Day 7 Bora Bora - Tonga

Position 16 degrees 17 minutes S; 166 degrees 19 minutes W
Motor sailing at 7.3 knots course 225 degrees
Wind 10 knots from 90
459 miles to go
Compared to our slow progress sailing in light winds,using the engine  we are hurtling towards tonga, and positioning ourselves further south ready for the coming big blow - which will be from a difficult angle if we are still too far North of Tonga.  Hopefully sailing again by this afternoon with forecast better sailing conditions.

Day 6 Bora Bora - Tonga

Position : 15 degrees S ; 163 degrees 58.3 minutes W
Sailing at 6.5 knots at 245 degrees
Wind 13 knots from 100 degrees.
Still painfully slow on this northerly route looking for wind.  Have just gybed over and heading directly for Tonga at last. Have just downloaded latest weather forecasts - looks like a solid 30 knots forecast for monday night and tuesday, so that will be a contrast from the trip so far!
612 miles to go.

Day 5 Bora Bora - Tonga

Position 15 degrees 45.9 minutes S; 161 degrees 24.8 minutes W
Sailing at 5.8 knots course 267
Wind 15 knots from 060
739 miles to go - halfway hopefully tonight!
still not much breeze, lots of cloud, some rain showers.  Briefly glimpsed the lights of another yacht behind us in the night, but she faded away behind us as the moon rose.  steady slow sailing.

Day 4 bora bora - tonga

position - 15 degrees 5 minutes S; 158 degrees 56.9 minutes W.
Sailing at 7 knots course 285
Wind 15 knots from 110
Only 886 miles to go!
Comfortable sailing in steady breeze despite moderate seas.

At sea

Position - 15 degrees 13.6 minutes S, 156 degrees 10.8 minutes west
Sailing at 6.2 knots, course 265degrees in 15knots wind from 91 degrees.
1040 miles to go to Tonga
Still very slow sailing in light winds,  thanking our lucky stars we are not hand steering!
Swell easing,  reasonably comfortable sailing.

At sea again!

position 10.00  tuesday 25th local time:  15 degrees 35.8 minutes S; 153degrees 29.7 minutes west.
sailing at 5.7 knots, course 300 degrees, seas slight but large southerly swell, 12 knots wind from 150.
A slow start , not enough wind for comfortable sailing, rolly in big swells on the beam,a really nice night sailing under clear skies and a full moon, heading north to find more wind.
Satphone relay, Posted by Kate's Dad Andrew

Bora Bora: Waiting for a Weather Window and the Heiva Festival

We have been "stuck" in Bora Bora, waiting for a weather window to head to Tonga.   The weather poor NZ has had has sucked all the wind out of where we are.  Can't complain too much.  The lack of wind has made for some awesome days anchored out by the reef watching the stingrays go by, four metres below us, through the glass like water.

                                            

                                           

              

                                            

                                            

                                            

                             

                             

                                          

We have been keeping ourselves entertained. The Heiva festival, "the Celebration of Life", began on Friday and we went along for the opening.  The huge thatched roof market building had been closed off all the time we have been in Bora Bora.  Little did we know, it was being prepared for the festival.  On opening night, the place came alive with food stalls and gaming booths tempting punters with spin the wheel and dunk for ducks. 

The opening ceremony was a mix of singing, dancing and costumes - ranging from conservative to skimpy.  As expected, the hip movements were superhuman and memorising.  

We are planning to head off to Tonga this afternoon, as the wind is expected to fill in.  This morning has been packed with checking out procedures and cooking meals for the passage.  We will be posting daily updates on where we are.

Bora Bora: Baby on Board

We had a great week with Gary’s Sister Jayne, her husband Andrew and their baby Alex.  Since we haven’t been back to NZ for a while, despite Alex being nearly a year old, it was the first time Gary had met him.

We managed to fit in snorkelling, swims off the beach and sun-downers between baby nap times.  Andrew also took some of the best pictures we have of Bora Bora – Thanks Andrew!

