Tag Archives: passage

Sugar Shack at Oponohu Passe

Voyage to Mo’orea

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Finally, it was time for us to leave Tahiti and begin our voyage East. It is a short passage of 12nm to Moo’rea.  The weather was not conducive to sail toward the Tuamotus so we just went to the next island over.  However, before we left we enjoyed sundowners (aka happy hour) with our friends Julie and Andy on “Little Wing.”

Julie and I at sunset

Julie and I at sunset

Afterwards we were rewarded with a beautiful moonrise over Marina Taina in Tahiti. Perfect for this Halloween night.

The next morning, we made a final trash run and another quick trip to the grocery store to see if they got any pork in stock.  For some reason, the island of Tahiti is out of pork products – no pork chops, pork shoulder or pork ribs.  So sad for me.

Voyage to Mo’orea

We left the south pass and had light winds of 6-8kts coming north of east.  Sugar Shack had a full main and a reefed jib because there was hardly any wind.  We were doing a whopping 3-5kts of boat speed – just plugging along.  We were not in a hurry and had all day to cross the bay to the next island.

Several local surfers were taking advantage of the great waves as we left the pass.  These are short waves that break on a dangerous reef – but they still manage to rock it!

A French War ship was hanging out just in front of Mo’orea.  It looked like they were dragging something, but we were not close enough to figure it out.

French warship off the coast of Mo'orea

French warship off the coast of Mo’orea

In the distance we could see white caps.  Not a good sign, so we took a reef in the main sail.  After 15 minutes we decided to take a 2nd reef in the main sail.  Thank Holy God!  The winds jumped to 30-35kts and the seas quickly became 2-3 meters!  We were  bouncing all over the place.  We almost turned around, but decided to forge ahead.  The weather calmed down to 20-25kts and 1.5-2 meter seas which was a bit better.  The boat found her happy place and we were doing 7-8kts.

We turned the corner and had another 5nm to go to Oponohu passe entrance. During this leg of our voyage we encountered lots of beautiful dolphin.  They were surfing in the waves, jumping, and having fun.  We first spotted some dolphins at the Tahiti pass by the new surf platform (upper left photo), and then we saw dozens more as we got closer to Mo’orea.

Another mile further we ran into a super talented, overzealous foil boarder.   He was amazing!  He circled around Sugar Shack several times showing off his mad skills!  See my Instagram account for video footage.  He pumps the board by bending his knees which keeps the board moving forward.  He also uses the kite that is in his hand for propulsion.  We were going 6-7kts and he was going faster than us!

We were gifted with a grand view as we entered the Oponohu passe.

Sugar Shack at Oponohu Passe

Sugar Shack at Oponohu Passe

To the left of the pass is the anchorage which is full of other boats.  We grabbed a spot on a nice sandy patch in 3 meters of water.

Oponohu Anchorage

Oponohu Anchorage

Events from this blog occurred over the last week of October 2020.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.

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.