Author: Pam
We thought we might stay five days when we first arrived in Moorea, it has now been twelve and it is time to continue moving through the Society Islands. It has been nice to experience another side of the island. It is amazing how different this bay is from Cooks Bay, the road is better maintained and there is more room to walk (in most places) on the shoulder, however the cars still drive like the Indie 500. There are no businesses except for the Sheraton and another Pension that we heard about, but did not actually see. There is a very small store near the beach where you land the dinghy, very reminiscent of the stores in Nuku Hiva, there really isn't anything we would want to buy, except for maybe a baguette.
After bacon and eggs for breakfast we spent the morning beginning the boat chores to prepare to leave, this is all quite routine now and usually goes smoothly unless we have an unusual project to complete before heading back to sea. We spent some time roaming around in the dinghy taking pictures of Tournesol as she sat proudly in the most beautiful water we have seen so far on this trip. It is so clear I also just wanted to take pictures looking into the water to try to capture the magnificent color. In the early afternoon we went to shore and turned right on the road to walk to the head of Oponuhu bay. It was a beautiful walk along the waterfront. When we reached the head of the bay we discovered a couple of boats anchored there as well. There is nothing, but a small beach area, like at the mouth of the bay there are no businesses. On the way back we walked by a woman and her daughter selling non other than fresh tuna at the end of their driveway, but with much dismay we had to pass up the opportunity for a tuna fix. We already had steak for dinner and not enough ice to keep it until tomorrow. I was sad, but Scott was probably relieved, he has been an excellent fish trooper.
It was still warm and beautiful when we got back to the boat. We decided to go for a swim and take a shower. We had filled up the sun shower and it had been sitting on the deck for a couple of days and was nice and warm. We hung it from a ring on the mast at a height we could stand under. In our bathing suits we stood on the bow and took the first warm shower we have had in quite awhile. It was lovely and comes out ahead of the bug shower for me. Though you are wearing your bathing suit it will still take some getting use to standing on the bow for the world to see. Not that I think anyone much cares, most everything goes when it comes to getting the life stuff accomplished. The day ended with that yummy steak dinner with rice and corn on the side, the tuna was a distant memory.
On Sunday we pulled up the hook at 1130 and headed out of the pass of Oponuhu Bay on our way to Huihine, our first overnight passage in a while (120 miles). The sail started off slow, with very little wind for the first twenty miles. We did not want to use the engine so we crawled along. Most of the other cruisers we had talked to in Moorea plan to leave around 4:30 to make landfall before dark the next day, we decided with limited use of the engine we wanted more of a margin. We were passed by two other sailboats shortly after dark, they were obviously motor sailing. The boat Promises hailed us on the VHF to say hello, they were motoring and making water. We have heard that is often the justification for motoring.
The wind picked up steadily during the night and with that came some squalls with rain. By early morning we were making good speed. Neither one of us slept well, a combination of the first night at sea, squally weather and the most boat traffic we have seen in the South Pacific.
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