We are checked out of French Polynesia and are enjoying our sunset mocktails on Taha’a. Tomorrow we sail west to Maupihaa where we will wait for a weather window to hop to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. Fair trade-winds are forecast for our passage.
We have lingered longer in the Society Island than we expected as we have had to wait for replacement parts to be shipped and then clear customs. But it’s quite a good place to hang out and we are in the very remote middle of the Pacific!
Yesterday it felt like Raiatea didn’t want to let us go as our anchor chain had woven a tightly tangled web around a loose, large piece of coral which our new windlass dutifully hauled to the surface with the anchor dangling 10 metres below. Untangling it was beyond my SCUBA skills so we called up Farid who came charging over the horizon with Patrick, his dive boat driver. Farid, a Cousteau like character, dropped into the water with a huge flotation bag to lift both anchor and chain to the surface so that he could unravel the knotted chain and set free our boulder.
After 30 minutes of wrestling (and quite a few dollars) the anchor was shipped and we motored to Taha’a to take on fuel and provisions sufficient to see us to the Cook Islands, Niue and Tonga.
We have loved French Polynesia and its curious mix of French and Polynesian cultures and it’s sad to leave. But the season is advancing and we need to allow plenty of time to choose our weather windows as we hop west through the ‘dangerous middle’.
