august 1 2004 : en route to rangiroa
This has been a strange passage so far. It’s only about 580 miles, five days, so we didn’t really give it much thought before we left. Then suddenly late on the first day we both looked at each other and said, God, I don’t feel like doing this. We’re both feeling really tired and lazy, sort of a seasick type feeling. Luckily the wind has been great and we haven’t had to do much in the way of sail changes. Just set it and forget it. But even the fact that we are going to make it in just four days hasn’t done much to change the mood onboard. Hopefully Rangiroa rejuvenates us a little bit. Now I suppose I should get up and go look around outside since I’m supposed to be on watch.

august 4 2004 : rangiroa atoll, tuamotus, french polynesia
After a great sail in which we covered 600 miles in four days, hardly touching a sail the entire time, we pulled into Rangiroa atoll yesterday morning. On the third day of the passage we finally came out of our funk, but we were still more than ready to get there.

As we approached the atoll, I had intended to ask for tide information over the VHF. However nobody answered my repeated calls. Our charts didn’t have the tide info for Rangiroa which was a bit of a problem since all the cruising guides stressed that we must only attempt to go through the pass at slack tide. The reason for this is that during the flood tide the current gets up to three knots and during the ebb tide it is six knots, which when it meets the water rushing at it from the sea creates huge standing waves right at the entrance.

So I was a little nervous about what kind of conditions we would find. Then we saw a big Navy ship going back and forth outside the entrance and figured they’d be able to answer our question, but they never answered our calls on the radio. Soon he turned in and entered the pass. I took that as a sign that it must be okay for us to go through now too. Maybe not a good idea looking back on it as I wouldn’t imagine that a six knot current would be an issue for a Navy ship.

We pressed on and as we got to the entrance we found some crazy big waves slapping straight up into the air. The current didn’t seem to be slowing us down much and it wasn’t pushing us along too fast either. Maybe we did hit slack tide after all. The pass is about 500 yards long and the whole time we were whooping and hollering as we got tossed around like we were on a wild horse. There were a few small inflatable dive boats full of hotel guests at the edge of the entrance that stopped to watch us, probably thinking that we were completely insane. Then just like that, it was over. We were in totally calm water despite the twenty knot winds and big seas right outside the pass. That was both the scariest moment and the most fun we’ve had sailing Bum so far.

So after we got in and settled we headed straight for the Kia Ora hotel bar that we could see just 100 yards away from the boat. No swimming in the pool for us yet though, since Ali looks like she has the measles after the nonos devoured her on our hike to the waterfall the other day. She has literally hundreds of bites on her legs. So instead we just threw ourselves a little party and toasted yet another successful passage.

This morning we were talking about how nice this place is and how much better it is than the Marquesas. Then we thought about how different things are right now as opposed to when we got into the Marquesas. Now we have absolutely nothing on our minds since nothing needs to be done. Whereas when we arrived in the Marquesas we needed diesel (which I don’t think I ever mentioned cost $4.00 per gallon!), propane, groceries, laundry, to get off the boat, etc. etc.. So maybe the Marquesas didn’t get a totally fair shake from us. However we’re still not changing our opinion of it. All I know is that so far we are loving this place.

One other thing, maybe I should explain what an atoll is. Millions of years ago there was a volcano right where we are anchored. Over time a coral reef formed around the outside of it. Then gradually the volcano eroded and sank back into the sea while the coral reef continued to grow. After the volcano has completely sunk under water all that is left is the ring of coral around the outside of the new lagoon. Rangiroa is the second biggest atoll in the world. The other side of the ring is about 24 miles away. That’s it for today’s lesson.

august 5 2004 : rangiroa atoll
Today we zipped up to the town of Avatoru about four miles north of our anchorage. Not much happening up there. Just a quiet little dusty town with a handful of small grocery stores and a couple of boutiques selling dresses and black pearls. We did find a nice tapa cloth print with a cool design on it. Later we went back to the hotel for lunch where once again I tried the pizza. I know, I’m a glutton for punishment. It was the best pizza at a restaurant in French Polynesia which of course isn’t saying much.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon lounging around the hotel pool, despite the large sign in which rule #7 clearly states that the pool is for HOTEL GUESTS ONLY! I’m not sure, but I think that might be directed at us. Oh well, we just continue to act like we belong and nobody bothers us. Besides, I think the people here are too polite to ever confront anybody anyway. If they do we’ll just turn on the stupid American act again. That one always works.

august 8 2004 : en route to bora bora
Let’s see, a couple days ago we spent doing some small boat projects. Cleaning out a couple of lockers and clothing containers, caulking a few things, small stuff. And since we finally have clear water again I was able to remove one of the props under the boat to get some fishing line that had been tangled in it, as well as tightening the zinc. Then in the afternoon it was back to the hotel bar.

