06/16/2007, Moorea, French Polynesia
There was a swap meet at the marina this morning where I was able to find a replacement anchor for the one I lost in the Tuamotus. Although it is not exactly what I want, it will be fine as a back-up heavy anchor. These swap meets are great for socializing and getting rid of excess baggage.
Sand Dollar weighed anchor at 3 PM, filled the water and fuel tanks, and departed Tahiti for Moorea which is 12 miles to the west. We anchored at Vaiere Bay just before dark and enjoyed a fine dinner in the cockpit. Tomorrow we will sail around to the north and put in at Opunohu Bay. All else is well onboard.
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06/15/2007, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Today my friend Bob Mcfadden and his girlfriend Dana arrived to join Sand Dollar for 10 days of cruising around the Society Islands. They generously brought loads of boating and fishing supplies and four month's worth of my mail from Seattle. Tomorrow we plan to sail 10- miles to Moorea and spend a few days there before heading west to the Leeward Islands.
All else is fine onboard and we are very well-provisioned for the next couple of weeks.
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06/14/2007, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Let me say this about Papeete: It is expensive, noisy, not particularly clean and beautiful, and did I mention expensive. However, in the short time I spent ashore today I found its inhabitants to be very friendly, helpful and polite, even the French. Most of the locals speak at least some English so it is not difficult to transact business. I discovered a huge supermarket, not far from the marina. which has almost everything one could want. Tomorrow I will go back to begin reprovisioning. I will not see another market like this until Pago Pago or New Zealand.
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06/13/2007, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Sand Dollar arrived in Papeete, Tahiti at 8:45 AM and anchored near the Marina Taina along with about 50 other boats. I am anxious to go ashore in the "big city" and take care of business. It is said that you can get anything you want in Tahiti, just don't want too much because it is extremely expensive. There is wifi in the anchorage but I am too far from the antenna so will have to lug the laptop to shore for a connection.
All else is well onboard.
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06/12/2007, En Route to Tahiti, French Polynesia
The weather changed sometime last night after which I've had a steady 12-15 knots of wind just forward of the beam. Sand Dollar is moving right along. The problem now is to slow down so that arrival in Papeete Harbor is in daylight. Presently, I am 40 miles out and will heave to (park the boat) in a couple of hours and wait until 4 AM to head in. I want to pass Venus Point, 10 miles east of Papeete, in daylight so I can see where Captain Cook anchored while he was ashore observing the transit of Venus across the sun in 1769.
This afternoon, after a long dry spell, I hooked two small wahoo simultaneously. They were about 5 lbs a piece, a perfect size for filleting. To my utter disappointment they were both lost during the attempt to bring them aboard! This seems to be a recurring problem. Half the fish I hook are lost. I will certainly be working on a solution to bring my success rate up.
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06/11/2007, En Route to Tahiti, French Polynesia
The wind picked up last night because of a series of small squalls that marched by me but my progress has still been slow. It has taken me 35 hours to cover 125 miles for an average speed of 3.6 knots. I have another 120 miles to go and I will not make it to Papeete by dusk tomorrow evening unless it blows a gale which is highly unlikely. All I can do is take what I am given and I'll get there when I get there.
All else is well onboard. No fish have been caught although I came across several flocks of birds feeding on bait fish. This often means tuna are in the neighborhood, but no one was home. Maybe tomorrow.
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