Yesterday we made another small hop from the false pass on the Northern side of Toau down to the SE side where there’s a pass into the lagoon. The day started squally with sporty tacking up and down in shifting winds (the atoll kept jumping into our way, so we had to dodge it twice), but then we were sailing close-hauled along the edge of… Continue reading »
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2017
23
Oct
2017
22
Oct
Sprayhood made by Dustom
The sprayhood we bought in Croatia 8 years ago is still in good shape, the sunbrella and the ‘windows’ (I don’t know what material) are keeping up nicely, so we can only recommend the canvas work done by Dustom (check out www.dustomcovers.com). The threads were giving up after long years of exposure to UV light, so we spent 3 days restitching all seams and as… Continue reading »
2017
18
Oct
Toau
After a few grey days with lots of squalls, yesterday morning it was sunny again and the wind was blowing from the NE. Despite contradicting weather forecasts we couldn’t resist the opportunity and set out towards the neighbouring atoll Toau. I mean, what can go wrong on a passage that’s only 30 nm? We sailed across the lagoon, out of the pass at the wrong… Continue reading »
2017
17
Oct
4D Bimini
The bimini’s a sun shade/rain cover that is kept over the cockpit by 4 tubes. As we like being dry and shaded off during passages as well and never take our bimini down (some sailors do so regularly), it gets some wear and tear over the year. It got chafed through at the aft edge and we knew we’d have to repair that damage before… Continue reading »
2017
17
Oct
Mending, sewing, repairing
We have been in Apataki now for a few days, but we haven’t seen much of the atoll. We visited Sonja, Tom and Keanu (SY Pakia Tea) who have their catamaran here out on the hard, in the only (but somewhat improvised) out-haul facility in the Tuamotus. Apart from that we’ve stayed on board and did sewing-machine jobs. First came a sail repair, as the… Continue reading »
2017
12
Oct
Apataki
When the stream of water from the tap no longer hits the sink, but swerves beyond the rim, you know you’re heeling too much… This passage was only 220 nm as the frigate bird flies, but we tacked up and down and the mixture of too much wind (30+ knots) and not enough wind (less than 10 knots) was rather tiring. Initially we had planned… Continue reading »
2017
10
Oct
Tacking
After a bouncy and splashy day (things that have never before moved, managed to jump headfirst into the cabin–we’ll see if the printer survived…) we’re now sailing along nicely in about 15 knots from the east. The Tuamotus are spreadout east of Tahiti, so we’re tacking and trying to figure out which atoll we can reach this way.
2017
09
Oct
Towards the Tuamotus
Yesterday we set out from Moorea towards the Tuamotus, first too much wind, then not enough, now too much again–sailing’s not always easy…
2017
05
Oct
New Tattoo
Wherever you go in French Polynesia, almost everybody has tattoos. Their traditional symbols are deeply embedded in the Polynesian culture. I got a small manta tattooed two years ago and this year I could not resist and got him a bigger brother.
2017
03
Oct
Hiker’s paradise Moorea
At the moment there’s a strong Maraamu (southeasterly wind) blowing that brings cool air to French Polynesia, but we’re nicely protected from the wind here in Cook’s Bay on the northern side of Moorea. Moorea is a spectacular little island with steep mountains, calderas and lush valleys and the breezy weather’s perfect to explore the numerous hiking tracks that crisscross the island. During our last… Continue reading »