Pilialoha - Thursday 27 Sept

Iorana,

 

    Its 5 am on Thursday and Pilialoha is moored to a ball off the Bora-Bora Yacht Club.  In about two hours we shall leave and start on our way back to Tahaa.  Its raining outside and we hope its just the normal tropical early morning shower.  The forecast is for good wind and weather which will be welcome given the upwind nature of the trip today.

 

    Last Monday we were at Raiatea and provisioned thoroughly at Laiut Supermarket which had everything we could desire.  We also visited Champion supermarket which was more modern and even better stocked.  Liaut was willing to deliver to the boat on the spot but we had our trusty "personal" taxi driver, Warren, and his large van and it all fit easily.

 

    That afternoon we paid up at marina Apooiti where port captain Jean Michel, a Walter Mathau lookalike, bid his quiet farewell with a mild yet sincere smile.  There was little wind to Tahaa and after about an hour of sailing at 3 knots we turned on the engine.  The views as always were spectacular.  Emerald seas and green mountains enhanced by the idea that we were between two islands so close by.  We bypassed Baie Haupiti and went instead for Baie Tepamau at the recommendation of Bill Leary (Noodle) who had recently been there and had great things to say about it.

 

    He was right.  It was extremely well protected from wind and wave.  Bob and Caroline worked the bow as we anchored in 70 feet of water and did a great job as we paid out all of the anchor and then some of the line.  We went for a wonderfully pleasant swim off the back of the boat and then followed that up with drinks and finger food.  The view out of the bay was out over some nearby small islands and at night the stars came out and filled the sky.  It was amazing how many stars could be seen.  I especially enjoyed watching the constellation Scorpio with its unusual shape and its bright red central star of Antares.  The moon was half full and very very bright.  I choose to sleep in the cockpit and at 2 am the intensity of the moonlight woke me up as it came down low on the horizon.  At that time in the morning I just looked around for about an hour taking in the beauty of the bay, the stars and the moon and enjoying a deep sense of contentment and relaxation.  It was a funny feeling as I was not sleepy, not doing anything and far from being bored.  Just sitting there watching and enjoying.

 

   The next morning, after much consultation, we left for Bora-Bora at 1000.  It was a nice day and for the most part a good downwind sale.  We had a moderate squall come down upon us to make things interesting.   We soon approached the outer reefs of Bora-Bora.  This was the second time I had approached these, the first time being ten years ago on what is now Bill Leary's boat Mokupea (then known as Le Christien and in charter with The Moorings).   The power of the waves crashing on this reef is always awe insipiring and we made sure to keep a healthy distance.  A local freighter came out from around the reef bend fortuitously indicating where the reef ended and then he headed directly towards us.  We decided to keep him on our starboard as that would ensure that we had him between us and the reef.  We communicated on the radio and told him we would pass starboard to starboard.  It took a while for them to respond and we imagine they went looking for someone who spoke English as in a few minutes we had a most pleasant, calm and authoritative voice agree with our plan.  The large red ship passed us just about a quarter mile away rumbling along loudly.

 

    Once around the bend we sailed easily to the Bora Bora entrance through the reef at 1600.  We headed to the Bloody Mary moorings hoping to have dinner there that night at the kind invitation of Bob and Maren Wrigley.  Capturing the mooring was again up to the team of Bob and Caroline and it was a bit more challenging than expected.  Wind gusts  were coming down from the hills and did not help.  Eventually we tied up, shut down engines and being quite tired decided to not to deal with launching the dinghy and to leave dinner at Bloody Mary's for the next day.

 

    The night was not bad but not great either.  The strong gusts of wind continued and the noise and movement were annoying.  The next morning we decided to move to the Bora Bora Yacht Club which seemed better protected and that made all the difference in the world.  We got the foremost mooring, so close to the club you could see inside and watch the customers.  We did not even put the engine on the dinghy as it was such an easy row and this dinghy responds nicely to rowing.

 

    Julien was our host at the club.  A nice young Frenchman with a pleasant warm smile on his handsome face, he had the ladies in the group enthralled.  Bob and Maren had lunch at the club while Caroline and I rented bikes and went out to explore the north of the island.  The flat road took us along the water and we enjoyed the small homes in this area that was devoid of tourism and commerce.  Local people were everywhere carrying out there normal lives.  We talked about some of the modest homes with fabulous views and how some would call the people living there poor yet they were actually quite rich to have the view and the pleasant lifestyle which we came so far to enjoy.

 

   Caroline and I entered a local market and found hot Chinese fried rice for sale and we took that with us, found a shady cove at the waters edge and ate enjoying the scenery.

 

   Back at the boat we did some boat chores, bathed in the ocean and then got ready for our meal at the Bora Bora Yacht club.  We rowed in and had a table right outside in front of Pilialoha.  Quite a treat.  We had Breast of duck and Vanilla Mahi Mahi accompanied by wine and prefaced by great salade gourmand and Tuna Carpaccio.  The desert was also great as was the service by Julien and his staff.

 

    After a good nights sleep the crew is now starting to wake up to get the boat ready.  We hope to leave by 0700 and be on our way to Tahaa.  Our goal is Baie Haupiti where we will overnight and then leave the next day for Papeete, weather permitting.  We will check the forecast carefully as the winds were not expected to be good for Friday and Saturday, especially for this upwind trip.

 

    Cheers from the crew of Pilialoha

 

Rick Villalobos

Caroline Heinrich

Bob and Maren Wrigley

 

  

Still In Raiatea, No break in Wind

     Its 1545 on Saturday and the wind has been strong all day long.  There has been no let up and therefore we have not left our mooring at Marina Apooiti.  The French weather service forecasted for winds of 65 km which is some 35 knots.  The day is sunny yet the wind goes on and there are white caps within the reef.  At the distance we can see the large sea waves hit the outer reef.  All forecasts are for lesser winds starting tomorrow and then we shall start our trip to Papeete.