Yesterday we really did nothing. Laid in the sun and went swimming. In the afternoon it was back to the hotel again. This time to try lunch again. Ali got a club sandwich and I got the mahi mahi burger. Finally some good food. Everything was great. After lunch we ordered a couple more beers and went to sit in the pool. Two minutes later, a manager who we had seen walking around greeting everyone every day, comes up to us all in a huff. Without going into details about how rude he was or my less than polite replies to him, we left. I guess I spoke too soon in my last log huh?

Later we stopped at the dive shop to find out when slack tide was the next day and found out that it was at 8 a.m., which was perfect. The trip over to Bora Bora is 265 miles, so if we left in the morning we should have no problem making it there in just two nights.

This morning we upped anchor and headed for the pass, hoping it wouldn’t be quite as wild as coming in the other day. We were relieved to see that it was nearly flat. That leads us to believe that maybe we didn’t actually come in at the right time the other day. Maybe having tide information is important after all. Right now we are sailing straight downwind wing-and-wing. We’re doing preety well, but with the light winds we are missing the screecher more and more.

august 9 2004 : en route
Well we have had light winds ever since we left yesterday. But since we are determined to make it to Bora Bora in just two nights we have been motorsailing for about 30 hours now. Not exactly our favorite thing to do but it beats spending a third or even fourth night out at sea. We should have no problem getting in tomorrow.

Today was a pretty uneventful day. Around four o’clock we had resigned ourselves to the fact that we were going to have to eat yet another canned tuna fish sandwich for dinner since we hadn’t caught a fish all day. So I went to the back of the boat to bring in the fishing lines when suddenly one of the lines jerked tight and we had a fish on. I grabbed the line and immediately I knew it was a big one. I couldn’t pull the line in without it really digging into my hands. So Ali got the gloves out and I started hauling him in inch by inch. Normally when you catch a fish on 250 pound test line moving at 6 knots he gives up pretty quickly and you usually end up dragging him in while he flops along the top of the water. Well not this guy, he kept diving and fighting. After about 15 minutes we saw a flash of pink, which was the lure, but we still couldn’t see the fish. A few more pulls on the line and suddenly he surfaced right at the back of the boat.

Our biggest catch yet, he had a big fanned out dorsal fin all the way down his back and was blue all along the top and silvery white on the bottom half. Ali yelled, “Are we gonna eat that?!” While I was freaking out trying to figure out how I was going to get the hook out of his mouth and release him without getting smashed. So I was slowly pulling him up to the back step hoping he would stay calm for a few seconds while I unhooked him. When BAM! He darted forward and started smashing into the back of the boat. Ali was getting some video, no still shots since it didn’t look like he was going to pose for us. And then mercifully the hook popped out of his mouth and he slipped back into the water.

We had no real idea what he was at first. We were guessing a blue marlin, but our fish had really big eyes, and the picture of the marlin had small eyes. Then I found a picture of our fish in another book. It was a shortbill spearfish. Here’s what the book said about him, “They are uncommon over most of their ranges, occurring almost exclusively in deep offshore waters. Rarity makes spearfish difficult to target. Put out some splashy skirted lure/bait combinations well offshore and don’t hold your breath waiting for the first one to bite.” So it sounds to me like not many people get a chance to hook up with one of those bad boys. A few minutes later we were inside eating tuna fish sandwiches.

august 10 2004 : bora bora, society islands, french polynesia
After two solid days of motoring, we arrived in Bora Bora. We had the sails up most of the time, but with winds of only five knots they weren’t doing much. I woke up this morning and looked outside to see Bora Bora on the horizon, over forty miles away. It makes for a very long day when our destination is in sight the entire time but never feels like we are getting any closer.

