Tag Archives: auntie

Liward Islands

We splash Sugar Shack a few weeks after we returned from the USA.  She is so pretty and dolled up that I hate to see even a spec of dirt on her.  But it’s a boat and our home and dirt is bound to happen!  We have lots to do to prepare to leave from French Poly!  But first, we decide to head to the liward islands of Huahine, Raiatea, Taha’a.  If we have to do boat chores and paperwork, we mine as well as do it in a picture-perfect setting!

Huahine

Amazing passage from Mo’orea to Huahine.  We typically make this passage at night because it is 90nm and it is difficult to make during daylight hours.  However, we had the perfect opportunity to make a go of it less than 12 hours after we arrived in Mo’orea. So, we took it.

We got up at 0400 (4:00am) and readied the boat.  Hook was up at 0430, and we rounded the Mo’orea corner at 0530.  We had a perfect beam reach with no swell.  Winds were 12-15kts out of the NE giving us a beautiful boat speed of 7-8kts.  Absolutely spectacular sailing day.

  • Miles to Destination:  91nm
  • Total Miles Sailed:  95.3nm
  • Total duration:  12.5hrs
  • Max Speed: 11.8
  • Average Speed: 7.5

We of course stop in at Izzy’s Burgers where I grab another photo of Isabel and I.  Man alive these are amazing burgers! Matt had the Huahine Burger which had bacon and topped with an egg!

Isabel and I at Izzy's Burgers

Isabel and I at Izzy’s Burgers

My dear friend Eve on sailing vessel “Auntie” and I went on a 7 mile walk to the Fare Pote Museum.  We got up early to avoid the heat and walked as the sun woke up the island.  It was so darn pretty!

Eve and I in Huahine

Eve and I in Huahine

We pass a few beautiful lakes/lagoons and just take in the pure beauty of the stillness.

We passed this super funny looking baguette holder – it is a large barrel. I guess they really like their baguettes.

We pass by a church where the sun lit it from the inside out.

Arriving at the Fare Pote Museum we capture a few photos of the sacred Mare.

Good Times: Good Friends – Huahine

For the past few years, I have been participating in an SSB radio net.  We have 7 volunteers who run this daily net that tracks vessels underway and monitors anchorage and weather conditions.  We have tracked vessels as far as Fiji, New Zealand, Hawaii and Alaska!  It is a rare occurrence when we are in the same anchorage, but it just so happened that 4 of the 7 net controllers were in Huahine.  So, we gathered onboard Sugar Shack for happy hour!

Poly Mag Net Controllers

Poly Mag Net Controllers

We also enjoyed many happy hours at the Huahine Yacht Club.  I captured many beautiful sunset photos here.  The sunsets are truly beautiful in the liward islands (well who am I kidding, they are beautiful everywhere).

Huahine Yacht Club

Huahine Yacht Club

This photo was taken without filters or editing!  Just my amazing iPhone 13 Pro Max doing its thing.

Taha’a – Coral Gardens

Eventually we tear ourselves away from Huahine and our friends.  We head to another liward island called Taha’a which is one of two islands inside the same lagoon.  We anchor near a beautiful resort to “borrow” their wifi and complete some of our necessary paperwork (see next blog on preparing to leave French Poly).

We find a new coral gardens that we dutifully named “the secret coral gardens” because only  locals seem to know about it.  Same drift snorkel but the coral and fish are a lot more healthier.  Wow what a difference man has made to the underwater world (and not in a good way). 

A few of our cruiser friends gathered for a dinghy drift.  We tied our dinghies together, enjoyed some cold drinks and snacks as the sun went down.

Raiatea

Perles d’O

We wanted to hide for a little bit, but it did not work out as planned.  The anchorage was not as comfortable as we had hoped so we ended up returning to Raiatea.  But it was pretty. 

Entering Pearl d'O Anchorage

Entering Pearl d’O Anchorage

There is a little, old pearl farm shack that is no longer in use called “Pear d’O”.

Pretty sunset with Bora in the back ground.

Raiatea

One of our favorite anchorages is in front of a small 8-room pension (hotel) called La Pirog.  We’ve stopped here many times, search our blog for past visits.  It is so pretty and is the perfect place for a sunset cocktail.

La Pirog Resort

La Pirog Resort

Day out on Sugar Shack

Our friends on sailing vessel Domum have been in the Raiatea Carenage yard for well over a month working on their boat so we decided to take them out for a day on Sugar Shack.  We motored (because there was no wind) two hours from the Carenage to the coral gardens in Taha’a.

