We are here for the same reasons Papeete, Tahit became the capital of French Polynseia. The harbor is deep but very calm. The trade winds blow ferocisouly to the east but here in the channel between Tahita and Moorea the sea is glassy. Tahiti is and has been a trade hub. We are here for the apple store to try and fix my unresponsive mac and to stock up on things we will not see for months. Few expectations except for a very quiet night tied to a dock.

As if the Mabel Rose knew we were coming here to fix things, it decided to break in several ways all 3 AM and just after landfall at 630. Snap went the centerboard cable, fizz went spinny the towed generator, slip went the key in Mabel the wind self steering brain and maybe wooble went the wheel. We appreciate the deep water port where we can pull up to the dock with our centerboard down. The yacht master laughed when I asked if there was deep enough water for an 11 foot draft. The matched pair of fashionable grey mega yachts tied up close to us surely draw more than 11 feet. The boat is remining we have pushed and we better take care of her.

With the nagging list for things to repairs in the back of our head we edged toward the harbor entrance. The hills are vaguely familiar. The knife edge ridges and deep valleys carved by huge waterfalls remind us of the Marquesas. The difference are lumpy hills close to the shore covered with swaths of white houses where most people live, a shoreline protected from the ocean swell by the fringing reef with a road that runs around the island edge. The Marquesas knife-edge ridges drop straight to the ocean. No fringing reefs protects the shoreline from hammering waves. No road can follow the shoreline. Tahita is so green and protected from the sea. As we approach the harbor entrance a huge tank farm for sits on the edge of the sea. Almost every town we have visited from Rangiroa to Fatu Hiva have had diesel generators that humming day and night to power the lights and the computers. Those lights and computers are all powered by diesel from through theses tanks. Behind the tanks fram, towers of containers line the dock edge. Somewhere on the dock s freezer building must keep the French fries, New Zealand land, magnum ice cream and all the other frozen food cold before it is shipped put to the islands. The French Polynesian Hub sweets, treats and essentials.

Early repair efforts are mixed. The Apple store concludes the motherboard is dead from corrosion and they can fix it in 3 weeks for $900 and cannot recover and of the data. No joy there. I have meet wonderful people trying to fix computers after passes Gibralta to our good friend George in Bracelona. Perhaps a project for New Zealand where we have more time. In our rush to leave Nyack I cannot remember when and where I put the last backup. For Mabel’s wobbles and snaps. Mark helps us with a handy tool to restring the centerboard cable before dark. Success!

The streets are full of cars – a bi change from the uniform fleets of the white Toyota pickup in the Marquessas. Bike cops, chatting was they pass criss cross the sidewalk, We have arrive at a big in the city but a Polynesian one with both rats and chickens skittering about under the palms. We end the day with a lovely dinner at a quiet restaurant owned by a Polynesian – French couple. Good food and nice conversation.