Sailing Tahiti: Pure Magic

Cruising in Raiatea’s azure lagoon, I first spotted the paddler about a mile away.  No matter how I maneuvered our charter boat, the outrigger canoe steered a dead-on collision course to us.  This area is tricky because of the reef that borders the island’s eastern side. It appeared that some local convention was eluding me.  So as the say, “The best way to avoid a collision is to avoid a collision”.   With a quick turn to port we ducked behind the outrigger about 50 yards before things got dramatic.  The Polynesian slumped, visibly saddened.  Me, just confused.  

Once we resumed course, the fit local quickly paddled in close behind my boat, surfing the bow wave off one of our catamaran’s hulls.  He was soon joined by three other outriggers, cackling and laughing together as they hitched a free ride, making their commute to Uturoa town faster and easier.  I was a bit embarrassed for misreading this Tahitian courtesy – at least until our cameras came out – then locals and tourists shared some smiles.

Earlier in the week, I had stepped onto Raiatea airport’s tarmac after a 45 minute flight from the big island of Tahiti.  This was not my first or even fourth time chartering in Tahiti and I still marvel at the beauty of these islands. A deep breath of tropical South Pacific air filled my lungs with the welcome scent of Tahitian vanilla. Five minutes later I was welcomed with a fragrant flowery lei around my neck at the Moorings & Sunsail charter base.  I was ready to get started but we had a few chores to take care of first: Chart briefing, boat orientation, storing food and drink provisions, confirming the weather forecast, and fitting snorkel gear.  Check, check and check.  By early afternoon we were ready and shoved off for Taha’a, a short sail north to Apu Bay.  

At Apu Bay we picked up an easy mooring, toured a black pearl farm, and bought some treasures.  That night we dinghied ashore to Ficus cafe to feast on a traditional 15-course Tahitian dinner with our toes in the sand.  The cafe owner, Jeremy, lead a group of local musicians playing bongo drums and ukuleles while Tahitian Fire Dancers held us mesmerized.  The local dancers demanded volunteers and somehow I found myself joining them (The few cocktails that I was enjoying had nothing to do with it, I swear I was forced!). Despite my best efforts it was obvious that I could not compete with their dancing.  Sorry, my hips just don’t move that way.  Ahh well, at least my boat mates clapped politely.

Sailing among the islands of Tahiti offers everything a sailor could want.  Blue water passages between islands to the East or Northwest measure about 20 miles. The islands’ jagged peaks rise over 2,000 feet, assisting your inter-island navigation with line of sight reference. Amazingly, the South Pacific ocean is nearly two miles deep between the islands.   Whale sightings are common during these passages.

The entrance to each island is through a pass in the coral barrier reef and most islands have several passes.  Tahiti island passes are caused by fresh water springs created by rainwater runoff from the island, as coral needs salt water to survive.  Uniquely, Bora Bora has only one passe, blasted out by US armed forces engineers during WWII. The entrance through Bora Bora’s Teavanui Passe is conveniently aided by sighting on the chapel’s tall steeple in the center of Vaitape town.  To navigate these entrances you observe the IALA-A lateral marker system which are similar to that used in the USA but the colors are exactly the opposite.  In Tahiti, green marks are triangles (“nun buoys”) and you keep them to Starboard when entering a passe.  Red lateral marks are square (“can buoys”).  In Tahiti, instead of “Red-Right-Return”, it’s more like “Red-Right-Wreck”.  Most passes are also marked with an illuminated transit range for night sailing.  These are essentially two posts that align when you are on the safe course.  The shorter post is in front, and you steer toward it to keep the transit marks in line.  Simple. 

Once you are through the passes you generally enter into a calm lagoon area. These lagoons typically have the clearest water you’ll find anywhere and are teeming with healthy sea life. Eyeball navigation is critical here.  Use this rhyme to read depths from the water color:

Brown Brown; Run Aground

White, White; You Just Might

Green, Green, Is it Clean?

Blue, Blue; Sail on Through

While navigating this area might sound daunting, the ATON systems are actually very straightforward.  Tahiti is the most well-marked cruising area I’ve ever sailed through.  And the charter boats are conveniently equipped with accurate chart plotters of course.

On this trip, a somewhat unusual west winds blew the next day, so we took the advantage and sailed east to Huahine.  This island is a great place to stay at various anchorages for a few nights. It is working island with a few resorts, all of which would welcome us for dinner or drinks.  Ashore in Fare town is the friendly Huahine Yacht Club restaurant, some unassuming boutiques, some of the best supermarket I’ve seen on any island, a quirky little rum distillery, scenic island tours, and scooter/ car rentals.  Especially great is that there are no cruise ships to avoid.  You can arrange scuba diving and snorkeling too. 

From Huahine we headed due west, back to the lagoon shared by Raiatea and it’s sister island, Taha’a.  You can truly relax in your own piece of paradise here by mooring in a deep bay or anchoring in shallow water off a little motu populated only with palm trees.  There are a dozen beautiful stops on these two really quite different islands. Prefer to visit an excellent distillery making sugarcane rum, enjoy more black pearl shopping, or tour a vanilla plantation?  You’ll find it all on rural Taha’a.  There are also some beautiful snorkel spots there among vibrant coral and fish in the shallow warm waters of the Coral Gardens.  Prefer to dinghy up a navigable river in the jungle?  Or walk among the remains of Marae Taputapuatea, once the religious and political center of all Polynesian culture?  See you on Raiatea. 

We then moved on to Bora Bora. Every trip to the islands of Tahiti must include a visit to Bora Bora.  Its beauty is spellbinding.  At less than 12 square miles, Bora Bora is the smallest of the four islands we visited, and around every corner is a photo op.   Bora Bora was the inspiration for Bali Hai, the mystical island in James A, Michener’s novel Tales of the South Pacific and the inspiration for a couple of feature films.  Have dinner at Bloody Mary’s, a fun local restaurant where you might just rub elbows with some of the rich and famous.  The Bora Bora Yacht Club is another excellent dining spot.  Every restaurant will serve Poisson Cru, the local delight of diced raw fish, coconut milk, lime juice, shredded carrots, bell pepper and onion.  In good light the next day, we cruised through Bora Bora’s spectacular lagoon over to the island’s east side, where much of the superspendy overwater bungalows are located.  Their land-bound guests would likely trade their luxe room on stilts for the freedom that comes with your yacht.   Here, the Lagoonarium offers an inexpensive, easy introduction to the underwater spectacle of snorkeling with sting rays, black tip reef sharks, turtles and colorful fish.  Aside a small motu, you’ll swim inside a large penned-in part of the lagoon, with sea life that has seen it all, so no worries.

After three or four nights at different idyllic spots around Bora Bora, it’s time that we head back to base.  Every time we head away, I ask myself ‘Why am I leaving?’  The answer is hopeful: “It’s not goodbye.  It’s till next time.”

Join us in Tahiti or one of our other upcoming Flotillas! You can find more info here.