Tag Archives: passage

Huahine Yacht Club View

Huahine Hide Out

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The first weather window to Huahine opened up and we took it. Following this small window was another “blow.”  We needed to get to our Huahine Hide Out. We need to go “east” but the prevailing winds are coming from the east so it makes a sail trip difficult.  Not only do you have to tack a bunch of times, but you also head into the wind and the waves.  Well, the wind was still coming easterly but at least they had calmed down (from 25-30kts to 15-18kts).  So off we went.

We had a lovely sail with only 2 tacks which is remarkable considering we were going into the wind.  It took us a little longer and sailed a little further than planned, but we made it.  Pretty awesome day.

Passage

  • Raiatea to Huahine
  • Miles to Destination:  27nm
  • Total Miles Sailed: 40.8nm
  • Max Speed: 9.8kt
  • Avg. Speed: 5.7
  • Moving Time 7 hours 11 minutes

We took advantage of our Huahine hide out by visiting with friends, doing a few boat projects, and getting caught up on paperwork (blogs, banking, etc…)  Matt had to find and fix a few “leaks” around the hatches, we replaced a ceiling panel in the office, and we put together lists of things that need to be done when we get to Tahiti.

In between all the “chores” we had some fun too.  We hit “Izzy’s Burgers and More” several times because the food is amazing, the service is great and we love to patronize Isabel!  This is (left, back, front) Mike “Easy” Steve and Lili “Liward” Matt, Floris and Ivar “Luci Para 2” me, and Helen “Wow”

Izzys Burgers & More Huahine

Izzys Burgers & More Huahine

A few great sunsets at the Huahine Yacht Club during happy hour with 500xpf ($5) cocktails and 450xpf ($4.50) beers.

Huahine Yacht Club View

Huahine Yacht Club View

Huahine Anchorage

Matt and I usually anchor in the “flats” which is a shallow area in between the two passes.  It is less crowded and in beautiful shallow water (top photo).  Most monohulls anchor or take a mooring closer to the village of Fare (middle photo).  Our friend on Luci Para 2 (Floris and Ivar) use their kayak instead of a dinghy to protect the environment.

Not much of a Huahine Hide Out as we are out and about, but the anchorage is safe and protected.  Always a good thing.

My friends on Luci Para 2 (Floris and Ivar) take me to the shell museum.  Check out the next blog for details on our shell adventure.

We had a small weather window to get to Tahiti but we decided to wait until the next one. Why?  Because some friends of ours were playing a gig that we wanted to attend. So, stay tuned for the blog when we show you how a Polynesian concert is done!

Walk About and Small Hike

We explored with a 5-mile walk around a few bays and went half way up the mountain.  First we crossed over this lovely little bridge surrounded by gorgeous trees, plants, and flowers.

We walked along the shore and came across this sweet path with short, leaning palm trees.  I loved how uniform they looked as they reached out toward the water and sun.

Beautiful views of the Marina Apooiti Bay and hillside.

Huahine Views

Huahine Views

Back to the boat for some relaxation.

Because we are trying to fill our blog with posts through the year, some of these posts may be a bit shorter.  I am concerned we won’t have internet in the Gambiers so I am trying to populate and schedule out blogs during our stay there.  So we don’t go “dark”.

Events in this blog took place in early October.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind our adventures.

Maupiti to Ilot Tautau (Taha’a)

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It was really hard to leave Maupiti, but we needed to start making our way toward Raitea.  We had a great weather window toward Taha’a (Ilot Tautau) which is in the same lagoon as Raiatea.  The day before, we moved to the Maupiti pass anchorage to swim with the manta rays one more time and position ourselves for a quick exit.  On the day of our departure, we had North Easterly winds which were perfect for our short trip.  Up at dawn gave us a beautiful sunrise.

It is only 42nm from Maupiti to Taha’a/Raiatea which is about 8.5 hours.  We left at 0600 to exit the pass in “good conditions.”  We had 2.5 kts of outgoing current which helped us along.  Nice for us as we were exiting, but would be challenging for someone wanting to come into the lagoon.  You can see the large waves breaking on the reef on either side of the red and green markers.

We had a consistent breeze, small swell and pretty skies.  It was an ideal trip that took us 6.5 hours with an average of 6kts.  We arrived at one of our favorite anchorages and dropped the hook in 2 meters of stunning water.  You can see to the bottom and all the way across to the Bora Bora caldera.

Ilot TauTau (Taha’a Resort Island)

We anchored in our favorite spot which is near the Ilot Tautau where the Taha’a Resort is located.  We drop the hook in 2 meters of sandy water and get a beautiful view of the sunset behind Bora Bora.

A few calm days allowed Matt to explore on the SUP.  He left at sunrise and tried to go all the way around Ilot Tautau but the waters got to shallow (2-3”)

Day Run to Raiatea

We made a day trip to Raiatea Carenage.  We will be hauling the boat out to do some work soon and the owner needed to evaluate some fiberglass work.  So, we motored 2 hours from Taha’a to Raiatea.  The owner Dominique said he needed a few hours before we meet so we went to find lunch.  There is nothing around Raitea Carenage except another yard called CNI.  Neither place had a magasin or restaurant.  So, we went to Marina Apooiti where they have several charter companies (Sunsail, Moorings, and Tahiti Charter).  Surely they will have an eatery. 

Lucky for us, they had one restaurant called La Voile d’Or.  There were no customers when we arrived at 1200. We sat down ordered drinks and perused the menu.  Matt’s beer arrived luke warm and he was not pleased.  At 780xpf per bottle it should be ice cold, but nope.  The lunch prices were extremely expensive and they were out of Mahi. So, we finished our drinks and left.  Too bad as it is a really cute place with pretty ambiance.

On the way back we were able to motor sail part of the way and made it back in 1:45. All in all not a bad day trip and we received confirmation that the yard can do the fiberglass repair.

Back to Ilot Tautau to enjoy another gorgeous sunset.

The events on this post occurred in early September 2020.  Blog posts run about 6-8 weeks behind our adventures.

Pleasant Passage: Tahanea to Tahiti

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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”