French Polynesia – Bora Bora and more!

Our trip began, oddly enough, at REI in L.A. on a very cool karmic note. We had some time at LAX before flying to Tahiti so we cabbed it to REI to check out the latest and greatest outdoor essentials. Returning from REI Sebastian and I were standing in front of the store calling the cab driver to come pick us up. A man came up to us and asked where we were going and we told him the airport. Sebastian asked jokingly “Do we look that out of place?” Granted we were wearing some pretty goofy clothing for the flight-lightweight, quick-dry cargo pants- and carrying a Pelican camera case and carry-on luggage. This man, Felton, thought about his answer and chose the honest one- “Well –yeah, you do”. We all laughed! This very nice guy said he would take us to the airport no problem and save us a few bucks. All of the way to the airport we talked skiing, surfing and sailing. We promised Felton we would pay his favor forward the first chance we could.

Flying into the airport on the island of Raiatea, in French Polynesia, is pretty spectacular- like an ad on the NatGeo channel. From the air it was easy to spot our nemesis- barrier reefs- which circle the Iles Sous Le Vent and are awash with breaking waves and white foam. Inside the reef is calm water in several shades of blue and green. And then the islands- lush green mountains with very little development. We were happy to see that the airport is open-air and the planes from Papeete, Tahiti are small enough that passengers unload down a portable stairway, walking across the tarmac, heat and humidity engulfing us. Good start!

We met Laurent, a most friendly local gent and Sunsail employee. He showed us Tere Roa lll, the Jeanneau 44i mono-hull bateau à viole we’d be chartering for the next 10 days. We thought it wise not to ask about Tere Roa I or II. We have noticed fewer and fewer mono-hulls in charter operations these days and in their stead large catamarans which sleep ten or twelve, have four heads and large spot lights and thumping sound systems. (There goes the neighborhood.) But we found Tere Roa III snugged in her Sunsail slip. And boy howdy was she spacious! Sebastian would have his head and leg room in the v-berth- a first for him on any sailboat. Laurent stepped in to let us know our boat and chart briefing would take place in 30 minutes so we unpacked a bit and stowed our provisions. Laurent quickly walked us through engine, sails, electronics, galley, head and safety procedures. Nothing too unfamiliar here. Laurent then conducted the chart briefing. There were just two other groups with us, each with different agendas and lengths of stay. Laurent did a great job of describing sights, mooring fields, dinghy docks and amenities on each island. He specifically pointed out all of the white, sandy beaches or “w.s.b.s” -which seemed odd to Sebastian and myself. Of course the reader will recall we had already been tagged as tourists in L.A. so maybe Laurent thinks all tourists want w.s.b.s. He provided full sized charts of each island and described in detail the obstacles….and there were many… like shallow water on the entire southern side of Bora Bora where no boats of any variety can float. We paid close attention.

We requested Sunsail provision for us the heavy items, liters of drinking water, juices, wine and of course Hinano, the tasty Tahitian beer. We needed fresh produce and a vini (internet card) from the Post Office so we went into the town Uturoa. The Post Office was closed due to someone’s birthday so we took leave of the Sunsail base around 3 p.m.

We were finally on the water and headed to the island of Taha’a just a short motor across from Raiatea. We pulled up a ball in Apu Bay or as it is known at Sunsail, the black pearl farm. It had been a long day and thankfully it was getting dark a bit after 6 p.m. We took advantage of some down time, had dinner and Sebastian rigged our rain/shade wing over the v-berth hatches. This Kelty 12’ x 12’ rip-stop nylon wing, branded “Noah” would prove to be a life saver and well worth the luggage weight. With Noah we could keep the hatches open for much needed cooling and ventilation yet not get rained on. We retired to our giant v-berth where we slept like baby rocks through a very blowy, heavy rain storm.

The next morning we headed to the island of Huahine. The winds were light with a soft rain falling. We sailed for an hourish and motored for three. Of course as we neared the “pass” to enter the bay at the village of Fare the winds picked up. So being new to barrier reefs with following swells we decided to hang out outside the pass until the rain lightened and visibility improved. It was our first time experiencing FP navigation including “red, right, leaving” the opposite of our “red, right, returning” in US waters. So we looked for red buoys on the left and green on the right of the pass. There were also markers on the hillside which when visually aligned indicates a boat is in line with the pass. We moored inside the pass, in the calm, clear, light blue water within yards of Fare. As the sun set behind Raiatea we watched, from the shaded cockpit, spinner dolphins playing in the bay.