Our long boring day took a turn for the better while standing on deck just staring at the beautiful island, two humpback whales surfaced just a few hundred yards off the coast. They continued to surface, blowing out a huge spray every time. It sounded as amazing as it looked. We decided to go in for a closer look, slowly motoring in their direction. For a while we didn’t see them again. Then suddenly we heard them surface on the other side of the boat just seventy-five yards away. As we continued on towards the island they slowly disappeared behind us.

After that it was just a couple more miles inside the pass to where we anchored for the night. This is definitely a tourist island. We saw the first charter boats we have seen in a long time, as well as a small cruise ship, and hundreds of bungalows over the water. But we are really excited to be here, tourists and all. The spot we anchored is pretty cool. The outer reef is about a half mile straight out in front of us, where you can see and hear the huge waves breaking. But where we are it is completely calm. We got in kind of late today, so the post passage celebration at Bloody Mary’s has to wait until tomorrow.

august 12 2004 : bora bora
Yesterday morning we woke up to find that there was absolutely no wind. The water was like a sheet of glass. We hadn’t seen water like that since the Bahamas. While we were sitting outside we saw three spotted eagle rays swimming along right underneath the boat. Another thing we hadn’t seen since the Bahamas. So we jumped in the dinghy to head out to the reef and see if we could find some more eagle rays.

About 50 yards in front of us the water goes up from 30 feet to about five feet, then it stays five feet for about half a mile until you reach the outer edge of the reef where it comes up to the surface. That is where the waves from the ocean swell are breaking all day long every day. So we motored out there.

We were able to motor to within about 50 yards of the breakers before there was just too much coral for us to dinghy any farther. It was a pretty amazing spot with the breaking waves about eight feet high and forming perfect tubes right in front of where we sat where it was totally calm. We also saw a few more spotted eagle rays and a few stingrays on our way over.

Then in the afternoon we headed into the town of Vaitapi. We wandered around there for a little while. There was a bunch of craft shops, a small grocery store, and an art gallery that we walked into. That was pretty humorous. We started walking around and looking at the carvings of tiki and the ancient war clubs and paintings by local artists. Then I started to pay attention to the price tags. A war club was about $7,000, the cheapest painting was about $900, and this tiny little spearhead was $1,500. Okay, time to leave before I knock something over.

After that we dinghied over to Bloody Mary’s. This is a famous cruisers hangout, so we were eager to go there. Outside they have a wall where they list all the famous celebrities that have been there, as well as a bunch of their photos. By the looks of things they haven’t had a celeb show up there in a while since the most recent looking picture I saw was of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell and it looked like it was before Kate was even born. Inside it looked a bit like the vision of Polynesia that you would see at Disneyworld or something. A bit on the gaudy side. Lunch was okay though the portions were super tiny. It’s saving grace though was that it had Hinano on tap. The first tap beer we’ve seen since Panama. And the cheapest we have found in all of French Polynesia.

Later when we were leaving we met the owner, or manager, whichever. He was a nice guy and I can see why cruisers like this place. He told us about the free moorings they have right out front of their dock, as well as having free water at the dock for cruisers. We don’t need water, but a lot of cruisers do, and to be able to just pull up to a dock and fill up for free is unheard of.

Then while we were sitting there a charter boat pulled up to the dock and after helping them tie up we started talking. It was a nice couple from Paris with their daughter and some friends. They invited us back for drinks later. So later that night we found ourselves back at Bloody Mary’s. We learned a few things about Europe from them, most amazing of which was the fact that they each receive eight weeks of vacation, or “holiday,” every year. They couldn’t understand how the average worker in the U.S. only gets two or three weeks and even then most of them don’t even take it all.

august 13 2004 : bora bora
Yesterday was really windy here, all of the boats anchored by us left to find more shelter. But once again, being a catamaran, we didn’t have any problems with the little waves and actually found it nice to be left all alone again.

