MOOREA - and I got to swim with dolphins again!

You will recall from my previous letter that I was struggling with internet connection and as a result have had to do this in two parts.

So, lets hope I can get through this with better connectivity this time, but before I continue with our news, let me not forget to mention our 'little pet' on-board.

Yes, this cute golden brown gecko is really a handsome chap and loves to lie on the palm of my hand and soak up heat and energy.

Back to our news:

The following day we decided to explore in depth the entire bay of Opunohu and then in the afternoon to explore neighbouring Cook’s Bay.

By the way … if my letters or posts are ‘lacking in grammatical correctness ‘ and with several spelling errors … do ignore these please, as I  sometimes write at 3:00am due to internet connectivity being at its best at this time which allows me to also post better quality photos …

 Oh yes … we took the dinghy on yet another excursion.

At first we headed across the bay here in Opunohu and scaled the shore, stopping in every now and then to survey the area.

One thing I really wanted to do here, is to take Impi and tie her ‘stern to,’ to a palm tree since my uncle Norman, who is an avid sailor himself having covered the great oceans during years before fancy gadgets such as chart plotters and the like were around, had said that he always dreamed of tying to a palm tree in this bay, of Moorea.

He had also said he somehow imagined this may not be possible today, as was in the days of old.

We decided to ‘look into this’, and what we discovered is that there are one or two bays where one can tie ‘stern to’, to a palm tree … yes, even in this day and age.

Another thing that fascinated me is the lack of development along the coastal shores of what must be the prettiest bay in all of French Polynesia, Opunohu Bay.

Cook’s Bay is different … it is heavily developed along the shores. Anyway, more about Cook’s Bay later.

Looking at these areas accessible in deep enough water to tie ‘stern to’ to palm trees, is in my opinion, not ‘tranquil’ enough as all along the shoreline is a road. Although not heavily trafficked, as we know traffic to be in the cities, it non-the-less carries the noise of cars and trucks, which for us … is ‘off-putting’.

However, I am sure my uncle would find photos of this area interesting, and also, for our sailing friends who are headed this way wanting to tie to a palm tree and be close to land, I will post some photos.

The pic below is taken as one approaches Orufara Bay

The name of the little bay where there are a number of palms to tie ‘stern to’ is called ‘ORUFARA BAY’ and is further up along the western side of the shore.

Now, I have mentioned that a road passes alongside the shoreline here which for us is a deterrent, however, there is a beauty about this bay and the mountainous backdrop is spectacular.

Across the road there is a little ‘Magasin’ (shop) where very basic supplies can be purchased ...

and also right up against the shoreline behind one of the palm trees a local person was selling freshly grown sweet corn (mielies) and some other vegetables picked from the garden.

The produce here is freshly picked and delicious ...

On a different occasion, we tied the dinghy to one of the palms and purchased fruits and vegetables from the lady at the little vegetable stand along the shore.

We also purchased some essentials from the little ‘Magasin’ (shop) here …

The views across the bay from here are also spectacular; so do not take my view on the road noise being a deterrent if this would not disturb you.

By the way, the deeper (southerly) one proceeds into this bay, the more ‘jungle like’ the vegetation becomes and surprisingly we have been fortunate to not have been bitten by one mosquito or other insects here.

We discovered, as we ventured south into the bay, that further one ventures, the greener the water becomes and the less transparent, mostly due to the silts washed down through the river system carrying rains from the mountains here.

There is an anchorage deep within which one finds after passing ‘Anse de Robinson’ (Robinsons Bay) and once again, the views are spectacular displaying the massive and steep mountain range of Rotui which reaches for the sky on the eastern shore ...

 .... various mountains and peaks along the western shore ...

.... and not to mention the distant yet majestic mountain ranges and pinnacles to the south. 

One would do well not to be tempted to tie to palms along the southern shore, since here the water is not transparent despite it being very shallow for some distance out.

Along the western shore and beyond Orufara Bay, we came across a number of simple ‘dwellings’ or rather ‘structures’ and were greeted with friendly waves by the locals here who kept waving us in to join them for a drink.

We spoke to one man here who advised us that he sold up everything he owned in Paris to search for a simpler lifestyle away from the ‘rat race’ so to speak, and has settled here in a simple abode and earns a bit of ‘extra money’ doing odd little chores around the island.

He seemed very happy to be in our company and we wondered if perhaps he is not a bit lonely here … you know … being a Parisian he must have quite a few friends back in the romantic city of Paris.

Anyway, fears of the man being lonely were soon dispelled when the girls from the humble abode next door were far to eager to have me join them for drinks and of course the men too were welcoming Ana with waves and gestures …

We took all this almost ‘unnoticed’ as the people here are so friendly and meek that we were sure it was all done in good spirit and fun!

On the eastern shore, there is a pretty little cove known as ‘ROBINSON’S COVE’... 

.... and here we spotted a beautiful home with lovely old trees, well maintained lawns and a little beach.

From this point along the eastern shore and in a southerly direction, the coastal area sees more development but mostly of old style buildings / dwellings not well maintained which has its own charm and beauty.

Ask me why the area has not seen huge development and I will have no answer for you, as it would seem to me the perfect place for a home and I would prefer to invest in a home along the shores of this bay, rather than that of Cook’s Bay.

In the photo above ... see how the reef extends out and is clear through transparent water ...

