Rover

Passage to Huahine

17 June 2023 | 16 degrees 43 minutes South; 151 degrees 2 minutes West
Eric
Post time is 1530, 6/17/23

The passage to Huahine was a nice introduction to passage making on
Rover for the new crew members. We used a very conservative sail plan on
the way out of Moorea, stays’l and main with 2 reefs, no jib. We had
about 15 knots of breeze, so we made about 4 and a half knots. It was
plenty fast since the passage was too far to be done in 12 hours and we
planned to sail overnight for a morning arrival. Too fast and we’d
arrive before dawn. Seas were still stirred up from the previous few
days of strong winds, so we had about 4-foot seas, but from a
comfortable direction.

The crew learned some of the ropes as we set the sails and prepared for
night. Mark and Diane had the “Hollywood watch” 1800 to 2200 and 0200 to
0600. It’s called the “Hollywood watch” because it includes sunset and
sunrise, great times for cinematography on the high seas. I took the
midnight watch, solo, and was on call for the other two watches. Ginger
(the windvane) steered the boat.

There was quite a bit of traffic; commercial, yachts and even a French
warship. The new crew got used to the chart-plotter, AIS and identifying
vessels at night. The wind decreased after midnight, so Ginger was
relieved, the engine and autopilot (Maryanne) were turned on and we
motor-sailed the rest of the way.

I took over again at 6 am, the sun came up soon after and Huahine
appeared in the dawn light. It’s always a thrill to make landfall at
dawn. We were at the entrance to the pass through the reef by 11 am and
went inside. We looked for a mooring ball or anchorage near the main
village of Fare, but had to be content with anchoring a short distance
away, on the inside of the reef.

After putting the boat back in “harbor mode”, we had a large late
breakfast, and rested the day away before heading in to the “Huahine
Yacht Club” in Fare for dinner. It’s a grandiose name for a restaurant
and bar with a dinghy dock attached. A short after dinner stroll
featured an interisland freighter (the Taporo 9) unloading.

Today included some snorkeling within sight of Rover. On the agenda is
dinner and some grocery shopping in town. We can see Raiatea and Tahaa,
our next destination from the anchorage, Raiatea, about 20 miles away.
Light winds are projected for tomorrow, so it’s likely to be a motorboat
ride.

--
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Comments
Vessel Name: Rover
Vessel Make/Model: Valiant 42
Hailing Port: Seattle. WA
Crew: Eric and Linda
About:
We're making a big change to a cruising lifestyle. Eric retired in 2012 after 32 years in R&D (mostly) at HP. Previous passions included flying and bicycling. Linda will retire in 2013 from Oregon State University. She's been active in Zonta, was a Scoutmaster, and is a champion baker. [...]
Extra: Linda was barrel master and Eric participated in the Jackson Street Vintners; a group of friends that made wine from 2000 to 2013
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