16S. 151W
JENNY
Alan Franklin/ Lynne Gane
Tue 20 May 2008 10:53
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I have had afew complaints at the lack of a
blog.....Sorry but I've been busy enjoying myself,so I will now bring you all up
to date.
Since leaving Tahiti the first time the boat
went to Moorea and I went home and then joined the boat again in Moorea
arriving just in time for breakfast in the hotel,a rally briefing and for the
generator to break down.So after a tour of the island in a hire car and a day
and night on board we all returned to Tahiti to get the generator
fixed.
The outcome of our stay in Tahiti is that the
generator is in pieces awaiting a spare part that we are getting from the UK
faster than the local agent can get it from New Zealand.Thanks to Tracy in my
office.
Rather than wait for the part in Tahiti we decided
to go exploring the Society Islands and set sail for Houhaine which was 100nm
away a 20/24 hr sail overnight.It was really good toget the boat ready for sea
and to set sail again for a new adventure.
We were approaching Houhaine late morning the day
after leaving Tahiti through the reef to the main town of Fare but we decided to
head south on the inside of the reef to the farthest point of the island which
we could navigate at one point it became very shallow but enough water for us to
get through.
We were rewarded with a location to die for
straight out of the picture books,a sandy palm lined beach one side with a coral
reef the other and clear turquoise sea where we can see 20mtrs down.the
snorkelling was absolutely brilliant and I went scuba diving for the fist time
in 7 years I had forgotten just how good it was to be under the water with the
fish and the coral.We saw a shark about 20 mtrs away at a depth of some 22mtrs
which is deep enough for me,in these waters its like being in an aquarium in
fact its better.We could have stayed in that bay another 3/4 days and not tire
of it but we needed to move on.
Move on we did first to the village of Fare on the
same island where one of the local lads stole some provisions from our dinghy
but I was watching so I promptly con fronted him and retrieved the goods it
rather interrupted my beerand then to Raitea an island about 60 nm away.Going
into the Town Quay we met up with several BWR yachts and all went out to dinner
that night for a very enjoyable Chinese.The following day Alan climbed the hill
overlooking the harbour and Bora Bora with spectacular views.
We decided to have some repairs and alterations
carried out whilst in harbour so this delayed our departure for Ile Tahaa and
the highlight of this island "The Coral Garden".This was a pass in the island
that was full of live ,vibrant coral with all of the fish you can imagine
including one very dangerous looking eel with big teeth.You just dive in with
your snorkel gear an drift down the pass with the current swimming in and out of
the coral it was like being in an underwater paradise.The fish were so friendly
they came up close and bit the hairs on your legs,perhaps not that friendly
then.The pass was about 1/2 a mile long and took about an hour to drift down it
was an undersea wonderland.
After staying there for 2 days swimming and resting
we moved on to other side of the island as a storm was threatened and we needed
a secure anchorage until it blew through and we discovered a unique Pearl Farm
it was unique in the sense that it is the only one in the island and one of the
few that are allowed to farm inland from the sea and so they produce some unique
colours,needless to say I brought Jenny one.Whilst we were there the girls went
off to a Vanilla farm and us boys stayed behind to have a beer and be
entertained by the girls one of whom was a quite gifted singer.We enjoyed
ourselves.
That night we saw us arrive in what is called a
Hurricane Hole it is a very secure protected place up a long inlet with good
holding for the anchor and as the name implies safe from Hurricanes this one had
a good restaurant at the end so being joined by 2 other BWR boats agood time was
had by all.
Thats it for now we are on our way back to
Tahiti
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