We departed Fakarava headed for Tahiti with both a sense of anticipation and trepidation.   For the last few years, there has been a constant stream of information coming out of French Polynesia, the Society Islands in particular, reminding cruisers that in fact, the residents of the Society Islands were just quite tired of us.   There have been continually expanding restrictions on where you can anchor – some places have time limits and some are just prohibited.  We have read story after story of people being chased away from anchorages because the residents on shore are tired of the visual pollution of a fleet of boats off of their beach.   We arrived in Tahiti hoping it was not as bad as we had heard – sadly, it was.

Our arrival in Tahiti was later in the afternoon, after a two night passage.   We knew we would not make it through the channel, past the airport and to either of the approved anchorages on the west side of Tahiti before dark so we opted to pull into Point Venus.  In reading the Navionics notes we knew that anchoring in this spot was limited to 3 days but we only intended a one or two night stop to get ourselves settled.   We anchored late afternoon, after a very slow trip through a small reef and directly into 25 knots of wind.   The anchorage is beautiful, with a community park on one end and a few houses.   We tucked the boat away for the evening, spent a few minutes out in the cockpit enjoying the surroundings and then headed to bed.   The next morning we woke up square in the middle of a paddling regatta.   There were small fleets of boats paddling different courses and nearly every one of those small crafts had a support boat – those boats continually buzzed our boat, moving directly under our bow, rocking us every few minutes and letting us know in no uncertain terms that we were in the way.    We finally decided that it would be best to pull up anchor and head around through the channel, past the airport and to a hopefully more welcoming spot.   There are two “anchorages” on the west side, one called the Airport Anchorage – nestled into a reef and notorious for dragging boats.   The other is off of Marina Taina and we hoped to find a spot in that area.  As it happened, a boat that was anchored in Point Venus would drag onto the beach a few days later, even making the local papers.   The mayor of the town adjacent to the anchorage was quoted as saying that he already called for a ban of anchoring in the area and this was just another example of why. We were quite happy at that point that we had not stayed longer!

After a bit of a rolly trip to cover the few miles to the Papeete entrance, we made the turn towards the anchorage area.  We called for permission to enter the airport channel when the signage indicated that we should and then motored through the shallow, narrow channel headed for the other end of the airport.   The wind was howling and it was raining in buckets.   Wind surfers and kite surfers were cutting back and forth across the channel adding an extra layer of distraction.   We passed the Airport Anchorage thankful we had decided against staying there – the boats were bucking and pulling in the wind and each was nearly bow to stern – they were anchored that close together!!   We were making our way towards the other end of the runway, desperately looking for the signage to indicate where we were to ask for permission to cross the runway again – when suddenly we realized that we were in fact right at the end of the runway and there was a plane approaching!   With hearts in our throats, I slammed the boat in reverse, trying to keep us going directly backwards as, not only were we in the path of a landing aircraft, we were in the middle of two reefs with only a small distance between them.   I was thankfully able to get us turned around in that area and then we motored back against the 25 knots of wind and pouring rain, holding station a bit off the runway until we could get permission to pass.   While we were doing that, we could see the sign instructing you to call for permission to proceed – well after the runway!!!   We were finally given the go ahead and started the proceed through, only to have yet another plane come down right in front of us!!   Yikes – that was a scary few minutes!!!   We finally made it through, past the airport and into the vicinity of the other “anchorage”.   

There was some space to anchor nestled directly against a reef – given our proclivity for getting snagged on bommies, this did not seem like an ideal spot.   The other side was pretty crowded and we milled about – thankfully the rain had stopped.    We attempted anchoring in one spot only to realize we would swing out into the marked channel – we pulled anchor and moved a bit further in, anchoring between another cruising boat and one of the many derelict boats that littered the anchorage.   It is no wonder that the locals are becoming disillusioned with cruising boats – there were many derelict boats (the one we were by was stripped of all hardware and had no mast – clearly not going anywhere soon!).   Additionally, there was a very clearly defined no anchorage area (we worried we might be in it at first but on closer inspection confirmed it was closer to shore).   It was in a bay that locals would swim in and would launch their boats for paddling practice – and though there were buoys marking it and it was clearly marked on the chart, there were several boats anchored within that area – a couple clearly derelict and a couple that were occupied by cruisers.   

