After Edward & Alicia departed we felt a little flat – I guess it just highlighted our isolation from all our family at the moment & we miss them all. Certainly a different experience with just Bill & I than the partially controlled mayhem that accompanied our circumnavigation with 3 kids 18 years or so ago! Definitely more time to relax & assimilate our surroundings this time around for sure!
It blew reasonably hard after they left, but we were able to enjoy the relative tranquility of the Pearl Farm anchorage again, stock up on the best baguettes in French Polynesia & then head to Motu Ceran for a couple of nights. It remained windy there, but the kite foilers had a magnificent time & it was great to watch them flit to & fro like butterflies on steroids.
We had planned to visit CNI – the boatyard where we will haul out the boat for an anti foul & fit the new feathering prop, (the old one died & we temporarily replaced it with a standard one we had as a spare). It was very quiet when we arrived with a sign saying that the yard was closed that week for ‘exceptional circumstances’. This provoked a bit of anxiety as we were concerned that this may lead to a delay in our haul out & we are keen to head East again as soon as possible. As it turns out, the yard was closed because that same week was the most famous Polynesian va’a race of the year: the Hawaiki Nui Va’a. The whole event is an amazing feat of athleticism, as these outrigger canoes are paddled from Huahine to Bora Bora in 3 stages by a crew of 6 incredibly fit individuals. The last leg from Taha’a to Bora Bora is a 30nm paddle across open ocean facing the swell & possible adverse winds. Respect. Anyway it appears that most of the workers in the yard were participants in this said event, so it made sense that the yard was closed for the week! That was a relief!
As it happens, we encountered the race when we headed by dinghy to reprovision in Uturoa & had to duck for cover when we turned a corner & about 50 va’as were descending upon us. Gee they work hard – it was a very exciting event to stumble upon & get the feeling as to how significant this event is in the local calendar – to the extent that the supermarkets were at a standstill so the race could be watched on a screen within the store! I guess this is the Polynesian race that ‘stops the nation’ rather than the Melbourne Cup.
Uturoa market was taken over by the most amazing bouquets & bunches of flowers – not sure if related to the event or it was flower Thursday but the display of incredible blooms was wonderful to see. Bill, bless him, had the idea of buying me a floral arrangement for our wedding anniversary, but sadly practicality had to prevail & there was no way such an intricate affair would ever have survived a trip back to the boat in the dinghy!
Provisioned up, mainly with lovely fresh produce, we headed south down the west side of Raiatea to Toamaro anchorage, a place that we hadn’t visited before. Well, I can’t emphasise how lovely this anchorage was, particularly as we had it to ourselves for most of the time we were there. Well sheltered, (although weather was incredibly benign), stunningly beautiful with a nearby motu to explore & fabulous snorkelling on the other side of the pass. Impossible not to enjoy such a beautiful place. Where could have been more appropriate for Bill & I to celebrate our 37th anniversary than at the local restaurant, Fare Vai Nui. It was just a short dinghy ride to a dedicated dock, the restaurant having views over the lagoon & our boat sitting there on its lonesome in the middle! Food was great too with a shared entree of garlic prawns, then poison cru & bbq pork ribs. All in all delicious & very memorable. (Happens that Bill & I have been together now for 44 years in total, amazing really that we still find things to talk about, let alone living together on a small boat! Guess that’s what love is all about).
After a 3 lovely days in Toamaro anchorage we headed a short way south to Nao Nao – yet another stunning place. Here we met up with John & Kerry on Kelani, who we hadn’t seen for several weeks. They presently have family guests aboard & are doing the ‘Huahine/Raiatea/Taha’a circuit’! Always great to catch up, we enjoyed some lovely sundowners & dinner together before we headed back in the direction of Uturoa so we could call in at CNI, the boatyard where the boat will be hauled out next week. We thought it timely to get the boat re-antifouled before heading more remotely, as well as taking the opportunity whilst the boat is out of the water, to replace the bearings on the rudders & fit a new folding propeller on the port side. Never my most favourite activity having the boat hauled, but we have booked some ‘budget’ Airbnb accommodation not far from the boatyard to stay in during this time. Good news is that the place has a washing machine – incredible the value of such a resource when living on a boat! So, I will be setting up a Chinese laundry whilst Bill works on the boat at the yard! Fair deal I think!