Papillon in the Pacific

 La Orana! We finally left Maupiti yesterday after 10 glorious days exploring.   We didn’t want to leave but rations were low, alcohol stores non-existent (more later) and clean clothes a thing of dreams so it was time.   Like all the best holidays it had come to an end before we were ready.   Mt Te'urafa'atiu   Chez Mimi at Terei'a Beach   Maupiti from Passe Onoiau   Motu Auira We had arrived in gloomy weather.   The colours were muted, a mixture of greys, cool blues and moss greens.   It felt a bit like Argyll at times.   We walked the 10km perimeter of the main island, waded across the lagoon to explore Motu Auira and Motu Tiapaa, traversed the high road and even braved Mt Te’urafa’atiu in the mist.   At times we were drenched to the skin… but it was still beautiful…and always warm.      Skipper wading to Motu Auira   Motu Tuanai Exploration...

 La Orana! It’s hard to know where to start this week. Completely unexpectedly we have dropped the hook in Maupiti, the most westerly of the inhabited French Polynesian islands.     It wasn’t the plan; it wasn’t even on our radar, but the stars aligned and…”et voila!  Nous sommes ici! ”      Kids cycling home   Fishing boats at ease   Terei'a beach    Tahitian church in Pete'i Maupiti is an atoll rarely visited by cruisers.   It's geography is challenging to say the least.   The single pass into the lagoon runs south to north between two long motus.   It is subject to a continuous outgoing current that can run as high as 9 knots depending on the height of the waves crashing over the reef to fill the lagoon inside.   Added to this, any southerly component to the wind or swell can singly or combined create treacherous conditions at the entrance which must be avoided alto...

  La Orana! There is no escaping it now, we are most definitely in cyclone season, and it seems it is all anyone is talking about.   Our week started with a trip to the town dock to meet up with Thierry who had agreed to help us out with a few jobs.   It was planned for Monday but in the small hours of the morning he sent us photographs of a catamaran he had been involved in rescuing overnight.   The crew had thankfully been picked up by “Norwegian Spirit”, a huge cruise liner but the sinking hull still needed to be salvaged and towed back to Raiatea.       Peaceful evenings   Sinking catamaran Thierry didn’t get home until 6am so all jobs on Papillon were postponed for 24 hours to let him catch his breath!     The catamaran’s issues, I hasten to add, had absolutely nothing to do with cyclones but the photos he sent were sobering and certainly got us onto the topic when he did arrive on Tuesday.   It seems l...

 La Orana! As I start to write this the rain continues to fall drumming down on the coach roof, battering against the hatches and bouncing off the surface of the lagoon.     Stormy weather on the mooring   Finally getting our courtesy flags flying Even the kite surfers have admitted defeat and departed.  During the past 2 hours we have collected almost 100l of rainwater!  I know so precisely because our collection box holds only 25l, meaning that the water must be syphoned off into the tanks at regular intervals. Monitoring the rainfall accumulation has become my new obsession and I must admit it’s starting to rival skippers for battery voltages! I follow progress from the saloon squinting through steamed up windows at the filling box outside. As the 25l mark approaches I am forced out into the elements wrestling into wet swimmies and filling up the syphon loop from the relative peace of the cockpit.  Only then do I venture ...