Tuesday 6th May
It’s a motorsail all through the night ,wind 6-7 knots from the NE. No moon so the sky a carpet of stars, a few black clouds and occasional showers. We arrive at Tarerea Pass, Huahine at about 7.30am , with the rest of the convoy ( who left from Moorea) just ahead – Tallulah Ruby, Blue Flier, Kasugi, Lady Kay and Nutella. We anchor up in the lagoon just inside the entrance to Maroe bay in 5m. The lagoon has lovely coral heads, clear water, colourful fish and rays. Breakfast aboard then Stewy and Avril drop Ian and Annie on the shore of the motu by an abandoned house. Murimahore Motu appears to be mostly privately owned;simple houses,many with jettys, dotted along the inside shore with long strips of land stretching from behind the buildings to the outer shoreline. Some of the gardens are cultivated but there’s not much sign of life while we walk across the motu then along the beach. Stewy and Avril go fishing in the dinghy but only catch very beautiful reef fish which they immediately release. Ian and Annie then go snorkelling on the reef. We chat to Kasugi and Tallulah Ruby ; as there does not appear to be a good venue for a BBQ, we decide to go round the top of the island to the bays on the other side. TR are staying put but Kasugi say they’ll join us later. While motoring out the pass we see a large fin in the water – another shark! We then hoist the sails and enjoy a relaxing sail round the top of the island in 9-10 knots ,on a broad reach, then a run, to the Avamoa Pass. While motoring in we see small dolphins, or perhaps porpoises,who come and play in our wake. We pass the main village of Fare, then edge our way cautiously south inside the reef. We reach our destination – a small anchorage behind Vaiorea motu at Point Teapara – at about 3pm. In record time, the BBQ is packed and we head ashore where we meet a local man in a traditional rowing boat. He tells us we are welcome to use the beach as it is Tahitian, not French! He seems to look after the beach, we thank him very much but he politely declines our offers of beer and food. Avril and Annie go for a snorkel in the shallow water while Ian and Stewy get busy with the BBQ. It’s another perfect setting, white sand, flowers falling from the trees and tall coconut palms lining the beach. Kasugi arrives shortly after us and join us at our “camp”. Steve is sailing with his daughter , Kate, and friends, Ruby, Sophie and Jenny. Ruby and Sophie manage to persuade the beach man to let them have a shot at rowing his boat and they’re quite a sight paddling in the bay with the sun setting behind. There’s a simple little open hut with a table (which we decorate with the flowers – Kasugi most impressed, we’re getting good at this!) and a bench built round a tree trunk – no sand in the salad today! Unfortunately, despite Stewy and Avril’s best efforts, still no fish so it’s pork chops and sausages and very good too! Stewy falls asleep on the beach. We eat and drink our fill, watch the spectacular sunset, then enjoy crack and banter before retiring to Kasugi for a coffee and brandy before bed. There’s lots of activity round the boat – we think it’s the long spindly fish but can’t quite catch sight of them with our torches.
Wednesday 7th May
We have a relaxing early morning appreciating the beauty of the bay, then after breakfast, say cheerio to Kasugi who are heading for Raiatea, then up anchor and motor further south to what is described in our Pilot Guide as” possibly one of the best bays in French Polynesia”. We go cautiously as no proper charts and some areas very shallow. Stewy and Avril on the bow looking for coral heads and shallows , slowly , slowly, then we reach this beautiful bay. Just as we’re dropping anchor Stewy sees a large turtle the size of our cockpit table, then, Dario and Ciara zip up in their dinghy and invite us over for lunch. Once we’re settled over we go and enjoy a lovely pasta ,followed by fresh fruit and coffee. Dario,Ciara,Felici and Paoula are great company and we have a lovely time. We go back to the boat, Stewy and Avril go for a quick fish in the dinghy but return sooner than expected as they caught a puffer (porcupine) fish and had to cut the line to let it go. We all head for the reef at the south of the island – it takes us some time s it’s very shallow and we hit a couple of coral heads on the way. Rays are scooting about – the water is crystal clear, turquoise and we could look at it all day….We anchor the dinghy near Dario and Ciara and all enjoy an hour or so of snorkelling in a very colourful world of coral garden ,huge red balloon like anemones, reef fish, snakes and sea cucumbers! We then go ashore briefly to look at a marae (traditional Polynesian site) – Marae Anini was apparently one of the last to be constructed before Christianity arrived, and is made of massive coral blocks. This one was built by the ‘Oro cult; ‘Oro- the god of war, and Hiro- the god of thieves and sailors (not sure why we’re all bandied together!) who also practised human sacrifice. Apparently it was Hiro who split the island in two and you can see the marks left by his finger, paddle and rocky phallus! It’s another eerie place!
We go back round to the bay and call briefly ashore to look at a tree which is actually 3 trees in one – what appears to be a banyan tree, a palm and another species have grown up , around and through each other – a good spot for some happy snaps! Back to the boat for sundowners, then ashore to Pension Mauarii for dinner. We order a “plancha” to share as a starter, and soon regret it as we have to move from our lovely table with arm chairs to benches that are near an electric socket! There’s a whole palaver going on to set up nthis electric “plancha” and while swinging his leg over to get into the bench table, Stewy kicks the waitress right in the arse! She takes it well, thank goodness! Things soon settle down and when the plancha eventually heats up it works out well with us sizzling our own meat and veg, then dipping in sauces – a bit like fondue. We return to our old table for the rest of the meal,( where Stewy can sit down without further incident!), then back to the boat for a drink before bed.