It was clear that after our haul out, with 2 nice clean hulls devoid of aquatic flora, that our speed through the water had significantly increased. Even just motoring around the lagoon we noted at least a 1 knot increase in speed for the same revs. So now that this factor has been eliminated, we’ll have to blame our sailing under performance on the boat’s crew!!
Now began the next chapter of waiting for the weather – better I can say, than waiting for parts, although no more predictable. Firstly, we had to wait for favourable winds to get back to Tahiti, where we planned to do a significant provision before heading further east to the Tuamotus & Gambier Islands. Not that we should complain. We spent 10 days or so in the company of Kelani in some of our favourite anchorages, including beautiful Hana Iti on Huahine – one of my favourite spots.
I had bought a breadfruit on Raiatea with the intent on making some breadfruit chips. I remember the first time I served these up to the family in the Marquesas on our circumnavigation – they went down a treat with some sweet chilli dipping sauce, especially with the kids. Unfortunately when I went to retrieve it from our fruit net at the rear of the cockpit, it felt like a half deflated balloon. Chips were clearly out, but never one to shy away from a challenge I found a Caribbean recipe for making fritters from overripe breadfruit! So that’s what I did – final product quite edible & surprisingly sweet. I took a photo of the mushy mess before cooking, (looks disgusting I admit), but regrettably not of the finished product which didn’t look too bad! I have had a few failures in the galley recently – also made some pamplemousse marmalade which I overcooked & had the consistency of a soft candy bar. Oh, and also my first attempt at making chocolate & the mixture split! Managed to partially retrieve both the last 2 items & very fortunately, I have a husband who always is willing to consume what comes out of the kitchen!
So eventually the winds were predicted to blow ENE, which was a reasonable angle for the Huahine to Moorea passage. We decided to leave at first light so we could enjoy the sail during the day, although this meant a night entry into Cooks Bay. Having said that, the entry is well lit, we have our tracks from doing this during the day multiple times, so we reckoned that it was not an unreasonable decision to make. The first third of the trip was great – sailing to windward at 7 to 7.5knots – quite exhilarating. Unfortunately the wind veered more easterly, so the second third was a motor sail to try to maintain a reasonable course. The last few hours though, were a motor directly into the wind to make our destination – miserable, bashing into wind & waves just dismal. Like a long haul flight from Australia to Europe – about 3 or 4 hours too long.
The entry into Cooks Bay wasn’t a problem though & the good news was that we could enjoy a nightcap before getting a good night’s sleep, (rather than do an overnight passage as we had done before). We like Cooks Bay not only is it stunning visually, it is also very convenient for getting a few provisions & topping up our hefty cans of fuel. It seems to be less popular with cruisers than the adjacent Opunohu Bay, but that means it is more peaceful & a great place to relax.
Our trip back to the airport anchorage in Tahiti was a blast! Quite a strong northeasterly blowing but our course was sufficiently off the wind to enable us to race along at about 8knots the whole way (and well over 9 at times) making it a very speedy 10 mile trip. As I previously mentioned, our stop at Tahiti was mainly to restock, refuel & get some boat stuff done. The main item was to have the rig fully checked and tuned by the team that replaced the standing rigging 18mths ago. We wanted to ensure that we were in a position to be pretty self sufficient for the next few months as we head eastwards.
The Tuamotus are a string of small atolls, many of which are uninhabited, that extend over several hundred miles from almost north of Tahiti to the south east. Towards the end is the Gambier archipelago, where we are heading. Major drawback, is that this direction is against the prevailing winds – hence, we are again waiting for the weather window to assist us in the right direction.
So fully stocked & ready to go, presently anchored in Ha’apiti anchorage in the west coast of Moorea. Beautiful spot & a great place to be whilst the wind remains in the NE or E. Crystal clear water, spectacular backdrop of Moorea & balmy temperatures, but not too warm at night as there is usually a land breeze blowing. Kelani are with us & have decided to be our sailing buddies for the trip east – great to do it in company & share the experiences as well as the decision making! Our original plan was to be in the Gambier Islands by Christmas, but given the weather window, (or lack thereof) – who knows where we’ll be! Somewhere different at least & I’m sure there’ll be plenty of adventures to look forward to.