Bora Bora Day 2
17 May 2014 | Bora Bora Yacht Club moorig field
Bill, working
It's been an interesting day. It was a work day, so we awakened early with a long list of tasks. Conni and Nate worked on installing the second reef and some other sail work, while I dove into engine tasks.
Issues: the alternator bolt was broken…again. Needed a replacement. Changed the alternator belt, too. Our coolant leak that we thought vanquished has reappeared and I have no idea where the coolant is going, but going it is. Tried to fix a few other broken things and they all failed. Drat. So, not a completely success engine-fix day. Our AIS may or may not be working and I can't determine what the problem is. The engine runs and runs well, but the fallout from the work that we had done on Raiatea has been costly to fix.
Before I get any further, we wanted to tell the story of the traditional Polynesian greeting that we experienced while on the hook in Cook Bay, Moorea. In the morning, over coffee, we heard singing and yelling from shore. It's a happy culture, we thought: someone going to work. At one point, the yeller came to be on the nearest piece of land to us and yelled that most traditional of greetings, "Rich Americans. FUCK!" We almost fell off the boat. Hey, your country.
We had two off-boat tasks to complete: getting checked out from Bora Bora/French Polynesia, and taking on some fuel. We've got a five-day crossing and want fuel aboard.
We motored Conni to a point near the FP customs office that we had located yesterday and let her off. Nate and I motored back to the fuel dock and filled two 5-gallon fuel cans, motored back to the boat and drained them into the tank. We returned to the fuel dock and Conni was waiting on us with the news that the customs lady needed to SEE us in person. Quick, into the dinghy and motor to the Custom's office. She's closed! Not to be dismissed, we rang and banged at the gate until she reluctantly let us in, and proceeded to process our request. Done. Quick, into the dinghy and rush to the fuel dock, take on another 10-gallons of diesel, and motor back to the boat. Done!
I had motored to the yacht club early to try and schedule our laundry to get washed, and it did, but not dried. We'll have to fetch it tomorrow before leaving.
So, tomorrow, Sunday, we start on a five day crossing from French Polynesia to the Cook Islands, a protectorate of New Zealand, so we're back to English. Hurray! If I am able to contact you at all, it will be via high frequency radio every few days.
Bora Bora is a beautiful island. I'm not sure that I agree that it's the MOST beautiful island in the world, but it's up there. We'll return, to be sure.
If you come here, do check out the Bora Bora Yacht Club and Bloody Mary's Bar. We traded yacht club burgees with the Bora Bora Yacht Club, one from the William H. Seward Yacht Club, one from the Kenai Fjords Yacht Club. The BBYC burgees are truly lovely and as exotic as they come. I'll take a photo and post it.
Nate has been wonderful. He's as helpful as he can be and his willingness to tackle any task is extremely helpful. Thanks, Nate.
We're sitting in the Bora Bora Yacht Club yard, drinking a beer and posting on the web. We've got to return to the boat and run the generator for an hour to recharge our house batteries. Sigh. Solar and wind just didn't do it.
Wish us luck.