Lessons learnt

La Orana!

The winds have been light this week and mainly from the east – challenging conditions for sailing to Moorea as we had originally planned.  Motoring against the swell for such a long passage was equally unattractive so instead we chose to remain in the lagoon and commit to a “sailing only” week.  

Lagoon sailing in light weather

and not so light weather!

For us this is defined as sailing off moorings and anchorages and only going where the wind takes us.  Skipper would have preferred it if anchoring under sail was included in the remit but I’m afraid that’s where the crew threatened a mutiny, insisting that the engines were at least idling when anchoring was attempted.  It all sounds a bit ridiculous when I put it down on paper, but it has certainly improved our sailing skills and reminded us how easy it is for these to get rusty in this part of the world.  With such steady prevailing easterlies ocean passages don’t actually demand much sailing.  Once the sails are set and the autohelm engaged the boat essentially sails itself with “lookout” being the helmsman’s main responsibility.  Inshore waters present very different challenges: lagoons deepen and shallow rapidly, navigable channels narrow to a couple of boat widths in places, coral bommies are a continual hazard and gentle winds that disappear behind precipitous mountains and accelerate around headlands can be extremely fluky and unpredictable.  

Sailing breeze

Bora Bora to the west

Not surprisingly, we have had a few “moments” this week!  At the end of each day, we always share a debriefing session and discuss the “lessons learnt”:  what went well and how the s--- shows could have been avoided.  From these a few themes have emerged which I will share with you.

1    There exists a mismatch between skipper and I regarding time management.  Sailing rapidly towards a sandy shelf to anchor has me screaming for reducing the sails and engaging the engines long before skipper deems it necessary.  Why is this?  A general lack of confidence on my part or overconfidence on his?  I don’t know but the only resolution has been to meet in the middle and try to bite our tongues!

2.     Apparently, there is always time to put the kettle on and have a cup of tea. Whilst I realise that maintaining one’s fluids is critical in the tropics there are occasions when a quick brew up is simply not appropriate.  Skimming past a navigational hazard in swirling winds is one of those times.  Hopefully skipper has taken that one on board!

3.      Knowing your ships terms is helpful in a tight spot.  This one is really on me as I have discovered I have difficulty recalling the correct word under pressure.  For example, furling (reducing) the mainsail requires the tack of the sail (the mast end) to be furled before the clew (outhaul).  It doesn’t work the other way round.  It doesn’t matter that I know what I mean…skipper has to know it too!

4.        Responding (appropriately) to EVERYTHING is the best way to keep one’s skipper happy.

5.      Catamarans are not monohulls and sometimes take longer to turn around than you expect so factor that in when an area of coral is approaching to leeward….I’m sharing no more on the subject!

6.      In the lagoon satellite images are more reliable than contour charts but bear in mind that coral is a growing entity and satellite images can be out of date. Eyes are your best navigational tool.

7.      Adopting the "Bitch Wing" stance when a perfect anchoring has been achieved only to have a charter boat zoom in and drop theirs a few meters away is the most effective method for moving recalcitrant sailors on.

Bitch wings

Always time for tea

So, after all this instructional sailing where have we actually been?  The quick answer is not very far.  We have almost circumnavigated Taha’a but were turned back by south easterlies this morning and are now back in the northwest corner of the island at an anchorage first discovered a few days ago.  It is a glorious spot looking directly west to Bora Bora.  Motu Tehotu to the north has deserted white sandy beaches and a spit of black rock extending out to the reef where the lava has imprinted every sea creature and plant interrupting its flow.  The shapes and swirls on the surface are a thing of beauty.  Between the volcanic rock and the crashing waves at the reef is a smooth channel of coral.  Here the sea life feels very untamed.  Sharks lurk behind enormous purple and yellow coral heads, huge fish with artificial looking eyelashes feed alongside more familiar varieties and eels dart out from underwater caves to snap down their prey.  No shoals of butterfly fish encircle you here waiting for a fistful of breadcrumbs.  It’s all about survival.  Walking back along the beach brightly coloured shells distract among the bleached coral – all shapes and sizes and a constant reminder of the richness of the sea life under the surface.  

From this northly spot the sun is almost setting behind Bora Bora in the west now– perhaps it will be when our visitors arrive in 10 days’ time.  Earlier in the week high cloud turned the horizon into an opalescent canvas of swirling pinks, greens and blues.  It was another wonderful display like so many others we have enjoyed all week.  Taha’a is certainly an island for the sunsets. 

Tomorrow whatever the weather blows in we can linger around this beautiful island no longer.  More glue is required for the dingy and arrangements have to be made for April when we leave Papillon to go to New Zealand for a month.  Then and only then can we head east to the rendezvous point for Duncan and Jenni.  Excitement is growing.  Supplies are accumulating in Glasgow to be sequestered into suitcases,  a wish list of places to visit whatever the weather is being compiled, frozen meals are accumulating in the freezer, water making is proceeding almost daily to fill those tanks and inevitable maintenance jobs are being tackled.  The next few days are going to be frantic but tonight we will sit back in tranquil Taha’a and hopefully enjoy another beautiful sunset in this deserted spot.  Perched on this pinprick of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean life feels good!   

Rain approaching

and rainbows afterwards