Category Archives: Society Islands

Including Bora Bora, Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Ralatea Tahaa

Jaws is Here

Jaws has Nothing on Bora Bora

Leave a reply

We are blessed with so many fascinating friends in this truly unique and special community we call “cruisers.”  You’re probably wondering why I mention that under the title “Jaws has nothing on Bora Bora” post.  Well, first, we realized that several of our cruising community have arrived in Bora Bora and we all picked up a mooring in the anchorage off the To’opua Motu.  Agape, Argo and Athanor are all nestled in here.  It is pretty crowded, but there is lots of swing room for everyone.

Agape came and got us and took us to a spot just outside the reef.  We jumped in the water which was about 10 meters deep and were immediately surrounded by a school of black tip sharks.  There had to be at least 2 dozen floating around.  The top two sharks are “lemon sharks” and the bottom are black tip sharks.

Black tip sharks off Bora Bora

Black tip sharks off Bora Bora

Within a few minutes, Josh and Rachel spotted the lemon sharks.  Wowza, they were at least 2 meters long and thick in the middle.  Looked like they already at a tourist or two as they were only gliding around us.  The top two are lemon sharks and the bottom is a black tip shark.

Lemon Sharks

Lemon Sharks

Who is canvassing who?

I decided to have some fun with a few pictures.  The top photo just seemed like a snap shot out of Jaws (without the blood and gore).  Matt took the center photo.  It is our friend Niccola’s feet in the foreground of the sharks as she sits in the dinghy.  The last photo is a local guide who was showing off for his guests. Yes, he is riding a lemon shark who didn’t seem to mind the hitch hiker.

Crazy antics with sharks

Crazy antics with sharks

Rachel has a new GoPro and took these fish filled photos of our shark encounters.  Yes, that is one of the guides in his underwear standing on a lemon shark.  The one on the left seems to be hearing the theme song from Jaws…dunit dunit…

Photos courtesy of Rachel Moore

Photos courtesy of Rachel Moore

Proof that I swam with Jaws, well not really, as these sharks were tamed by man and hand feeding.  But still, it got your heart pumping being with these majestic beasts.

Me swimming with lemon and black tip sharks

Me swimming with lemon and black tip sharks

Agape has a smaller dinghy and outboard than us, so we took Rachel in Sweetie.  She got some funny pics of Josh and Niccola trying to keep up with us.

Josh and Niccola trying to keep up with Sweetie

Josh and Niccola trying to keep up with Sweetie

The next morning, we were blessed with a truly breathtaking sunrise over Mt. Pahia.

Sunset over Mt Pahia, Bora Bora

Sunset over Mt Pahia, Bora Bora

STING RAY CITY – BORA BORA

Bora Bora has its own Sting Ray city located about 100 meters off starboard.  We gathered up the crew from Agape and headed over.  Another fun shallow spot filled with lots of sting rays and black tip sharks.  Jaws was absent today.

Josh and Rachel are expert free divers. Josh can hold his breath for over 5 minutes!  It is a spectacular site to watch these two under the sea.  I can usually only go 2-3 meters below the surface while snorkeling so I can’t even begin to capture their free diving to the depths that they can go.

Josh and Rachel free diving

Josh and Rachel free diving

The water is only 4’ deep in this area.  By the time you get to the sea bed the sting rays jettison past you.  So, I played footsies with most of them.  They are so soft to the touch.  Not like cashmere but more like velvet.  I’m not stepping on them, just hovering above them so when they flap their giant wings, they tickle my foot.

Petting the sting rays

Petting the sting rays

It is a true blessing to be able to swim and enjoy the underwater world with such magnificent creatures.

Saying goodbye to John, Missy, and Carl

A Jewel to a Gem: Taha’a & Bora Bora

Leave a reply

Taha’a is a lovely jewel of an island.  There are so many isolated anchorages, islets and motus to explore.  Our first stop was the Taurau Islet near Coral Gardens.  Matt and I snorkeled this beautiful pass twice before with Wayne and then again with Rocco and Lindi.  We were anxious to experience its wonders again.

