Doing Tahiti bareboat next month (02/2022); any tips?

[Marathon1150]

I was remiss in not providing this link to an amazing collection of cruising guides.

S/V Soggy Paws - Useful Files and Links

BTW, if I can provide any additional info please feel free to PM me.

Good luck and have fun. FP is a stunningly beautiful place and filled with friendly people.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Question: Do you think my February 21, 2022, bareboat charter will be affected by the Tonga volcano eruption? I think the winds are going East currently. Should I move my dates? I just don't want to get there and the water be murky/muddy.

[Montanan]

The two are 1,700 miles apart. Very unlikely to have caused a lot of ash fall in Tahiti even if the air was headed towards that direction but one never knows when a volcano will erupt and what the consequences could be.

The reports of the earlier and much smaller eruption on the December 27th did tend to drift east, northeast and north:

"The Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano continues to erupt intermittently, and ash has been detected in all directions up to 30km away.
The head of Tonga Geological Services, Taaniela Kula, said that the ash cloud had risen to heights of 12km and the direction of ash had varied with the wind conditions.

"On Tuesday, ash was drifting east but shifted directions last night to north east and has continued to drift in a northerly direction today," he said.

Overall, the amount of ash, steam and gas being spewed from the volcano has reduced, in comparison to last week, Kula said.

He noted that the volcano was about 60km away from uninhabited areas, and that no earthquakes had been detected on their seismometers.

This indicated that the magma chamber, which is feeding the eruption, is unlikely to be deeper than 7km below the ocean floor.

Currently the danger grade for the ash fall is orange, with red being the most severe. While no one has reported ash falling on houses yet, Kula advised that the public should take measures to protect their rainwater catchment and storage systems, should ash make landfall.

Kula said that people need to make sure they continue to sanitise and maintain their rainwater tanks, to stop the growth of a particular algae bloom that results from ash contamination."




As to the main eruption, copied below is the report of how the massive ash cloud drifted towards Australia not to the east northeast to Tahiti.

https://www.eastidahonews.com/2022/0...-what-we-know/

On the plus side, the ash could make for some spectacular sunsets if the dust comes towards Tahiti.

What is happening with the ash cloud?

A giant volcanic ash cloud blanketed Tonga over the weekend, turning the afternoon sky dark and coating Nuku’alofa in a thick foam of volcanic dust on Saturday.

Save the Children said drinking water supplies could be contaminated by the ash and smoke and the immediate concern in Tonga is for air and water safety.

The ash cloud was drifting westwards and was visible over Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia on Sunday. By Monday it had reached Australia’s Queensland, according to the state’s meteorological service.

“If you noticed a particularly stunning sunrise, it was the sunlight being scattered by #Volcanic ash from the eruption over in #Tonga,” Queensland’s Bureau of Meteorology said on Twitter.

The ash prevented an Australian reconnaissance flight from departing to assess the damage in the early hours of January 17, though the flight did take off later that morning.

Several flights from Australia, New Zealand and Fiji to Tonga were postponed due to the ash cloud.

Early data suggests the volcanic eruption was the biggest since the 1991 blast at Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, New Zealand-based volcanologist Shane Cronin told Radio New Zealand.

“This is an eruption best witnessed from space,” Cronin said, according to Reuters.

“The large and explosive lateral spread of the eruption suggests that it was probably the biggest one since about the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo,” Cronin said.


Happy and healthy New Year.

[Marathon1150]

I suggest joining thie WhatsApp group if you haven't already and ask the question in that forum:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/DPDegNr0Phn1SvcPneRK7p


Group members are dispersed widely throughout the region and can provide some first hand advice.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Flying out this Sunday, guys!! EWR > SFO > PPT > RFP

Cannot wait!!! Any last minute recommendations?

[bstreep]

Couple of notes:

Don't fret about your connection to RFP. They know you are coming off the big plane. If you are in a long line and you are getting close to departure, they SHOULD ask for those going to RFP to come forward. They have been doing this for a long time, and they are very good at it. It might seem like chaos, but it isn't.

BEST grocery store is in Fare, Huihine. Just about everything there. Utoroa on Raiatea is pretty good too, 2 stores there.

Best snorkeling we've had ever in the world is behind the reef in Bora. Southwest corner. Near the east of the light, right behind the reef. It's tricky, but worth it.


Restaurant at the charter marina was actually very good.



Bora Bora Yacht Club for food on Bora.

Huahine YC is very good. Better before, but still good. Izzys for lunch in Fare.

Great meal at La Mahana, south end of Huihine. Resort is owned by the lady that owns Tahiti Yacht Charters. You could spend days down there.

Great anchorage on SE corner of Raiatea, near the little motu. Great snorkeling up on the reef next to the motu.

Near the town of Fetuna, South end of Raiatea, great anchorages. Just delightful. Several mooring balls.

We NEVER had anyone collect on mooring balls, except in Bora.

[Cool Hand Luke]

BEST VACATION EVER!!! I absolutely LOVED Tahiti!!! Within our 10 days, we did all five islands... Raiatea, Taha'a, Bora Bora, Maupiti, and Huahine. And it didn't even feel rushed that much. Will post pics/videos soon!

