Shortly after celebrating the installation of the new inverter we discovered that the head pump was no longer functioning. With boats its always something, and repairing the head is pretty low on the list of interesting projects. New valves, new diaphragm; it works fine again, life is good. All we have now is a scum ring around the water line of the boat that needs cleaning; it's what happens when you go to the big city. We left Marina Taina on August 18 to circumnavigate Tahiti Island. The weather was in our favor--very little wind at all, and the swell was from the south, so we set out clockwise this time, taking on the east coast first. Our first hop was to Matavai Bay, Captain Cook's principal Tahiti anchorage. We didn't anchor in the bay itself, which is open to the ocean swells, but went in through the Arue Pass, hoping to pick up a mooring at the Yacht Club of Tahiti. When we called in on the radio the Assistant Manager, Thierry, said, sorry they were full up. So we anchored off the community dock of Arue. An hour later Thierry came out escorting a fleet of Optimists--not an attitude but a small dinghy for kids--and stopped by Surprise. Nice boat, he said. We agreed, and thanked him. The local police have been hassling boats that anchor here, he said. Tomorrow is Sunday, we said, surely the police don't patrol on Sunday. I think I can get you a place at the guest dock, he said. So, not for the first time, Surprise's good looks get her a spot in the front row. The club Manager came out in another runabout and escorted us into the club's guest dock--a short length of end tie. We said we would stay one night, and ended up staying two. Many people stopped by to admire Surprise, and Steve was happy to give boat tours. We had lunch at the club on Sunday, and then drinks with Jerome and Sophie, musicians who live aboard their boat on Sunday evening. At every opportunity we asked about going around Tahiti. Were would you anchor on the east coast? we said. Nowhere, is one response. Nansouty Island, but only there, is another. Why do you even want to go around Tahiti? Oh, going around Tahiti is great! By now thoroughly swamped with conflicting advice, we pushed off Monday morning. We motor sailed across Matavai Bay and around Point Venus, then started down the east coast. We went in the Mahahena Pass and tried anchoring at Nansouty Ilot. This is a barely awash postage stamp of an islet, with three windblown ironwood trees on it. There is a little patch of packed coral sand off the south side of the islet, and then a dramatic drop-off to ninety feet and more. We made three tries at anchoring, but it wouldn't bite on the slope, and the middle of the coral patch was just too shallow. So we headed off along the coast again, this time bound for the south side of the point at Tautira. So in another pass, and back up to the north to try and find reasonable anchoring depths in the lagoon. We dropped the hook in sixty feet of water, and fortunately it was a calm night. The anchor chain remained vertical the entire night, as there was no wind, but we were yards from very shallow water. We were about 200 yards from the barrier reef, and the surf boomed and crashed on the reef all night, but we were in calm water, with nary a ripple. The photo is of this anchorage. Such is the nature of a fringing reef. We launched the dinghy the next morning and went exploring and snorkeling, then pulled up the anchor (which didn't seem to be "anchored") and motored 5 miles down the lagoon to another anchorage. The second time we tried we found good mud bottom in about 40 feet, off steep cliffs. The road ends at Tautira, but there are houses down here accessed by boat only. The "school bus" is a boat; we've seen it on its rounds twice now.