South Pacific « Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Life in the city

by KC2RIY, on June 19th, 2010 (Callisto, Society Islands)

The last two days feel a bit of a blur. The pace of life in a city is somewhat different and in a lot of ways we’re ready to head out of dodge.

On Thursday Helen and I dinghied off on a failed attempt to find a marina to the east to fill our gas tanks. Helen came along as there was supposed to be a Carrefour supermarket near the marina. Having not found the marina and hence not the supermarket we went back to the nearby Champion supermarket for our second provisioning trip.

In the afternoon we went for a walk over to the hardware and marine stores, unsurprisingly bumping into other cruisers along the way and in the stores. We spent the evening aboard Callisto chewing the cud over cartons of wine.

Yesterday morning I set off again for the marina to the east. One the way, while daydreaming, I ran the dinghy up onto a reef. It was ok but it took me a while to get it off. Later, while trying to find a shortcut, I got lost in a maze of channels in another reef. Very frustrating time. I eventually found my way to the Tahiti Yacht Club 4nm away just before running out of fuel. To fill three 5gal tanks cost me $80 which is the highest I’ve had to pay so far – but not as much as Europe, I know.

I found my way back ok as this time there were no short cuts and I had my full attention going.

We ate lunch out at the nearby MacDonalds – our first in over a year – before heading over to the Puddle Jump Registration booth set up near the visitors center. That didn’t take too long so we headed back to the boat to rest for the afternoon. I went for a walkabout to stretch my legs and looked at a fishing tackle shop. I’d been trying to order parts on the internet but had got frustrated when it came to ordering hooks as I had no idea of the sizes.

In the evening was the formal inauguration for the puddle jump rendezvous. We were greeted Tahitian style with rings of flowers around our necks. After a great Tahitian dance demonstration and speeches we had free drinks and a buffet. All a lot of fun. John hung back with friends last night and didn’t return until 2:30. We know there was a party on a nearby boat but we left this to the younger ones.

This morning we have the rally over the Moorea for more activites there. I’m sure it will be fun but it will be nice to get away from the pack sometime soon.

Pape’ete, Tahiti – first day in

by KC2RIY, on June 17th, 2010 (Anthem, Callisto, Curious, Imagine, InnForAPennyII, Inspiration Lady, Society Islands, Whoosh)

Tahiti at this time of year is very much a geographical and temporal convergence for cruising sailors. Geographically, Tahiti is a stopover for almost every boat crossing the Pacific as there is nothing for thousands of miles north or south. Timewise there is the Puddle Jump rendezvous which is attracting a lot of boats. As a result, we’re seeing many of our friends that we’ve met along the way. Most boats are at the free anchorage (100 boats we hear) past the airport. We’ve opted to pay for the town quay where there are currently 20-30 boats. Amongst them are Imagine, Curious, Inspiration Lady, Callisto, Anthem, Whoosh. Last night InnForAPenny II arrived.

Our first chore ashore was to walk to the Port Captain’s office and pay for our berth. We had tied up to a vacant slot in the finger quays. It turned out this slot was reserved for a day charter cat and we had to move to a semi-circular area nearby next to a park. We were charged the same despite reduced facilities and no security. As a result we did at least get a guard overnight. Later John and I went out to visit the tourist office and pick up ice creams. Not had a Mr Whippy in months (behave yourselves).

Next our Code Zero arrived delivered by Laurent from Pacific Yacht Services. He had to dash but he did leave us with a map showing us where we could get propane. We obtained instructions on how to dinghy to the propane station so John and I dinghied across the harbour, tied to a fishing dock, crawled through a hole in a fence and went over to the propane place. It was closed. We had to return in the morning.

After some more internetting we went out. First stop was the supermarket where we picked up some beer and cheese as well as researching prices. We dropped the supplies off back on the boat and headed down the road to where we heard we could pick up cheap Chinese food served from outdoor vendors in the park. There we bumped into Mike and Anne from Callisto with their daughter. Anne and the daughter had just arrived that day to join the boat for the trip to NZ. We ended up eating together and agreeing to drinks tonight.

By the end of the dinner we were pooped so it was back to Dignity for a cool beer and rest.

This morning was more parts ordering and chasing a misdelivered package as well as Skyping family. I’ve been back to the propane place and had two tanks filled. That’s a relief. A new problem is that a cash card from the Uk seems lost in the post or delayed. This is fixable but could cause a problem soon.