And if anyone has any questions, I'm happy to give my input/experience/opinion.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

BEST VACATION EVER!!! I absolutely LOVED Tahiti!!! Within our 10 days, we did all five islands... Raiatea, Taha'a, Bora Bora, Maupiti, and Huahine. And it didn't even feel rushed that much.

With experiences like this, doesn't it just make you glad to be a sailor?

Pictures soon, please!
LittleWing77

[nrimpel]

I am doing a bareboat charter in Tahiti next month and noticed you mentioned you had an itinerary and charts from you rtrip. I'm collecting information/ideas and wondered if you would share those with me. Thanks in advance, Nicole

[The Traveler]

Cool Hand Look, Nrimple, or anyone else...

Any significant updates on Sailing Raiatea, Taha'a, and Bora Bora? We bare-boated in 2019 and are headed back in May. The biggest change I expect is the required used of moorings in BB. We've reserved one off of Bloody Mary's, and hope to find availability for the other nights. I see the rate increased to around $40 USD. Does the mooring service accept credit? CFP? USD? I also see snorkeling and swimming is banned within the mooring fields.

Any other significant changes of issues?

Incidentally, had anyone used AT&T international data around the islands? I'm hoping to keep up on some work.

Thanks.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Hope this helps you guys... we stuck to about 75% of the itinerary.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Originally Posted by nrimpel

I am doing a bareboat charter in Tahiti next month and noticed you mentioned you had an itinerary and charts from you rtrip. I'm collecting information/ideas and wondered if you would share those with me. Thanks in advance, Nicole

See the above itinerary... we kept to about 75% of it... ended up seeing all 5 of the big islands.

Originally Posted by The Traveler

Cool Hand Look, Nrimple, or anyone else...

Any significant updates on Sailing Raiatea, Taha'a, and Bora Bora? We bare-boated in 2019 and are headed back in May. The biggest change I expect is the required used of moorings in BB. We've reserved one off of Bloody Mary's, and hope to find availability for the other nights. I see the rate increased to around $40 USD. Does the mooring service accept credit? CFP? USD? I also see snorkeling and swimming is banned within the mooring fields.

Any other significant changes of issues?

Incidentally, had anyone used AT&T international data around the islands? I'm hoping to keep up on some work.

Thanks.

I was disappointed with Bloody Mary's, but probably because off season slow night?

Moorings in BB are fine... cash only... USD or CFP, but have both just in case.

I have AT&T and the $10/day unlimited plan worked amazingly well.

[bstreep]

Gotta give Luke credit. That's a VERY ambitious trip. And we are known for "90 miles an hour"! We've done 2 two-week charters. One in November of 2021.

As others have said, moorings are now required in BB. Cash only. Frankly, I think Bloody Mary's sucks. Done it twice. There is no "menu". The owner looks over your group, decides how much he can extract from you, and then quotes you an over-priced price. Go to Bora Bora YC. Much better food, GREAT service, at similar prices. We also did a food truck in BB. It was quite good.


ATT and Verizon work just fine. It's easy to run out of data on Verizon. Both have excellent coverage while moored or on board.

Don't miss: Coral River (even if it's infested with algae). If you want to do a pearl farm, the one across from the Coral River is really nice. And it's a real, family pearl farm. Huahine Yacht Club. They have HUGE bags of ice, too. Snorkel right behind the reef at the southwest corner of BB. It's tricky, and a long dinghy trip from the anchorage. Best ever. Both trips.


Skip: ANY vanilla plantation. Or distillery.


I'm not sure Maupiti would be worth it. We couldn't get there the first time, and the second time we flew (we bought an Air Tahiti pass for $625 that included the Tuamotus). It's really tricky to get into, and frankly there's not much there. We spent 4 or 5 days there.


Whatever you do: DON'T CHARTER FROM DREAM YACHT. Our second time was with Tahiti Yacht Charters, and holy carp they were just wonderful. I mean, fantastic. And no more expensive than "Nightmare Yacht Charters" and their rude-a$$ employees. Do a search, you will find that trip.

[The Traveler]

Thanks everyone. Luke...you are clearly the type of detailed planner I can only strive to be!

We had a great time at Bloody Mary's in 2019. I remember it being expensive but seemed worth it. Hopefully it hasn't gone downhill.

We aren't planning any vanilla tours this time, but we did think about checking out Peri Peri distillery if we anchor up in that area one night. Is it really not worth the trip ashore?

Our Dream Yacht Charter was great in 2019. The boat was old and pretty worn out but we knew that and it's the only way we afforded a catamaran. It was already 11 years old when we chartered it. The staff was helpful and the briefing was very thorough. We had really rough seas coming back from Bora Bora and kicked up sediment in the tank which killed the starboard engine. Made getting through the pass interesting but they met us and quickly replaced the filter. This time we're in a newer monohull. Hopefully the experience is a positive one.

[nrimpel]

I did my first ever charter in Tahiti with my family and another family this past Christmas 2022. Learned a lot. Wrote down a summary so I wouldn't forget anything and as a refresher for my next charter. Hope it helps someone in their trip. Looks like the pdf is too big to attach here. Feel free to email me if you'd like a copy. nrimpel1@me.com.