harbor daily to keep the island's people and resorts stocked with goods.

A big ship in a little harbor. It was fun to watch these maneuver into and out of the passage.

Fare also boasted a wonderful beach-side bar and restaurant called the Huahine Yacht Club. Bars-on-the-beach abound in Mexico but are a rarity in French Polynesia, so we were extremely happy to find such a place. Not to mention they have an excellent happy hour that you can enjoy while watching the sunset.

A spectacular sunset from the Huahine Yacht Club. 

Much as we loved Huahine and wished to explore the island further, we had work waiting for us in Papeete and it was time to leave. Since the voyage from Huahine to Tahiti is "uphill", i.e. against the prevailing winds, we watched the weather and waited for a time when the winds might shift more northerly and make for a more pleasant voyage. Eventually the winds did shift in our favor and we left one evening before sunset. We had a very nice overnight sail with the wind on our beam (side) most of the time, so it was pretty comfortable. Cinnabar flew through the night with her new sails and we made great time. We arrived in Papeete early the next morning and found a nice spot in the marina. 

And that is where we are now, taking care of business and enjoying Papeete.