Pitufa.at

So far we’ve had good experiences having parcels shipped from Germany to Tahiti with ‘DHL Paket’ (that’s probably just the regular mail parcel). Important is not to use ‘DHL express’ though, because if you do that the shipment is not only almost 10 times more expensive, but the parcel is also handled by an ‘agent’ who charges 120 euros for this service (customs paperwork or whatever).

Two parcels have already reached us without additional fees, they were simply delivered by the local post service to the address of our polynesian friend. When we ordered engine mounts from a company in the UK we told them in every single e-mail to use DHL standard, not express (the correspondence stretched out over two months due to time difference, and a general unwillingness to part with any of their products…). Of course they ignored our demands and sent it express.

Yesterday when we were sailing up to Tahaa the phone suddenly rang with a DHL agent informing us that the parcel would be delivered as soon as the outstanding payment of the agent fee was done.
Great. As we were 120 miles away from Tahiti we had to do a money transfer from a post office to our friend. Of course the only post office is located on the other side of the island, so we did a pre-breakfast expedition this morning:
At 7 o’clock we took the dinghy to the dock in Tapuamu to catch the early morning traffic (there’s not much traffic on Tahaa in general and no bus service). We hadn’t even properly lifted our thumbs when a van with a friendly local family stopped who took us directly to the post office in Patio even though it was a detour for them. So we managed to send the money on its way at 7.30. On the way back a mini-bus full of cheerful community workers stuffed us in. The men were constantly chatting with us, waving at every passing car and insisted on sharing their breakfast with us. Tahaa’s a great place to meet locals.

Back on the boat we got a message that our friend had already picked up the money, then it took only 5 more phone calls to the DHL people to give directions and at 12 o’clock we got the thumbs-up from our friend in Tahiti: parcel successfully received!

How would you explain complications like that to a bored English office worker??

The last three months were quite tough. Remember? In April we caught a line in the prop in the Gambier, the shaft was pulled out several centimetres by the force and the thrust bearing was damaged (cracked housing) so that we could no longer use the engine. We had to sail straight to Tahiti to haul out there and spent two weeks repairing and waiting for spare parts in Technimarine Papeete (unfriendly staff, they sanded a rusty fishing boat next to us and we still have the rust particles everywhere…).
Back in the water we had to find out that the shaft seal which had to be taken off and reassambled during the repairs was now leaking while the prop was turning. Hopes that the leaking would stop after a while did not come true and in the end we decided to haul out yet again to change the shaft seal.

On Tuesday we had an appointment for the travel lift in Raiatea Carenage. The organisation of carenage seems quite chaotic, they told us to be ready at 8, didn’t get back to us until 10, then ordered us to come in immediately. When we were half into the narrow, concrete bay some workers strolled along and told us to get out again without explaining why and what they wanted. Getting Pitufa out again and turning her around in the narrow channel with rocks on one side and an iron rail on the other was a risky manouever. We had to take up a mooring with the depthsounder announcing 0.0 under the keel while two other boats were splashed and hauled out. When it was finally our turn the workers declared a lunch break (no stress, you good, ok?) and we were left waiting for another hour. When we finally got out at 2 o’clock Christian and Adrian (yes, our ‘private mechanic’ sailed to Raiatea as well for the haul out) started work immediately. This time everything went smoothly as they had already practiced for days in Technimarine… They finished yesterday at noon and we got back into the water. We were more than nervous at that point. What if the shaft started leaking again??? Fortunately everything stayed dry and it seems that we can start enjoying cruising again without constantly worrying and having to mop up the bilge after every sailing day.
What a relief.

We spent the rest of the day cleaning off the filth of the boatyard, rinsing the bilge with fresh water and drying it again and hunting for mosquitoes that had hitched a ride from the Carenage.
Today we’ll head up to Tahaa for some holidays

…are really positive. The high islands, motus and the fringing reef reminds us of the Isle Gambier and the slow, relaxed pace here is exactly what we like.

Yesterday we moved into the deeply indented Haamene bay, where the water’s a bit murky, but the view of the lush green hills and the calm anchorage makes up for that. After dark the sound of drumming and singing lured us ashore (dinghy’s can be conveniently parked at a floating dock) and we went straight into the dress rehearsal of the dance group of Haamene in front of the church. It was quite an event with all the villagers gathered (many had brought their own chairs as not everybody found space on the benches that had been put up around the square) and we were invited to join in. The age of the dancers varied more than in the other groups we’d seen before, but it’s amazing to see 10 year old girls and boys wiggling their hips and wobbling their knees quite as vigorously as their older companions. The dancing and singing was interrupted with lots of speeches (all in Tahitienne, none in French!!) and went on until around 11 o’clock. It was so much more fun and excitement than the sterile performance we’d just seen in Tahiti and we’ll try to make it to the main village Patio on the weekend, when ‘our’ group from Haamene will compete with the other 7 villages on the island

Today we left the dinghy again at the floating dock and hiked over densely forested hills on the ‘chemin traversier’ (a jeep track across the island) to the northern coast and to Patio. Crossing the island took about 3 hours and again we planned to hitch a ride back on the coastal road. Just like on Moorea it took a very long time to get back to Pitufa by hitchhiking, but for entirely different reasons. Unlike Moorea where hundreds of cars whooshed by without stopping there’s just hardly any traffic on Tahaa. Exactly four cars came along on the way and all of them stopped for us. Unfortunately they all wanted to go only very short distances, so in the end it took 4 cars and some walking in between to make it back to Haamene bay (less than 20 km).

On Sunday morning we set out towards Raiatea in order to make sure we’d reach the island during daylight after a nightsail (120 nm). During the first hour we were in the lee of Tahiti, with no wind, but confused cross seas as usual in the channel between Tahiti and Moorea. After an hour a strong wind set in and we had a quick but very rolly passage. We passed Huahine at sunrise and reached Raiatea at 10 o’clock.
As it’s the beginning of the humpback season here we were hoping to encounter one of these giants on the way, but no luck there.
We were as usual trolling a lure, which attracted a tuna early in the morning. We saw him jumping twice (a big, tasty looking guy), but he managed to get away, so Pitufa remains a vegetarian boat for now.

The twin islands of Raiatea and Tahaa are protected by a barrier reef that’s dotted with sandy motus and has a deep, easily navigable lagoon inside. We are now anchored behind a motu with a nice view of the high islands. They are densely forested but not as steep and spectacular as other islands of the Societies.

A couple of days ago we sailed back to Moorea. Now we are anchored in the turquoise waters behind the outer reef west of Opunohu pass. Today we went swimming with sting rays and black-tip reef sharks. Off the Hilton hotel towards a sand bank they attract them with food and we joined this (slightly questionable) spactacle.

… means back to work. Yesterday we spent the day working on someday elses boat for a change. A Swiss couple who stop cruising and have their boat shipped back to Europe asked us to help with the packing, taking rigg off, wrapping up the boat, etc. Now their boat is standing in the container terminal waiting for the ship and they’re already on the plane.

We’ll use the chance to catch up with some old acquaintances here in the anchorage during the weekend and next week we’re back on boat projects and we’ll organise a ‘big service’ four ourselves using the good medical services here in the capital.