Bora Bora

Tahaa to Bora Bora

 0930 and we are off the mooring ball.

1020 and we are through Paipai Pass. Seas are calm. Winds are WSW at 5 knots. So it will be a motoring day over to Bora Bora.

1400 Entering Ta Ava Nu Pass. I never thought that I would ever go to Bora Bora let alone sail here. Everything they tell you about this place is absolutely true. There really are no words to describe the color of the water, the country side, the people. I hope the pictures help. 

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The shades of turquoise water to deep blue and its string of white sandy islets is evident the moment you enter the pass. And then touring above you are the lush greens of Mt. Otemanu (the taller one) and Mt. Pahia. The lagoon itself is 3 times the area of the land mass.

Though nothing could ever take the place of sailing into Bora Bora, as did Captain Cook in 1769' I would think that flying here would also be quite a thrill. The airport is actually on Motu Mute. So you land on a small strip of land with reef and water on either side. Seeing the shades of turquoise and the reef from the air must be spectacular. Then you get in a water taxi ( which is free) and they take you to the Vaitape Village. Some of the big name resorts have their own launch of course. This one from the Four Season's was particularly nice.

So our time here was spent on a mooring ball close to town and then out at anchorages closer to the reef. We got lucky at the Yacht club - not really a marina but they do have mooring balls. $20 for the first night and then $10 from then on up to $50 for the week. They have wifi and laundry and a pool. But where we got lucky was with the owner. We still had no working outboard so we had asked him if there was a mechanic in town or a place to buy a new one. Well he was selling a 2 year old Suzuki 2.5 for a friend. It had hardly been used so things were a bit gummed up. Taivia had just got it back from the mechanic following a complete service. We went over to the mechanic and asked his opinion and he said it was like new. So Taivia let us use it for a couple of days. Everything looked good so we bought it and not at an outrageous price.

We attended another Heiva - this one night was a show put on by the winners of the nine entries for Bora Bora completions.

We rented a car for a morning and drove around the island - 32 km. 

Stopped for a lovely lunch and a swim at a most spectacular beach.

Time was split on the mooring ball and out on the sandbar. Swimming was great. Crystal clear water. 

Shared a birthday dinner at the Marina restaurant with Judy and Bob And some other fellow cruisers. 

Confidence anchored beneath Mt. Otemanu

More turquoise water!

David securing our dinghy. 

BA enjoying the water! Yes it really is this color!

On Sunday we will get our zarpe from the gendarme ( exit papers from the police) and then we will head to Tonga. We may do a direct run or stop in the Cook Islands - weather dependent. Which means no blog entries for at least two weeks.

The adventure continues!