Pitufa.at

Rapa’s a somewhat tricky place: difficult to get here, difficult to find a weather window to leave again, strong gusts in between, hardly any internet and the supply boat only calls every month or sometimes every two. We still enjoyed the wonderful mountains, the beautiful coral, snorkelling with the numerous galapagos sharks and the wonderful generosity of the islanders. Tongia maitaki Rapa (thank you in… Continue reading »

Whenever we stay longer in a place I try to visit the schools and do a little presentation about sustainability and environmental issues. At primary schools this means mainly presenting some local wildlife and its “function” for eco-systems to explain why they are worth protecting. E.g. bird droppings are fertilizers for the soil and the lagoon, parrot fish are important as they clean the reef,… Continue reading »

The main bay of Rapa is protected from the long swell that comes up from the S and SW most of the time, but the other bays around the island are open to it. Last week the swell was down, so we took Pitufa exploring. We were rewarded with stunning mountain views, sheer cliffs and beautiful underwater landscapes. Anchoring turned out to be quite tricky,… Continue reading »

Toilet troubles are a cruisers’s nightmare. The plastic base plate of our Jabsco was cracked and we were worried that it would turn into an ejector seat on passage (just imagine the mess, YUCK!). Fortunately the part was on stock in Tahiti (at Ocean2000) and we spent a fun day dismounting and remounting the whole thing (disgusting, but fortunately not quite as bad as expected).… Continue reading »

One of the old plexi windows of our sprayhood got smashed in on the rough trip to Rapa. We ordered a roll from Tahiti and spent three days replacing the windows. Not an easy task to stuff so much material underneath Miss Pfaff (our sturdy sewing machine). They turned out surprisingly wrinkle-free and now we have a panorama view again! At least partially–the garden’s back… Continue reading »

The main bay of Rapa with its two villages is a windy place when it’s blowing from the east, in all other directions we don’t see steady winds, but strong gusts whirling down the mountains. This pictures shows Pitufa testing the new mooring in 45 knots… Local boats were still buzzing across the bay on that day, fishermen going out on the ocean–the people of… Continue reading »

Only about 400 people live on Rapa. There is no airport and the supply ship calls only once a month, so the people rely mainly on their own resources and skills. When something needs to be done or fixed, everyone helps out. This generosity is also extended to visiting strangers. So far sailboats are still welcome here, but I suppose a single negative experience might… Continue reading »

Three years ago we built a mooring for sailboats with the municipality of Rapa, so visiting sailboats don’t have to anchor in the infamously difficult bay and will neither damage their gear not the beautiful staghorn coral. When we got back this year, we were happy to pick up our sturdy mooring and then we asked the mayor and community workers whether they wanted to… Continue reading »