Sunday-The next morning we took an eco- tour of Huahine island. Our guide drove a 4WD pick- up while speaking into a headset. We perched on seats in the bed of the truck with a much needed shade wing overhead. First stop was Maeva, the archaeological site of an ancient village. The on-site museum was fantastic and displayed many ingenious items carved from shell and wood. Jewelry, fish hooks and a super cool octopus lure were carved from shell. And from wood they carved drums, tools and boat scoops. As we would soon learn, fishing and drumming remain important daily activities on these islands. Our tour guide was a young and enthusiastic guy whose knowledge covered island history, archaeology, botany and marine life. Our tour included a stop at a vanilla “farm” to see how world renown Tahitian vanilla is grown. The vanilla farm was the home of a woman who raised, dried and processed her own vanilla in many forms including dried pods, oils and extracts. Vanilla is a flavor derived from a vine variety orchid. This vine is normally pollinated by bees. But French Polynesia does not have the bee necessary to pollinate the flowers so each flower is hand pollinated. Then the pods are laid out to dry in the sun and must be sheltered from the frequent rains. It was clear why authentic Tahitian vanilla is so expensive. We would have purchased a few dried pods but ironically both Sebastian and I do not like the smell of vanilla. (As an aside, when I have had trouble getting squash fruits in my own vegetable garden, I have resorted to hand pollination- for about a week. It is time consuming and tedious.)

On our tour we visited a second archaeological site on a busy surf break next to a local campground. It was interesting to hear our guide describe ancient human sacrifices which took place on these large volcanic slabs stacked next to the water while the locals surfed and swam, enjoying a blue bird beach day. We could see shadows of manta rays swimming in the shallow water on the reef. This was a really nice spot and easy to see why it was crowded with locals.

The tour continued around the entire island and in the end exceeded our expectations. It ended in the town of Fare so we walked around looking for an open restaurant. But it was Sunday and town was closed up pretty tight. So we ate sandwiches from a food truck on the water front. Food trucks are on every island and are often noted in guide books as a way to keep down the cost of eating out if you are staying at a hotel or pension. For $20 US we had a great open air lunch on the waterfront.

The next day was windless so we motored down to the southern tip of Huahine to Baie d’Avea. This anchorage comes highly recommended by many cruisers and they are spot on. It was a beautiful day. We knew we were going to drop anchor in front of many other boats so we decided to practice a bit before we arrived for the evening. We dropped and set the anchor several times in an empty spot. We knew from BVI there is nothing more frowned upon than a couple in a charter boat dropping anchor, yelling at each other and disrupting the peace of a mellow anchorage.

Baie d’Avea has a small resort with a few bungalows and a restaurant on the beach. It is a quiet and scenic bay. In this anchorage we could see the bottom and dropped the hook in about 25 ft. of water. Then we had “boatman’s hour” – a tradition left over from our river guiding days in Idaho- meaning take twenty and stop working so you can look around and enjoy your destination. And crack a cold Hinano! Afterwards we donned snorkel gear to cool off and to check our anchor. Sebastian dove down to make sure the anchor was set. All looked good and with a steady S/E breeze we relaxed in the cockpit until a wind shift at sunset made us pull up and try again to avoid drifting onto the reef. There were eight boats total in this bay so plenty of elbow room. In the night we both woke up several times to check if we were dragging anchor. We never sleep well when we are on anchor but it was nice to have an anchor alarm Sebastian set which would beep and wake us up to alert our possible drift.

