We left Bora yesterday morning and beat across to Raiatea to take a shortcut through the reef between Tahaa and Raiatea and maintain our wind altitude for the leg to Moorea. As we were passing through the reef the clock struck 1500, which was time for some personal remembrance of young Eddie, the boy who was killed at Moorea in the boat accident. In Papeete, and other locations, people were gathering in boats to throw flowers in the water, a traditional Polynesian surfers’ send-off. On Barracuda we held two minutes silence and reflection, that turned into fifteen. Enough said.

From there it was an upwind sail through the night all the way to Moorea. The conditions were perfect for Barracuda – 15-20 kts – one reef and best course to windward. A few tacks and we sailed in through the reef and dropped anchor in Cook’s Bay in the most perfect shallow water location. We assume Captain Cook must have come here, but we will need to check the story.

So now we wait for imminent news on our New Zealand application. If we get a ‘yes’ then we will head for Papeete to make preparations; there is a lot to do. If it is a ‘no’ then that will set off another plan for getting essential maintenance works done here, and then staying in French Polynesia until the end of the cyclone season. We think this may have become a political issue in NZ rather than just a process issue (there is an election coming up). At the same time, the number of Covid cases in French Polynesia is rising quite quickly since they opened up the flights and the tourist industry. This may be a factor in setting how, and whether, yachts will be received in other countries.

A note on the Society Islands: we have enjoyed our time here and still have a lot more to do. If any of our plans ‘A’ through ‘F’ allow we will definitely come back for more time in Raiatea, Tahaa, Huahine and Maiputi. The three archipelagos of the Marquesas, Tuamotus and Societies are as different as you could imagine – and we have not yet made it to the Gambiers! The books say you must not rush French Polynesia and they are so right.