Papillon in the Pacific

 La Orana! Life has slowed down this week to an almost stationary pace.   Calm winds have settled over the Society Islands, the sun has shone, and everyone seems more relaxed.   The beautiful weather has coincided with a holiday for the school children and families have taken to the water in force.   Boats appear throughout the week with swarms of kids on board tumbling off the back as soon as the anchor is dropped, with an array of inflatables and beach toys to amuse.   For the more adventurous kite foil boards are towed behind dinghies and canoes launched to explore the reef.   Laughter carries over the water and there is a carnival atmosphere all around, a communal sigh of relief that the bad weather seems to have finally left us.     Sunrise over west coast of Raiatea   Sunset over Bora Bora Since leaving our anchorage on the west coast of Raiatea last Tuesday we have slipped through the lagoon at a snail’s pace...

  La Orana! Met Bob has just issued his weekly weather watch update.   “ The South Pacific Convergence zone remains strong, active, squally and has a few tropical depressions, but there is too much wind shear aloft to allow cyclones to form ”.   It is music to our ears.   The sun is shining, the wind is from the north, and we are out of here!     Beautiful sunsets after the storms   and sunrises The question remains where to?   The convergence zone may have shifted slightly to the south, but the depressions remain with cyclone season officially persisting well into March.   Our decision becomes a judgement call based on all the weather information available. Last week this would have been problematic as the two main weather models were consistently showing differing forecasts as little as 36h ahead.   Sunday was a case in point with one model suggesting higher wind and rainfall than the other right up until we ...

  La Orana! We are now heading into our sixth day of storms.  This is turning out to be marathon and not a sprint.  We sit here marooned on Papillon not sure if we are living through our own version of  “Groundhog Day” or dare I say it a repeat of “Lockdown” minus the virus.     Storm clouds approaching   Neighbours at the moorings When lulls persist, we make occasional dashes to the shore to stretch weary legs, do the odd 15 minute "express" wash, purchase fresh baguettes and enjoy coffees at Apetahi but visits are short.  The next period of squalls is never far away and, as if sensing this, the town is empty.  The harbour seems more spacious somehow, bereft of its tour boats and fishermen.  The only vessels remaining secured to the jetty are the occasional private ferries willing to risk the waves and swell between here and Taha’a for the price of a fare.  The bigger passenger ferry from Tahiti has be...

  La Orana! After all the waiting and speculation, the inevitable has finally happened.   We heard yesterday that the winds expected to arrive in the Society Islands on Tuesday have been officially upgraded to “Tropical Storm” status.      We are the white dot   Papillon in waiting It was not a surprise.   “Met Bob” had warned of an increased chance of a tropical storm two weeks ago and the weather models although not exactly concurring did agree on at least the presence of strong winds in the vicinity.   Last week in Moorea it all seemed a distant threat.   We enjoyed several days of calm sunny weather and the island was looking its exceptional best.   We hiked, swam, people watched and even took the fast ferry to Tahiti for a big city day trip.    Hiking from Cooks Bay sunset at anchor on the reef   Skipper and his avocado stash   Mount Rotui Ther...