Society Islands

Candace and Geoff DaigleWe 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...

18 September, 2001 /

Geoff and Candace DaigleMonday 10th. Something seemed odd. It was 2AM and we'd just finished watching our second movie in the past 8 hours. We relinquished our comfy blankets and had sleepily plunked our way down the plane's stairs to the tarmac where the tropic weather hit us. This was not Seattle. We stood in a slow moving line while a hearty band of ukulele troubadours kept our spirits up with Tahitian music featuring the...

18 September, 2001 /

Utaroa, RaiateaFriday morning Illusion and another sailboat move into Haapa Bay. We wondered why no one else moved yesterday afternoon and the sailboats that stayed in Avea Bay probably had a second sloppy night. We are restless and decide to stick our nose out and see how this windy period is affecting the sea beyond the reef. It's not bad and we make the 20 NM passage to Raiatea with the wind on our port...

09 September, 2001 /

Ladies coming to churchMoorea is a place that most people only dream about. We anchor in Opunohu Bay on the North side of the island. Mt. Muaroa rises above the bay, very reminiscent of Hakahau on Ua Pou in the Marquesas. In fact, Opunohu Bay is so beautiful that it is what most people think of when they think of the South Pacific. The view at the head of the bay was the backdrop for...

30 August, 2001 /

Starr anchored off Marina Taina in TahitiWe flew back to Papeete on 22 August, our 37th wedding anniversary. We didn't arrive in Papeete on the 22nd as planned, however. We were sitting on a Hawaiian Airlines airplane, ready to fly from Honolulu to Papeete but the airplane was making a most horrible grinding noise in the belly of the plane and nobody seemed to be taking any notice. Don isn't a particularly passive person, so...

24 August, 2001 /

Start of the canoe race around MooreaWe make the 24 hour passage to Papeete, leaving Tikehau at 0900 on Thursday and entering the lagoon at Papeete at 0830 on Friday. We moor at Marina Taina in the Maeva Beach area south of the airport. Later in the morning we go into Papeete and Don checks Starr into Tahiti with the Harbor Master and then Don, Pete, Cathy and I mess around town for the afternoon....

19 July, 2001 /