18 August 2024 – Return to Tahiti

I arrived back in Tahiti to be met by a Tahitian band at the airport welcoming me back. I have come to like this relaxing music and it was a nice reminder of my Polynesian experience to date.

I have had a great few weeks in the UK visiting my wife Jules, my children, my parents, family and friends. It was funny but you slip back into life in blighty quite quickly and after the flights you realise quite what a long way it is. I flew Tahiti to Los Angeles and direct to Heathrow. On the return journey I had to fly to Paris for the night and then to LA and then from LA to Tahiti and this took about 48 hours. When I was returning I was reflecting on what a great time I had had at home and was already missing everyone. This is the issue with sailing so far and for so long which is great in itself as you experience so much and see so many lovely places. However, it means you are away from loved ones for a long time. Unfortunately, you cannot have both.

Mark kindly picked me up at the airport. Stormbird has been looked after by Mark and Corinne in my absence. So, what has happened whilst I have been I the UK. The water leak by the freshwater filters in the engine room has been fixed. The freezer has been replaced which will make a big difference so that we can extend the amount of food we can take. I have had proper steel plates put under the turning blocks on the deck and the running backstay jammers which  should now secure them more. The mainsail has been repaired and the engine has been serviced. The new heat exchanger was in Tahiti when I arrived and this has now been fitted but the sea water and fresh water pumps were looking at the end of their lives and have also been replaced so hopefully the generator will now be in a good condition. When I was in the UK I sent a box of water pumps and macerator pumps and some other bits and bobs and hopefully they will arrive on the 21st.

The most major issue is the crack in the bottom section of the foil inside the mast which the mainsail furls around. The riggers in Tahiti tried to get a replacement but were told that they could only buy a completely new whole foil for the inside of the mast. I therefore contacted Jeremy from Transworld and he has found the parts I only need to replace and they are being sent on the 21st. I hope they will therefore arrive promptly so I can get them fitted and we can get the mainsail back again. Tahiti is a good place to get things done and which will mean less work in New Zealand when we get there.

Stormbird looked good and tidy and it was nice to see the reef again so close and with its different shades of blue. I sorted myself out and we had breakfast in the cockpit which was nice.

To get back into the swing of things we decided to go down to a beach on the westside for a swim and snorkel. This beach had what was described a coral garden off it. It had been a good day weather wise so far and so it was nice to be going down the west coast again. We parked up at the beach called Mohana Park and headed into the water. This was warm and the coral was like plants in a garden with stems which seemed to float in the water, There was lots of different tropical fish to see which was lovely. It was a perfect way to get into the tropical islands again.

After our swim we went south to a restaurant which Joyce, Andy and I had gone too which was equally as good and we had huge portions. Whilst we were there as per the last time it rained and I think this is quite a wet part of the island. It was great to be here and exploring again.

We returned to Stormbird and sorted a number of things out and had a light supper of bread and cheese and pate. I went to bed quite early -say about 8.00pm as I was feeling quite tired. It was great to be back on Stormbird.

Crewing Opportunity Year Two

In year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025. I will need some more crew.

If there is any interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

The blog will continue as we move through French Polynesia and beyond.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com  I can only upload one picture a day and visit our website www.stormbirdgoesglobal.co.uk