 

     We have spent the day in different ways.  We have cleaned the boat thoroughly, tried to fix the speakers for the music, looked for different forecasts on the internet, slept, cooked, read, and played games.  Despite the wind it has been very relaxing.

 

     Right now Bob is sleeping, Maren is tanning, and Caroline is reading.

 

Cheers from Raiatea,

 

Rick 

Warming up for the big event!

On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 8:32 PM, <RicVilla@aol.com> wrote:

Hello Maria Lucia, Marcela, Kim, Lou, Bill, and Caroline,

 

    We are back on Pilialoha.  We got here around 3 PM on a sunny afternoon with mild breeze.  We boarded a boat that was quite different from the one we left.  It was extremely tidy, super clean and organized; linen was on all the bunks finely folded with towels exquisitely placed nearby.  All lockers had a listing of items inside; the fax was pouring out its photos and synoptic maps.  Thank you Kim and Lou for all you have done.

 

    The flight over from Hawaii was most pleasant; it was funny to recognize the crew now, having seen them so often over the last few weeks.  The flight had plenty of free seats and all went smoothly.  Arrival at customs and immigration flowed very well.  They asked for the bond letter, saw it and we were off; all very fast and simple.

 

    The Icklers were just outside waiting for us.  They looked great, happy, healthy, tanned, and beaming.  Lou said that he had a great time. Kim was radiant.

 

     We were met by Oceane from Ocean Lodge Tahiti.  Pretty soon we noticed that she and her crew have not done this very much.  There was much discussion back and forth, movement of the two drivers one way and the other.  Loud colorful french spoken to us, most of which we could not understand. And after much talking, gesturing, and activity in place without anything happening, we were off.  We then stopped to get a (one) gallon of diesel for the truck; and then Caroline (who had eaten half my sandwhich I carried on board, and then had the in flight meal) said she was hungry.  So the ever much complying Madame Oceane stopped at a Roulotte; but then Caroline decided she did not want to make us all wait so we were off again. 

 

       The house was just south of Marina Taina, about 3 km,  not more.  Its a big simple house recently renovated to house budget travelers like young backpackers.  All was freshly painted and recently put together.  There were no other guests.  The two bedroom apartment from the website did not exist so we got two separate rooms, both with double beds.  When I asked for a roll out bed and explained Caroline and I were not a couple, the lady graciously offered me a third room free of charge and I accepted.

 

    The rooms here are clean and sparsely furnished and really aimed at spending very little. The pictures in the website were much more alluring (we felt like the people in the movie "Exotic Marigold hotel" where the pictures had been photoshopped)  The irony is that the low cost of the lodging is nullified by the cost of getting to the place and then back to the airport.  Better to stay at a better hotel closer in, the cost will be the same and the quality way better.

 

    Breakfast was good, plenty of baguettes, confiture, butter, tea, and coffee.  All the people were very nice and personally warm.  They took us to the airport and it was all hugs and multiple face kisses and "a la prochaine" here and there.

 

    The flight over was very good and quite full.  Warren was waiting for us with the baguettes the Icklers asked him to get.  He dropped us off, the dinghy was right there and soon we were on the boat (well not that soon, it took a while to get Caroline's four heavy duffel bags on board).

 

     The crew of Grivelda left soon after we arrived, not without saying hello and being most civil.  As soon as they were gone I started the engine for 1.5 hours.  We also had beer and pupus to celebrate our arrival.  Caroline started working on the galley getting it arranged to her preferences for the delivery.

 

     We passed by the local marina restaurant which was open, considered eating there but in the end decided to eat on the boat.  Caroline prepared salad and pasta and we had a great time.  Maren keeps on exclaiming how relaxing this all is.

 

     Tomorrow we shall go into town early and provision for the week.  Then we will try to go to Tahaa and find an anchorage there.  Rest of the week is up in the air. There is a lot of desire to go to Bora Bora but we may not have enough time to do so. Weather report for Thursday and Friday is not so good right now so we shall continue to monitor the situation.

 

We send you all a big abrazo and will keep you up to date on our adventures,

 

Rick, Maren, Bob, and Caroline

 

Bill Myers,   www.nav.org    navigator.bill@gmail.com    808-294-2670

Some of my stories are at http://0stories0.blogspot.com/

Photo from Sep 11, 2012

Picture of Paradise

First Post from Sat Phone

Getting the Iridium satellite phone data link working has been very painful. It works, then it doesn't. It worked yesterday but not today. And,of course, I have better things to do with my time. But the Blog is important and sending and receiving email is important so I'm keeping at it.

Another Adventure

Somewhere around the 8th of October, 2012,  Rick Villalobos and Bill Myers will push off from the dock in Papeete, Tahiti in a Beneteau 393 named "Pilialoha" and head for Hawaii. They will be accompanied by three other crew members: Donna Austin, Caroline Heinrich and Kathy McGraw. These three have dozens of ocean crossings to their credit (9 of them with Bill).

Everyone is excited about the trip. Some people are going down to the boat two weeks ahead of time to start preparing for the trip. Others will follow a week later, and some others with tight schedules will come aboard just before our scheduled departure.

It is our intention to list our position each day here on the blog and tell some stories if anything exciting happens. Or, maybe, make up a story.

For example, the current location is on Raiatia, at (16 43.65S, 151 28.70W) in the Apoiti Marina at Ponte Oporo near the airport.

There is no Course and the Speed is zero.

The departure is expected to take place from (17 35.19S, 149 36.94) in the Marina Taina on Tahiti.

Stay tuned.