We loved Huahine and could have stayed there for two weeks but because of projected wind and weather we needed to head back to Taha’a and Raiatea to get a jump on Bora Bora. We reluctantly left Huahine and five hours later we entered the same S/W pass into Taha’a and anchored behind the small moto Mahaea. Motus are very small islands of sand and palm trees originating from higher spots on barrier reefs. We anchored in 18 ft. of water and repeated our routine of boatman’s hour and swim & snorkel to check the anchor. Only six boats total anchored here for the night. The other charter company in FP is Dream Yacht Charters or DYC. According to the DYC guide to Iles Sous les Vent, the view from this anchorage is one of the best in French Polynesia. Agreed! The view again looked like a travel ad. In the foreground a w.s.b. on a motu with palm trees swaying in the wind and then frothy, white breaking waves on the reef beyond and finally in the background the silhouette of Huahine. This is the norm in FP and still I could gaze at it all day long and into each sunset…it is very relaxing and mind-clearing.

The next day we were off to Bora Bora. Sebastian and I were still in disbelief that we were going to visit Bora Bora by sailboat! A dream yacht charter indeed! From Taha’a we sailed half way to Bora Bora, about 30 nautical miles. But if we were to arrive before nightfall we needed to motor as the winds were light. We spent six hours on the water. The approach to Bora Bora is incredible, very much the iconic Bali Hai image. It was impossible to take our eyes off the lush, green jagged peaks. We could hear extensive crashing on the reef which rings the entire southern part of the island. We motored through the only pass and into the bay at the village of Vaitape, on the western side of the island. We took a mooring at Mai Kai Marina. The waterfront at Vaitape is busy and very local. Anchored in the middle of this bay was a cruise ship named Paul Gaugin. Yes- very, very cheesy!

Most of the tourism is on the eastern side of the island in the high- end- over- the- water bungalows, i.e. St. Regis and Four Seasons. We debated if we wanted to spend our precious little time checking out that part of the island. In the end we decided that Bora Bora would disappoint. We’d spend our time exploring Vaitape. That evening, as we had boatman’s hour, we noticed many outrigger canoes gathering in the bay. Some canoes were solo and others had teams of two and four. We missed the horn but apparently it was race on! The canoes were off, the competition was fierce as these vessels are light and fast and the racers fit. The race occurred as the sun was setting. It was exhilarating! That night we grilled dinner and listened to a drumming show in town. This went on for several hours and we enjoyed relaxing in the cockpit listening to the rhythmic drumming floating out over the water. We found out the next day these performances take place in a newly constructed open air performance pitch with metal bleachers and sandy floor. Clearly the amount of people on the cruise ships necessitate bleachers. And these shows are most certainly geared toward tourists. But at night with beats of crystal clear drumming traveling across the water we felt it was authentic sounding. Non-stop drumming with no pauses for about two hours. It sounded, honestly, a bit menacing. I closed my eyes and imagined that sound coming from shore a hundred years ago as I approach these unknown islands by boat at night. While reading Robert Louis Stevenson’s In the South Seas, I found his interpretation of these sounds; “at the note of the drum wild instincts triumphed.”

The next day we went to the market in Vaitape and looked around town. Vaitape is small with a dirt main street but has everything a local or tourist could want. As we were walking we passed a front yard where a ring of local men and boys were practicing their drumming. We went to the market where I bought a freshly filleted piece of” thon rouge” which I found out later is tuna. For about $5 US per pound we purchased fresh tuna or swordfish at every market we visited. We also bought freshly harvested greens, cucumbers, carrots, peppers and melons. Their local grapefruits are neon green when sliced in half and taste delightfully less sweet than ours. We also had discovered the best thing the French did when colonizing these islands. They subsidize prices on real French cheeses and wine so we took advantage and had creamy brie and camembert on authentic French baguettes. I could go on and on about the great food in French Polynesia. We were told by many locals that these islands are self- sufficient food wise. They grow all of their own fruits and vegetables. They raise pigs, beef and chicken and everyone fishes. We found this really refreshing after the lack of fresh anything in BVI. My choices of fish in BVI is extremely overpriced, unidentified, frozen fish in shrink wrap or conch fritters which even after a night at the bar is unappetizing!

But I digress, back to Bora Bora. That afternoon we dinghied over to the Bora Bora Yacht Club. We had high expectations for our visit to BBYC, but it was mildly disappointing (Bass find it epically disappointing!). The male restaurant Manager (French man, not French Polynesian) berated our pleasant female bartender right in front of us. And their yacht club shirts (about $90 US) were as snooty as the Manager. So we muddled through a cold Hinano, bought a nylon BBYC burgee made in China and hit the water.