Coral Gardens – the Island Jewel

We felt the current immediately after jumping in the water.  Hmmmm.  We had heard there was a current here which required walking on shore to the end and drifting back to the dinghy.  However, we had not experienced it.  Today, was different.  We tried, valiantly I might add, to swim upstream.  I was leading, with Carl, Missy, and John behind me.  We made it about half way before we all decided to swim to shore.  It was exhausting.   You had to be in full swim mode to move the slightest distance.  Not normally a problem, but it is too shallow to do full swim strokes – you can only do frog strokes/kicks.  Shots below are near a calm section of the gardens.

Coral Gardens with Carl

Coral Gardens with Carl

A short walk to the end.  We jumped back in and did a rather rapid drift snorkel.  You had to grab and hold on to coral to stop.  It made it hard to photograph the sea life.  It was pretty and kind of fun to drift back, but I missed all the sea life.  The soft corals and sea anemones were hidden and the fish with only in small patchy areas.  Our little jewel of a snorkel spot turned out to be different this time around.

Coral Gardens Snorkel

Coral Gardens Snorkel

Vanilla Tour Taha’a

John, Missy, and Carl went on the Taha’a Vanilla Tour with Noah.   It was super cool to share that experience with them.  I knew Missy and Carl would love the flora and fauna lessons. It’s impossible not to see the shimmery brilliance of this island jewel.

The crew jumped in for a night snorkel and explored a coral head off the back of the boat.  The green light brings out all sorts of critters.

Herb Garden

Missy has been helping me tend to my new herb garden.  We have basil, coriander and a tomato plant.  Carl found a half coconut with two eye indents and a small hole making it a cute little face.  It earned a spot in the garden

Herb Garden on board

Herb Garden on board

Passage: Taha’a to Bora Bora

It is a short 23nm from Taha’a to Bora bora.  The weather forecasted a downward wind pattern at 10-12kts.  Perfect for the kite (spinnaker).  As you might recall, we ripped our small spinnaker which is good in 15-20kts of wind.  The large spinnaker (Big Bertha) is only good in 8-17kts.

We had Big Bertha up and flying for all of an hour before the winds got too strong and we took her down.  It was a shame because not 30 minutes later the winds stayed below 15kts.  But we did have a stroke of good fortune.  As we approached the Bora Bora pass, we caught a 20-25lb Wahoo!

Wahoooooooo

Wahoooooooo

Carl, with a little help from John and Matt reeled this beauty in.  She will provide about 20 meals.  Matt has been hoping for a Wahoo for a very long, long time.  You couldn’t wipe the smile off his face!

Wahoo Reeled in by Carl

Wahoo Reeled in by Carl

Bora Bora – The French Polynesian Gem

We rolled into the Poofai Bay anchorage early afternoon.  A stop at Bloody Mary’s was needed after a restful afternoon.  A little internetting, cocktails and a snack and we were all jubilant.

Bloody Mary's Bar with the Lembergers

Bloody Mary’s Bar with the Lembergers

We had a relaxing morning after a tasty French toast breakfast.  Matt drove us around the tip of the island to the SW side. Probably not the wisest thing we’ve done as the strong winds were coming from the SW.  It was a wet and wild ride!  Better than a roller coaster and wetter than the log jammer.  He dropped us off at Fa’ a’oporo Bay so we could do a walk about.

John, Missy, Carl and I found the beach access and started toward it.  As our feet touched the sand, John noticed Matt sitting in Sweetie in the middle of the bay.  Not sure how we managed that – but sweet!  We all enjoyed a cold beverage (or two) and a tasty snack for lunch at the Bora Bora Yacht Club.  Talk about a beautiful view.

Bora Bora Yacht Club Lunch

Bora Bora Yacht Club Lunch

Matt took the dinghy back around the corner as it was faster and easier with one person.  The rest of us walked along the beach toward Bloody Mary’s.  We stopped at a little corner of the beach that was pretty secluded.  Carl swam while Missy and I collected sea shells.

Walk along Bora's coast

Walk along Bora’s coast

Missy and I went for a short walk and captured some beautiful sunset shots of the Bora Bora peaks.  Showcasing the jewel of the island – the sunset.

