Our time in Raiatea was limited on account of having to haul Impi out of the water so that we could prepare for our trip to Thailand where Manu is to marry Gamyui and following this to move on to South Africa for a few months to see family and friends.
Of course this means that Impi will be on ground during hurricane season, and so we had many a discussion with the boat yard, CNI around the technical aspects of storing the boat and so on.
Anyway, we had arrived in Raiatea after a brisk sail from Huahine and entered beautiful Teavapiti pass between the islands of Motu Ofetao on the northern side and Motu Taoru on the southern side.
The photo below was taken once we had passed through .. on the left is Ofetao and on the right is Taoru with the entrance between ... Teavapiti pass
In the Google Earth photo below the red line indicates the path Impi took on arrival
We anchored just behind the little island or motu known as Taoru in the proximity as seen on the Google Earth photo above and in the photo below the view onto Taoru from our anchored position with Ofetao in the background ...
Unfortunately the island has been partially cordoned off by a string of balls as markers beyond which boats may not anchor ... a rare sight in the French Polynesian islands indeed.
However, we were the only boat anchored here and that allowed for some space in shallow enough water but I did wonder how three, four or more boats would manage as there is literally a 'shelf' of shallows here.
The following day we watched as a yacht entered ...
The yacht is called 'Ragin Cajun ' and when I had posted the photo on Facebook (Cat Impi) I was amazed to have a fellow sailor and friend John Perry say that it looked like 'Ragin Cajun', only to have the owner confirm that it was them on the same facebook page. What a small world we live in after all!
We watched as they sailed along on the same path we soon were to follow and on a glorious day in beautiful conditions ...
In the photo below one can see the 'sister island' of Raiatea known as Tahaa in the background.
At one point I could see the water rushing in through the narrow channel some meters away and Impi was surrounded by 'froth' or 'foam' which I assumed to be produced from the waves pounding at the reef.
It was time to head around the northern side to our final position at the CNI Carenage where we were to have Impi hauled from the sea onto ... DRY LAND for some 5 months.
As we departed, we sailed up past the little motu Ofetao ... it was magnificent to see this little island across the reef ... what a delightful sight!
In the photo below ... Motu Ofetao and if one looks carefully a red beacon can be observed just to the right side. This is the red channel marker seen when entering Teavapiti pass ..
Sailing further along, we saw some deeper water within the reef system itself where yachts had found a way in to anchor in pristine scenic conditions ...
Looking at the charts, one would have to enter from well to the north.
And some way along we came across a 'lonely little Motu' ... it seemed to be only a few feet above water and would be a nice place to visit for a while ... some time in the future ...
As we passed the shallows along the northern side of Raiatea, we were amazed to see some structures built on sand which barely protrudes from the water. We are told this is used as a place to 'get away from it all' ... a place to eat, listen to music and be merry ...
I found this quite fascinating ... to think that someone had thought to do this ... here ...
And further along we passed the airport and headed for our final anchorage off Sunset Beach ...
This was also to be the very same place we would spend a week whilst we prepared Impi once out of the water. The cottages along the waterfront as seen in the photo above proved to be a lovely 'home' for a while.
Following a few days at anchor we eventually got word that the yard was ready to haul Impi out, and so we lifted anchor and made our way in to where a cradle had been positioned in the water and some men with ropes awaited the arrival of Impi.
In a way this was a sad moment for us ... the end of a terrific time at sea ... an interval of sorts and we would only return some 5 months later ...
I looked over to Ana and gave a salute ... a job well done ... a wonderful 'partnership' between her, Impi and myself ... happy moments to 'concerned moments', calm seas and rough seas, from the gentle breeze to gale force winds and lightening storms, from sheer pleasure and delight to survival and fear of death .. our lives are filled with great adventures and the many and beautiful friendships we have forged will always be the treasure we have found ...
We have covered miles that see Impi more than half way around the world ... we have learned lessons we never dreamed of, gained experiences that will be with us for a lifetime ... Impi is one terrific home on the sea and our choice in boat has been an exceptional choice!
Ana took care of all the rope tying onboard and worked hard to make sure we were properly secured as the tractor took up the strain on its cables ...
And soon we were 'airborne' ... Impi was out of the water ...
The staff here at CNI are terrific people. They were extremely efficient and very careful in the manner in which they did things which was a huge relief for both Ana and myself.
The tractor driver was exceptional as he navigated Impi down the narrow roads between buildings and palm trees to the catamaran yard.
We were somewhat surprised at how good the condition of our anti-foul paint was.
In the British Virgin Islands, we had decided to change our anti-foul from the product we had used twice before as we had to continuously clean the hulls and the paint was not effective a few months after application.
The new product we applied is Sea Hawk and I must say that it has been an incredible product, especially since we opted for the 'environmentally friendly' version of their paint.
Used in both the Atlantic and here in the Pacific, Sea Hawk has proved to us that it is designed to withstand any sea!
Many suppliers will write this off to water conditions, temperatures and the like, but of course experience and time eventually reveals the 'true picture'.
In all, I cleaned the entire bottom no more than 4 times with our Sea Hawk product in over a year . (of course the 'water line' was done more frequently) .. and look at the photo below ... this is how it looks freshly out of the water in over a year ...
Preparing Impi for a '5 month shut-down' took over a week to do and I must admit it was 'heavy going' and took a lot of hard work to complete in time.
We appointed a lady by the name of 'Cathy' to air the boat every now and again and to keep an eye on things for us. She comes highly recommended and do not think for once that it is all about the money for her ... she is so popular that she chooses the boats she will take care of ... after a visit where she 'goes through everything'.
Our 'care for Impi since new' was telling when Kathy complimented us by saying Impi is the cleanest boat she has received to be entrusted to her care and that she could tell that a lot of effort has gone into keeping the boat in 'new shape.'
This compliment is mostly thanks to the terrific work Ana has put into the boat, and not only work, but a huge amount of research and testing in various products the world over.
To make things easier for us, and whilst we were preparing Impi for storage, we booked a chalet at the Sunset Beach Resort which is just around the corner.
The setting of these chalets is beautiful ...
In the photo below one can see the beach, the palm to which we tied our dinghy every day and the Marina where Impi is hauled in the background ...
The water is quite shallow over the reef here for some distance out and required setting the trim of the engine to such an extent that the prop would just cut below the surface ...
If you wonder why there are stainless steel sheets nailed around the trunks of these palms ... this is to stop huge rats which climb the trees and eat the coconuts. Their nails cannot fetch grip in the steel plates and sees them having to return to the ground.
In the photo below and looking in the other direction one can see the sister island of Tahaa not far off ..
The views from the cottage garden look out over the anchorage where we had kept Impi prior to hauling.
In the photo below one can see the road which runs past the cottages and through the coconut plantation ... in fact ... the entire 'resort' is built within one large coconut plantation and one has to be VERY CAREFUL not to end our life as we know it on this beautiful blue planet by being in the wrong place at the wrong time ! Signs are posted everywhere as falling coconuts is the largest cause of death (outside of 'old age') in all of the French Polynesian Islands.
And below we share our last sunset in Raiatea before our journey to Thailand via Tahiti
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