We settled in as best we could – we would actually end up moving to the other side of the derelict boat the next day because the wind has us pulling back quite hard towards another cruising boat and we knew we were making her nervous.   The dinghy ride into the Taina marina was thankfully fairly short and there we found a free dinghy dock, a place to dispose of garbage and recycling and close access to a couple of grocery stores.   After the limited access to grocery stores throughout all of French Polynesia, having a couple of large, very well stocked stores close by was a delight.   There was a small restaurant at the marina that had happy hour – half price pina coladas and half price select pizzas each day – yes please!!!!

We were a little way away from Papeete but Owen knew he wanted to head in there to see if our alternator, which had not been performing as expected could be fixed.   Given that the weather was calling for 30 knot winds, I opted to stay on board while Owen took a very wet dinghy ride to the marina and then grabbed a cab to Papeete.   He spent the afternoon walking around between numerous shops – dropping the alternator off at one spot and then spending most of the afternoon trying to track down a spare belt for our spare alternator.   I spent the afternoon nervously checking and rechecking our anchor line and anxiously watching as the derelict boat danced closer and closer to us – always seeming to be moving in a different direction from us.   Owen finally arrived back at the boat, drenched and exhausted – the alternator had been left to be serviced so we knew we would need to go back into Papeete to pick that up.

The next couple days saw us stranded on the boat in high winds, teeming rainstorms and bucking waves.   We booked doctors appointments for a couple days later and so headed back to Papeete on a thankfully sunnier day.   We caught the bus this time which, because the Olympics were on, with the surfing competition happening off the south end of the island, was free.   We got off just a block away from the doctor’s office thanks to some other cruisers who knew exactly where we were going and when to tell us to get off.   After quick check ups and prescription refills, we headed to do a bit more exploring.   Papeete itself is rather uninspiring – concrete block buildings, many of which were quite run down.  It looked somewhat like there had been a big building boom in the late 60’s or 70’s and then nothing since.    The saving grace however was a gorgeous, miles long, waterfront park with walking paths and spots to sit and rest.    They had a viewing area set up to watch the surf competition and many booths set up in support of Tahiti tourism and local initiatives.   We explored this area and then had a wonderful lunch – the best burgers we had had since leaving Mexico – the first burgers we had had that were not frozen patties done in a fry pan so we enjoyed every bite!!!    We finally headed to the alternator shop only to learn that our alternator had in fact “half failed” – it would only put out a maximum of 30 amps and they did not have the parts to be able to fix it.    We ended spending way too much to buy a new alternator – one which would put out less power than our current one.   We finally decided that we were ready to head back to our boat and discovered that as easy as it had been to get to Papeete by bus – it was not going to be so easy to get back.   We headed to a bus stop where we waited and waited, all the while the crowds were getting bigger.   When a bus finally arrived, it was immediately swarmed by the group waiting, and was full in seconds.   We didn’t know how long it would be before another bus was going to arrive and given it was now about 5pm, we figured it too would be swamped.   We finally gave up and opted to walk to a taxi stand and take a rather expensive ride back to the marina.   Thankfully we arrived in time to catch the end of happy hour so we were able to solace ourselves with pina coladas.

