Huahine and on to Raiatea 16:41.1S, 151:26.9W

Serenity of Swanwick
Phil and Sarah Tadd
Sat 19 Aug 2017 03:00

Tuesday and the weather is due to deteriorate over the next few days with strong Easterly winds. The anchorage in Fare is quite exposed with the reef not far behind us so after some last minute shopping (fresh baguettes) we set sail for Raiatea. It was only 22 miles with the wind just aft of the beam and with 2 reefs in the main and a well rolled genoa, at times we were making 8 knots in a lumpy sea. Fun for the three hours it took for the crossing.

 

We entered through the main pass in the reef just south of the town and then sailed up to the marina. Just outside it we picked up a vacant mooring belonging to Dream Yacht Charters. A quick phone call to check it was okay to use and we were settled. The office were unsure what to charge us so agreed on a pack of beer or soda. They ended up with 12 cans of Coke as because it was a holiday day there were no alcohol sales after 12.00.

 

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Heading for the pass, the light blue colour is the reef.

 

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And breakers on the reef as we entered.

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Smooth water inside, protected by the reef.

 

Utoroa is a small town with a good supply of shops, and a small market, but most were closed when we arrived due to the holiday and we had to walk in again on Wednesday to see its full glory. It is the main town on the second largest island after Tahiti but doesn’t compare with Papeete. We tried to get a propane refill but there was no chance here as  they only exchange large cylinders.  We had read that the boatyard on the west side of the island fills cylinders so we left our windy mooring and sailed round. Finding an anchorage was challenging as it is deep water with only a few patches less than 20 metres. Having anchored, Phil took the cylinder the half mile in and left it at the yard to be filled. We then up anchored and moved to a mooring off Apooiti Marina for the night, hot showers and wifi!

 

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Moored off Apooiti marina.

 

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View around the bay, every house seems to have its own boat.

 

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All the churches here seem to be the same design but this one overlooks a lake.

 

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There appears to be a good bus service here ‘Le Truck’.

 

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They can carry a lot of people on hard bench seats

 

Unfortunately the boat yard were unable to fill the gas cylinder as they didn’t have the correct fitting so we will just have to hope we can refill in the Cook Islands. We don’t want to buy new cylinders and a regulator here as we understand rules are very strict in New Zealand and they will only fill their own cylinders. We will almost certainly have to buy new ones there.

 

The marina mooring is secure, so we waited out the strong winds here, although there was little to do ashore.  From here we will head north to Taha’a, which lies within the same reef as Raiatea.