After the net and picking up fresh (but not so nice) bread we set sail for Raiatea. We raised sails shortly after raising the anchor and left the sheltered waters behind the reef under sail. We left behind our ‘friends’ on the customs vessel who had just started boarding some of the other vessels in the anchorage. We have nothing to worry about but we’ve had enough of boardings/inspections.
For the first hour of our passage the winds were flukey as a result of the mountains on Huahine. We eventually settled into steady winds although the seas were quite high making for a bumpy passage. About half a mile outside of Passe Teavamoe we dropped sails and motored in. Visibility dropped as we entered the pass, the result of a badly timed squall.
We soon found Sea Mist anchored in Baie Opoa. The anchorage was pretty deep. We first tried anchoring on a mound at 30-40 ft but we weren’t able to stick. We ended up anchoring fairly close to Sea Mist in 80ft of water in a position a little too close to the reef than we’d like. We’d need a large swing in the wind direction for this to be an issue but it’s now something to watch out for.
We invited John, Cheryl and Ian over for nibbles and drinks in the evening. That meant Helen needed to make the boat spick and span. We Ben and I helped by first helping with the easy things then heading off for a walk together to get out of the way. Hoping, but not succeeding, in finding a trail to the summit we walked around the peninsular to our south and back again. We managed to catch a sand crab allowing me to show Ben how to hold them without being nipped.
The evening’s company, as ever, was great fun going on well after 9pm, boaters’ midnight.
Today we plan to go and see the archaeological site at Taputapuatea which is allegedly the most sacred of the ancient sites in Polynesia. We may move on afterwards. Not yet sure.
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