We spent the next day shopping at the Carrefour – a french grocery store on par with almost any store in North America.   We spent way too much money but were able to stock up on cereal, nuts, iced tea mix – so many of the items that we had not been able to find to date.   Sadly, our search for sour cream was again unrequited and the only cheese on offer was very expensive brie or Emmental – let me tell you, if I never have to have Emmental cheese again it will be too soon!!!   I had discovered another shop a bit further out that seemed to carry a large number of Kirkland products so we again grabbed the bus and headed to that store – once again we were able to find mixed nuts, good quality paper towel and – most importantly! – my coffee beans.    We were once again stymied by the busses though – busses were just driving right past the bus stop without stopping for us and eventually we just gave up and walked back the 2km to the marina with all our bags in tow.  

We spent another afternoon on the boat during which Owen intended to install the new alternator – unfortunately, he first dropped it and then did something that caused a hell of a zap and smoke – though I could have already told you it was not going to work, he finished installing the new alternator, fired it up and …. Nothing.   The brand new, very expensive alternator was at that point a very heavy paperweight!!   Owen swapped back to the backup alternator and left the new one to be a problem for another day.

After a couple more days in Tahiti, having hit nearly every grocery store possible, obtained our refills for our prescriptions (ouch – not as cheap as Mexico, that is for sure!), enjoyed a couple of happy hours, and inexpicably having gone to  McDonalds for lunch one day, it was time to move along.   Our next destination was a day sail away – the stunning island of Moorea – and I was soooo excited to get there!!!

We headed out from our anchorage, thankfully through the west pass, which did not require us to make the return past the airport and motor sailed across the narrow expanse between Tahiti and Moorea – we headed in through the north pass and were soon anchor down in Cook’s Bay – a beautifully calm anchorage in the shadow of the towering mountains.   It was the rich lushness of the Marquesas with the calm waters of the atolls and we were immediately smitten!

Our time in Moorea was spent exploring the Island.  We took our dinghy around to the north end of the bay one afternoon and walked to a juice/ rum factory.   They offered a self-guided tour of the facility and then a small tasting of one of their products.   We treated ourself to a caramel rum liqueur (kind of like Bailey’s).   Our friends on Exit had arrived in the bay and we decided to split a car rental.   We made a loop of the Island, stopping at viewpoints and beaches, stopped for lunch and then drove up a terrifying road that wound its way up to a mountain side lookout – from the top we were looking out through the misty prehistoric greenery to Cook’s Bay.  One of our stops was an eco-museum.   None of us even knew the museum existed but the building was so interesting we were compelled to stop to see what it was.   When we realized it was a museum we went in for a look around – we had actually arrived a few minutes after they normally let people in but they were kind enough to let us in, and we were given a personal tour by a woman who was the granddaughter of one of the last Island chiefs.  It was such an informative afternoon – learning not only about the museum and their efforts to protect the coral environment, but also learning so many cultural tidbits about our guide’s family and life.   We finished our day with dinner out near a small marina and then a trip to the Polynesian Village for their nightly show – it was a spectacular night of dancing, fire dancing and beautiful music.    It was a spectacular day!   We did a couple of other trips out around the bay, going twice to a bagel shop – real New York style bagels that were spectacular, a pizza place, creperie and a barbq place.   There was certainly no shortage of wonderful eateries.   The people here were spectacularly friendly and, so long as you were careful to mind the marked set off from shore for anchoring, we didn’t have anyone trying to chase us out of the bay.    Our only challenge here was garbage – there was not a single garbage can on the streets or near the dinghy dock.   Some people had been putting garbage into the dumpsters behind the grocery store so they had responded by locking the bin.   Apparently, you could go to the town office and pay to dispose of garbage – this did not do us any good when we were trying to get rid of garbage on a Saturday (when the office was closed) before heading out the next morning on our next passage.   This again was where the people were so kind – we went to the gas station to ask if they had a dumpster we could put the garbage in (we were happy to pay if necessary) – the clerk offered to take our stinky bag of garbage home with her to dispose of it at her house!!   We just couldn’t ask her to do so but finally agreed to paying a fee to put it into the gas station’s dumpster.   While we understood that it was costly to dispose of garbage, it seems silly to not give people somewhere to put their garbage – even someone local who has grabbed a drink or bag of chips – there are simply no garbage cans anywhere.   The result of not having any bins anywhere in town was that there was a ton of garbage on the streets, in ditches and very notably in the water. 

