3 September 2024 – Tahiti

I woke quite early to a sunny morning and had a cup of tea before anyone woke. It was lovely and quiet and I just watched the world go by and the houses up on the hill with their balcony views.

I went to the local shop to buy some croissants and bread. It is so easy to do here and a bit like being in mainland France when you would nip down to the boulangerie before breakfast. When I returned we had our usual breakfast of fruits and croissants.

John came to continue the hatch repair work and the screws he had glued into the hatch handles did not work so we looked at putting some bolts through with nuts but these needed to be longer. We therefore headed off to Papeete in the car to the chandleries etc. We were needing some wet and dry sandpaper; some longer bolts and some new rubber seal for some of the hatches. We got the sandpaper and in one place we saw the similar pumps for the watermaker but I did not have the details with me but at least I know where they are. We could not get the hatch rubber or bolts. Once we had a good look round I dropped John off at the port and returned to Stormbird. I checked with the local chandlery and got the bolts but not the seal.

Mark & Corinne had packed for returning to the UK and they had been to the Tahiti Crew office and my main parts were already here in Tahiti and they are trying to get them here in the marina on Friday which was good news. They also said that a new watermaker man would come and help at about 11.00am. This was good.

The man came at about 11.00am and I showed him the problem and explained the issue. He assumed that the previous mechanic had correctly diagnosed the fact that the old water pump was faulty so set about changing it with my reconditioned pump. This was quite challenging and it took some time. We took the old pump on to the quay and took off the brass pipe sections and then they had to screw them back on to the reconditioned pump. They then fitted this pump and at first he had to check that the pump was turning in the right way. If not them he would have to change the wiring. To cut a long story short we tried to get it working and smoke came out the pump. He said stop and he could not understand what was happening.

He went off to consult with colleagues and came back some time later saying he was very puzzled and changed the wiring and then we started it all up again and it worked!!! We were running as normal. However, he said he was concerned about the pump and took the old one away to look at it.  He thought it was ok but would check. We then had lunch.

I had an email from Tahiti Crew and Fedex will deliver the parts on Friday morning. I checked with the riggers and they will there on Friday morning.

Mark then decided to go up the mast to release some sail ties and to bring the foil head down in preparation for the mast works. We hoisted him up in what we call a bosuns chair. This is like a swing type chair and we tie two halyards to it to haul him up. One of them – is the main halyard and we always have a safety halyard in case the first fails. He went up beyond the first spreader and we released the sail ties and could bring the foil down. Corinne got some good photos.

After all this we needed a swim and drove to the local beach. We could see hang gliders coming down from a local hill and landing next to the beach which was interesting. The swim was refreshing and enjoyable and washed away the stress of the day. We returned to Stormbird and dressed for dinner in our Harrington Dash Tahitian shirts and headed off to the restaurant for a drink on the terrace and then dinner.  

We had a great dinner and it will be Mark and Corinne’s last in Tahiti. They will unfortunately return to the UK and Mark will return at the end of September for the passage to Tonga and New Zealand. We wish them a safe flight.

The picture of the day is of all of us at our last evening in our Harrington Dash outfits.

Urgent Crewing Opportunity

Mark will take Corinne home so if anyone would like to join Keith and I to see some more of The Society Islands now and until 29 September 2024 please get in touch. This could be a unique opportunity to see these islands. This is your chance.

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