Splendid Societies
Hello and welcome to a fresh crew on board Silver Fern. We are in French Polynesia for a 7 islands exploration cruise. On board this trip we have ‘The Family’ - Chris, Tracey, Xander and Bel from Melbourne-come-Pearl Harbour. From the story book town of Kalgoorlie we have Dennis. Robyn comes from the Central Coast settlement of Wamberal (I think she just made that name up) and Rod just seems to hang out in Australia doing some sort of second career path study. And still on board from last trip is Pattie, from Switzerland, who we double checked had actually booked a berth on this trip too! Joining Jason and I in the rain one sweaty Thursday, Silver Fern’s entourage docked out and headed for Moorea.
We had several days of moody thunderstorms and rain squalls
Little did we know, Jason was to drive us hard in sailing days from now on, with island hop after island hop, day after day until we made it all the way to Maupiti. Turns out there was a small weather window to get into this reef and he wasn’t going to let us miss out!
We spent a night each in Moora, Huahine (two nights here), Taha’a, and Bora Bora before stopping for a proper explore in Maupiti. At Huahine, we spent the day ashore riding bikes and exploring the backroads of the island. A sunset snorkel on a sunken yacht and coral heads was a highlight for some of the crew. Tah'a’a had more snorkeling and Bora Bora had dusty roads and water front cocktails at the Yacht Club.
The dinghy returning at sunset
Spanish Mackerel thanks to Jason and Dennis
10/10 boat access
Robyn avoiding puddles
Multiple days of sailing with the spinnaker up solidified our experience of trade wind sailing through the Society Islands. Once the sails were up, our days were made up of sunbathing, meal breaks and swapping over keeping lookout. All until we could hear the breakers of the new reef crashing then the sails came down and we motored the last bit into anchorage. It’s pretty special to be able to see a unique part of the world in a sustainable way.
Bel reclining on '‘sail watch”, more like watching the inside of her eyelids!
Maupiti is a remote island in the west of the Society Group, and only the committed cruisers come here according to Jason. As it is downwind of the last place to check out of French Polynesia by sea, many boats skip Maupiti in favour of carrying on their journey westwards. In addition to that, the navigable entrance to the reef is narrow and has a standing wave across the channel when the swell is more than 1m high! Hence the small weather window for us to get in and out again. Zipping through this passage with stunning reef on either side, the lagoon opened up inside with vistas of turquoise coloured waters under white coral beaches and vibrant green coconut canopies. We ended the day with cheese and crackers on the beach, before a fresh fish dinner made by Jason.
Say cheese! And crackers! Pass the gherkins please…
Our next day at Maupiti started with omlettes, then a mission to find manta rays at a special cleaning station. This is where certain types of ‘cleaning’ fish hang out and the manta rays visit here to get parasites removed. Only one manta was seen though, and only by Rod and I! The hunt for manta rays will continue… Ashore to the island, we split into two groups. Rod, Chris, Bel, Xander and Tracey opted for bikes and exploration where they found all sorts of interesting houses and galleries, and the most stunning beach with knee high water extending for hundreds of meters! Meanwhile, Jason, Robyn, Pattie, Dennis and I chose to hike up to a view point 372m above sea level which involved climbing vertical rocks and slippery mud! Both groups thoroughly enjoyed their adventures and the day concluded with manta rays splashing around in the bay in front of the dinghy dock. The day was rounded off with scrumptious bangers and mash accompanied by Tracey’s famous gravy.
A proud Jason at the summit holding Silver Fern. Maupiti lagoon in the background with the entrance just above the right hand island
Seeing a weather system closing in, Jason made the call to leave Maupiti when we could. After our second night there, we headed back eastwards to Taha’a where our adventure will continue as we slowly make our way back towards Tahiti over the next 7 days.
-Hannah.