Bora Bora To Cook Isls
Ariel
Fri 14 Jul 2006 18:49
Bora Bora is described in all the brochures as the most beautiful island inthe Pacific,one can only assume they haven't been to Australia or NZ (and we
still have Tonga and Fiji to compare)-but that is the French for you!It iscertainly attractive and is unique in so far as the Reef enables you to
circumnavigate the island in enclosed and sheltered waters in the right
boat, and if you know what you are doing.I wasn't prepared to risk it so wefound a spot to the south of the island that had some shallower water (about 8.5 metres) where we anchored.The bright turquoise water over the sand bar was a complete contrast to the rich dark blue of the deeper water and the effect with the high mountain peak in the background made for a very picturesque scene.A great place for a relaxing holiday if you could afford the commonly charged $500.00 to $1000.00 per night.At least we have the accommodation at the right price.
We anchored the first night off the Bora Bora Yacht Club,which is no morethan a grossly over priced open air restaurant.It is done in the Tahitian style and is on stilts over the water with it's own wharf,so it is quite inviting given the aspect.There was nothing of interest in the vicinity though the area is like most of the island quite picturesque,but once you have looked the scenery there is not much else to do.So late morning we decided to head for the main town about 45 minutes motor away.
We had a walk around the main town (Vaitape) (when we first arrived to check in with the Gendarme,) which is very small,basically one street, oldfashioned but quaint,though it is obviously geared towards the tourist.Food
is very expensive as is pretty much everything,with hamburgers starting at about $10.00,milkshake about $8.00 but I did find a good sandwich on French bread stick for $2.40 which I thought was a bargain.I thought when we arrived in this part of the world fruit would be plentiful and cheap as well as fruit juice,but this is far from reality.So our diet is still not good and very much looking forward to getting back home for some decent home cooked food again.
We moved the boat from the wharf at Vaitape and went to the south end of the island as described in the first paragraph,which is one of the better spots on the island.We were anchored about 200 metres from the shore which was the grounds of the exclusive Bora Bora Hotel, again done in Tahitian style.They have bungalows over the water,so I guess they didn't have to pay for that
spot as well as accommodation on the land.The rooms seemed to be fairly basic as it seems you are paying for the ambience and position.But it was convenient for us as we used their wharf to tie our dinghy to whilst we had a walk around the area.
We set off along the only road heading further south.The area consisted ofmore restaurants/snack bars and more resorts.Some of the resorts are particularly inviting especially those that are isolated on the occasionalisland.Apart from the scenery,which is why we are here there is not a lot to do as I have said previously,unless you are into boys toys (jet skis,power boats) or scuba diving.
We had a quick lunch at an un-classy local eatery over looking the water.It was by Polynesian standards reasonably priced.About $15.00 for a Mahi Mahi burger and a juice.Probably one of the few value things in town.This was followed about half an hour later at a resort by two short blacks (and they were short!) - What else do you do in a resort but relax and indulge?
Next morning,Saturday 24/6, was the usual swim and scrubbing the side and underneath of the boat of growth.It was also our scheduled departure from Bora Bora for the Cook isls.We were also losing our Swiss lass Patricia,who apart from her veracious sweet tooth has been a great benefit being on board,with all her skills of cooking,cleaning,sailing,language skills,negotiations,rope handling and diplomacy skills.She also had a very balanced view of the domestic situations that arose,claiming "I am Swiss so I am neutral."
So it was back to Vaitape to grocery shop,off load Patricia to many hugs and kisses from every one,but she shed no tears!Our impression wasn't as good as I thought.She is off back to Switzerland to finish her law degree.But we have invited her to Oz.
After the shopping we motored back to the Bora Bora Yacht Club to fill up with much needed water.This proved to be an exercise in frustration.We finally tied up at the wharf,after having to wait about 30 mins after a US catamaran refused us to come along side.
I was well aware that we had to pay for the water at the unusual rate of 5oo.oo Franks per 15 mins.(about $7.00 aus) Well it didn't take us long to go through the 15 mins,but as we were filling up we were also advised that the water was not suitable for drinking unless you had Puri tablets.Fortunately,we have something stronger,but I had a problem paying for water that we had to purify from a hose that the average person could pee in a more voluminous flow.
The lady wanted her 1000.00,which I did not want to pay,so I sent Sebastian to negotiate,due to the pathetic flow of the pipe it was unreasonable.
Not long after Sebastian was back very sheepishly telling us to "quick lets get out of here." So off we went poste haste,no extra money paid,with very stern looks from a middled aged French woman.I don't think Sebastian was telling me everything and now have visions of Horizontal being on the French wanted list,guilty till proven innocent.