We had a few more projects to work on as well yesterday. I finally had to bear down and get the head fixed. Lately it had been burping up air bubbles after you flushed it, which needless to say didn’t exactly smell like flowers. I knew from reading other cruising books what the problem was. It is the waste exit hose. It gets a bit of, shall we say, build-up in it. The solution I read about in all the books said to take the hose off, take it to a parking lot and smash it on the ground, thus breaking up the accumulated build-up. I decided that once I took this nasty hose off I wasn’t about to carry it around town and then swing it over my head while chunks of crap came flying out of it. So I just replaced the hose. Seems like a much more obvious solution to me.

Then of course we were due for another flood. This time it was from the thru-hull for that same hose. One of just four thru-hulls that didn’t get replaced in Panama on the entire boat. The thru-hull was super loose, I could wiggle it with my finger. I tried a few different things to stop the water from literally rushing in, and finally found the answer. A screwdriver jammed into the top edge seems to put it at just the right angle to completely stop the inflow of water. I’m not sure what else we can do while we are in the water. I guess we will just sail around for another couple of months with a rusty screwdriver keeping our boat from filling with water and sinking. Nice. That’s some quality craftsmanship.

Ali spent her day cleaning the boat. She is in a never ending battle with mildew. About once a month she needs to clean all the headliners with bleach to kill the black stuff (it looks like dirt). If anybody has any bright ideas on how to prevent that stuff from growing let us know. For lunch we went over to the hotel that we are anchored out front of. Somebody had told us it is the most expensive hotel in Bora Bora, around $1,000 a night. And we can see why. Wow, was it nice. I don’t think we will go swimming at this one. Lunch was pretty good and actually not too outrageously expensive considering. It was only a couple bucks more than Bloody Mary’s and the portions were much bigger.

august 14 2004 : bora bora
Last night there was a Reggae concert in town. I’m pretty sure every local on the island was there and they all seemed to be digging the reggae music. We bought our tickets in the afternoon and saw them setting up food and drink stands. Dinner and drinks, along with some local music, sounded good to us.

So last night we get there and order a couple Hinanos the guy looks at us and laughs. No beer. Seems the concert was some sort of fundraiser for the children. Alright fine, a couple juices and sandwiches instead.

There was a dance group beforehand that consisted of about 7 boys around 12-14 years old. They were hip-hop dancers from what I could gather. They turned on the Snoop Dogg music and it felt like we had been transplanted back in time 20 years. It was great, these kids were doing breakdancing. You remember, from back in the early 80’s. They were doing backspins and headspins, the robot, the worm, you name it. Anyway, they were having a great time and the crowd loved it. Then they started the concert.

The guy must be a big hit in France because the girls were all screaming as if he was a star. It was a little different listening to a concert all in French. Especially reggae. But it was good, and most of the time you don’t know the words anyway, it’s just the reggae beat.

august 16 2004 : bora bora
Despite having to pay an extra airline fee for overweight baggage, my mom Linda, and brother Josh, arrived right on time yesterday. It was great to see them both after almost exactly a year. They looked great and were really excited to be here. Especially after twenty-four hours of traveling. But hey, it took us about 30 days to get here so I don’t want to hear any complaining.

Opening up their bags was like climbing under the Christmas tree as a little kid. Wow did they drag a lot of crap along for us. First there was the West Marine order. Just a bunch of little things that will probably turn into big boat projects. Then there was a stack of movies, which thank you very much, almost all came from our readers. A suitcase full of about 30 books and a huge stack of magazines. Plus tons of other stuff.

If we can’t make it to New Zealand now then we’ve got issues. But the best thing they brought us were new pictures of our niece and nephew, Lea and Curt. Ali took one look at them and started crying. That has definitely been the hardest part of cruising. It hasn’t been the sailing across oceans or bad weather. Anyway, it was great to get stuff from them. We are flying home for the holidays this year from New Zealand. So this makes waiting a few more months a lot easier.

Anyway, we spent the day lounging around the pool and catching up. It was nice to know we wouldn’t be getting thrown out of the pool this time. Today we will be showing them the boat. I’ll try to capture that look of shock and disbelief on my mom’s face when she sees how little it is. Yesterday we would see 47′ charter boats go sailing by and she would say, “Oh, is that how big yours is?” Umm, not exactly mom.

august 17 2004 : bora bora
Yesterday we brought mom and Josh to the boat. We were happy when they both agreed they were really surprised by how much bigger it is than they expected. Although mom seemed to think our bed was to small for two people. We upped the anchor and headed around the island to find a mooring in front of Bloody Mary’s. They both enjoyed the motor over there in the calm waters and are certain they are now ready for ocean passages. So that was nice, putting a couple more family members at ease with our sailing lifestyle.

