GUEST BLOG - By Louise and Garry as they kick back in Tahiti and Moorea

We have kept our time busy, doing what we wanted to do, without chasing little beach breaks, we needed a holiday; we had been working long hours the last few weeks. Now we have Tahiti sand between our toes and some of cupid’s dust with it. Ah the simple life, simple for us knowing that the navigation and negotiation of the narrow reef passes surrounding the idyllic mountainous Tahiti iti, Tahiti Nui and Moorea are being competently dealt with by the very brave and smart duo, Blue and Nick.

We did surf a little reef break at Haapiti, and we had great fun scurfing on Garry’s bundy-bear mini mal, before heading up to Opunohu and Cook Bays. We hired a scooter and circumnavigated Morea, experiencing unrivalled views and the most delicious vanilla, and gardenia ice-cream at the Agricultural School. We dropped in to so many pearl outlets, and were lucky enough to have them all to ourselves and the full attention of the proprietors, and got to handle and try on many of the beautiful gems ranging through white, gold, caramel, brown, iridescent silvery blues, in countless settings before settling on a very masculine boar tusk set with two greeny black pearls on a leather thong, for Garry, which was very island chieftain and for me a huge forest green drop in a setting with golden Tahiti sand in it. It was a lot of fun having a thorough search for the beautiful souvenirs we finally found, and it was a very pleasant sales environment, many of the outlets were right on the shore among coconut groves.

The snorkelling was wonderful, warm water and friendly fish, one very friendly frilly and spotty little box fish took quite a shine to Garry in Opanahu bay. The dolphins were also magnificent, in great pods of 20 or so they sliced alongside as we sailed the west coast of Moorea, with light markings in sweeps on their glistening sides. Wee flying fish looking like delicate toys or aquatic dragonflies glittered across our path. The scenery, well, as our dinner host on ‘Blue Stocking’, retired/reformed lawyer Paul put it,” everywhere you look, your mouth drops open…”. Jungle, fluorescent aqua waves on reefs fringing lagoons scattered with blooms floating on their limpid, darkly mysterious waters.

We frolicked in crystal clear springs, with friendly little fresh water crayfish nibbling our toes, and had our own day spas with scubs and face masks while Nick was off chasing big waves. The smoothed volcanic boulders on the bottom of the pools were magnified to hyper real effect under a dappling verdant canopy.

We hiked through jungle trails to a grotto, an underground fresh lake that features in Polynesian mythology. What with the consistently warm and friendly greetings of the locals, Patti’s culinary delights. salmon patties, and for breakfast, cranberry and brandy crepes, the laughter, enjoyable sojourns with other cruisers, walking the isthmus bisecting Tahit, attending a drag racing competition where very macho Tahitians battled it out over an eighth of a mile on the latest jap bikes, gaining a greater understanding of Gauguin and his quest to preserve a plundered culture, visiting the legendary Teahupoo, the heaviest wave in the world and watching Nick master it on his new board, and riding the undulations as Pina Colada forged ahead under sail, every day was beautiful and fun and we are so lucky and privileged to have the opportunity to join in for part of this dream voyage. Thank you both so much, another trip to remember and hoping there may be more spent with you both is very inspiring.

Guest Blog! Marg and Warren – April 2007

Our family has always provided us with exciting and exotic destinations to holiday at during the limited time we have away from our commitments in New Zealand, but this one was exceptional.

Imagine the excitement at being asked by our loved ones if we could meet them in the Marquises, French Polynesia, and sail with them on a leisurely three week cruise to the Tuamoto's, something that most people only get to dream about.

The rising excitement as we left our home in Picton in the south Island of New Zealand was matched with rising temperature and humidity as we took the total of 11 hours of flights in ever decreasing size aircraft!

The last of these flights from Nuku Hiva to Hiva oa was a scenic special as we threaded through mountain chain and ocean with sometimes less that 200 meters away from 2000 foot cliffs that define so many of the Marquises Islands.

Atuona airport was a mountain top strip of tarmac with the smiling, friendly, non English speaking taxi driver who was to take us on an "all over the road in the face of oncoming traffic" ride to the anchorage where Nick and Patti were waiting.

To add to the pressure of sailing 3000 miles from the Galapagos Islands to meet us on time Nick and Blue had faced a challenging night prior to our arrival as a huge south easterly swell had turned the normally peaceful anchorage into a surf spot with a decent beach break. (Nick had actually caught some waves early that morning!

Hurried greetings and hugs were quickly exchanged for stories of yachts damaged the night before and "do you mind if we get out of here right now?"

Pina Colada was as we expected and has a warm and inviting interior with a bonus of fore and aft en suite cabins. The large main hatch opening into the cockpit makes living aboard in the tropical breeze, literally. We had been concerned that coming from 42 degrees south to less than 10 degrees, the equatorial climate, with out air conditioning may be too much for cold climate creatures like us, but the fore hatch air scoop and small portable fans, not to mention the briney swimming pool always only a step or two away, made for comfortable living.

