Tahiti

Marina Papeete, TAHITI. Thursday 8. June 2016 .

It is after sunset and I am sitting in the cockpit eating my way through a bunch of lychees. They are yummy! Around the anchorage out- rigger canoes are training for a race. We had a swim when we came back from town.

We arrived to Taine anchorage on Tahiti Monday 30th May from Rangiroa in the Tuamotoes after two and a half days sailing. We buddy-boated with Alan on s/v Arica, a single-hander from Ireland in his Sirius 38. We had a good passage and I had the light from the moon in third quarter in my 0.00 to 05.00 watches. We spoke to Alan several times on the passage and he was fine. The wind increased as we approached Tahiti and we reefed in the main. We anchored in 15 m of water inside the reef in calm seas amongst another hundred boats, some at anchor and others on moorings. The Marinas dinghy dock being 150 m away.

Tuesday 7th June.

We had a horrible night. We went to bed as normal, early at 19.00. David had suffered a stomach upset and been in bed all day, and I was tired. I had been with Alan in a hired car round the island. The weather was bad with wind and rain. The trip was nothing special. David didn’t miss much!

At 19.30 I heard my smart-phone sound hungry and I got up. I felt a lot of movement and checked our position on the shore. It was dark, but I saw to my horror that we seemed to be dragging. The wind had increased to 18 to 20 knots. I quickly got David up. The voltage was low as been cloudy and wet all day and no solar power has got into the batteries. We couldn’t start the engine! Or the generator! We quickly let out more chain, but the chain got stock in the hole to the chain locker and couldn’t move. We dragged about 50 m passing two boats on the way. Then we stopped just 20 m before reaching a third boat. It was dark and very windy! The second anchor was employed. We had stopped moving. All the boats were bobbing up and down around us in the dark night. At midnight it seemed as if we had dragged a little so another 5 m went out of the second chain. David stayed on anchor watch in the cockpit till 4.00. The wind was still strong at 15-20 knots but we seemed to be stable. I got up at daybreak. We were bobbing up and down only 15 m in front of an old rusty steel hulk, which had a barking dog on board and a lot of clutter. The lee-shore was quite near and so was another coral reef. I did not like it.

We had breakfast and David went ashore in some errand. The wind was still strong and the forecast was worse. The big waves hammered on the big reef ½ Mile away. It looked spectacular and the noise was incredible. This was the big reef surrounding the island of Tahiti. David stopped on his way back at s/v Enchantres of Aberdeen and told David and Susan that we were moving to Marina Papeete. They kindly offered to help with the anchors for which we were grateful.

The experience of pulling up the two anchors was to me another nightmare. I was on the helm and engine. It was still a force 4-5 from S to SE. The two Davids and ladies (Sabine from s/v Chevaldy was also helping) were on the foredeck sorting the anchors. I had never worked the engine in a tight situation with other boats. The chain for no. 1 anchor was employing the windlass so no. 2. anchor chain had cranked up using the winch on the mast  and pulling like tug of war by hand and man/woman power.

I was in the cockpit, terrified of not being able to hold the boat into the wind. A couple of times we were quite near to other boats. It was not an easy job as the chains had got twisted. Eventually they cleared and we were free. What a relief!

We motored in the buoyed channel inside the big reef past the airport runway. Rounding a corner of the island we were out of the wind and it felt as if we were in a different world, sunny and balmy.

We are now happily moored in a slip in Marina Papeete. The town is buzzing with life and all along the pontoon we meet friends we have made earlier in our venture from Panama through the Marquesas, and Tuamotos to here……Tahiti.