Off to Sea the Wizard: Tautira, Tahiti-Iti

Wizard anchored in Tautira on the east coast of Tahiti-Iti

June 27 -Sailing to Tahiti
7:00 am- We leave Fakarava to visit another near-by atoll of Toau. It is completely void of village and people, except for a boat of copra harvesters who stopped to refill their water containers from the lone cistern at the seasonal fishing camp. We were all alone in this vast lagoon! We snorkeled at the most amazing coral reef, a huge pillar of fish and marine life in the middle of nowhere! There were many coral formations shaped like gumdrops and candy in many textures and design! Colorful fish stood out against the white sands and I got sunburned under the water from the reflection! There were more varieties of fish than we'd seen on the dive in Fakarava! I felt very comfortable swimming in this underwater world, until I spied the grey shark slowly following us... I decided to cut my swim short and got back into the dingy while Rob and Bri continued to explore. They're way braver than me. Too bad, I was without a camera because this reef was spectacular!

The next day, we walked the island reef, but it was so heavily forested with mangroves, underbrush and coconut palms that we didn't get far. Mostly, the coconut crabs inhabit this atoll!

Black-tipped shark in the surf.

Next day, we timed the passage exit for early morning at high tide, on an incoming tide. Luckily, there were no standing waves, but there were strong currents in this shallow pass. At one point, I saw 24 ft as the shallowest point on the depth meter! We could see the dark spots of coral heads as we powered out the pass against the current. It was a tense half hour motoring over the incoming tide. Then still feeling the currents pull on our boat until we were at least a mile off the entrance. Capt. John said it was an uncomfortable feeling being out of control of the boat. I for one, am glad to be leaving the Tuamotus. They are beautiful and remote but they can be challenging because of the currents!

11:00am
We are sailing along at 6 knots on a downwind course for Tahiti. Finally, a sing-song rolly motion of a boat under sail! Clear skies with confused wind swept seas with 20 knots makes for good sailing.
The day goes by really fast...both Rob & Bri get mildly seasick and take naps, but recover in the evening . Everyone discusses sail trim, course and night watches before retiring. The wind is mild tonight and I think we will all get a good night's sleep.

The two day passage is slow as Capt. John tries to time our Tahiti landfall for daybreak by trimming the only sail up, the genoa, down to a "small handkerchief". This creates a rolly side to side boat motion that makes sleeping almost impossible, but keeps the boat speed down to 3-4knots. We endure two slow days at this speed knowing we'll be in Tahiti soon!

Lush gardens of Tautira, Tahiti-Iti

.June 29
Tahiti-Iti, the smaller land part of the island is in the distance at daybreak-perfect! First impressions: cloud covered mountain peaks, steep mountains to 7,000 ft, cliffs and green valleys covered in coconuts, mangos, taro fields and bananas. Truly a jungle of green!
Rain clouds deposit a sprinkle as we set up at anchor. The east side of Tahiti-Iti is wetter and windier, but less populated than the west coast and Papeete.

June 29
Anchor down in Tautira, Tahiti on the Taiarapu Peninsula.

A quick tour of Tautira has an "old town feel" and reveals the agriculture and fishing based economy of this peninsula. Much of the fresh meats, fish and produce grown here are exported to feed the rest of the island. We meet friendly people calling out "ir-ora-na"( hello in Tahitian) and find a great restaurant for a breakfast of shrimp and poission cru

Breakfast of fresh caught shrimp in Tautira!

at the small marina and re-supply at a well stocked magazin (grocery store). I go crazy buying all those items we've consumed on our passage...baguettes , cheese, fruits and veggies. We note the prices on food is way less than in the Tuamotus.

Fuchsia colored ginger grows profusely

We walk past abundant gardens, fields of taro, rows of lettuce in fresh turned soil, ripe tomatoes and orchards of papaya trees, bananas and frangipani bushes. I think they harvest this flower to make the fragrant coconut oil?

We arrive on the weekend and the beginning of the month long Heiva celebration. Tahitian dance teams, drumming and singing groups compete for the top recognition. We stopped in at the local fair pavilion filled with game arcades and inside was a fashion show and modern dance exhibition . I was expecting the traditional polynesian dancing, but not so. Turns out any style of dance goes. This celebration goes on all month throughout Tahiti. It was fun to be part of the "local scene"and sat next to a teacher who practiced her English on us. We learned that her son was dancing in the modern dance exhibition. The "all boy" dance group rendered a digitized Michael Jackson piece and they were quite good!

River Vaitepiha in Tautira

We walked out of town and up the river Vaitepiha, past well tended country farms until the road ended and a trail hugging the river began. The trail meandered along the bank through jungle foliage, gardenias, ginger, coconut palms and bamboo. Simply gorgeous!

Ancient stones on river trail

Bird of paradise flower

I'm dwarfed by an amazing bamboo forest!

Hiking up the river trail

We meet new cruiser friends, Chris and Lela on Privateer. They have just sailed from the Austral Island, Tubuai and on their way to Hawaii. They join us for the hike up the river.

July 1
Wow! We only have 19 more days in French Polynesia! Better hurry up and see it all!