The Marquises Islands, of which we visited four, had mostly rolly anchorages and deep valleys where we could often find the ruins of an earlier pre missionary civilization with stone constructions such as walls and courtyards and sometimes even sacrifice platforms. The fruit trees that were found in these areas were constantly filling the larder. We soon developed a taste for Patti's Guava jelly which saw us on long searches for the delicious fruit so that we could make large quantities of this yummy stuff (so nearly our undoing - read on!).

At a lovely bay called Hannu Menu on Hiva Oa we actually shared ripe mangoes with the wild horses. We waited with them only five or six meters away to pick up the falling ripe fruit and although we had our fill we could not compete with the speed they would eat, juice streaming from their mouths with finally the stone ejected almost as an afterthought at the sound of yet another morsel falling.

The northern most Island, Nuku Hiva, was perhaps the highlight of the area as we anchored in Daniels Bay and walked a few hours of steamy valley floor to the most majestic 1100 foot waterfall and pool complete with the resident Monsuir Aguile (eel) who waited at the pool's edge for food from any source (fingers, toes!) Of course Nick and Patti did dive in but didn't stay for long! A pool a few hundred meters down the track seemed much more inviting even with the attaching fresh water crawlies (cheribin).

On the way back down the valley we tried trading some hot chilly sauce with a local family for one or two Pawpaw and with only Marg's school girl French and Patti's Spanish could not describe our embarrassment when we received 8 Pawpaw and 2 huge stems of bananas ( all for a small bottle of sauce from Ecuador - value 80c US !).

Marg and Patti returned with another gift of perfume to try and even the trade only to receive a plate of freshly cooked bananas. It was a great experience for them as they were invited to sit and talk with the two woman for about 20 minutes. It was amazing the amount of information they managed to share even though no English was spoken.

Guest Blog by Warren – Part 2

Fishing had been a little on the slow side on Pina Colada and we all were anxious to break the drought. We landed a few small Bonito and then during the trip up to Nuku Hiva we hooked and lost a rather large Yellow fin Tuna.

I'm not sure if it really was my turn on the next hook-up but at the sound of the reel screaming again it was me who got the big prize. Both Nick and Patti helped me into the gimble and harness that was to be so necessary in the time I was to fight this fish.

He tore off line in 100 meter lots and with Nick and Patti's skill at quickly getting rid of sail and turning the boat around to chase we settled into a pattern of run and retrieve with me mostly loosing. After about half an hour we were stunned to see a huge Black Marlin launch itself from the water about 200 meters away, almost walking on its tail as it tried desperately to throw the hook.

During the next hour or so it tried to stay deep and it was to be almost two hours before we saw it up close through the clear water.

Nicks past experience with Marlin (Caribbean injuries) made us all concerned about landing it, but after 2 hours 45 minutes and a great team effort, Nick hanging head first over the side of Pina Colada, with Marg and Patti holding his feet, had this magnificent creature by the bill and was untangling and retrieving the lure and hook.

Now that we had succeeded in catching and landing this great animal we were all struck with the overwhelming desire not too do it any more harm. Unfortunately the fight had taken its toll on the Marlin and it was so exhausted that it looked like it might not survive.

Patti knew that swimming it along might help to bring it back to life, so Nick was to hang over the side with a little of my help for about 15 minutes while we breathed some life back into the shiny sleek creature. During this time we photographed (only 80 shots!) and measured and estimated its weight with the help of game fishing records online.

To our delight we watched this beautiful, graceful 8 ft 220lb Black Marlin swim away to the depths leaving us, and it, with an experience of a lifetime. My thanks to Karen and Boyd for having the gear on board. What a buzz.

We slipped quietly to sea from Ua Pau at about 8am heading south west with a 10 knot nor easterly and began our 525 nautical mile passage to the Tuamotu's. This trip was always going to be a highlight as it had been many years since we had spent nights at sea with our family, now this time with quite some roll reversals. The pride and pleasure of seeing loved ones at one with each other, the boat and the sea, is quite an emotional experience and their ability to make life comfortable for us in all sorts of conditions made the 4 day trip most memorable.

Patti is an amazing person, not only does she have all the skills in sail and boat handling, but at sea can produce the most mouth watering culinary delights. Evening meals on deck as we ran along under full mainsail and spinnaker while George (recently installed gyro controlled auto pilot) kept us on course, warning only if the wind angle changed a few degrees and we may want to re trim the sails.

Our fruit supply was fantastic and we only just kept up with the ripening mangoes, paw paws and bananas. We had to empty the last of a half gallon jar of rum before we left to make room for the huge amount of guava jelly that we had now made and during the voyage it was strained and nearly filled the rum jar.

Coconut trees appeared on the horizon during the morning of the fourth day at sea and we made our way to the pass into the lagoon of Tahanea, a southern atoll in the Tuamotu chain. This atoll, now uninhabited, had the remains of a village and probably one of the remotest yacht clubs in the world. Some past visitors had made the sign "Blue Peters Yacht Club" by a shack in the abandoned village.

