Author: richwest3

August 3 – 7, 2012

One of the nicest things about our stay at the marina were the early morning yoga sessions led by Marlies. She would do yoga on the lawn overlooking the water, and anyone who wanted to could join her.

Kathy lent me a yoga mat, and Rich used a cockpit cushion (which worked surprisingly well), and we’d trek over at 6:30am every morning to do our yoga by the sea.

August 02, 2012

This became our motto for Raiatea as we had occasion to repeat it quite a few times. Our second day here, we decided to walk around the top end of the island to a marina and boat haul-out on the northwest side (about a 3 mile walk).  We walked along the road, and we were surprised to find, out in the middle of nowhere, a Do It Center.  We had one of these in Fallbrook, but it closed not long after we moved there and I was sad to see it go.  I have never seen another one until now.  Here, out on a lonely road in Raiatea, was a Do It Center, with exactly the same sign and colors as the one we had in Fallbrook.  It even looked the same inside.

We headed on, stopping to rent a car for the following day as we passed the main airport.  People fly in here all the time, but they generally take a shuttle boat right over to Taha’a.  Most of the tourist traffic on this island comes from the weekly cruise ship. (I find it bizarre the ship comes on Sunday when the town of Utaroa is closed up. It’s another Raiatea mystery).  We were able to rent a car for the following day before walking on.

As we walked, there was a small stream along the road.  I looked down into it and saw an eel!  Then I saw it was chasing a big shrimp.  We stood and watched the eel try to get the shrimp, and the shrimp successfully evading him.  You don’t see that every day.

The next day on our circle-island trip in the car, we stopped at the side of the road to get a picture of some scenery.  Right there in the water below us were five spotted eagle rays that looked like a mother swimming with youngsters.  I have seen eagle rays before, but not this close and certainly not while pulled over alongside the road.  I also didn’t know young rays stayed with their mothers, but it seems they do.  Again, you don’t see that every day. We would go on to repeat this phrase a lot while we were here. -Cyndi

August 01 & 02, 2012

Warning: Long story to follow.

The winds were coming, maybe in a day or two.  This we knew from the computer generated weather prediction files called Gribs.  We really, really wanted to get into a marina to wait out the blow, as we had done in Tahiti.  The most likely marina was at Utaroa.  It was said to be a municipal marina, but they didn’t answer any radio calls and we had no contact information.  Leg work required.

We walked to the marina – not a long walk – and we found no sign of a marina office or a marina manager.  We asked a friendly-looking woman if she knew who we could talk to about getting a temporary spot to tie up, and it turned out we asked the right person.

She was Marlies and would soon become what I hope will be a life-long friend.  Marlies said she was headed to the marina manager’s office and that she would talk to Hinano for us.  Hinano is the woman who manages the municipal marine facilities on Raiatea.

Hinano wasn’t in but would be back at two.  Marlies said she and her husband, Alain, would meet us back at the office then.  We got back before they did, and someone who didn’t like us hanging around ushered us into Hinano’s office where we were promptly told there were no slips available.

We waited for Marlies and Alain anyway, if for no other reason then to tell them what had happened.  They were having none of that and marched into Hinano’s office. Three or four minutes later, we had a slip, mostly, maybe.  They knew of a boat that would be out for some time.  Hinano had not yet been notified.  Now there was only one more obstacle.

It turns out that obstacle was a big, surly local who runs the marina – Andre.  I guess technically, Hinano is his boss, but I don’t think he likes that fact, or even if he’s aware of it.  We brought our boat in the next morning and there he was, standing on the dock telling us that there was no space – go away!

“But Hinano told us we could have Bruno’s slip” we told him.  No, go away!  Get out now!  What he didn’t know is that three women were running up behind him to set the record straight.  Andre didn’t have a chance.  We hovered and watched as Marlies and her morning yoga class explained the situation.  He turned and motioned us to our temporary slip.  What else could he do in the face of this great force?

When people asked us if there were spots available in the marina, I’d say not likely.  I can’t imagine that the stars align very often as they did for us.  We just happened to have the good fortune to meet Marlies.

We spent a lot of time during our 8-day stay in the marina and later at Bora Bora with Marlies and Alain.  We cherish their friendship and love the things we learned about the good life as lived by the French (and maybe Europeans in general as Alain is French and Marlies is German – now living in Raiatea and Florida in the off season).

We’ve said it before, but the friends we make out here are a major highlight of the cruising lifestyle.  So are the times when it just all comes together. -Rich

August, 2012 in Raiatea, French Polynesia

Raiatea was a bit confusing for us when we came here.  Here’s some of what we learned as we stumbled about.

