Voyage of Traveler / Blog

Voyage of Traveler: A Three Year Circumnavigation 2007-2010
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July 2008 French Polynesia

Hi to our family and friends,

Good news: We got the new Yanmar engine installed, took it on a sea trail and everything went well!  It looks like Barbara and I will be on the road again soon. We need to spend a couple of days putting the boat back together, buying provisions and making final preparations for the passage to Rarotonga.

We have enjoyed our stay in French Polynesia, although much longer than planned. We arrived on November 12, so that makes eight months here.  During those months, I went back to California twice, each time for about a month, to take care of some unfinished business and sell my house, and then Barbara took some well-deserved time off the boat for 40 days in May and early June.

One thing I’ve learned about cruising is that almost nothing goes quite as planned.

We spent this time to tour the Islands of:

Rangiroa: nice place to drop anchor for a day or two, excellent scuba diving, but not much else going on there.

Tahiti: Papeete was a busy city with an interesting mix of the French and Polynesian cultures, nice stay at the modern Marina Taina, Tahiti Yacht Club, body boarded with Brian at the famous surf spot Teahupoo and enjoyed the Gauguin Museum on our tour around the island.

Moorea: Really enjoyed our anchorage off the Club Bali Hai and our gracious hosts Muck and Jay in the scenic Cook’s Bay, which is one of the most gorgeous places on the planet.

Huahine: Had a great visit from Melissa and Dana, and a rough passage from Moorea to Huahine, but what a beautiful island. Great bike rides and snorkeling. Enjoyed anchoring off the elegant and friendly Te Tiare Resort.

Raiatea: This has been our home base since January and we got to know lots of friendly people.  We also had installed new solar panels and a wind generator in February
and March and now the new engine.

Tahaa: So close to Raiatea, we came over to this gorgeous island many times to our favorite place, the Taravana Yacht Club. Our guest crew Dave LaMontagne joined us for a couple of weeks and saw Raiatea, Tahaa and Bora-Bora.  Loved snorkeling at the Coral Garden.

Bora-Bora: We got to visit this beautiful island a few times and loved it. We spent some time at the famous Bora-Bora Yacht Club and Bloody Mary’s Restaurant and rode our bicycles around the island.

We may make brief stops at the islands of Maupiti and Mopelia on the way to Rarotonga, weather permitting. Either way, we are now ready to move on, and continue our cruise around the world.

Michael and Barbara