Anyway. Today we’ll be exploring the town some more probably looking into a lot of hardware stores to look for things we may need for the journey ahead.

Pape’ete, Tahiti

by steve, on June 16th, 2010 (Society Islands)

Only excitement of yesterday was hooking two fish within seconds of each other. One snapped the line and the other got away. Typical.

Wind died overnight so we ended up motoring the last 14 hours. We arrived in Pape’ete this morning around 9am. The town quay did not have enough room for a cat so we’re now tied up to the dock close to the nearby park. All formalities have been completed. It’s hot here but the ice cream is good. The internet is much better here too – check out our photos page from time to time. Even our Isabella album from the Galapagos has additional photos.

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We’re all a bit tired and cranky. Two day sails aren’t long enough to get into the groove of passage making. Will be more coherent soon.

PS. We have our new Code Zero. Would have loved it getting here.

Last day in the Tuamotus

by KC2RIY, on June 14th, 2010 (Tuamotus)

We had an interesting last day in the Tuamotus which was also our 24th wedding anniversary. I told a few people that it would have been a special one had we had an extra finger on each hand but only a few (closet mathematicians) got the joke.

We went ashore just before 10am to attend church. The church was a tiny building just behind the restaurant and the Minister was Valentine, the lady who ran the restaurant. The service didn’t start until after 10:30 – noone was in a rush. The room had about 4 locals and about 10 cruisers in it. The service comprised singing in French and Tahitian followed by some bible reading / sermon finishing off with some more singing. I was asked to read a couple of passages in English.

After church we took a few photos of the tiny settlement and hung around a little. Valentine and her husband Gaston gave us a set of ribs from the previous days pig for an anniversary present. We were very grateful for this.

Back on the boat we had a rushed lunch and got our dive gear together for a final dive due at 1pm. A flotilla of dinghies went outside the pass to drift dive in. The first half of the dive was pretty good but the visibility then dropped and the interesting features vanished. We ended up back at our boat where John and I cleaned the hull ready for our passage.

We didn’t get much time off before heading back to shore to drop off our presents for Valentine and Gaston – principally some insanely strong rum from Grenada and some other bits and pieces we could find.

Back aboard John cooked us a curry for our anniversary dinner and the evening went well.

We all had a lousy sleep last night as a result of a supply vessel that came in overnight and anchored nearby running a noisy generator all night. We left the anchorage just before dawn when it was light enough to go. The winds are 8 knots and we’re struggling to make 3. We need the new Code Zero waiting for us in Tahiti. The winds are forecast to improve tomorrow so we should arrive in Pape’ete sometime on Wednesday.

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Pig Roast

by KC2RIY, on June 13th, 2010 (Anthem, Jackster, Nakia, Soggy Paws, Tuamotus)

We went diving again in the morning with Sherry and David from Soggy Paws. This time we went west of the pass. The dive wasn’t as good as the previous day but fun in the clear water all the same.

In the afternoon I did a little fishing off the back of the boat. I caught a unicorn fish with bits of bacon then using the flesh of the fish managed to catch another. Getting bored towards the end I stuck a big hook on the end of my hand line and put the rest of my first catch on it. Within a few minutes I had hooked a shark – I saw it take the bait in the crystal clear water. It didn’t take long to snap the 80lb line. Not sure what I would have done with it if I’d managed to get it in so I guess that was for the best.

In the evening we went ashore for dinner again. This time it was a pig roast. A pig had been slaughtered in the morning which some cruisers heard and some watched. We all brought rum and juice ashore to make punch. At times in the evening Valantine played the ukulele and sang accompanied by her late mother’s boyfriend (hanger on) playing the guitar. The evening was their anniversary celebration so it was sort of ours too. The food was good. With us ashore were the Jacksters, Anthem, Soggy Paws, Nakia and a couple of French boats.

Lying here this morning I here the wind generator spinning more than it has for some time. We are not due to leave until tomorrow. We have been invited to church this morning where Valentine is the minister which could be interesting. We still have to scrape the weed off the hull so although the wind tempts us to go we may stick to our plan to leave for Tahiti tomorrow.

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Life in the city

Pape’ete, Tahiti – first day in

Pape’ete, Tahiti

Last day in the Tuamotus

Pig Roast