 

You can tie up at the public docks.  You need to see the harbor master to arrange payment. There’s a little inside section here but it’s reserved for local boats as we understand. There’s also a wood pier at the north end but that also seems to be for local boats.

There is an anchorage outside of the marina which is decent if the wind isn’t too strong.  We’ve been told that when it’s 20 knots off the island, it can be 28 knots at the north end of Raiatea as the wind funnels between Raiatea and Taha’a.  There were up to four boats anchored here when we first arrived, before the wind came up.  Big advantage – it’s close to town.

We got lucky and ended up in the marina, but it wasn’t easy and we’re told there is seldom space here.

I’ve marked the location of the harbor master’s office at the time we were there, but for all we know they have since moved.  The harbor master at the time we were here was a woman named Hinano, but that was some time ago and things may have changed.

There’s a Total gas dock at the head of the bay just beyond the marina.  You can get duty free fuel here and the woman who helped our friends seemed very friendly and helpful.

Shopping – There are three large grocery stores here.  Prices seem very good and the selection is great.  There’s a pretty big central market area right across the street from the public docks and the fruit and vegetable selection is OK, depending on what day you’re there.

Restaurants – There is a shortage of restaurants in Raiatea, but we found a pretty good one in the building right next to the public docks.  We also found a nice place near the boat yard called Mimosa.  It had really good food at about $11 – $13 US for a dinner but unfortunately it’s a very long walk from town.  There are some little snack shops in town that aren’t bad and some food trucks that set up in the evenings just down the road.  We haven’t eaten at any yet but one had good looking steaks.

Rental car – We rented a car at the airport at Hertz.  You can walk to the airport from town or call them at 66 35 35.  We dealt with Natalie – she was great.  It was a little expensive at about $92 US/day for one day and $169 US for two days, but this island is beautiful and well worth the expense of renting a car to see it.

Sightseeing – We drove around the island and it was very beautiful.  There isn’t a lot in the way of restaurants, but there are some impressive Mare and a fantastic hike to the three waterfalls.

Marine store – We didn’t find much in the way of marine supplies.  There’s a little marine store at the caranage (boat yard).

Boat repairs – We found a man named Richard Neufeld who came highly recommended for mechanical, electrical, and electronic repairs.  We didn’t use him for anything as we took care of our small issues ourselves, but after talking to him, I was very impressed, plus we had talked to several people who were very happy with his service.  His phone number is 73 15 79, and I think he’s an American.  He lives here permanently on his catamaran at the marina and stocks quite a few parts and has a small machine shop.

Other Anchorages – We didn’t anchor at Raiatea but we looked at several anchorages as we drove around the island.  There were a few boats anchored by the boat yard on the northwest end of the island, and there were several boats anchored in two of the bays on the east side of the island.  One problem with these anchorages was there weren’t eateries or stores within walking distance. Another was that there’s a big charter fleet on Raiatea and this is where they end up. As a result, you may have cruisers who are light on experience anchoring nearby, especially in the bays on the east side of the Raiatea.  (I think this is also a consideration in the anchorages in Taha’a.) -Rich

August 1, 2012

Before we go to an island, we use our Charlie’s Charts guidebook to see where we can go and what to do once we get there.  But this time the Charlie’s Chart’s authors spent so much time detailing passes through the reef that surrounds Raiatea they forgot to provide any details about the town.  The result is that boaters who visit Raiatea arrive completely confused.

We had radioed some cruisers ahead of us, and they told us we can tie up by the wharf.  They added that we should try to tie up to the cement area and not the wood dock as there are less waves from the frequent comings and goings of local ferries. This was a little helpful, but we still didn’t quite know where the wharf was and didn’t quite get the wood verses cement thing.  And what is the “municipal marina” nearby that we’d heard about?

We motored in and found the wharf where the cruising boats were tied up.  We could now clearly see the difference between the wood and cement docks.  We got tied up at the cement dock, but the confusion continued.  No one seemed to know if we had to pay to be here, or even who the harbor master was.  No one knew anything about the marina nearby.  The only thing we did learn was the grocery store across the street was big and very good (always exciting), and that we had done well getting a space on the cement dock as it is not only less affected wakes, but it faces into the east wind. Boats at the wood area are sideways to the wind and can actually get stuck against the dock when it’s windy.

We settled in for the day, but with the weather coming, we would feel more secure being at a marina so we decided to go check out the mysterious “municipal marina” nearby. -Cyndi

Note: We were so confused upon arrival here that once we got the lay of the land, we posted a page to hopefully help other cruisers with their arrival here.  We put up a new section on our web site called “Cruising Notes.”  We’ll add to it as we see a need.