We set out from the Moorea anchorage fairly early this morning. It is pretty tough to find a day that you can actually sail to Tahiti from Moorea without a whole lot of tacking. We're not interested in a whole lot of tacking on most occasions. So we fired up the Yanmars and motored with two props turning, out of the anchorage. It was nice to have twin screws again. We tested forward and reverse even more carefully than usual this morning.

Exiting the pass was eventless but I had to consciously remind myself not to take the dinghy short cuts I had been using all week. We could have probably cut the corner exit the anchorage but it is safer to go into the bay around the southern most mark.

We towed the dink to Moorea and decided to tow it back as well. We use a bridle attached to both inside stern cleats. This works well and the dinghy planes nicely and stays pretty stable as long as the seas are reasonable. We are using polyprop painters from Panama right now. This is not the best quality line and I look forward to replacing it with the nice stuff we bought at West Marine when we purchased Little Star. The Little Star painter was in better condition than these after a year's more hard use.

A front was passing below the islands today and we were supposed to get some disturbance tomorrow as the sheer line came through. It looked as if it might sit on our head for a few days bringing rain and no wind. The wind was whipping up around low twenties as we rounded the point at the northeast end of Moorea. Things settled progressively as we approached Tahiti, only 10 miles away.

We put the fishing lines out as we crossed the top of Moorea. I was so excited when the line ran I almost didn't notice the jam that fouled up the line (always happens on my cheap real, I need to get a Shimano). I reeled it in over the jam and was delighted to see the bright colors in the water that usually mean Mahi Mahi. As I got it up onto the transom everyone sighed. Great Barracuda. The worst part is the new Rappalla lure I was using has these wicked triple hooks. Once set you have no prayer of getting them out, and particularly not out of the mouth of a toothy Barracuda. We had to take him in the end. I will only use single hook lures from here on out.

The harbor master invited us into the port with no delay and we were tied up on the Qaui des Yachtes in Papeete again in no time. A Finish gentleman that we brought baguettes to in Fatu Hiva helped us get our lines on. After setting the boat up we all headed to the brew pub for a well earned cheeseburger (and a nice freshly brewed Amber of course).

For those interested I post below the exact prices for the Quai des Yachts here:
Monohull: 240 xfp per meter per day (about a buck a foot)
Multihull: 360 xfp per meter per day (about a buck fifty a foot)
One time $10 for trash
$4 a day for power (220v 18a), use all you like
$2.25 a day for water, use all you like
10% tax on everything

Not bad for being two steps from downtown with the best security we've ever experienced in our entire cruise.