Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Category: Cruiser Connections

  • Rays and Sharks

    The weather on Monday still hadn’t cleared up from the weekend but this didn’t stop us going out and about. Late in the morning we dinghied along the western channel behind the reef looking for a spot we’d heard stingrays showed up if we did. The first stop we made on some mooring balls turned out to have some carved stone heads lying on the sea floor. This was interesting but the sea life was pretty poor.

    We headed further west past one of those luxury resorts with accommodations out over the water and tied up to some more moorings. Before we were in the water it was evident we were in the right place. We were surrounded by rays and black tipped reef sharks. We assumed the fish must be fed by visiting boats and expected more of the same from us. The water was about 5 feet deep and I must admit I was a little nervous particularly when the rays would often swim under us. Memories of Steve Irwin. Nearby where we were tied off was a deeper channel where large numbers of remoras circulated amongst some more black tipped reef sharks.

    Heading back to the boat the heavens opened on us and we arrived feeling very cold and certainly very wet. Even the cold water in the shower felt warm and the warm water felt bliss.

    The weather was patchy all afternoon. I tried to further troubleshoot a leak that has developed around one of our through hulls and is gradually increasing – not good news. It started on our trip from the Tuamotus to Tahiti. I was able to stop it once but now it’s restarted and worse than before.

    At 5pm we had a BBQ aboard with Whiskers and Callisto. I ran my leak problem by Gerald who has built a few boats. He’s agreed to come and take a closer look today. We had a lot of fun, as ever, chatting, eating and drinking, although I’d lost my appetite. I think I’m coming down with a cold caught from the recent crowds of people we’ve been mingling with.

    Today we’re off for a hike to a scenic point called Belvedere then walking down to the next bay to explore the town there before finding our way back here. Should be fun. It’s dark right now but the stars are out. Looks like good weather finally.

  • Final Rendezvous Day

    It seems the trade off for the great winds for the sail over here was a cold overcast day with plenty of rain. Despite this we all had a lot of fun. In the morning we had the canoe racing. We formed a team of four with Mike from Callisto. We ran in the first heat and came second, half a boat length behind a team of fit men. Out of about 40 teams our time was overall 6th so we figured that wasn’t so bad.

    There were a number of other events of which some we missed watching due to being back on the boat. The day finished with some prize giving for event winners and a third and final Polynesian dance. During this dance, both Helen and I were separately pulled up to dance with the professional dancers.

    Big, big thanks to the organizers of the puddle jump. To anyone reading this following our wake I’d thoroughly recommend joining the puddle jump rendezvous for your crossing.

    We had planned a BBQ on the boat with friends but the weather was not up to it so we ended up having a needed restful night alone. At dusk a pinch of sky in the west turned blue giving us a nice sunset and providing a hint of the true beauty of this island.

  • Rendezvous in Moorea

    We started the morning with my waking John up a little earlier than he’d have perhaps wanted to go to the supermarket for fresh baguettes and some more beer. There was an offer on the local beers as long as one bought 20 50cl bottles which made the price come down to somewhere close to decent.

    We munched our fresh bread and made the boat ready to sail. As we waited Sea Mist arrived from the anchorage on the other side of the airport and ended up rafted up against us while we waited for the 9am departure for the start of the race (no – it was a rally !!).

    There was a buzz of excitement as nearly 40 boats made their way outside of the harbour ready for the official start of the race (no – it was a rally !!). The race (rally) started at 9:30 in light winds. We cheated a little and pushed ourselves along in the light air keeping in the middle of the pack. Soon we hit the winds coming from the SE and were flying in 20 knots of wind and creeping higher. Dignity loves the high winds and we were flying along between 9 and 11 knots. As the winds reached the high 20s we reefed the main. Most of the monohulls around us were wetting their rails – one or two wee almost flattened against the water.

    The end of the race (no!!! – rally) was exiting. I’d noticed that the regen had been on for a while so I made sure it was off and we suddenly gained pace on the boats around us. The line to the finish was tighter than most boats could make, including us, so most of the boats were making a tack or two in close quarters right between the buoys. As the boats made it into the anchorage it became quite packed. We found a good spot on a sand bar in only 8 feet of water. With stronger winds predicted I dove on the anchor and found it buried in sand – perfect. I did later ready a second anchor in case we dragged over night.

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    In the five years the Puddle Jump has been run this was by far the most wind they’ve had. As far as we know everyone was fine and no boats were damaged so that made it a perfect start to the day’s festivities.

    With the wind being so strong and every one arriving early we had quite a wait for the evening’s fun. At 5pm we went ashore to witness more Tahitian dancing (very erotic I think). A few gifts were given to random people. Helen received a basket woven out of palm leaves. Then came the BBQ which we’d paid for earlier which we ate under a large marquee. We sat with Whiskers and Callisto but throughout the evening we chatted with many of our other friends made along the way.

    Overnight the winds continued to blow strong. If anyone dragged it happened without waking us up despite our having the radio on overnight. The wind gen really earned it’s keep. It has rained overnight but now it is quiet. Hopefully the weather will improve for today where there are Tahitian canoe races to participate in and other events.

  • Life in the city

    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

    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.