Raitea; weatherbound
Wildfox
Anthony Swanston
Thu 18 Jul 2013 16:06
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Anthony Swanston <swanston {DOT} anthony {CHANGE TO AT} yahoo {DOT} com>
To: Mailasail Update <wildfox+diary-544916 {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com>
Sent: Thursday, 25 July 2013, 14:57
Subject: Raitea; weatherbound
From: Anthony Swanston <swanston {DOT} anthony {CHANGE TO AT} yahoo {DOT} com>
To: Mailasail Update <wildfox+diary-544916 {CHANGE TO AT} mailasail {DOT} com>
Sent: Thursday, 25 July 2013, 14:57
Subject: Raitea; weatherbound
Due to bad weather there are
not many photographs this time.
The passage from Huahine to
Raitea was fast if roly. I was very glad to get through the pass and inside
the shelter of the lagoon for calm
water; albeit very windy. Anchoring is
difficult not just because of the coral but the water is very deep – 20 metres
plus. I got a good mooring off the
boatyard and was very glad of it when the wind really piped up. The boat sheered from side to side as 45 knot
squalls came down the hillside from every direction. The wind was set to be here for a week. The morning radio net told the expected story
– lots of boats in Bora Bora (at 25 miles from here and the traditional setting
off point for boats going west) all waiting for a weather window. Even if I wanted to go there in this weather
(the seas are now up to seven metres) space there is limited with nobody
leaving.
The locals love this
weather. The strong winds bring colder
water up from the south and the cold water keeps the cyclones away later in the
season. The local sea is now down to a
temperature of 30 C.
The radio net now has a former
airline pilot to give us a weather forecast and he tells off unseasonal
northerly winds at Rarotonga making the only harbor there dangerous. Not
encouraging as that is my next stop (540 miles) after Bora Bora.
Yesterday was exciting. While some of us were in town a friend of
mine arrived is his 72 foot, 40 ton boat with seized steering and a failed
reverse gear on his engine. When anchoring
he managed to get his anchor caught around a mooring rope and to then hit two
boats, both from Northern Ireland. What
an achievement! Thankfully very little damage was done.
With the wind howling little
(30 feet) Dolphin of Leith arrived with mummy, daddy and two toddlers aged 3
and 5. If they can sail in this weather,
surely anybody can? Then I had a
thought. I would get them to send their
children over to take my boat to Bora Bora
and I would go over on the ferry…
A climbing day was cancelled
due to constant rain but evening happy hour happened frequently enough, But my dinghy had a 20 litre Gerry can of
water to hold the bow down in the squalls and I always wore a life jacket and
carried a handheld VHF.
In the meantime I am making a
list of everything I have to eat before I get to New Zealand. Very little food can be brought in. No rice, lentils, chick peas, flour, meat or dairy products of any
sort. The list is endless.
Heading for Bora Bora tomorrow
(Friday). It will be a VERY boisterous
sail.
