Tag Archives: steve

Twinkly Tahiti

Leave a reply

I had to show you a fabulous side of Tahiti after our last blog on derelict boats.  We enjoy a live concert called “Rock the Dock” with our friends on Liward and we visit another fabulous lunch surfside.  If you look, not even really hard, you find the twinkly side of Tahiti.

Rock the Dock

Steve on Liward hosted another live concert, but this time in Tahiti. He plays with different locals depending on which island he is located at.  He has done this for years so he knows people everywhere.  In Tahiti, he plays with La Guitune (or Guy) who plays the electric violin!  I’ve never heard an electric violin before, but he played it so amazingly well.  Think of the Charlie Daniel’s Band “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” fiddle playing – truly impressive. I posted a video on my Instagram account if you want to hear him (christine.mitchell4) on 13 November 2021.

Steve and Lili set up a huge pop up tent, powered the speakers and sound system and set up chairs for the many fans.  

The stars for the night.

The fans were plenty. We ended up having well over 35 people enjoying the live music.

SNACK TAHARU’U on the Surf

Steve and Lili took us to a new place to eat called Snack Taharu’u. It is a cute little place located about 20 minutes from Marina Taina. It is situated on beautiful black sand and has a patio overlooking the surf. 

Usually many locals are showing off their surfing talents here, but on the day we went, the seas were super unhappy making it too difficult to surf.  But there were some brave body surfers (can you see them in the 3 photos on the right) and tons of people playing the river mouth.

It was a gloomy day, but we made the best of it.  As did some of the locals who made a shelter out of the drift wood.

MARAE ARAHURAHU

On the way to the snack, we stopped at a beautiful marae right off the road.  It was so easy to get to and really lovely.  There are two tikis in front of the marae (spiritual site).

The grounds were immaculately kept and well cared for with a clear path leading you to the sacred grounds.

The marae is the only marae that has been 100% restored.

We had some fun posing in front of the statue.

And some more craziness…

It was time to say goodbye to Tahiti.  We need to make our way towards Gambier and the easiest way to do that is to go through the Tuamotus.  On our last night we had a marvelous sunset over Mo’orea and I was even able to capture the moon.

       

Derelict boats of Tahiti are showcased on our last blog.   Events from this blog post occurred early November.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

Hoppin Huahine

Leave a reply

We finally had a good weather window to head to Huahine. We typically do this passage at night because it is far enough (almost 80nm) where we cannot make it during daylight hours. So, we leave at 1600 and usually arrive around 0800-0900.

We had a beautiful beam reach sail from Mo’orea to Huahine. We had a reefed main and jib as we did not want to go “too fast” and arrive before sunrise. As it turned out, Sugar Shack wanted to move. Matt kept trimming the sails to slow her down, but she was on a mission to get to the Leeward islands. As it turned out, we managed to slow down enough to arrive at dawn.

Trip Details

Total Miles: 89nm
Total Hours: 14.5
Avg Speed: 5.96
Max Speed: 11.9

First 50 miles rocking it
Avg Speed: 7.7
Max Speed: 11.9

Friends Abound

Our first stop is Izzy’s burgers. Doesn’t matter how tired you are, you stop at Izzy’s! We have been craving her burgers for months and months. As it turned out we stopped by 3 different times for lunch and once for breakfast and it never disappoints!

She makes an Izzy burger that Matt is in love with! It is a regular burger with bacon wrapped shrimp, lettuce, tomato and special sauce. I usually get the veggie burger with cheese and on my last day I topped it off with bacon wrapped shrimp and found a new favorite! One day her plate dejure was shrimp salad and I loved it! For breakfast I had a giant omelet and Matt had poison cru with a shredded coconut (an Izzy special).

Izzys at Huahine

Izzys at Huahine

We met Anne in Gambier. Her best friend is Poerani, our friend who is an English teacher in Gambier. Anne lives in Huahine and is an English teacher as well. We brought her a bunch of school supplies and books for her students. We even had Anne and Lizzy, another teacher on the boat for an afternoon of fun.

Matt, me, Anne at the Huahine Yacht Club

https://www.svsugarshack.com/2022/01/moorea-escapades/

HOPPIN HUAHINE

Our friends Steve and Lili on the boat Liward joined us in Huahine. Steve plays with a few of the locals and decided to put together another concert. As you might recall, he played at Rock the Barge and Polynesian Jam Session in Mo’orea.

Steve secured a private bungalow on shore at the Huahine Dream Beach House. We had it for the afternoon and early evening. What a really beautiful place right on the beach with gorgeous views. It has a huge deck with a full size table and chairs, lounge chairs, and BBQ. Inside is a spacious living area and a marvelous kitchen with a chef worthy range and refrigerator. It has two bedrooms and can sleep 7 people, but 5 comfortably.

Huahine Dream Beach House

Huahine Dream Beach House

Our friends on Bella (Ulreka and Matias), Matt and I helped Steve and Lili bring all their gear to the bungalow and set up. We enjoyed a lazy day on the deck and beach until our event started.

A few of the locals brought floral crowns, which just made our day! The couples….Matt and I, Steve and Lili (lower left), Ulreka and Matias (lower right).

The ladies:

Taha’a Bound

After a week in Huahine we went to Taha’a and Raiatea. Lucky for us it was an easy 20nm downwind run so we flew Big Bertha and made it no time!

On the way we pass my 2nd yacht – Lady Christine which is a 68m (150’) by 12.5m wide (she is as wide as we are long)! She boasts of a helicopter, negative edge pool on the stern, cinema, workout room, guest suits for 10, 2 dinghies, and a 10m sailboat. Check out the photos on the above link as they are spectacular.

We have fun with loads of Mo’orea Escapades in our last blog. Events from this blog post occurred early October. Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

Polynesian Jam Session: Cruiser Style

Leave a reply

Our friends, Steve and Lili from the boat Liward came back to French Polynesia after being stateside for the past 10 months.  Steve is a fantastic musician and has put on many jam sessions around French Polynesia.  Our last jam session was called “Rock the Barge” and was held in Huahine.

This time we had to do things a little different.  Technically, no live music is allowed during our confinement.  So, Steve thought, well we can host an impromptu jam session off the back of his boat.  We were all technically respecting the 1 meter distance and we are all vaccinated.

Steve has an all in one guitar which can be used as an electric or acoustic guitar.  He uses a luper where he can record himself playing and then play over it at the same time.  It is amazing to watch and listen to!  Steve plays a lot of Polynesian music and some American rock. 

 

We had about 8 dinghies show up carrying 22 people.  All from the Opunohu anchorage.

Some close ups of our friends.

It started right around dusk and lasted a few hours.  Super cool  We had a beautiful sunset to go with the amazing musical talents of our friend Steve.

Sugar Shack is right next door.  We could have easily seen and heard the music from our boat but it would not have been nearly as fun!

We take the ferry to Tahiti and are duly impressed with the Aremiti 2, the last blog.  Events from this blog post occurred the end of September.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.