Tuamotus

Sharry, Colin and Manio with Magdalena and SilvaeRaiatea: Sept. 3 - Our neighbors from home, Colin and Manio Radford arrive. Manio is Tahitian and we have been looking forward to spending time with her and Colin in the Society Islands. We chose Raiatea and to visit with them because Raiatea was the ancient religious center of the Polynesian triangle (Hawaii-Easter Island-New Zealand) and they had not been to Raiatea for more than 20 years; and...

11 September, 2002 /

Tahiti Farewell withWe spent most of the week in Papeete after Shari left, cleaning Starr and provisioning for the remainder of the trip to New Zealand. We wash down the outside of the boat with vinegar to get rid of the buildup of salt; I polish the stainless, wash windows and clean and don fixes things that broke during our passage, removed the anchor windless check valve, changed oil on both of the generators, fixed...

31 August, 2002 /

Sharry and Shari at ToauRotoava, Fakarava: August 18 - We pick up Shari at 1600 at the airport by Novurania. So good to have her with us; our "boating pal". In the morning we take Shari on a tour of Rotoava, snorkel the North Pass and head the over to Toau. On the way we catch two yellowfin tuna, another "double hitter". Shari has cruised with us for years on our Skookum boats in SE Alaska...

24 August, 2002 /

Starr at Rangiroa at sunsetRangiroa: August 4 - We arrive back on Starr.August 5 - Before Magne and Laura leave on the noon flight to Tahiti, we go shopping for pearls. They have scoped out the best shops while we were gone and I want to buy some pearls for our friend, Hap Heyden, Captain of Asteria. I would also like to find some nice pearls to give as Christmas presents. There are lots of...

18 August, 2002 /

Motu Aito, Manihi and Tila's HomeThe Tuamotu Archipelago: Fakarava, Faiite, Tahanea, Kauehi, Toau, Apataki and Rangiroa Passage to Fakarava: June 7-9 Starr made the three day passage from The Marquees Islands to the Tuamotu Archipelago. The passage was like a time warp; we had incredible starry skies with Jupiter and Venus in the early night sky, the Southern Cross and an upside-down Big Dipper (the North Star is below the horizon). We have our friend, Mike...

23 July, 2002 /

On one of the motus in the Rangiroa loagoonWe made the three day passage from Fakarova to Rangiroa in the Tuamotus, stopping at Toau and Apataki along the way (see voyage section for the Tuamotus). In Rangiroa our friends Pete and Cathy Trogdon, formerly from Seattle and now living in Annapolis, Maryland joined us on Starr. In Rangiroa, I completed the four open water dives in order to become certified with PADI with Sebastian Bertaut...

04 July, 2001 /

Starr at RangiroaThey eat dogs in the Tuamotus, at least in Rotoava, Fakarava. We were told that they eat dogs, but we thought that meant in years long past. No, they eat dogs at the Miss Fakrava Festival. So much for cultural differences. We didn't experience the dog eating, but our Swedish friends on The Wonder Years did, first hand. The story goes like this: Ole and Karin with their sons, Ole Jr. and Nils...

24 June, 2001 /

Tuamotu landfall at KauehiWe spend over a week at this village in the Tuamotus. Sunday morning we go to church and record the singing. The music is wonderful; the people of Tearavero sing like angels. We record the music again on the following Sunday and make a cd for our friends here that incorporates the music of both days.While we are in Tearavero we become good friends with Edward and Rosina Temere. More with Edward...

17 June, 2001 /

Landfall in the Tuamotu Archipelago, KauehiPassage to Kauehi, Iles de Tuamotu, 522 nautical miles 15.56 South, 145.10Wednesday morning Don and I were drinking our morning latte in the flying bridge, our morning ritual, and discussing life in general. We planned to pull anchor and head off for the 45 nm trip to Fatuiva, but decided instead to begin the three day passage to the Tuamotus. We were ready for a change. Since it would have...

09 June, 2001 /