Bora Bora: Swimming with Sharks in the Lagoonarium

Sharks are one of my biggest fears.  That’s why I go down the swim ladder when I go swimming, just so I can check under the boat for sharks before I get in.  Of an evening, I used to enjoy hanging my feet in the water off the back of the boat, wine in hand, watching the sun go down, until a shark swam out from under the boat only a couple of metres from my dangling toes.

You may, therefore, be surprised to hear that swimming with sharks is on my bucket list. Jumping in with an unexpected shark off the boat didn’t fit the bill.  I was after a more planned experience.

I missed out on the opportunity to swim with the hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos, not having a diving certificate and being told they couldn’t be seen by snorkelers from the surface.  Our friend Diana off Dreams Float, however, had told me that she had swum with sharks in Bora Bora.  So my sights shifted from the Galapagos to Bora Bora to fulfil my dream of swimming with sharks.

On a private island off the north-eastern side of Bora Bora, sits the Lagoonarium, a fenced off area of the lagoon filled with sharks and stingrays. 

We arrive mid morning, just before a group of tourists and the daily shark feeding.  We are given free reign of the shark pond before the tourists arrive. 

Tentatively dipping our feet in, we make our way past the black tip reef sharks that don’t seem to have a problem with swimming in the shallows.  I strategically place myself behind Gary as we venture further into the lagoon.  The sharks are unafraid, swimming close enough to touch.  A large shark swims past at an uncomfortable distance and I decide it might be a good idea to wait until the “professional” shark handlers arrive.  I try to exit the lagoon, only to find that we have been surrounded.  I wait until there is a gap in the shark traffic and run to the safety of the shore.  Unfortunately, I have caught the attention of one of the shark handlers who has just arrived with the tourist group.  

We join the pack of tourists for the tour of the Lagoonarium and the shark feeding.  They ease us into the experience, beginning in the stingray enclosure.  As soon as one of the handlers enters the lagoon, the stingrays smother him, swimming up his sides as he feeds them.  We are all encouraged to jump in with the stingrays that are unfazed and swim against us all while we squeal with delight.

Unbeknown to us, there is a 7ft nurse shark lurking in the depths of this enclosure.  After being identified as an easy target, the handler calls me over, points out this giant and asks if I want a ride. I decide to send my crash test dummy (aka Gary) to try it out first.

When he comes back with all limbs intact, I can’t avoid it any longer, particularly with the amount of peer pressure being applied by Gary and the shark handler.  The handler positions me in the path of the increasingly agitated shark and gives me the count down.  I swim down and catch the dorsal fin, which feels like a thick leather hide.  Seeing the weaving body and head of the shark in front of me was surreal. 

Feeling much more confident, we are taken to the main shark enclosure.  We are told not to touch these sharks at all costs.  The enclosure that keeps these sharks in actually has a gate at both ends and the sharks come and go as they please.  My confidence plummets at this point; perhaps a man-eating shark has entered the enclosure!  Stingrays, large lemon sharks and black tips are circling at the entrance to the lagoon.  They obviously know it’s lunchtime.  Getting into the water is difficult, with stingrays covering the sand and getting in the way of every footfall.  Even when we get into sufficient depth to float on the surface, the stingrays sweep along our sides hoping for a snack.  Every time this happens I have a little heart attack thinking it’s a shark.  The handler throws food to the sharks just in front of us as we drift with the current through the lagoon.  There must be 30 or more sharks ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 metres, all fighting for the food and attacking each other right in front of us.  The water becomes murky with all the sand being kicked up by the frenzied sharks.  More and more sharks seem to come out of nowhere right at us.  The drift to the shallows and safety of other end of the lagoon seems to take forever.  I begin to have confidence that the sharks won’t attack me and start to enjoy looking at the sharks in all their might, albeit from the safety of Gary’s back.  Finally, we reach the end and I’m quite grateful to be getting out. 

The tourist group leaves and we enjoy lunch at the Lagoonarium with Gary’s sister, her husband and their baby. 