We anchored in the lagoon and were instantly met by a welcoming party of nine quite large Black Tip Reef sharks. They were to become our companions during our stay at Tahanea and became known as "The Bruce's" or the "The Tight Nine."

Nick announced that if we want to swim here we will have to get over it and so it wasn't too long before we were swimming with our friends only a few feet away!

It was some sight to see Patti laying on the bottom at 40 feet with two sharks almost two thirds her length doing 10 foot circles around her!

The fish life in this atoll was untouched and it was a real thrill to see huge Bass, Corol Trout and Trevally up close.

Guest Blog by Warren – Part 3

Nick surfed the pass and we walked the circumference of two islands in the string that made up part of the atoll, examining the amazing collection of flotsam that had washed upon the seaward side of the island. We found a bamboo raft that had washed up and decided to rig it with a mast and yard and coconut frond square sail using the miles of gear washed up on the beach. We lugged the raft to the lagoon and at the last minute before launching voted Patti skipper and crew of this fine craft. We all wished her a fond farewell and set her off across the 10 mile lagoon.

All went well for the first few hundred meters and then an old sun bleached line parted and the mast came down. In true shipwreck style she had to fight off the sharks by untying the makeshift rudder and using it as a spear! Much fun and laughter!

We watched Patti and Nick kite surfing ( I even had a go and didn't break anything!) We joined some other visiting yachties for a bonfire ashore and swapped stories of passages made, experiences had and the inevitable questions about New Zealand from skippers who plan on visiting. However, we had the best story to tell - Just before we came ashore Marg and I had been swimming and arrived back to Pina Colada to see the now round (plastic) rum jar hanging from the stern of the boat. It seems that our precious store of Guava Jelly had fermented and built up such enormous pressure that it was in real danger of bursting. Nick and I sat in the dingy and discussed how we should dispose of the potential bomb. I suggested that we loosen the cap a little and Nick managed a small turn and there was a sort of fizz forming around the cap. "Hold it under water and loosen it some more" I said.

So as he lent over the dingy side we all watched intently. There was a bubble or two and then a flash of some sort and the rum jar disappeared...! Apparently from between Nicks hands and under his arm, over my left shoulder and gone at 45 degrees with such violence that by the time we turned to look it could no longer be seen.

Patti, who was on the stern deck tried to follow it with her eyes, but in less than a second, just a dot, it disappeared still traveling at 45 degrees. The exhaust trail of ever expanding guava jelly covering Nick and I and the dingy told the story and slowly the physics of the situation dawned on us all. The jelly was by far the largest mass in the projectile and it was being propelled out by enormous pressure sending the Mount Gay rum jug to the moon. Staggering!

How far did it go? Who knows. The mathematician's amongst our readers may be able to work it out and leave a comment. Here are the rockets statistics;
Weight of Guava Jelly - 1.5 kg.
Weight of plastic rum jug (without lid) - 100 gms.
Diameter of the exhaust - 20 mm.
Pressure - judging by the misshapen jug, well in excess of 100 lbs per sq inch.

The laughter was of coursed tinged with relief as we could have had a serious accident. We lamented over the loss of our precious guava jelly but we did have other supplies of it that had not fermented.

We dived and unhooked our anchor from the entangling coral and left Tahanea with fond memories. A short day sail to Faaiti, a small atoll to the north and discovered a great surf break at the pass. My memories of arriving at ski fields many years ago with Nick as a young teenager, so focused on the fun to be had, was revisited as he was suddenly prepared to forgo all to get into the water and catch some waves. Its great to see someone who doesn't let go of the teenage delights. (I wonder who he gets that from????......I'm so proud of him!)

Unfortunately the coral reef did a small peeling job on Nicks arm and shoulders that was to sadly keep him out of the water for the next few days.

Patti, Marg and I walked through he little village that was so typical of these remote areas of French Polynesia, where the only work was generated by the local government which in turn relies on the franc from the motherland. Everyone has satellite TV, digital cell phones and all the trappings of modern life so the traditional ways of life were somewhat redundant, more's the pity.

Guest Blog by Warren – Part 4

We arrived at the southern pass into the atoll of Fakarava quite late in the following afternoon and anchored only a few miles across the lagoon. With our arrival came the depressing acceptance that our time with Nick and Patti was all but over as we were to fly out after one more night. We sailed 25 miles to the township at the north end of the atoll the next morning and topped off another great day with baguettes and ice cream! We found a nice restaurant that we could ride the dingy literally right to the table, a couple of bottles of French wine, a really nice meal, the stars of the night sky now so familiar to us, and most of all some favorite company.

Le merci tous les deux pour le temps le plus fantastique vous avez partagé
avec nous, pour nous laisser dans votre monde de la vie croisant. Nous vous
aimons et sommes si fiers de vous tous les deux. Vous êtes stupéfiants!