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We sailed direct to Moorea where we found the rally boats gathered outside the Bali Hai Club in the beautiful Cook's Bay anchorage.
(Cook actually dragged his anchor here and moved to anchor in Opunohu Bay nearby)
Cook's Bay Our Anchorage
Bali Hai Club Polynesian Welcome
We drove around beautiful Moorea where we saw some dramatic South Pacific scenery.
We took a short break from our sailing to visit Manihi on the Tuamotos atolls. We flew there for a couple of nights in a hotel. Manihi is particularly known for its black pearl production, but also some stunning snorkelling and diving.
Us View from the restaurant Our bedroom
Pearl Farm Black Pearls
Beautiful fish and coral
Then we visited the Society Islands. Tahiti and Bora Bora are the best known but there are several more. These pictures give some idea of our time here.
The superyacht Maltese Falcon has been
Arriving at Bora Bora Sailing in style between the islands cruising the same area as us during 2008
Exploring the islands
Ancient Marae (Ceremonial place) Fish Traps Beautiful Coral
Traditional dress is still worn Outriggers and surfing are a national pastime
The local agriculture A vanilla orchid Vanilla pods
Swimming with Black tipped Reef Sharks
Meeting Sting Rays
An amateur UK production of South Pacific. How it is done in Polynesia - a dance class and the end result
And finally indulging ourselves at Bloody Marys on Bora Bora
Two little known facts told to us by a local:
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Polynesians used to party every night because they were afraid of the dark and did not wish to fall asleep at night and risk having nightmares. Hence their reputation for partying.
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Polynesians used pigs to help navigate. Boats carried a pig on board and if the sailors were lost they threw the pig overboard to see which way it swam. Pigs have such a good sense of smell that they can smell land from up to 100 miles and they would head towards land. This was one reason why the Polynesians were such good sailors.
We took the decision not to leave the Society Islands until all of our major mechanical issues were resolved. As the cylinder head gasket had leaked three times and we didn't know why we decided to replace our Volvo engine. We also fitted a new generator as we could not get spares for our old one. There could be worse places to be delayed in!
Lifting out the old engine Patrick in our cockpit locker (rebuilding Tapestry) Antifouling the keel
We have had to drop out of the Blue Water Rally as we now cannot catch up with the other boats. We expect to leave Tahiti for Tonga in August.