Sunset shots on Bora Bora

Sunset shots on Bora Bora

Saying Goodbye is Always Hard

It was time for our good friends to head back to the states.  Always sad to let go.  We had so much fun showing them around the Society Archipelago.  We visited Tahiti, Mo’orea, Huahine, Raiatea, Taha’a and Bora Bora.  Lots of islands in a short time, but we did it!  Thank you, John, Missy, and Carl, for the amazing memories and good times.

Bora Bora Airport

Bora Bora Airport

Jumping for Joy

Sacred Sites, Eels and Memories

Leave a reply

Taking the Lemberger’s to see sacred sites, visit sacred eels and made sacred memories. We took John, Missy and Carl on 4 passages to get from Tahiti to Bora Bora.  We sailed from Tahiti to Mo’orea to Huahine to Raiatea/Taha’a and then to Bora Bora.  Three of the four passages are about 20-25nm or 5 hours.  However, Mo’orea to Huahine is an overnight passage at about 90nm or 16 hours.

Overnight passages can be challenging for anyone.  You don’t have a point of reference, like the horizon.  You are rocking and rolling in all sorts of directions and you are tired.  Our guests held up well and slept through most of the passage, which was good news.  We only had a sliver of a moon and a few phosphorescence playing with us.  Nothing but smiles the next morning.

Lemberger's Onboard Sugar Shac

Lemberger’s Onboard Sugar Shac

Early in the morning, we were surprised to see 3 whales.  A mamma, baby and companion.  Unfortunately, we were not able to get our cameras out fast enough to share with you.  But, take my word for it – it was amaze balls! As a consolation, here are a few photos of the pretty sunrise.

Sunrise on the approach to Huahine

Sunrise on the approach to Huahine

Our first stop was off Point Teapaa near Motu Vaiorea.  We anchored fairly close to the beach in 3.5 meters of water.  The boys enjoyed a little SUP time.  As you can see from the photos, we had this little motu to ourselves for a short while.

Huahine Private Motu Adventures

Huahine Private Motu Adventures

John and Carl took the SUPs to the beach while Matt drove the ladies in Sweetie.  We had the beach to ourselves and enjoyed an awesome lazy afternoon.

Beach off Motu

Beach off Motu

FARE, HUAHINE

After jollying around at the beach, we headed to Fare, the main village on Huahine.  We hopped in a rental car and made our way to Pote’e Museum which is one of the largest and most sacred Mare’s collections on the island.

Pote'e Museum

Pote’e Museum

Matt and I goofed around the grounds while waiting for them.

Pote'e Museum

Pote’e Museum

Just past the museum is a small hiking trail to another mare.  The trail is called Chemin de Randonnee and was a really nice stroll through the forest and trees.

Hiking Trail to Marae

Hiking Trail to Marae

There were some enormous trees and alluring vista views at the top.

Super cool tall trees

Super cool tall trees

Anguilles Sacres de Faie

Missy and Carl are extremely brave and have an uncanny way with all animals.  We stood on the wall overlooking the river when we visited the eels last time.  This time, we got in the water and got up close and personal.

Sacred Eels

Sacred Eels

We worked up an appetite after our explorations and headed to Izzy’s Burgers and More.

Izzy's Burgers and More

Izzy’s Burgers and More

RAIATEA AND TAHA’A

It was a short 23 nm trip to Raiatea.  Unfortunately, we had no wind and ended up motoring the entire way.  We took John, Missy, and Carl on a big hike to the top of Tapioi.  It was a particularly hot day and there were not many places to hide from the sun.  But, the reward at the top of the mountain was worth it.  The top right photo shows our friends at the bottom and they hiked to the top of the radio tower.  5 miles and 11,323 steps.

Hike To Top of Taipi

Hike To Top of Tapioi

It is easy to take lovely photos with vistas like these.

Hike to Tapioi

Hike to Tapioi

We had a little fun with some jumping shots.

Jumping for Joy

Jumping for Joy

And can’t forget Matt’s “screaming tree” pose.

Top of Tapioi

Top of Tapioi