Bora Bora, Illes de la Societe – 18 September 2001

18 Sep Bora Bora, Illes de la Societe – 18 September 2001

Candace and Geoff Daigle

We arrived at Bora Bora on Sunday, 16 September on a grey and rainy day. We were unable to see the unparelled beauty of Bora Bora; it felt more like Seattle, but a lot warmer. Geoff and Candace leave Starr today to head back to Bainbridge Island. The Tahiti Airport has been closed until today, so they will be able to return home as originally scheduled. They are taking a CD of this website home with them to mail to our nephew, Scott Stabbert, who will post it for us.

Our plans are to leave Bora Bora this Friday, weather permitting, and make the 2 1/2 day passage to Rarotonga in the Southern Cook Island Group (21degrees, 13 minutes South/159 degrees, 46minutes West). From there we will go to Atitutaki, 150 NM north of Rarotonga. Whether or not we visit Aitutaki will dependend on weather; the lagoon is only 6 feet deep, too shallow for our boat. Starr will have to anchor outside of the reef, which can be a risky business in unsettled weather. We will now use the Bob McDavitt of Metservice in New Zealand for weather monitoring, and will receive reports that relate directly to our route at sea. From Aitutaki we will cruise to Niue (19 degrees South/170 degrees, 50 minutes West). Niue is an independent nation in free association with New Zealand. On to Tonga, Nukualofa in the Tongatapu Group, where we will wait for the weather window that predicts a five day forcast for good weather. Once we have the good forcast, we will “put the pedal to the metal” and go as fast as this little boat will go to Auckland, New Zealand. That last passage to New Zealand from Tonga is notorious for capricious changes of weather and often resembles “the perfect storm”. We expect to be back home sometime early to mid-November.

The Laughlin Family greets us as we arrive at their Pearl Farm on Tahaa in the Society Islands