Though we were so sad to leave, the reality was that our 90 days was nearly expired and we still wanted to be able to explore at least one more Island.   We headed out from Moorea, literally gloomily waving goodbye to paradise, making an overnight passage to Raiatea.    It was a pretty rough passage with strong rain and high winds but the sun was shining when we came through the pass in Raiatea early the next afternoon.   We headed around to the west side of the Island, near the boatyard.   The anchoring was again difficult – either nestling in near a reef (no thank you), anchoring near a small Motu where you were limited to a 3 night stay, or dropping in 80 feet near the boat yard.   There was a lot of small boat traffic, roaring by all day, so there were pretty constant wakes.    We went ashore on arriving and had a taxi called to take us into town – it was a long walk otherwise – or a 2 mile dinghy ride.   We went first to the Gendarmerie to begin the process of checking out from French Polynesia and then explored the small town a little bit.   Though it is small, they do receive cruise ships quite often so there was a surprising number of small restaurants and stores.    This is also a big base for charter catamarans so there were also 2 good grocery stores.   We headed back to the boat and started to look at the weather for our departure.   A couple of days later, we again needed to head into town to pick up our clearance paperwork.   This time we took our dinghy in – and got monsooned on about half way around!   We arrived in town dripping wet and went to get our clearance paper work.  We also picked up some fuel and groceries before making the long trip back to the boat.    Again, we started to check out the weather situation – it was not good.   There was a system roaring in and it was certainly not the time to be leaving.   The problem was that our visa was expiring and our clearance had been done – we were supposed to leave French Polynesia on August 18.   August 18 came and went with us trapped on the boat in 30 knot winds and big seas – even inside the reef!   Thankfully we didn’t see any sign of officials chasing people out of the anchorage we were in.  Our friends were on a neighboring island and had been moved along from their anchorage at least twice before they just decided to pick up a mooring ball.   I would have been so nervous being overdue on our visa if there had been officials rousting people in the anchorages there!  After a week of sitting on the boat we started to have hopes for a new weather window in a few days.   We again headed around from the anchorage to town in our dinghy to get fuel.   We decided to have a quick lunch first and then pick up our fuel – unfortunately we didn’t realize that the harbour side gas station closed at noon on Saturday and would not open again until Monday – we were hoping to be able to leave on Monday so this was a problem.  One of the locals told us that if we went around north of the harbour, we could walk to another fuel station – the reality was that meant we were tied to a concrete wall – with the waves crashing us against the wall and had to walk a couple of blocks through a field and around a fence to get to the station.   I sat in the dinghy trying to keep us from ending up on the wall, and Owen made two trips to the gas station to get everything topped up.  

Our Monday departure was again not possible – the miserable weather just continued to pin us in the anchorage.  Tuesday we again opted to head around for one more dinghy run for fuel and lunch – this time the gas station thankfully was still open when we went to fill up.    Finally, on Wednesday, August 28 – 10 days after our Visa had expired, we had what we hoped would be a good weather window.   Our plan was to head north west to Samoa – hoping to keep the next system to the south of us.   We went through the west pass mid-afternoon – sadly sailing past Bora Bora.   Owen had really wanted to go to Bora Bora but there is almost no anchoring allowed in Bora Bora (the one place you can anchor is very deep and you can only stay 2 nights) and the cost to stay there is insane – a mooring ball is about $75 Canadian and then they charge another $20 for the privilege of using the dinghy dock!!   This was definitely somewhere that boaters are clearly not wanted and we just weren’t willing to spend that kind of money just to feel shunned!  

And so it was that we concluded our time in French Polynesia – headed out for a 10 – 12 day passage to Samoa – or so we thought!!!