Society Islands

While waiting for our new sails to be made and delivered, we had spent time discovering the people and places of the Tuamotus. We really appreciated having the extra time in such an amazing place, however, the down side of this was that we had less time to experience the more well-known islands of French Polynesia – the Society Islands. These are Tahiti, Moórea, Raiatea, Tahaa, Huahine and Bora Bora.

The Tuamotus to the Society Islands was a pleasant sail in winds of Force 3 (7-10 knots) to Force 4 (11-16) knots. This gave us a boat speed of up to 7 knots and we completed the 270nm passage in just under 2 days. Good news for our still fragile sails.

When approaching Tahiti and Mo’orea in the early hours of the morning, we picked up a mayday relay message. It was from Papeete Port and they were passing on information about a sailing yacht which was taking on water and required assistance. Checking its last known position, we realised that we were only a few miles away, so we turned around to try and find it. We then spent the next two hours trying to track it down. Each time we arrived at the location, new co ordinates were given to us. We were just starting to believe that we were on a wild goose chase, when we spotted it. The small yacht was looking very old and battered and was being helmed by an elderly solo sailor who spoke very little English. He made it clear that the boat was secure, but he had engine problems and was concerned that he would not make land. He had no VHF communications, so we became the relay between him and port. It was agreed that we would escourt him towards Papeete and, once one mile from port, the rescue boat would come out . We had our fingers crossed that his engine stayed working or else we would be towing him. Finally, we arrived just outside Papeete. The rescue boat arrived and the port told us we could stand down and continue on our way to Mo’orea.

Only about 15nm from Tahiti, Moorea is its lesser known, smaller sister island. We found it was similar to the Marquesas Islands, with steep mountains rising up from the clear waters of the bays. Whilst the shore is becoming increasingly fringed by exclusive resorts, the island still retains an undiscovered feel to it.

We anchored in Opunohu Bay, where we met up with two other ARC boats. It was the first time in several weeks that we had seen other rally boats and it was great to be able to explore the island together. Our itinerary included swimming, snorkelling, walking and, of course, a few beers and discussions about adventures, future plans and boat maintenance!

Our first excursion was a dinghy ride across the bay to the small village of Papetoai. From here, it was a short, but steep walk up Magic Mountain. At the viewpoint, we were rewarded with magnificent views across the two bays.

Martin and I took the chance to dive. We found a site just outside the reef and were amazed at being able to dive with so many turtles. There must have been at least 30 swimming, eating and resting.

Once the new sails were fitted and the shroud was replaced, we were now ready to head up the island chain to catch up with the fleet in Bora Bora.

On route we had a couple of nights at Huahine. This was another beautiful and unspoilt island. We anchored near the yacht club, which like many of the island clubs, is more of a beach side bar. It had amazing views, superb food and good prices.