Marina Taina, Tahiti

Mojo 2
Andrew Partington
Wed 17 Aug 2011 09:25
16th August, 2011

We are both very happy to have finally made it to Tahiti after a long and
eventful passage from Galapagos.
Our last night at sea was, until 2.30am, another beautiful night of
sailing. Things changed dramatically at that time (again) when we sailed
into another massive rain squall like we had a few days earlier. Earlier
in the evening we had a full moon to light our way and we knew we had come
into some foul weather when everything went completely dark. The winds
picked up over twenty minutes to 24 knots and it was trying really hard to
rain but nothing really eventuated. The main problem we had was that the
wind was coming in gusts. One minute it was below 10 knots, and the next
it was over 20 knots. We reduced our headsail until it was about the size
of a handkerchief and waited for the system to pass us. Two hours later
and close to sunrise the winds dropped out to dead calm again as it had in
the system from days earlier. We fired up the motors and gave up any hope
of continuing to sail. At first light we had motored out of the squall,
but as we looked back to the northern skyline we could see just how large
the system was that we had passed through.
From there things just got better and better. Slowly the winds started to
pick up from the south and we were able to go back to the mainsail at the
first reef and full headsail. With the wind being from the south we were
sailing fairly closely hauled which meant it was a little rougher than we
would have liked. For most of the way into Tahiti we had 16 knots of wind
and we were flying along between 7.5 and 9 knots of boat speed. After
weeks of easterlies we had expected a very easy broad reach into Tahiti,
but just like everything else on this passage what we expected and what we
got were two completely different things. The one consolation we had in
beating our way to Tahiti was that we had tremendous boat speed which
ensured we were able to enter Papeete Harbour before dark. Had we been in
open ocean sailing at the kind of speed we maintained on the last day we
would have easily surpassed any of our record days in the Pacific.
Last night we tied up against the promenade right in the heart of the
city, but this morning we motored across to Marina Taina and will remain
here for the next five days.
When I reflect on this passage I think the thing that was most striking
about it was the variation in weather conditions from day to day and even
hour to hour. We would go from having a beautiful sail during the day to
having nasty and rough conditions to storm squalls overnight. The other
thing notable about the passage was that 1400nm of it was sailed without
the assistance of an autopilot and through some of the harshest weather we
encountered. On balance I would have to say that this passage was tougher
in many respects than crossing the Atlantic, and that is not what I had
expected. The decision to sail the whole way on the second reef in the
main for nearly all of the journey was a good one as it gave us a huge
margin for safety and with following winds we were obtaining huge drive
from our headsails.
In total in 26 days we sailed 3,700nm. Amazingly Jane has now sailed
nearly half of all the distance covered by myself and Mojo2. I have now
been on the boat for 4 months and sailed around 9,700nm.
Physically we have come through the passage in great shape, particularly
after our 10 hour sleep last night without the boat moving. We are both
sore in our backs and arms from having to steer the boat constantly, but
already this is starting to settle.
I have not yet decided for certain whether I will continue sailing Mojo2
back to Australia or haul her out here in French Polynesia for the time
being. I won't be posting a blog every day in Tahiti, but will no doubt
make a decision in the next couple of days about when and where we will
travel next.
Thanks to all the people who have contacted us over this journey. A
highlight of our day was the twice daily check of emails.
Andrew Partington.