Category Archives: Cruising Guide

Information for other cruising boats. Our experiences finding places to anchor, dealing with officials, provisions, etc.

Exploring Bora Bora and Presidential Dance Show

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We started the day by taking the dinghy into the main town of Vaitape, which is about a mile north by boat from where we are anchored (by land it is farther since the road follows the curvy lagoon). There is a nice protected quay (seawall area) right in the center of town. Facing town from the dinghy, on the right is a parking lot, on the left is an outdoor theater, and straight ahead is a visitor information center and handicraft market. They were setting up for a big concert at the theater. At the information center we picked up a fish guide, so we will actually be able to name a few of the fish we see now.
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Welcome to Bora Bora

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This morning we started the day with a snorkel in our newly discovered location. The water is really shallow in this spot, as well, but the snorkeling was nice. There were some pretty coral formations and some nice color to the coral. There were a lot of sea anemone stuck to the coral, which are pretty to look at. There were still a lot of sea urchins around. There wasn’t a ton of fish, but a decent amount, though not too many colorful fish. There were small Parrotfish and Trigger fish. There were a lot of angel fish. The fish are obviously used to being fed and have no fear of getting close to people. They wouldn’t let us touch them, but we got within inches. Continue reading →

Welcome to Tahaa

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We got up early and prepared Kosmos for departure. We were going to Tahaa, another island in the Society Island chain. Fortunately, there wasn’t much to do, so in no time the lines were cast off. Bye Bye Tahiti!

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We are noticing a distinct pattern now. The other day when we were on a day trip, the seas were nice and calm. But, of course, since this was an overnight trip, we had strong winds on our port aft quarter (right back corner) producing 6 8 foot following seas (waves coming from behind) with the periodic 10 foot beam wave (from the side) that knocks us all over the place. Why the conditions are so similar every time we are out for more than a few hours is beyond us. It drizzled all day, and as soon as it got dark, rained really hard all night long. Poor Shelley was Continue reading →

Pete & Shelley Arrive at Papeete

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It was time to leave Moorea, which we were sad about. We liked it there and wished we had a few more days to spend there. We were heading to Papeete to pick up our friends Pete and Shelley, who were arriving later in the evening.

Since we were only going to be in Papeete one night, we opted to go to the sea wall downtown, aka the quay. We didn’t want to deal with anchoring and getting the dinghy down for only one night. There were a few more boats at the wall than last time, but the wall was still mostly empty. It was a weird feeling to pull in, tie up, and just hop off the boat onto dry land. Continue reading →

Touring Moorea

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Today we planned to rent scooters and take a tour of the island. We took the dinghy over to the town of Paopao in Cook’s Bay, where the scooter/car rental place was located. The ride over was interesting. There is coral all around, so you have to be careful. There is a small boat channel that is clearly marked, and as long as you stay in the channel, you are fine. It just looks kind of crazy as you are in the channel because Continue reading →