Stormy Weather

 

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 been cancelled, the regular cruise ships conspicuously absent and only one cargo boat seems to have made it over here this past week and it was turned back whilst attempting to go further west to Bora Bora.  The weather has been really wild. Even the sharks have stayed away only reappearing briefly while we were cooking some chicken.  No bones went overboard on this occasion but still they circled for hours – they must smell it through the drains or something!

Rare lull but short lived

Rain returns

The first strong winds arrived on Monday morning from the northeast.  With winds gusting over 40 knots it was still being described as a tropical depression but there was talk of an upgrade to cyclone status “later”.  Nervous times.  The mooring lines were checked and rechecked, but all looked good.  Others were not so happy.  Izayan’s skipper, the wiry and chestnut brown Gary, retied his spare line in atrocious conditions.  The fetch from the north is probably our longest one in the lagoon.  The day before he had somewhat nonchalantly told us of his experiences of 55 knot winds at these moorings, but I don’t believe even he was feeling quite so nonchalant on Monday morning.  His dinghy was bouncing about wildly in the northly swell as he worked away at the bow.   I monitored his progress peering through the binoculars but even with my enhanced vision he sometimes disappeared altogether.  I certainly didn’t envy him.  

More stormy weather

And yet more!

Similarly concerned was Mohammed on our other side who text to ask the status of his backup line.  We replied that it looked fine but then decided photographic evidence was probably required to fully convince.  The dinghy was lowered, and off we went.  What a comprehensive soaking that was!  Drowned rats was the only way to describe us on our return so imagine my annoyance to see Mohammed appearing out of the gloom to perform an inspection of his own while I was actually forwarding him the photos!! Tying up his dinghy to Papillon's stern he quickly saw the state of me and was very apologetic!!  A fun chat followed.  Extreme weather turns out to be a good way of meeting neighbours and for us that has been a bonus after all the long days in captivity!

Boats lie to the northwest in the morning

The Hawaiki Nui's abortive trip to Bora Bora with Izayan in the foreground

As the week progressed the north-easterly winds shifted to the north and thence to the north-west.  There have been occasional further shifts to the west but for the most part we have been lying to the north-west since Thursday.  It is strange to be facing in the opposite direction after months of south-easterly trades.  I get a little disorientated checking the lines in the dark.  Lights appear on the “wrong” side and what should be greens seem to be reds!  Thank goodness for the calming influence of “Anchor Pro”.  We have discovered that a north-westerly swell is somewhat dampened by Taha’a which is very welcome.  The downside is the gap between Raiatea and Taha’a that acts as a funnel for the winds to whistle through making us very exposed.  I’m not sure whether it is the unfamiliar noises or movements that jangle the nerves more.  My ears feel continually pricked and I struggle to sit still.  It is exhausting.  When the rain stops briefly, we brave the foredeck for exercise.  Lifting weights in a force 6 is challenging I have discovered, and balance exercises a definite no-go area, but it feels good to stretch a bit.  Without it my back would be screaming by now.  To relax we read and watch a lot of films – preferably without a nautical theme - and I knit!!  I have discovered that if my hands are busy, I am calmer, so I knit often accompanied by cheesy music and podcasts,  anything to distract in fact and its working, the knitting is progressing though not necessarily completely correctly!!  It will be called my “cyclone” jumper when it’s finally done!!

More turbulent skies

So, life goes on and we are fine if a little jaded.  I’d like to attribute our tiredness wholly to the weather, but I am ashamed to say some has been self-inflicted.  Saturday was a case in point .  Scotland’s rugby match against France started at a very inhospitable 4.15am French Polynesian time.  We both watched it dismayed at the final scoreline and furious at the disallowed try – the final few minutes as turbulent as the weather outside.  Much food for discussion for the rest of the day and certainly a distraction.  Hopefully by next weekend we won’t be needing as much distraction.  The forecasts suggest things will improve, a slipping of the convergence zone to the south they say.  Welcome news for the Leeward Society Islands but terrible news if you live in the South Cooks! A reminder that the weather is always a lottery creating winners and losers wherever it strikes.

Calming down at last