Today we took them both snorkeling. It was their first time ever. Ali and I were shocked when my mom put on a mask and snorkel and threw herself over the side of the dinghy. She had a little trouble with the breathing through the snorkel part, as most people do the first time, but she enjoyed watching the fish swimming around her. Josh was a natural, and was swimming all over the place with me checking out the coral and fish. We were proud of them both for trying something new and doing so good.

After that it was time to relax. We decided one hour of exertion was plenty for one day, and spent the rest of the afternoon laying by the pool, eating pizza (I know I wasn’t going to try any more pizza in French Polynesia, but it was actually pretty good), shrimp cocktail, and drinking a bunch of Hinanos. Then we spent the evening laying around the room watching television. It was nice to be able to watch a little bit of the Olympics, even if it was in French. Man, it’s hard to tell who’s on vacation here, my mom and Josh, or Ali and I.

august 18 2004 : bora bora
Today we spent the afternoon exploring the island in a rental car. Of course that only consists of one road that circles the entire thing. Basically the day entailed driving 200 yards, stopping, shopping, driving 200 yards, stopping, shopping. My mom and Ali found one shop where I am sure the lady that owns it won’t work another day the rest of the month. She couldn’t keep the grin off of her face as we drove away. My favorite part of the day was trying to get a Fiat to peel out. I managed to kick up some rocks, but it sure wasn’t going to leave any rubber on the pavement.

Then at night we went over to the Hotel Bora Bora, which was the first hotel on the island in 1961, for dinner and a show. Dinner was a giant buffet with everything you could want including, lobster, crab, ribs, a pig roast, chicken, roast beef, and on and on. Then there was the show. It was traditional dance and music and was very good. It reminded Ali and I a lot of the wedding we went to in the Marquesas. This one had some fire dancers though, which was very cool.

august 20 2004 : bora bora
Last night we went to Bloody Mary’s for dinner. It was 100 times better than lunch. We walked in and they had a big table with all the different fresh catches of the day laid out. Then a guy gives you a nice little speech explaining how they will cook them and what they all are. Of course Ali and I felt like old pro’s when he started talking about the mahi mahi and wahoo. We all ordered something different, including some great appetizers. All the food was excellent and the portions were big. Unlike the lunch where you could barely find the fish in the fish burger. Then came the dessert. Homemade ice cream. Excellent.

Well that’s it. The good life is over. We are now back to eating mac and cheese and swimming in saltwater instead of a pool. We saw my mom and Josh off at the hotel this afternoon. Mom of course had to have a small break down right at the end of the dock, but somehow Josh managed to keep in the tears. Hmmm, is he not as sad to be leaving his big brother as mom is? Anyway, we had a great time with them, it always makes us feel really good when family visits us. And hopefully they feel better now that they can picture what life is really like for us out here.

august 23 2004 : bora bora
We have done absolutely nothing for the last couple of days. Laid around reading new books and magazines, watching new movies, and eating candy. Saturday we did break down and make a bowl of soup, and Sunday we went to the Sheraton for lunch because our bodies were starting to break down from all the sugar. Today we are in town getting a little bit of gas for the dinghy, and a little bit of food from the store. We are heading for Taha’a tomorrow which is only about a 20 mile trip. From there we will go cruise around Ra’iatea for a few days. The two islands are both within the same barrier reef, so once we get inside tomorrow we should have some nice cruising around the islands.

august 25 2004 : taha’a, society islands, french polynesia
A year ago today Ali and I were sitting in a mortgage office signing the papers on the sale of our condo in Chicago. What a wild year it’s been. It’s hard to believe how far we have come in such a short time.

