August 10, 2013
s/v Flour Girl sailing out Passe Paipai
From Passe Paipai to Passe Teavanui, there are about 20 miles between Tahaa and Bora Bora, and with a bit of wind, sailing between the two islands is an easy afternoon hop. Since it was still the season for Maramu winds, there was no shortage of wind, and in fact, we were a bit on the cool side.
doing his usual acrobatics
cooler air towards Bora Bora
As we rounded the southwestern tip of Bora Bora’s barrier reef, we began to get the 20-30 knots of southeast wind more on the beam, and we needed to reduce sail. Then, we received a VHF call from Gavin (s/v Pacific Flyer) warning us to be careful when making the turn into the pass. The strong winds, combined with the funneling affect of the island’s mountains, had caused a monohull to be knocked sideways on a gust of wind when trying to approach Bora Bora. Therefore, it was best to take down all sails and motor in through the pass. Gavin also suggested anchoring to the northwest side of Toopua where it was shallow and well protected from the wind, and of course, where we would find Pacific Flyer.
By the time we were situated at anchor, and by the end of the day, we were with several boats we knew . . . Flour Girl, Yindee Plus, MacPelican, Pacific Flyer, Monkey Fist, and State of Mind. We knew there were a lot of musicians in the mix, so we invited the entire lot of them over to Full Monty for a jam session. Instruments included four guitars, a ukulele, a harmonica, and a chilly bin. It was great fun!
As the last couple was leaving (no names mentioned), the evening ended with a bit of comedy. I was standing on the transom saying good night to them when the guy missed the dinghy and suddenly stepped right into the water. His wife, who was already in the dinghy, didn’t seem phased at the sight of her husband scrambling to get out of the water. (Later we learned that this was not an uncommon occurrence for them) Colin had heard the splash and came running. When he saw the guy in the water, he started calling, “Man overboard! Man overboard!” Of course, this was a moment when the guy didn’t want any attention drawn to him! The guy quickly got into the dinghy and waved good bye like nothing had happened. We couldn’t stop laughing.
