Matt and I got up early, picked up the hook and started our passage. We were anchored in the SE corner of Tahanea which is about 10nm from the pass. The first part of our journey was a beautiful sunrise sail with the jib across the lagoon. We were not in a big hurry as slack tide was at 0830 {the best time to exit the lagoon}. We managed to arrive to the pass around 0745 and it looked manageable. So, we ventured on. We had the fishing poles out and the jib flying as we exited. With a 2kt outgoing current we made it out with no issues, always a relief.
We had hope to catch a grouper or something as we exited the pass, but no such luck. After we went through the washing machine of waves caused by the pass, we changed out the sails and raised the parasail. Our first day was incredible. We had perfect winds at 15-18kts from the east. A 2-meter following sea that pushed us along toward our destination.
All the Excitement Packed into 15 Minutes
Around dusk we were contemplating swapping the sails. A storm was forming on the horizon and we did not want to get caught with our “new to us” parasail up in high winds. As we are discussing this, a nibble hit one of the poles. Hmmm…then nothing. Another nibble, then nothing. Then another. Finally, on the 4th bite we caught him.
We both turned at the same time to see a beautiful marlin dancing across the top of the water. Unfortunately, we had to let him run with the hopes of tiring him out. We scrambled to swap out the sails to slow the boat down. No easy task with the parasail up. By the time we got back to the marlin he was gone. He did manage to take a Sugar Shack souvenir with him, Matt’s new lure.
Probably a good thing. Reeling in sailfish is long, hard work. Then once you get it to the boat you have to be careful not to jab your fiberglass hull with his protruding hard nose. Matt was disappointed though.
A few minutes later, our jib suddenly started flapping. I am stunned as the working sheet (line), holding the jib in place, was gone! Yep, gone. How the heck does the working sheet, with a full load, fall off? We tacked (moving the jib to the opposite side with a working sheet). Evidently, the knot on the starboard working sheet came undone while under load. Maybe when we surfed down a wave and the sail luffed, who knows. This has never happened to us – ever. Really strange.
Day 2
Our second day had us flying our parasail again but in lighter conditions. We were losing the wind as it slowly came down to 10-12kts from the east. It was really fun to watch the apparent wind and our boat speed. As we surfed down a wave, our boat speed would exceed our wind speed (zoom in on the photo to see the Raymarine screen).
Matt finally crashed hard on the 2nd night. I took the 1130-0330 shift. As we neared Tahiti, we started to see some boat traffic. Always a good sign. But it was strange that they all popped up at once. Nice to be in company on a dark and lonely night. No moon, no stars, and no phosphorescence.
Arriving Tahiti
Tahiti welcomed us with a fresh wash of the boat. Rain and gloomy day. It is always a good way to end a passage with a fresh rinse of the boat. Even though we did not have a lot of salt water on her as it was a following sea.
We entered north pass just around 1000. In Tahiti, you enter through a pass that gives you access to a passage between the shoreline and the reef. All vessels entering the pass must call into port control. Port Control monitors the traffic in the passage and ensures the boats do not interfere with commercial traffic or air traffic with the neighboring airport.
We travel about 2 miles down the passage toward our favorite anchoring spot in front of the Intercontinental Hotel.
Passage Details:
- Total Miles Traveled: 285
- Max Speed: 12.5kt
- Average Speed 5.8kts
- Total Time at sea: 48 hours
This post was written in July 2020. Our blog posts are usually 6 to 7 weeks behind are true adventures. Be sure to see previous posts on Tahiti, go to svsugarshack.com and click on “Society Archipelago/Tahiti”