We again have free reign of the place.  We do the drift through the enclosure a few more times, this time without the sharks being fed, which feels much more safe and the sharks keep a comfortable distance.  

Although by the end I felt quite comfortable and relaxed in the sharks’ presence, I still think I’m going to take the swim ladder and keep checking under the boat when I go for a swim.

Tahiti - Pampered by the Parents in Papeete then all the way to Bora Bora

Just before the sun went down, we headed out of the Kauehi atoll oasis and back out to sea for our shortest sea passage yet – two nights and one day.   This passage was special for me because waiting at the dock on the other side would be my parents, who I hadn’t seen for nearly a year and a half.   Gary and I had visited Dad in Tahiti when he was cruising back from the Caribbean in 2008 on his boat Hanne Danske.  Having Mum and Dad on Toodles in Tahiti had a nice symmetry to it. 

When the sun rose on the second day, we were cruising along the Papeete coastline.   Without a cell-phone on board, our line of communication with my parents was by VHF, with Dad on his handheld.  Just in case we were in range, I called him on the radio every 15 minutes.  Calling “Hanne Danske” from Toodles’ radio was just surreal.  Only about a mile out, I hear Dad’s voice over the radio “Toodles, Toodles, Toodles, this is Hanne Danske” and I rattle off the correct radio etiquette of acknowledging the call and changing stations, which felt just plain weird when it was my Dad on the other station.

We entered Papeete harbour at 7.30 am with a pod of dolphins at the bow, but more importantly, with Mum and Dad waving from the dock.  Just before we backed into the town dock, I realised that I had completely forgotten to get the fenders out.  We fluffed around a bit and got ourselves sorted before Gary backed us into a tight spot, making it look effortless.  

Tired, rather salty, and to be honest, probably rather smelly, I jumped onto the dock to give Mum and Dad a hug.  After a quick tour of Toodles, we packed our bags and headed to the apartment Mum and Dad have rented for a few days.

It is hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t been on a boat for an extended period, or spent a long time camping perhaps, but those simple things you take for granted about land life are like little gems of luxury to us.  A hot, high pressure shower that you can stand under for minutes at a time – fabulous; A sprung bed with crisp, fresh white sheets – amazing; 24 hour air conditioning, reducing the 30 plus degree heat down to a chilly 24 – magical; Walking around a room that isn’t moving, sitting on puffy sofas, using a fridge that I don’t have to reach down into while standing on tippy toes – out of this world.  For the first time in a very long time, I felt clean, well rested and completely comfortable.  

After 5 days spent at the apartment, swimming in the pool, shopping with Mum, exploring the island and eating dinners under the stars from the food stalls on the waterfront, it is not an exaggeration to say they had to drag me kicking and screaming from the apartment back to the boat. 

We headed for Moorea just for an afternoon, having all explored the place when Dad was here in 2008.  We decide to do a night sail on to Huahine.  After countless nights at sea, Gary and I have decided this is the best time to be out there, with no burning sun, no need to cook meals, and the joy of being snuggled up with a blanket under the stars.  Unfortunately, the trip over to Huahine was rough and uncomfortable, broken up by heavy rain squalls that soaked us, and the blankets, through.  Suffice to say, it wasn’t the idyllic sail we had hoped to have with Mum and Dad.

We arrived in Huahine to a beautiful day, swam off the boat in the turquoise water by the reef and laughed at Gary’s attempts to windsurf with insufficient wind.  After only a night at Huahine, we crossed over to Tahaa, then on to Bora Bora the following day.  After so much sailing and short stops, I was extremely glad to arrive somewhere that we didn’t have to move from for a good few weeks.  More swimming, snorkelling and a dinner at the famous Bloody Mary’s restaurant, then it was time for Mum and Dad to leave.  I was absolutely gutted leaving them at the ferry building, but Dad had left a nice reminder of their stay with us – giving us both the cold he had been struggling with most of the trip.  Thanks Dad.

Moorea

Gary finally catching a breeze in Tahaa

Bloody Mary's