The Departure

The Departure

Position: 15D06'.556S 152D31'.063W

Saturday, August 13 - Our priority for visiting Bora Bora was to get fuel (769 litres) and water (844 litres) for our ongoing journey. I would have preferred relaxing on a white sandy beach with cocktail in hand like the rest of the jet-setting tourists but that was not to be. We did manage a visit to the famous Blood Mary's seafood restaurant one night but didn't see any of the rich and famous that are reported to frequent it. We set aside Wednesday morning to refuel and fill up with water so we could leave with good winds but it took us almost 2 days to complete these 2 tasks delaying our departure. The first problem was that the yacht club hadn't connected their water hose yet on the dock. Normally we would make our own water but with the watermaker pump on it's last legs we couldn't risk a 14 day passage without full tanks. Once the hose was ready on Thursday we moored onto the dock in fairly strong winds and filled up without any dramas. The second problem was that we had to clear out of customs first before we could buy duty free fuel. We cleared out before getting water but it was 11:40am by the time we had refilled our water tanks and were able to move onto the fuel dock. Ian went in to pay for the fuel but they said credit cards were not accepted and at 12 noon they were going to lunch so they wouldn't serve us. Ian raced off in the dinghy to find 3 ATMs to withdraw enough money for the fuel. I stayed with Faraway on the dock to make sure she stayed steady in the swell and wind on the dock lines. At 1:30pm the attendant came out to fill our tanks with diesel. In the meantime we hoisted up the dinghy and engine and stowed all our shopping below. By the time we moved from the fuel dock it was 2:30pm and although we had wind we were both too exhausted to embark on a long passage. We decided to drop anchor in our favourite sheltered bay and relax for the afternoon. That was probably our big mistake. We woke up on Friday morning feeling refreshed but without a breath of wind in the air. By 9am we could see that the wind generators on some of the other cruisers yachts were turning so we made the decision to leave hoping for stronger winds further north. The fact that no other yachts were out on the ocean was a bit of a warning sign that the conditions weren't favourable for sailing. Anyway we motored out of the beautiful Bora Bora atoll and set full sails. We needed to go north west but had to sail north on the very light wind. We were duped by the light wind. For 4 hours we travelled at around 3-4 knots in 7 knots of wind. By mid afternoon we had gone too far to turn back to Bora Bora and by sunset the winds had dropped right off so we were only making 1.1 knots of speed and the sails were flapping everywhere. We had no option but to motor. We motored all through the night for 13 hours. It was a beautiful bright moonlit night and while I was on watch I saw an unusual bright green light moving very fast through the sky down to the horizon. Although our progress was frustrating the beauty of being out at sea at night with the glistening water gliding under the yacht is something that I will never forget. Everytime the boat rocked the moonlight would reflect off our yacht illuminating different parts of the sails. It is now sunrise and we have just set sail again at around 4 knots. Ian is annoyed because he doesn't like to use the engine and burn all that expensive diesel that we took so much effort to get. The good news is that the winds are increasing and we are now making progress at 5.5 knots. Long may it continue so we can arrive in Suwarrow Atoll by next Friday and spend the weekend there before sailing on to Tonga. Once we arrive in Tonga we will have achieved another milestone being only 1,900 miles away from the East Coast of Australia. Still a long way to sail but a short distance by comparision to what we have already done on this journey.

We were pleasantly surprised by the availability and quality of fresh food at the supermarket in Bora Bora. We managed to get fresh meat and some of the best lettuces and tomatoes yet for our journey. For fruit we wandered through the village of Vaitape until we found a roadside stall. Despite this being a major tourist destination the local islanders were very friendly and we managed to barter with the stall lady to get a good price for a bunch of green bananas and 3 pineapples. When we asked if she had any mangoes the lady ran back behind her house and plucked some from her tree and gave them to us free of charge!

Unfortunately 'Spot' isn't updating yet as we are still in a low coverage area. We hope that it will start to work again closer to Tonga. We still plan to keep sending a message every day though just in case.