Been to Maupiti?

[DEAN2140]

We are chartering in May with Sunsail in Raiatea for 10 days. This will be my 4th time but I have never been to Maupiti. I would be grateful for any comments or suggestions based on experience or reliable hearsay.

[Kinkircating]

Originally Posted by DEAN2140

We are chartering in May with Sunsail in Raiatea for 10 days. This will be my 4th time but I have never been to Maupiti. I would be grateful for any comments or suggestions based on experience or reliable hearsay.

We have wanted to go there as well, but honestly on a 10 day trip, you just have to get lucky with the weather pattern and timing. I’d personally plan the entire trip around making that happen so if you need to just stage in Bora Bora for a few days to make the hop over I’d say it would be worth it and you had to skip Huahine.

Enjoy the trip, it’s hands down our favorite charter we’ve ever done…and helped inspire us to build our own boat we hope to take there someday!

[fxykty]

Is Maupiti even within the charter area?

Even if it is, that’s a very long passage - are you sure you and your companions want to spend 2 days out of 10 sailing between islands (plus another half day each to and from Bora Bora and Raiatea)?

We had a 12 day charter a while ago and were happy that we limited our itinerary to just three islands (Raiatea, Tahaa and Bora Bora). That provided us more time to enjoy the places we visited.

[bobnlesley]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Is Maupiti even within the charter area?

...that’s a very long passage - are you sure you and your companions want to spend 2 days out of 10 sailing between islands...

As noted earlier, weather conditions are the key to Maupiti; more especially so getting out than getting in, which must be a prime consideration for a limited period charter and getting back east from there's a bummer even in light weather. But as to it being a very long passage Maupiti's less than 30M west of BoraB, so perhaps fifty direct from Raiatea; we clearly have different ideas as to what constitutes a 'long passage'.

[Painted Skies]

Originally Posted by bobnlesley

As noted earlier, weather conditions are the key to Maupiti; more especially so getting out than getting in, which must be a prime consideration for a limited period charter and getting back east from there's a bummer even in light weather. But as to it being a very long passage Maupiti's less than 30M west of BoraB, so perhaps fifty direct from Raiatea; we clearly have different ideas as to what constitutes a 'long passage'.

As noted by bobnlesley, the weather is key to entry and exit at Maupiti. We had to make an unplanned entrance there when our autopilot failed just a few hours out of Bora Bora on a late-June passage to Samoa (it was our best option of a downwind haven). We waited two weeks for calm enough conditions to motor 30 miles back to Bora Bora to pick up a new linear drive that was shipped from the US. The entrance to Maupiti is tricky in the wrong conditions - the first two photos show what we encountered during our entry through the marked channel in less-than-ideal wind and seas. Third photo is looking back at the entrance channel from inside the lagoon. Last photo shows the entry channel approximately in the middle of the shot, taken from atop the highest point on the central island (like Bora Bora, this atoll is surrounded by fringing motus). Maupiti is by far one of our best experiences on the Pacific crossing; highly recommended!

Cheers, Katherine and Lael

[DEAN2140]

The passage is 26 nm, about a 4 hr trip. We have chartered in the Virgin Islands and made the trip to St. Croix from St. Thomas, about 40 nm. No probem.

[DEAN2140]

I don't know if we are allowed to sail to Maupiti. Your comment about waiting weeks to get back to Bora Bora might quash this idea. They do have a ferry from Bora Bora that leaves 3x week. We could make a day trip out of it. What do you think? Any thoughts about see and do?

[Painted Skies]

Forgot to mention in my earlier post that to make a safe entry through Maupiti's snaking channel, you also need to consider the state of the tide because most of the water in the lagoon exits and enters via this route. The resulting strong current complicates entry/exit (we thankfully only had a 3-knot current against us). Due to the channel facing south/southeast (which is also where the predominant trade winds come from) the advice we received was to not attempt to transit in anything over 5 knots of breeze. I reviewed our log and note that we actually waited only 11 days for calm enough conditions to leave and motor back to Bora Bora.

On the main island where the town is located you can hike the ragged trail to the top of Mount Teurufaatiu. It starts out with a nice concrete stairway, but that soon gives way to a slippery near-vertical path through wild mango trees and ferns. It is less like an actual hike and more like a rock scramble to reach the 370-metre peak using the tiny hand and foot holds chiseled into the basalt. But the view from there?... one you are not likely to forget in a lifetime.

In our view Maupiti is a way to experience the South Pacific as it was before the tourism takeover... a real life Bali Hai. Maupiti has the rustic beauty of a mini Bora Bora. Most of the 1,200 or so residents survive on a subsistence economy, with fishing providing the primary income and food source. Many of the homes have large 'orchards' filled with tiare bushes; tiare flowers are the fragrant white flowers of Tahiti whose buds are strung into exquisite leis and headbands. The result of all these tiare bushes is that the entire island smells heavenly - the scent that gently wafts on the breeze is sort of a cross between gardenia and frangipani. In three hours you can circle the island via the roadway along the water's edge - it's just 14 kilometers, including stops to visit the ruins of two ancient Polynesian maraes (Vaiahu and Marauira). There are very few cars or trucks - most of the islanders walk, ride bikes/scooters or use their homemade boats for transport. (Their boats appear amazingly less than seaworthy). This is the first island where we noted that the relatives are buried in the family's front yard; at first, we thought everyone just had nice sand boxes.

Cheers, Katherine and Lael

[DEAN2140]

Thank you so much for your helpful information. I think the channel will be an issue in that we will be on a schedule with a charter, the nemesis of any cruiser. The island sounds lovely and if we do go, it will probably be by ferry from Bora Bora.