That afternoon we motored down to the southern end of Bora Bora and moored right off the famous bar, Bloody Mary’s. “Bloody Mary” as in Bali Hai and the musical South Pacific. This bar and restaurant, according to all the research we did, is a must stop. We completely agree! Bloody Mary’s is not a disappointment. Outside there is a permanent, painted guest board of people who have visited Bloody Mary’s. (View the board and list at http://bloodymarys.com/bloody-marys-guestboard.html) In my opinion, a few names of note: Patrick Swayze, Slash and Buzz Aldrin. We entered into the up-scale bungalow like structure to a welcoming bar and friendly staff. Of course the floor is a w.s.b.! And the bathrooms have hand-stacked, rock water features as sinks. The men’s room takes things one step further with a carved phallus chain pull flowing the sink water. This is one of those bars where, had it been inclement weather, we would have spent all day and evening. There were some Americans sitting around the bar, oddly enough, talking about skiing in Colorado. A British bloke and his American girlfriend were on a two year sailing odyssey. They said they had light winds for most of their trip from the Marquesas which was most of the month of May. So it was not just us experiencing light winds. Sebastian and I had an early start the next morning so we left the bar with a well- made, 100% cotton t-shirt in hand.

There is nothing like sunrise over Bora Bora. This sounds cliché but it is pretty magical. We needed to move toward Raiatea as our trip was winding down and we were pretty sure Sunsail wanted their sailboat back. This turned out to be one of those travel experiences where we regretted leaving every place we visited!

Our next stop was the most touristy thing we did while in Iles Sous Le Vent. We dropped anchor near Motu Tau Tau on N/W Taha’a where there are several resorts with over-the-water bungalows. This is the snorkeling spot, “Coral Garden”. If you google “coral garden tahaa” you will be able to see many incredible videos of the fish and coral in this shallow, flowing crevice between two motus. What makes it better snorkeling than Hawaii or Loblolly beach on Anegada in BVI is the fact that it is so easy to access and indeed, you float around with several dozen people, but the coral remains untrammeled. The key is walking up the shore of one of the motus, don snorkel and mask then wade into the gently flowing water. The current running between the motus lets you drift down the “alley” looking at and admiring the life aquatic. We saw fish of all sizes that were electric blue, yellow, orange and combinations thereof. We saw a perfectly white, narrow fish, twelve inches long and hiding in the white sandy bottom. If you want to pause to look at a particular coral head you just put your feet down in the sandy bottom. I have seen very little live coral in my life but here we saw so much! Patches of low, sprawly purple coral looked more like lichen. And true coral colored, long finger- like strands waved in the current. Brain coral was everywhere. Sebastian has his Go-Pro and was taking video but alas his lens was foggy. This was a very surreal experience because when your head is under water you only hear your own rhythmic breathing and maybe the sands shifting. It is very peaceful. But pick your head out of the water and you see the end of the alley lined with tourist pontoon boats all arriving on hour long tours. Music blares from various boats and French ladies, who really are not in their 20’s anymore, lounge on ski boats sans bikini tops. It was the first “scene” we had encountered. After a few hours in the coral garden we pulled up the hook and sailed around the top half of Taha’a. We spent this evening on a mooring ball about 300 yards off Vahine Island Motu – a small, mellow looking resort with just three over the water bungalows. We had no other boats around us and spectacular views of Bora Boar in profile. We swam, had boatmen’s hour and watched the sunset behind Bora Bora. It was a very special evening and we spent most of the time on deck and in awe.

The next day was our last full day before flying home. The wind came up immediately in the morning and continued to build. We were headed back to the black pearl farm so the distance was not considerable but we could sail in a large area within the barrier reef in deep water between Raiatea and Taha’a. And sail we did! In about 5.5 to 6.5 knots we tacked back and forth with the Sunsail marina as well as the airport in full view. It was a bit disappointing that we were finally able to see how Tere Roa III sailed only in the last hours of our trip but as they say c’est la vie! We had a great time with main unreefed and jib fully unfurled and full.

Sailing French Polynesia (14min 02sec):

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