On Tuesday of last week we had a change of plans and instead of leaving the boat in Papeete we decided it would be best if we left Pipeline over on the Island of Tahaa at the Taravana yacht club. So with no wind and just enough fuel we motored through the night and came through the eastern pass at Tahaa at 7am. From there it was just another half hour till we arrived at dock of the yacht club on the most southern tip of the island. My dad’s long time friend Richard, who runs the Taravana yacht club, was there to welcome us to the island and congratulate us on our successful adventure.
Shortly after the welcome it was time to unload the boat so that we could do a thorough clean inside and out. After clearing out the amas we quickly realized just how much stuff we had on board. All the gear completely covered the 50ft dock and once unloaded Pipeline raised six inches out of the water. Most of the gear we never had a chance to use, but that was a good thing since most of it was safety and rescue equipment in case of an unexpected disaster…being on a boat with four people for six months is tough but being in stuck in a life raft is much harder I imagine. After a full day of cleaning and reorganization we still had a long ways to go but it felt great to be in the final stage of our trip with a clean boat that is still in one piece. That night we celebrated the end of our trip with a BBQ at Richard’s. Kyber, a fellow sailor on a 55ft catamaran cooked up some amazing chicken wings and ribs, Richard’s girlfriend Lovina made that best poisson cru we’ve ever had, and Richard provided us with story after story about his adventures at sea…what a great way to celebrate the end of an incredible journey.
We spent all of Friday cleaning again but late in the afternoon the wind picked up and William and I were able to sneak in a kiteboarding session right in front of the yacht club. With the wind blowing 25knots it made jumping and doing tricks easy and the entire session I kept thinking how awesome it was that in our finals days we were having such a great session in one of the most amazing places in the world. After a couple of hours on the water we headed in for another spectacular dinner at Richard’s. Lovina cooked up a Tahitian feast that included taro with pork, coconut chicken, fried bananas, rice, salad, and six very full stomachs…at that point we were thinking we sailed pass Tahiti and right to heaven.
Saturday we finished cleaning the boat, put her out on a mooring, and packed our bags so we could catch our flight back to Hawaii that night. It was a very strange feeling to be leaving that boat. It was our life for six months straight and to be simply leaving her behind was tough to grasp. For months the idea of going anywhere meant provisioning, navigating, night watches, and days or weeks on the open ocean. Now traveling was getting on a plane for six hours and traveling 3,000miles…a distance that took us almost three weeks to do on Pipeline. At 3pm Richard took us to Raiatea on his boat and literally was able to drive it up to the check in counter…very cool. At 4pm we were on a plane watching Pipeline and Tahaa fade away as we headed home.
Now we are back in the real world with, hot water showers, flushing toilets, beds that don’t move suddenly and unexpectedly, and Internet that doesn’t cost ten dollars an hour. So until there is another great adventure on pipeline, which I’m sure there will be, this will be my final blog for the Florida to Tahiti trip of 2011. With the boat safe and sound at her final destination all that is left is to say thanks to everyone that made this a successful and memorable experience. Thanks mom and dad for trusting us and supporting us every mile along the way. Thanks Ginger for provisioning the boat, cooking, and always being there to support me. Thanks Gabe for filling every role when needed and being the best shipmate anyone could every have. Thanks William for all the help and positive attitude, I hope your fingers go back to normal as soon as possible. Thanks Angie for all the great meals and putting up with three stinky, loud, and obnoxious boys for way longer than any girl should. Thanks Jake for sticking with us through hell(aka Panama) and for providing us with lots of laughs, I still owe you a comfortable and dry downwind sail. Thanks Richard and Lovina for all your island hospitality and for giving us the perfect ending to a perfect adventure. Thanks to all the people we met along the way that made this trip so enjoyable and thanks to everyone who followed us through the blog, we really enjoyed the comments and encouragement. Until there are more adventures to be had and more paradises to explore, a big aloha from me to everyone for everything - dc

Our trip is in its last week now, but the last few days have been some of the most memorable. Thursday we spent the night tucked up in a small hurricane hole called Robinson's cove on the north side of Moorea . The anchorage was about fifteen feet from shore with almost no wind inside the cove- a huge contrast to the 40 knot winds coming down off the mountain just a few hundred yards away. We spent the night side-tied to our friends Paul and Shiralee and celebrated Shiralee's birthday with a barbeque and a few fireworks we still had from Panama City...I'm pretty sure we caused every dog on Moorea to start barking. The best part about the night, other than the food and company, was the peace and quiet, since we spent all of Wednesday night listening to forty to fifty knot winds trying to rip us from our anchorage.
When we awoke on Friday morning the winds were calm and the skies were clear, with the mountains of Moorea reminding us of Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas. At around 10 am we headed west to Stingray World where Paul said he would show us a great spot to get up close and personal with stingrays...we just didn't realize how close. In chest deep water with a white sand bottom there were about a dozen stingrays swimming around in the shallows. They didn't seem very interested in us but the second Paul started feeding them pieces of fish they began to swarm and practically climbed on top of our backs and chest looking for a treat. It's almost impossible not to flinch (and possibly scream like a girl) when a stingray sneaks up from behind and rubs its slimy wings across your skin. The only way to keep them off you is to get out of the water or simply put a hand between their eyes and push them away. But even then there is a good chance one will get you from behind. And if you're wondering if it's dangerous, as we did, you should know that most of the rays have had their barbs chopped off to make them harmless. But there are still a couple with barbs so you really have to watch your step.
