South Pacific « Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Aboard Sea Mist

by KC2RIY, on July 5th, 2010 (Bamboozle, Imagine, Sea Mist, Society Islands)

While running the generator to condition the recently watered batteries we managed three washes. We also ran the air conditioning for about an hour to dry out the boat. It’s been quite humid recently and it was nice to get rid of all the moisture for a while.

On the radio we heard that Imagine were on their way to this anchorage and we also heard that Bamboozle were rounding the south side of Tahiti-Iti (the smaller of the two conjoined islands that comprise Tahiti) and chances are we’d meet up in a few days.

Once this was all done we headed ashore to walk around the botanical gardens. There were not a lot of flowers to look at, it was more trees although there were some very pleasant wooded areas around sculpted streams and ponds complete with monster eel like fish lurking here and there. They also had two giant tortoises brought here some years ago.

When we returned to the boat we saw that Imagine had arrived. The area is so wide open that the three boats here are all hundreds of feet apart so it’s not crowded. We spent the afternoon relaxing before heading over to join Stuart and Sheila from Imagine aboard Sea Mist with John, Cheryl and Ian for sundowners. We had a good time aboard – the sun not only went down but went some way around the back side of the Earth before we left late in the evening. It was a brilliantly clear evening. The stars were bright and the Milky Way spread itself over the heavens.

We’re thinking of moving on today towards Port Phaeton and the nearby town of Taravao. However, right now the heavens are far from clear as they are full of dark clouds emptying themselves upon us. We’ll play today by ear.

Papeari

by KC2RIY, on July 4th, 2010 (Sea Mist, Society Islands)

We waited until 10am before moving the boat east. Although the channel was clearly marked we felt better waiting until the sun was high so we could see the reef hazards. We wanted to consider the possibility of anchoring out on the reef so we plotted a course to where the deeper (80-100ft) water became shallow. Around where we planned to go we discovered the drop off was quite steep and close to the rocky shallows. This did not make for a good anchorage so we instead headed towards the point on which the Gaugin Museum and some botanical gardens are located. We found an anchorage right by the point in water that appeared more like a lake than the sea. We were sheltered from the wind and the water was still. The were no nearby passes to inject any motion into the water at all. From my charts we are close to the town of Papeari.

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The only downside, for a short while, was that ashore, amongst some manicured gardens, appeared to be some sort of political or religious function with people milling around and a long speech emitting from speakers. It may perhaps have been a wedding reception with a very long giving away speech.

In the afternoon we dinghied around the point to find somewhere to go ashore. A security guard from the function area indicated we had to move further along. We passed a restaurant before coming ashore by a car park. We hauled the dinghy up a short beach before chaining it to a tree. The Gaugin Museum was here so we paid to go in. It comprised three buildings set amongst some tranquil gardens. Each building presented a different aspect of his life. The first gave the history of his life, the second more about his time in Polynesia and the last focused on his art although the first two had plenty of that too. Around the gardens were three stone Tikis standing in Tiki Huts – one of which, I understand, is the largest in French Polynesia.

After the museum we walked up to the main road past the botanical gardens leaving them for Sunday. We walked along the main road for a while before finding a store where we bought a baguette for dinner. When we returned to the boat we discovered Sea Mist had arrived at the same anchorage. We went over to say hello and to let them know what we’d learned. They invited us over for sun downers Sunday evening.

As hinted before we’ll go to the botanical gardens later today. Right now we’re doing three washes while equalizing the house batteries following the recent addition of distilled water. I tend to bring them up above 14V fairly regularly so the principal aim of equalization right now is to stir up the acid/water with the bubbling to make the solution even.

Mataiea

by KC2RIY, on July 3rd, 2010 (Society Islands)

The seas had definitely calmed down overnight so in the morning we motored out of pass at Maraa and headed for Passe Aifa approx 10nm away. The light winds were on our nose, not conducive for sailing, so we motored the entire way. When we anchored inside the bay we found the water to be quite muddy and unappealing. We had thought to explore the area in the dinghy to find a more suitable place to anchor but standing on the bimini we saw that the muddy waters appeared to extend out to the reef. Without even stopping for lunch we decided to head out and try the next pass at Rautirare.

Inside the bay we found an anchorage in 30-40ft off a dark sandy beach. Before long, locals with kids aboard, kayaked out to have a look at us. We exchanged greetings but our French and their English had little overlap. I mentioned to one girl that we were looking for a shop that sold fresh bread. She came back later to try and explain and later still to arrange for her uncle/brother to take us to the shop.