Somehow, this spectacular piece of paradise has kept its charm and natural appeal and, hope as much as I do it will not fall into the hands of developers, I somehow feel the bay of Opunohu is too marvelous to escape ‘greedy hands’.

TIME TO VISIT COOK’S BAY.

We took the dinghy across the reef by following strategically placed black and white markers. These are to route one along a ‘path’  that had been cleared of shallow coal heads and rocks across the reef system.

You may recall having read earlier in this letter, the path cut through the reef, which is clearly seen when scrutinizing the Google Earth Satellite overview.

Keeping these markers to our starboard side at a distance of about 6m (heading east) proved to be the best depth for prop clearance, and whilst we knew the area had been cleared, we still held our breath from time to time as we passed overhead some dark patches of ‘black’ from time to time. The water is so clear that it seems to be no more than knee deep yet there was a good 0.5 – 1m below the prop.

Ana stood up in the dinghy, and supporting herself by holding a rope from the bow she was pointing to the left and the right as we zoomed along, and now and then, her body language would send a shiver up my spine as I was sure to feel the thud of our propeller against the bottom. Fortunately this never happened and I must admit we sighed a huge sigh of relief as we met the deeper waters along the northwestern shore of Cook’s Bay.

Our immediate thought when entering Cook’s Bay was that the landscape seemed drier…. An arid sort of place … when compared to Opunohu Bay.

Can it be that perhaps the influence of the majestic ROTUI mountain range that separates the two has some climatic influence here and Cooks Bay sees less rain than Opunohu Bay … of this I am not sure however, the vegetation and shrubs seem to have a more ‘brownish tinge’ than that of the lush greens which contribute to the magnificence of Opunohu Bay.

Along the mountain side we could see the odd ‘orchard’ but the trees looked stunted and struggling for survival, yet, here at least, was someone trying to farm the land in an orderly fashion.

Below and along the coast on both sides of the bay one could see larger houses and the development style reminded Ana and me of Spain.

In the bay we saw a beautiful old vessel … registered in Ireland she bears the name ‘Sindbad’. I beheld the beauty of this classic looking vessel as she swayed to anchor against the mountainous backdrop.

Yes, here in Cook’s Bay the mountains too are truly beautiful to see from within the bay.

Cook’s Bay has a lot more activity than Opunohu Bay … there are restaurants everywhere, stores, hotels and motels and the like.

The day became overcast, however, the sun did peek out from time to time and at one point set it’s light rays on a church on the western shore … I grabbed for the camera and took a photo or two, however I did not capture the magnificence of the steeple as the light beam initially lit it up for us.

Moorea, for us, proved to be one of those islands to delight in … an island that truly has projected its splendorous image onto the canvass within my mind … I know we shall visit these beautiful shores again.

We had planned to sail overnight for the island of HUAHINE that night, however, the wind and weather has been incredibly ‘strange’ and after studying the latest weather gribs, decided at the last minute to postpone the trip until the following evening when the system was predicted to have calmed down some.

The night before saw us at anchor in screeching winds in excess of 50 knots … sailors were up all night as yachts began to drag and one was precariously close to Impi.

Although our Rocna had remained engaged and Impi had not budged, we reset our anchor to make sure to remain clear of those struggling to find firm grip in the sand.

As if remaining in one spot at anchor was not enough a challenge, lightening bolts illuminated the skies and winds switched violently from one angle to the next seeing yachts turning through 360* turns before being flung back and forth again.

Our bridle (a rope which attaches from the yacht to the anchor chain by a stainless steel hook on the end) snapped clean in half as Impi, being momentarily cast free lurched back a meter or three before being ‘grabbed’ directly on the chain.

Fortunately, our philosophy of ‘good practices’ in safety and protecting the boat paid dividends here. We ALWAYS tie a rope from a cleat in the deck through the chain as ‘back up’ for these unexpected situations, and this prevented the weight of the boat from pulling the anchor winch out of the deck.

I have had one or two sailors onboard Impi comment on this saying they thought it to be unnecessary, however, here was the proof that one can never be too careful.

In the early hours of the morning I sat and spliced ends to a new, thicker rope that I later installed.

Anyway, we must say the anchorage, although displaying some fierce winds, proved to be safe thanks to a sandy seabed which our anchor was able to dig deep into.

On the day of our departure, the dolphins arrived with their little ones and swam all around.

I decided to join them and by the time I wanted to photograph them they had moved for deeper water.

Ana and I took the dinghy and I dived overboard towing it behind me. Ana remained in the dinghy and took a few photos.

It was truly amazing to be swimming with these beautiful creatures … so free … so wild yet so friendly and to be swimming with them in their natural habitat was incredibly special. 

My underwater photography is not the best ... especially with this small camera, but I think one will get the idea ...

The last time I had this experience, you will recall, was during our time at George Town in the Exumas, Bahamas, when Terry (my son) and I were greeted by three of them, a mother and her little one as well as another.

Beautiful Moorea … Impi will miss your beautiful shores, your turquoise blues, and quaint little stores … your sunset kisses and colourful hues, yes beautiful Moorea … Impi will miss your beautiful shores!

They say a picture paints a thousand words, but I now know this not to be true … This concept is for the birds, for to capture your beauty, your spirit, your ‘YOU’ …

One has to be ON beautiful Moorea, Like Impi, ON your beautiful shores!