It was time to leave Tahiti, officially.  We left Tahiti “proper” or the main anchorage of Marina Taina a few days ago.  During that time, we were in the sweet anchorage of Point Venus which is still a big part of Tahiti.  We did a little more exploring and found a few large grocery stores, poste, pharmacy, fuel stations, and plumbing shop.  Who knew there would be supplies at the North point of Tahiti?

We met some great cruisers while anchored in Point Venus.  Odyle is a tall ship with a lovely family onboard: Abraham, Susan, Saoirse and Cian.  They’ve been at this anchorage for a few months repairing their engine, but all is good now.  We also met JollyDogs and Zeizo who are both American boats.  Great anchorage and good company.  Couldn’t resist inserting another cool shot of the famous lighthouse.

Point Venus Lighthouse

Sweet Sail

We raised the main sail, pulled up the hook and set out to a new island. We were both excited about visiting Teti’aroa as it is a small atoll with no access into the lagoon.  There are a few moorings just outside the reef that are available for charters and cruisers.  We were hoping to get lucky enough to snag one of the moorings.

Our sail over to Teti’aroa was amazing.   We shut the engines off just after leaving the reef. We had full sails, small swell, and wind on the beam.  It was a glorious day with blue skies, puffy clouds and calm seas.  Just another reminder why love sailing – picture perfect.

Passage Details:

Miles Traveled:  29.2nm

Duration:  4.5 hrs

Avg. Speed: 5.8

Max Speed: 9.4

Wind Speed: 10-12 kts

Swell:  .5 meters on the beam

About a few miles out from the atoll we could see 3 masts.  We were a bit crestfallen as we had heard there were only 3 moorings here.  However, we were determined to check it out up close.  It is pretty darn scary to see the reef breaking in front of and so close to the boats.

We entered the breakwater and motored around the three boats.  To our surprise we saw that there was a free mooring just behind them.  Sweet!  We tied up and enjoyed the show.  What show are you thinking?  One of the charter boat captains was bringing in his guests and had to navigate the reef and rather large waves.  It is an art to be able to get their dinghy through this dangerous area.  The surge is breaking less than 30 meters from the boat.  Hope this mooring holds our boat.

Teti’aroa surge off the mooring

It is a breezy, but also rolly.  The surge is big, and the waves are loud.

Surge at Teti’aroa