21 September 2024 – Huahine to Moorea

Before I start today’s blog -I am looking for one crew from Tahiti to Tonga – who would need to be in Tahiti by the 30th of September 2024 latest. If anyone is interested please email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com or WhatsApp me on 0044 7931360372.

Continued from yesterday - Keith came on watch at 9.00pm (20th) and was on watch until midnight. I had tacked before Keith came on and we were making the best course we could toward Moorea. The wind was still light and we were only doing about 3-4 kts maximum. At this rate according to our plotter we would not be there until late evening after dark which would not be good. The wind was forecast to increase after midnight so I was not worried.

When I came on at midnight we were not too far off course and heading toward the west of Moorea Island whereas the passe to Cook’s Bay is on the east side. The wind began to increase and we were able to increase our speed to 5+ kts. We were close hauled but due to the relatively low wind strength our angle of heel (how far we are leaning over) was not too bad -some 5-6%. Keith took over at 3.00am until 6.00am and by then it was getting light when I took over again at 6.00am. At about 6.45am there was a major wind shift and instead of heading towards the west of the island it turned us 60 degrees toward North and we were going in completely the wrong direction. I waited to see if this was a short quirk but it continued so I tacked and went in the other direction and closer to where we needed to go. However, this was too close to the wind to use the genoa so I had just the main up and essentially motor sailed. We were still about 30 nm away even though we could see Moorea quite clearly. We motored for a couple of hours and then Keith came up and we had a bit of breakfast. The wind came round and for the last few hours we were able to sail direct to the waypoint outside the passe to Cook’s Bay quite nicely.

The wind increased as did the swell but by the end we were doing about 7 kts and came through the passe about 11.25am. En route we had been looking out for whales but alas we did not see any. We motored into Cook’s Bay which is quite dramatic with its high peaks around and Keith enjoyed this due to the history of Captain Cook coming into this bay on the Endeavour.

We were anchored by 12.00 noon and the trip from Huahine had taken 22 hours and 25 minutes (we had light winds) and the distance we sailed was 109 nm.

I wrote about Moorea when I first came but I repeat for those who have forgotten or cannot remember. Moʻorea, also spelled Moorea, is a volcanic island in French Polynesia. It is one of the Windward Islands, a group that is part of the Society Islands, 17 kilometres (11 mi) northwest of Tahiti. The name comes from the Tahitian word Moʻoreʻa, meaning  "yellow lizard". The first Europeans to arrive on the island were the Englishmen Samuel Wallis and James Cook. Captain James Cook first landed on Tahiti, where he planned the 1769 Transit of Venus observed from Tahiti and Moʻorea. At Moʻorea, where Taʻaroa was chief, Cook first landed in ʻŌpūnohu Bay, Cook's Bay was later named in his honour.

Moorea is about 16 km (10 miles) across. There are two small, nearly symmetrical bays on the north shore. The one to the west is called ʻŌpūnohu Bay. The main surrounding communes of the bay are Pihaʻena in the east and Papetōʻai to the west. The one to the east is Cook's Bay, also called Pao Pao Bay since the largest commune of Moʻorea is at the bottom of the bay. The other communes are Pihaʻena to the west and busy Maharepa to the east. The highest point is Mount Tohivea, near the center of Moʻorea. It dominates the vista from the two bays and can be seen from Tahiti. There are also hiking trails in the mountains. Vaiʻare Bay is another small inlet, smaller than the two main bays, on the east shore. The main village is located just south of the bay.

The island had a population of 14,226 inhabitants in the 2002 census which increased to 17,718 in 2017, distributed in the associated communes of Afareaitu, Haʻapiti, Paopao, Papetōʻai, and Teavaro. Together with Maiʻao it forms the commune of Moʻorea-Maiʻao, which had 14,550 inhabitants by 2002.

Once we had anchored I had a rest and then we had lunch and it then rained hard again and so we sat under the doghouse listening to the clatter of the rain and the drops. Cook’s Bay looked just as dramatic from when I first came but the mount tops are covered in cloud and the tree cloaked banks steam moisture from the rain. I could also see again the pineapple fields.         

When I last came there was a restaurant on the east side and I looked it up and it had good reviews. It said it was open tonight. We therefore decided to go. Although it was raining we had to get our dinghy down so we donned swimming trunks and jackets and got it down. We then sorted ourselves out and headed ashore in the pouring rain. The restaurant was closed but the man advised us to walk beyond the petrol station and we will find things. I do not recall this from my last visit so we walked on for 10 minutes in the pouring rain and drew a blank. We retraced our steps and returned to Stormbird and quickly cooked mash potatoes, beans and confit de canard (from a tin – very good despite this). That is life.

We were here and we will sleep well tonight and explore further tomorrow.

The picture of the day is approaching Moorea Cook – a scene that will not have changed when James Cook came here in 1769. A sobering thought.   

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