After playing with the stingrays for a bit we made a spontaneous decision to head over to the main island of Tahiti so we could check out the giant south swell forecast to hit Teahupoo. It was three in the afternoon and the anchorage on Tahiti was fifteen miles away, leaving us with just enough time to get in through the pass before dark...at least that was the plan. We approached the pass as the sun was beginning to set behind Moorea and noticed two things; the swell was getting really big, and there looked to be six surfers waving at us and telling us not to come in. However, as we got a little closer we realized that instead of surfers it was six canoe paddlers waving for help as they held onto a sinking outrigger while being pulled by the current out to sea and dangerously close to the ten to fifteen foot waves breaking on the right side of the pass. I was already a little nervous taking Pipeline through a new pass at dusk with big waves on both sides but now all the sudden it was a rescue mission too. We threw them a line and they attached it to their canoe. We then began to tow them through the pass but we soon found out why they had ended up in so much trouble. The tide was dropping quick, causing the water to flow out through the pass at five knots and with over a thousand pounds of Tahitian paddler hanging off the back of the boat we weren't going anywhere. In fact, we were getting sucked over toward the barreling surf ourselves! At that point we had everyone on the canoe pull themselves to the boat so we could reduce the drag and also ensure that we didn't lose anyone, especially since by now it was almost completely dark. With everyone on board we began to make some headway but it was still very slow and with the partially submerged outrigger weighing us down it took over a half-hour to make it a quarter mile through the pass to safety. At one point we thought of just letting the canoe go but then it righted itself in the water and became much easier to tow. While we made our way to a safe spot to drop them off they told us that they had already started to pray before we arrived and that we had saved their lives...it was quite the grand entrance into Tahiti! Later they came by the boat and gave us bananas, a few guanabana, a case of water, and a big thank you for helping them out.
Our rescue efforts were rewarded on Saturday as well when we rented a car and headed out to check the surf at Teahupoo. When we first got to the break the waves were big but very inconsistent, making it difficult for the surfers to tow in to the waves; plus, when the waves did come in we couldn't see a whole lot from shore with just binoculars. We were about to call it a day and go do a hike when we heard that for twenty dollars each we could take a boat out to the break to watch the guys tow-in. Immediately we headed over and within fifteen minutes we were on a boat and speeding out to one of the most amazing waves in the world! After only ten minutes of hanging out, the biggest waves of the day started rolling in and we watched as the pros dropped into the most ridiculous and scary waves any of us had ever seen. We were so close to the waves that you could look right down over the lip of the wave and see the water being sucked off the reef over twenty feet below. Then you add in the fact that there is someone inside of this barreling monster and you have a recipe for one of the coolest things you could ever see...definitely one of the wonders of the world. After an hour of watching and feeling our hearts stop every time a giant wave passed under the boat, we headed back to shore with giant grins on our faces and a few incredible photos. If you ever thought about being a professional tow-in surfer then check out that wave and if you can picture yourself at the base of that barrel with a mountain of water about to fall on top of you then you might just have what it takes!
Since Saturday we've spent our time cleaning the boat and waiting for the surf to die down so we could paddle out. Gabe and William tried to surf on Monday but it ended with them almost drowning when a set of fifteen foot Teahupoo like waves came in. Gabe got the worst of it and was throwing up salt water for a good amount of time after. Even Angie, in the skiff on the inside, got nailed when the wave rolled through and washed her right out of the dinghy! Other than that though things have been quiet and we have been enjoying the clear waters and warm weather that these islands have to offer. It also looks like a change in plans and we'll be sailing the boat to Tahaa tomorrow, where we'll call our adventure complete on Saturday and leave the boat on a mooring out in front of the Taravana Yacht Club run by a good friend of my dad's, Richard Postma. I'll post another update from Tahaa, so until then- big alohas - dc

After an easy sail (and motor) we arrived in Tahiti and anchored at Haapiti on the south coast of Moorea, just a short skiff ride from some great surfing. The water is crystal clear here and the anchorage is perfect with the boat in 15ft of water with a white sand bottom. We celebrated our arrival with a surf session late in the afternoon in 8-10ft waves with the jagged mountains of Moorea in the background. Our arms weren't quite ready for surfing big waves with a steep and fast drop but we managed to catch a couple and it definitely felt good to be in warm water with perfect surf all to ourselves. Couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the end of our voyage, though I know William could have done without snapping his board in half on one of the biggest sets of the day! In the evening we popped open our bottle of champagne and gave a big cheers to my parents for making all of this possible and for all the great adventures we've had in the last six months. ..the fire in the engine room doesn't seem so bad now. Our plan is to stay in Haapiti till tomorrow then head to the other side of the island to Cook's Bay. There we can go out for food and hopefully do some laundry because we've pretty much taken our towels and clothes to their limits. The waves are forecast to be close to 20ft by Thursday, so surfing won't be an option for at least a few days, but we might be able to sneak in some kitesurfing and diving while we wait. So, even though we have arrived at our final destination, our trip is still a couple weeks from its end and we plan on making these final days the best of our trip! ...so far so good. Alohas - dc