Domum on Sugar Shack

Domum on Sugar Shack

Bora Bora

We end our time in French Polynesia in Bora Bora.  Not because it is “Bora Bora” but because it is the western most island where we can easily launch on our two week passage.  Plus we wanted to stop by Bloody Mary’s one more time.  Our friends on Grace (Dave and Helen), Rhapsody (John and Aida), and Askari (Carolyn and Andrew) joined us for happy hour, then we moved it to the dining room for an extremely tasty dinner.

And just for giggles…one more visit to the men’s room where their “flush” pull is very unique.

Goodbye Bora Bora….this is Hotel Conrad

 

During all this fun in the liwards we are dutifully preparing for our two-week passage from French Polynesia to Fiji.  Stay tuned for the next blog post where I explain all of our hard work to get ready for a huge passage.

Sugar Shack gets dolled up for her passage to Fiji.  Check out our experience a Raiatea Carenage.  Events from this blog in early April, 2022.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

Christine's Birthday

Kiritina’s 53rd Birthday

Christine in Mangarevan is “Kiritina” isn’t that pretty?  Whoop, Whoop, Whoop!  We celebrate my birthday on Taravai with locals and cruisers!  We have celebrated Matt’s last two birthdays on Taravai and I was super excited to be here to finally celebrate mine too!  Matt started out my day by taking a photo of the sunrise and leaving me a digital card on the iPad.

Lots of good friends and fun times!  Photo Top: Eve on “Auntie”, Alan and I.  Middle: Daniela “Yelo” and Valerie, Herve, Ariki, Valerie and me. Bottom: Eve “Auntie” Herve and Daniela “Yelo” and me and Eve.

Great friends!

Great friends!

A Feast for All

It was a feast of feasts!  Herve grilled up chicken, fish, and pork ribs.  Guests brought a vegetable lasagna, cous cous, rice, cole slaw, deviled eggs (egg boats), salad, veggies, and more!

Such tasty foods

Such tasty foods

We all over are because we wanted to try all the dishes – but man-o-man we had to waddle away from the table!

Matt & I, Valerie & Alana, Daniela & Valerie

Matt & I, Valerie & Alana, Daniela & Valerie

Lots of drinking….

And of course, Jell-O Shots (they were red which turned everyone’s tongues red)

Beautiful Gifts

Beautiful and generous friends gave me gifts.  Anki and Seavert from “Major Tom” gave me a beautiful shell bracelet, Eve from “Auntie” gave me a gorgeous petrified mammoth bracelet, Daniela and Rolf from “Yelo” gave me birthday chocolate, and Michelle and Rene gave me a few stunning pearls. I am truly blessed for such generous and kind friends!

Lots of Games and Sport

We played a lot of volleyball games. Taravai rules:  any body part works; serve any way as long as it gets over the net; when the ball hits the net, it starts your three touch over; and score said in French.  Always a blast!

Volleyball Competition

Volleyball Competition

And lots of pitonk or bacchi ball.  The winner, tosses the small white ball is tossed into the field, grass, or sand.  Two teams try to get their stainless-steel balls close to the white ball.  You can hit the other team’s balls out of the way, you can hit and move the white ball and you can toss your ball however it works for you.  The team with the closest ball(s) gets a point(s).

Pitonk (Bacchi Ball) at its finest

Pitonk (Bacchi Ball) at its finest

Look at the concentration on all the faces.  Hard to be serious when there has been a wee bit of alcohol consumption.

Pitonk (Bacchi Ball) at its finest

Pitonk (Bacchi Ball) at its finest

Super Sweets

We must not forget about the sweets.  Eve made me a tasty chocolate cake and I brought strawberry cupcakes and dolce de leche ice cream to top off our day!

Birthday cake, cupcakes and icecream

Birthday cake, cupcakes and ice cream

It was a truly beautiful and heart-warming day.  Our friends sang Happy Birthday in 4 languages!  Rene brought out his uke and provided amazing Tahitian music throughout the day.

It drizzled during the party.  However, Valerie said that it was God’s way of blessing me.  And a beautiful rainbow to celebrate the day:

Rainbow across Mangareva

Rainbow across Mangareva

This day made me feel truly blessed to be alive and in French Polynesia surrounded by such love.  A great way to start my 53rd year in this world!

When I finally got back to town where we had 2G internet access I was overwhelmed by all the birthday wishes on my facebook page – thank you so much for the love!

Events from this blog post occurred around January 16, 2021.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.