28 September 2024 –Tahiti Tour

The wind had changed direction in the night which increased the swell around the marina and we were moving about a bit. Keith went off to get some croissants for breakfast which we had with delicious fresh pineapple and papaya.

We still had a gas problem which I needed to resolve and I had been thinking about it in the night. I thought we should buy a cylinder and the regulator they had and see if we get a fitting to join that thinner pipe to ours. Sean and I had looked at the current pipe we were using and there was already a connector we were using which Mark and I had got in the Canaries so something like that would work. We had been advised to go to Plombier a specialist plumbing shop in Papeete but it was closing at 11.30am.

I went to pick up our hire car at about 9.00am and by about 10.00am we stopped at the garage to buy a new cylinder and regulator. We then drove to Plombier and took our fittings with us and explained to the man what we required. He went to the back and came back about 5 minutes later with a new fitting and connector to our fitting. This was great and just what we needed.

As we were on the east side of town we decided to take Sean to see Point Venus where Cook had landed and HMS Bounty. We then decided to do a tour of Tahiti Nui showing Sean the sights we had seen before including the waterfalls and the blow hole although that was closed due to falling rocks. It was a lovely day and we did not have rain which we have had the last two times when travelling around this part of the island. The sun shone as did the flowers and gardens and shrubs. The sea was glistening as we drove along and it looked very attractive. We then stared to come up the west side and stopped at the Botanical Gardens. We carried on and stopped at a restaurant on the water overlooking the bay near the isthmus between Tahiti Nui and Iti. This proved to be a good find and we sat on the terrace looking over lots of boats moored and at anchor. We had some nice Mahi Mahi fish and I noticed Isle Flotant on the menu for deserts which you do not often find. It had to be tried and was delicious.

We carried on and stopped to buy some tuna fillet at a store we have used before and some huge avocados which looked like melons. We then showed Sean a Marae which he enjoyed. By this time we all needed a swim and so stopped at a beach and swam and snorkelled which was nice and refreshing although visibility was not the best.

We returned to Stormbird and I worked on putting the gas fittings together and we tested the new fitting and the cylinder and it worked so we have now resolved the gas situation for now. Job done.

We were all quite full and had planned to have tuna fillet for supper. We could not do this so we had a light supper of cheese and bread. It had been a good day and tomorrow we have to provision before the remaining crew arrive on Monday.

The picture of the day is Stormbird at the marina.

 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 then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com