Transitions
21 June 2017 | Bora Bora
Happy Bill
We arrived in Bora Bora from Hurepiti Bay after a nice motor sail through light winds. Tomorrow, the winds are predicted to be even lighter, and Thursday the winds are predicted to be screaming along at 20 kts and pushing 3 meter seas. We felt that a motor sail was better than those choices. As usual, I tried trolling during the 5-hour passage, but got nothing. At some point, I've got to determine what I'm doing wrong and begin to catch rather than just fish.
As I've mentioned, my laptop screen has died, so I can't use it for routine blogs or web pages, nor can I use the SSB since the software to do so is on the laptop. In addition, the number of Wifi hotspots is dramatically reduced this year and our usual provider, WDG, has reduced its hotspots and those that exist are not allowing connections. I have no explanation for that problem, be I'll probably buy an ATT cell plan for my iPad next year. At least I can post blogs if not photos! We've been forced to use Conni's phone to acquire our weather information since it's the only reliable Internet connection we have.
Debbie and Philippe brought a pump that I was able to use to replace the raw water pump that failed. So far, so good. I live in fear that it'll fail, but I'm the only one who's worried, and it's worked perfectly so far. The coupling that I ordered has still not arrived, so repairing the old pump is still impossible. I'd love to have a rebuilt but perhaps I'll return the old pump to Alaska and rebuild it there.
The boat has performed very well. The bilge pump automatic switch has failed for unknown reasons, so we use the manual switch, but it's a nuisance and not a danger. We're still chained to the generator for an hour or two each day because of the fridge, and that's getting tiresome. Otherwise, we're pleased with the trip and the boat.
Today we'll motor around and do some errands in Viatape, the main marina. When we arrived, Wind Star, the fake sailboat/cruise ship, was at anchor and departed last night with her fake sails ablaze with colored lights, and motored through the narrow and complex pass through the reef. An odd half cargo/half passenger Tahitian ship was also in the harbor and followed Wind Star through the reef but with much less fanfare.
The Bora Bora Yacht Club has upgraded itself with nicer facilities, and they still have reliable Wifi, stand up showers, garbage disposal, and good food and drink. We're hanging on one of their moorings and will be here until Monday, at least. Debbie and Philippe depart on Saturday and Nate and Val arrive on Sunday. We'll have to scramble to get sheets cleaned and the boat prepared!
When we go into the yacht club tonight, I'll face over 1000 emails, most of which are political and unsolicited.
We just returned from our trip to Viatape. I took Debbie and Philippe to a nearby reef for some snorkeling, and then returned to the boat to refuel the dinghy tank and generator. Conni dealt with our laundry, making arrangements for it to be done today. After our chores, I fetched D and P, then we all prepared for the outing. They needed to buy their return tickets to Tahiti for their return flight to the US on Sunday. After a cafe visit, we climbed aboard the dinghy and motored South down the coast. We had a great trip!