We were about half an hour getting out of the entrance to Bora Bora,heading 238 true for Cook isls in light winds but enough to keep us progressing fairly well.
Tuesday 27/6
We have motor/sailed the whole night and are still under motor at 2.00pm.The breeze seems to have finally come in a bit so it may not be too long and wecan go under sail only,which is a great relief to ears and pocket.The weather has been most unusual the past two days,with winds coming from the NW and then late afternoon from the west.So our progress yesterday was very slow into the light wind and sent us off course for a while.Winds from this direction occur only 2% of the time,but today they have swung to the south
east where they should be,so we are making reasonable progress again.We have also had frequent overcast skies and intermittent rain,so it seems the closer we get to home the less benign the weather is going to be.
We still have 178 nm to go (about 32 hours or less with a good breeze)before we arrive at Rarotonga and and hopefully no more rain.
A lot has happened since this last entry.the erratic winds we were having were obviously a precursor of what was to come.About 5.00pm Tuesday night the wind came in from the SW at about 25 knots,then quickly freshened to about 30.Nick and I went up on deck to lower the main to a second reef but when we hoisted it again the leech was catching in one of the stays.Looking
at the breeze and the possibility it would strengthen I decided to lower the mainsail completely rather than battle the elements with another attempt.As it turned out this was fortuitous as the wind did strengthen and our auto pilot failed,so we had to hand steer from the early hours of the evening through to about 10.oak the next day.
It was a cold,rainy and long night with the wind gusting to 35 and 40
knots.We had very little of the genoa out but our boat speed for most of the night was 6 to 8 knots,until the breeze swung more to the west and slowed us right down.No one got a good nights' sleep between shifts of steering as the boat was being tossed around by the seas that had built up.(I slept on the
floor next to the stove as I wasn't game to tempt fate in my forward
cabin.)I was surprised that the seas weren't bigger and more breaking,but I guess if the wind had persisted for a few days the story would have been different.
We were all relieved to see day light in the morning and about 10.00am the wind abated considerably,so we set sail for Rarotonga again.Just to tease us a cargo ship contacted us over the radio about lunch time to warn us there was a gale warning that he had just received.It turned out that it was 5 degrees south of us,so should not have been a threat,but Nick who had been through one very bad storm for three days was particularly concerned and
felt we should motor sail to Port as fast as possible.After what we had just been through, we were all looking forward to a good peaceful bay where we could R & R,so there wasn't a lot of resistance to his idea even though the gale was 300 nm to the south.
The arrival at Rarotonga harbour was a challenge for me,as it was a midnight arrival and I had to rely on navigational equipment to get us into port.After a bit of confusion of heading too far north,after Nick sighted one of the tell-tail landmarks (very large white fuel tanks,there are two lots of these in different locations,) I went back to plan "A" and went to the latitude and longitude location that was the starting point for entry into the port.Here we follow the guide lights into the port,which if you line up,will steer you straight up the middle of the entry.The only problem with these lead lights was they were a blue/purple colour,when our info had then as green and there was no port and starboard lights either to mark the
channel.However our lat and long was ok and our bearing into the Harbour was accurate so I decided to carefully head in.With everyone keeping a careful watch and Sebastian up the bow (I didn't tell him if we hit anything he would be the first to know,)with the flood light looking for rocks, we made our way to the entrance.This entrance is about 80 metres wide so at night we had to get it right as there was nothing but a very rocky reef on either side.Fortunately all went smoothly and we motored into the rather small dilapidated Harbour and set anchor in very calm water to a very pleased crew
on board.
Rarotonga Harbour (Avatui) is very basic by our standards,but I thought
being under NZ it would have been much more advanced than it was.They are in the process of upgrading part of the Port for the locals which visitors are not allowed access.The disadvantage to the port is it faces the North with no break-water to protect you from these winds,so a reasonable size swell
rolls in which then rebounds off the concrete wharf behind the boat.We had a few very unpleasant days out of the 9 we stayed there that made you feel like you were in the proverbial washing machine.We also had to set our second anchor for extra hold and then re-set it after it caught a bundle of fishing line and failed to hold the second day.So as far as anchorages are concerned,it was our worst,but the town was pleasant and western for a change.The people were friendly and spoke English,so it was starting to fell
like we were on the right side of the Pacific.
The Island is again much like we had encountered through the Pacific,high hills formed via volcanic activity,lush thick vegetation and a population hungry to rip off tourists.
Best regards,Bern