25 September 2024 – Moorea to Tahiti – a Whale of a Day.

It was another nice morning when we woke and very calm like a millpond. There was, however, quite a bit of cloud around and the sun was sporadic.

John on Labyrinth had left on his way to Fiji. We had breakfast of fruit and yoghurt which was enough for us. We had to prepare to leave and so the first step was to get the outboard off the dinghy and remove the fuel tank and anchor. This was relatively easy as it was so calm and we used the crane to haul the outboard on board. We then sorted our fenders, the steps etc and got the fishing rods out.

I knew from my last visit to Cook’s Bay that the bottom was mucky and the anchor and chain came up full of mud so we got out the fire hose, which fits to a fitting at the base of the mast. It has its own pump and so as we brought up the anchor we hosed it down and cleared it of the mud so we had a clean anchor and chain by the time we were finished. We motored out of the bay and passed Hanse Explorer the large motorboat which is available for charter and which was still listing by about 10 degrees. We talked about hopefully seeing some whales as we exited the passe to the bay. We hoped we would.

Once through the passe we upped the sails and had to sail on an angle of about 135 degrees off the wind. If we went more downwind the main flapped in the swell which I wanted to avoid. As we started sailing we could see a few small boats and we realised they were watching whales and one boat asked us to sail out more. We could see some blow holes and spray in the area from time to time and the odd back of a whale swimming along. We suddenly saw a humpback jump out the water and land with a big splash but unfortunately we did not get this on film. We then we saw a large tail rise and then it was gone. This is normally what they do when they dive. We sailed on toward the western point of Moorea as I thought it would be good to go round the west side on the way back to Tahiti. We were sailing in light winds of 6-9 kts and were doing about 3.5-4 kts and it was pleasant and quiet.

I had checked the charging with the engine on leaving the bay and the alternator was working properly so I do not know why it is intermittent but at least this indicates that the alternator is not broken. We sailed on the course until about 11.25am when I thought we could gybe (back of the boat through the wind) and miss the Northwestern corner on the opposite tack. When we gybed, the angle was better than anticipated and the wind increased a bit and we were managing 5-6 kts.

We could see ahead of us around the corner a number of small boats ahead and as we approached we were in the lee (shelter) of the island and the wind came on the nose of the boat so we took the sails down. When we approached these small boats we could see they were observing several whales and we could see the spouts of spray from their blow holes and their backs arch through the water. Some just stuck their snout out of the water. We also heard some deep and whale noise as they I guess were taking to each other. We therefore slowed down and watched and took some pictures and the picture of the day is of one of those pictures. The small boats were tourist boats and some people were in the water snorkelling and trying to see the whales in the water. We motored slowly back and forth and saw several whales in the area although we did not get that close. It was interesting they seemed to be going one way and the turn round and go back again. We also saw quite a few small fins or snouts and think they were the baby whales together like in a sort of nursery whilst the adults swam back and forth. We also at the same time saw a few dolphins.

After about an hour we moved on and had to motor toward the Southwest corner of Moorea before we got some more wind and decided to sail the best course toward Tahiti which happened to be close hauled. As we put the sails up we saw two whales quite close to us but they were swimming just under the water and would come up for air and then swim on. I think they must have dived on our approach and went under us. It was time for some tea.

We sailed on quite nicely and I knew there was another passe (Passe Taapuna) to the west of Marina Taina and thought if we could use that we would not have to go to the main passe and then come round the airport. This would save us quite a lot of time and time was moving on. I consulted the pilot book and although a bit shallower in the current conditions there should be no reason why we could not use it.

We sailed a direct course toward the passe and this took about an hour and 45 minutes and there was the odd rain drop/spit but you dried off as they fell. Luckily it did not get worse.

Once we were about 0.5nm from the passe we took the sails down and began to go toward the passe and the route I had planned. As we approached the entrance we could see a few boats at the entrance and you would not believe it but there was a whale at the entrance to the passe which we could see and its spume of spray from its blow hole. I was not sure what to do and slowed down and held back but the whale dived under and so I proceeded. It must have gone right under us as we entered. The passe was quite narrow and at its shallowest was about 7.5m deep. We moved slowly though having to navigate little boats, surfers on boards, paddleboarders and swimmers in the water. Once through we motored through the channel and saw there was space for us tomorrow in the marina which was good.

We motored for a bit but eventually found a space not far from the marina to anchor. We had had a great day seeing all the whale sightings and also as we had some good sailing.

We cooked duck breast with mashed potato and guacamole (the avocados needed eating up) with sweetcorn which was a more delicious combination than you think.

It is into the marina early tomorrow as we have lots to do to prepare to leave for Tonga and then on to New Zealand. We have seen more whales today in the wild than I have seen in my life!!  They are magnificent creatures and need to be protected and nurtured.   

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