I’m starting to feel a little guilty because it seems like we aren’t doing anything lately. Yesterday we motored a whopping 15 miles over to Taha’a where we dropped anchor in a nice little secluded spot. The only problem with the anchorage is that the water is 110 feet deep. Way deeper than anything we have previously anchored in. Of course that leaves us with only about a 3:1 scope on the chain. Thankfully this spot is almost completely protected from any weather. Tomorrow we are heading across the lagoon to Ra’iatea. Ra’iatea is supposed to be the new sailing capital of the Society Islands with a bunch of charter companies based there. So we are hoping to get our screecher fixed here before we go to Tahiti. We also really need to get a welder to come and fix a bunch of cracks before we lose our dinghy, solar panels, and everything else.

august 28 2004 : ra’iatea, society islands, french polynesia
A couple days ago we moved on over to Ra’iatea. We went into the marina which had a nice little chandlery where we picked up some new line to replace the screecher halyard that snapped a while back. We also dragged the sail in to a sail loft where they patched up our tear in ten minutes. Now all we needed to do was get the old halyard out. Ali hauled me up the mast where I sat and yanked on the line for a few minutes before giving up. I did get the shackle off of the line so that we can have it spliced on to the new line. We went to two marinas, two sailmakers, and two charter companies that afternoon looking for somebody to splice the shackle on for us. Not one person knew how to do it.

Today we hitched a ride into the town of Uturoa. The guidebook says it’s the second biggest city in French Polynesia. And it is a nice little town. There were plenty of little shops, grocery stores, cafés, and whatever else you need. They also have a nice little quay where cruising boats can tie up right in the middle of town. Though the wind was making it pretty rough in there.

So now we are just kind of hanging out waiting for the weather to change. The wind is supposed to come out of the north in a couple of days, which is what we are looking for. So if that comes then we should find ourselves in Mo’orea or Tahiti soon.

august 30 2004 : ra’iatea
After an extremely lazy Sunday in which we hardly bothered to get out of bed we set out this morning to get some stuff done. First on the list was a trip back to the marine store for some chain. Currently we have 150′ of chain and 150′ of rode. I have been wanting more chain ever since we got to French Polynesia because of the extremely deep anchorages and the coral heads which will slice right through the rope if we aren’t careful about it. I should mention that the other day when we went there to buy some new line to replace the halyard the guy thought I had said 15 meters instead of 50 meters. So I felt bad that now they had a little piece of line that they probably wouldn’t be able to sell.

Then yesterday I had asked a guy what size chain in mm would be the equivalent of 3/8″ which is what size chain we have. He told me 10mm. So today off we went to the chandlery where we bought 30 meters (about 100′) of 10mm chain. We loaded it in the dinghy and brought it back to the boat. We hauled it up on deck and suddenly realized that it looked quite a bit bigger than the chain we already had. Uh oh. No big deal I thought, as long as it fits through the windlass. Of course, it didn’t.

Now I start thinking back to why I thought our chain was 3/8″ in the first place. I remember the guys at the rope place back in Fort Lauderdale telling me that is what it was. And ever since then I have just taken that fact for granted. Upon closer examination with a tape measure I now see we actually have 5/16″. Which apparently would mean 8mm chain. After our earlier mix up with the line I figured there was no way they would actually exchange 30 meters of chain simply because I am a dumbass. But we loaded it back up and went back over there. They don’t speak any English there so I thought we were going to have a heck of a time explaining this one to them. But within seconds he seemed to catch our drift, nodded his head, and ran out the door to cut us a piece of 8mm while the lady worked on refunding us the difference. In cash, even though we had charged it. Wow! We were in shock as we drove away. What nice people. I mean, what are they going to do with that now? Wait until somebody just happens to show up needing exactly 30 meters of 10mm chain? By the way, when is the rest of the entire world going to get with the act and quit using the metric system? We Americans just can’t get the hang of it.

This afternoon we hitched a ride back into town. Did a little shopping, and had a great Chinese food lunch at a little outdoor restaurant. On every table in the place they had lottery cards for people to fill out. Then up on the wall there was a television that had the winning numbers pop up every five minutes. Just like the game Keno in Las Vegas. And at every single table people were filling out their cards and running up to the cashier to get there ticket before the next drawing. People even had pages of notes where they seemed to keep a running tally of what numbers had come up. As if they somehow had a system for a completely random event. Poor suckers. Lotto’s have been a big thing in every country we have visited so far except the Bahamas. Not something I would have expected to see.

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