Well, Mulan has made it to the fabled island of Bora Bora - although so far we can't fully understand why it is so fabled, except maybe the fact it had an international airport first due to its creation during WWII. Its central mountain is quite spectacular, but it seems to have way more garbage strewn by the roadsides than other islands in the Societies.
We finally made it off the dock at Uturoa, Raiatea, after two days of engine woes. The wind and waves kept us pinned against the wall, and we needed a tow from a fellow cruiser in an HR46 to get our bow into the wind. Engine now seemingly working fine, although we have lost, for now, our normal confidence in its reliability. Also lost my brand new jandals/flipflops, which someone lifted off the side deck during the night. I think it is the only thing we've had stolen the whole trip.
We are currently on a mooring buoy at the Bora Bora Yacht Club, although much of the club was blown away in a cyclone, and the couple who run it are struggling to rebuild. We are here with Oso, upon which we celebrated Sam's 10th B-day last night. Sam's B-day included the first of his SCUBA lessons, as he couldn't start until he was 10. Once he has done the first two confined dives, Andrew, Jack & Sam will do the four open water dives together.
Tomorrow is both the FIFA World Cup Final, and the total solar eclipse - both at 0830 local time, so it will be a busy morning. Bora Bora is the last stop for Team Mulan, so we will try and cram in lots of last minute experiences! Already our friends on Paikea Mist have departed French Polynesia for the Cooks, and many other boats will be following soon as their visas expire - including our own.
Bye for now, Team Mulan