Category Archives: Cruising Life

Describes an experience regarding the boating lifestyle of our travel.

Getting Ready to Leave Tahiti

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We decided it was finally time to get moving. Since we were leaving the only real city we will be in for a long time, there was some stuff we needed to take care of before leaving.

Eric changed the oil on the main engine and generator since there was an oil disposal site nearby. We loaded up to the brim with fuel. We were by no means low, and yes, we can get fuel at other places, but we wanted to get it here since it is a modern fuel dock with reported very clean fuel. The duty free diesel was $3.00 per gallon, up from $2.90 we paid in Nuka Hiva. If you have to pay duty, it costs closer to $5.00 a gallon. We had to wait a half hour for fuel. A big mega-yacht had just pulled in the day before and sucked the storage tanks dry, and the fuel dock had ordered an immediate fuel delivery that we were waiting on. The station holds 8,000 gallons, and the mega-yacht holds 16,000 gallons. The mega-yacht was going to be back soon to suck the pumps dry yet again, so we snuck in at a good time. Continue reading →

Moorea Fish or Fruit?

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On Friday evening we went to a party put on by the Tahiti Tourism board for cruisers. The Tourism Board was sponsoring a rally from our anchorage area over to the island of Moorea, 10 miles away. We weren’t taking Kosmos in the rally, but we had been invited to be crew on another boat named Priscilla. This was the pre-rally party. There was free beer and appetizers. There was a Polynesian dance show, which was good. In addition to the female dancers, there were also male dancers. The female dances involved lots of hip gyration and flowing arm movements. The male dances involved lots of squatting, hitting one’s own legs and chest, and arm movements mimicking the rowing of canoes and use of spears. Continue reading →

Welcome to Tahiti

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We pulled into the lagoon at sunrise using the main pass, which is in downtown Papeete. Since we approached in the dark, we didn’t get to see the views from the distance, but from here it looked like Tahiti is a single large mountain that slopes down to the water. It is much less imposing than the Marquesas, which are taller, steeper, and clearly had many mountains. There were buildings all around, including many big buildings that were 4 and 5 stories tall. There appeared to be buildings all the way around the shore and most of the way up the mountain. A bunch of trash floated past us. Yep, we are in a city. Continue reading →

Fakarava to Tahiti

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We started the day with another run through the pass during the morning incoming tide. The wind was blowing at 22 knots, so the wind kept blowing us away from the coral wall. We had to get in the dinghy and motor back over to the coal wall a couple of times. Conveniently, we were more sheltered from the wind halfway through the pass where the snorkeling is best, anyway. The rest of the ride was fun. We did it again, this time starting at the sheltered spot instead of all the way at the edge of the ocean. There seemed to be less fish out today than in the previous two. Guess the sharks were hungry last night. Continue reading →