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I spent the afternoon topping up our 36 golf cart batteries. I had a little battery water from our first attempt to make some and used this first on the house bank. I then reconfigured the water maker so that the source and output could be put into a bucket into which I had poured 5 gallons of made water. With the output going into the bilge, the sea cock switched off and our previously installed by pass filling providing the source water I started the water maker measuring the output until it dropped below 20 parts per million. At this point Helen switched off the bypass and put the water maker output into the bucket. We were therefore purifying already purified water passing the only slightly saltier water back into the bucket to be recirculated. (Last time we took all source water from the fresh water tank and blew the lot pretty quickly).

We eventually made 2 gallons of water at 4 parts per million impurity which was pretty good. I topped up the drive banks with this water leaving little spare. Given the uneven use between house and drive banks I want to swap the entire house bank with one of the drive banks and repeat this on the other drive bank a year from now. I’ll wait until Ben arrives to do this.

Once this was all finished Helen and I dinghied ashore to meet the uncle/brother who took us to the nearby store where we picked up some fresh vegetable and bought him a drink for his troubles. I kick myself for not remembering his name but I’m pretty sure he said the area in which they live is called Mataiea. He was born here and has many, many brothers and sisters.

Back aboard we had a nice quiet evening together watching a couple of episodes of House on the computer.

This morning I have been back to the store for a fresh baguette for breakfast. Today we’re all for taking it easy. We may move the boat further east but this time staying inside the reef. In the vicinity there are a few things to see ashore. There is the Gaugin Museum and botanical gardens close to each other. There is also a public waterfall and fresh springs nearby which we may wait until Monday to visit as they are supposed to be popular with the locals at the weekend.

There is also a post office to the east of us which is probably where we’re currently picking up a pay for internet service. We’re still having issues and confusion with our parts order and would like to have a more stable connection which we should get if we shift east a little.

Au Revoir to John

by KC2RIY, on July 1st, 2010 (Sea Level, Society Islands)

In the morning we caught the bus into Pape’ete. On the way the bus passed the airport so we had an idea of where to get off later in the day. Our first stop was a dentist as one of Helen’s filling had come loose. The dentist agreed to see Helen shortly so we agreed a rendezvous with John so he could have a wonder around town. We waited an hour and a half for Helen’s appointment during which time we looked at the pictures in almost all the French National Geographics and Paris Matches on the table.

We met back up with John and walked off to the duty free wine store. We met up with Jim and Kent from Sea Level (who had won the rally/race to Moorea) as we waited for the store to open after lunch. There were some interesting things to buy but in the end we left without buying anything. If we bought duty free wind we’d only be able to open it when we left French Polynesia and we already have plenty in bond (from the customs visit in Fatu Hiva) which we can open when we leave.

With nothing else to do we caught the bus back to the Carrefour and picked up some provisions for Helen and I to survive the next couple of weeks.

Back on the boat we had a couple of hours to spare before we were back out to the bus stop opposite the Carrefour. We had to wait 3/4 of an hour for the next bus which didn’t matter in the end as when we reached the airport, the check in line was only just about to open. Once John’s luggage was checked in we left the airport and went to a Chinese restaurant for our last meal together.

Then it was back to the airport for our goodbyes. Who knows when we’ll next see John but it could be Australia for a number of reasons.

Helen and I walked back to the marina which took about 45 minutes in all. When we pick up Ben in 2 weeks time we now know how long it will take. Walking is certainly more predictable than the bus.

Weather permitting we’ll be heading south this morning to find somewhere a little less crowded than here. We have a few boat jobs we need to do. The batteries need topping up which will take a while. The port bilge alarm has gone back to going off every few hours and I suspect the shaft seal needs more grease.

It’s sad to see John go but it’s also nice to have the boat to ourselves. We’ll have to make the most of the next 2 weeks.

Blowing in the wind

by KC2RIY, on June 30th, 2010 (Sea Mist, Society Islands)

We had plans to take the bus into town yesterday but in the end we spent the day on the boat for a few reasons. One reason was that it was a public holiday and most things seemed closed. Second was that we were getting strong gusts out of the west causing all the boats in the anchorage to swing wildly. Many boats were reanchoring to get themselves out of trouble. Nearby one unattended boat kept swinging into Sea Mist. Sea Mist had their fenders out and were using their dinghy as a mega fender. I boarded the unattended boat and put their fenders out too. After settling down the westerly wind blew a second time giving everyone a repeat performance. Fortunately we had no issues and our anchor stuck well.

We celebrated John’s last night aboard in the usual style with a curry. Later John went ashore to spend a bit of time with a few friends his own age group. John must have mixed feelings about leaving having spent six months aboard. It makes me wonder how we will approach the end of this trip. Fortunately I don’t have to worry about this just yet as this event, bar unforeseen circumstances, is still a few years away.

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Au Revoir to John

Blowing in the wind