Greetings
All, 2-2018 Fun in Bora Bora 21
May 2018
When
last we wrote we were happily snorkelling the Coral Gardens in Tahaa
in company with friends Rob and Sue on ‘Athanor’ and looking
forward to a relaxing month or so ahead. However the best made plans
etc.
WHAT
WE THOUGHT WAS HAPPENING
We
sailed back to Raiatea for provisioning and then headed for beautiful
Bora Bora. We intended showing Rob and Sue around the island but as
it happened we were there for one day when Andrew discovered a leak
in the fuel injector system. This needed to be fixed before we could
contemplate heading west across the Pacific. We left Rob and Sue at
Bora Bora and returned to Raiatea with the hope of either getting the
problem fixed there or flying the injector pump back to Tahiti for
repair. We arrived in Raiatea on the Tuesday which was a public
holiday, so nothing happening that day, then we discovered that
Thursday was another public holiday. The weekend was looming and the
only recommended mechanic was booked out for a week. We decided that
flying the Injector pump to Tahiti could hold us up, so we sailed
overnight back to Tahiti arriving Thursday morning. As it was a
public holiday we spent the day catching up with many cruising
friends and meeting others that we had only spoken to on the radio
net. We had a good night with Martin and Ellen on ‘Acapella’ in
the Taina marina, Papeete. People came and went and at one time we
had twelve happy souls in the cockpit.
 |
| Aboard Acapella, Martin, Clare, Andrew and Lili from Liward |
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| Diesel injector pump with a rag directing the leak to a container |
WHAT
IN FACT HAPPENED
Friday
morning Andrew organised with Dieselec (the injector pump
specialists) in Tahiti to work on our pump first thing Monday
morning. We spent the rest of the day making trips back and forth to
the supermarket, spending a fortune and provisioning the boat for the
season ahead. We have been advised that there are slim pickings
between here and Fiji. On Sunday we moved the boat some five miles
to the Papeete City Marina which is in walking distance of Dieselec.
True to their word, first thing Monday morning, Dieselec fixed the
leak by replacing four O rings and Andrew reinstalled the pump on Eye
Candy that afternoon. It sounds like a simple job but the critical
issue is not to get any dirt or foreign matter in the pump. Dieslec
have a special ‘clean room’ for this sort of work.
In
the meantime our Aussie friends Liam and Annie on ‘Gone with the
Wind’ had flown from Fakarava to Tahiti as Annie had a very nasty
tropical skin infection and was hospitalized and subsequently
operated on. Liam spent some time with us on Eye Candy in City
Marina and we were very pleased to see him and help in any way we
could. Andrew had a less serious one of these infections last year.
At the time we were heading to the Tuamotus but returned to the
Marquesas for medical treatment; apparently a very common problem in
the tropics.
LET’S
TRY HEADING WEST AGAIN
We
set off Tuesday morning and sailed to the island of Morea to spend
the night with Martin and Ellen before heading back to Bora Bora.
Then disaster struck ‘Acapella’, their steering chain broke and
their bottom rudder bearing is stiff. So they are now hauling out in
Tahiti for repairs. This will take some time as a new bearing has to
be sourced from Denmark. So if there is any truth in the saying that
things happen in threes, lets hope we have seen the end of it. We had
a very pleasant overnight sail back to Bora Bora arriving around
midday Thursday. A nine day turn around is pretty well a record when
considering the distance travelled, two public holidays, a weekend
and working on Island Time.
IT
WORKED
So
now we are happily anchored on the S/E corner of Bora Bora with Rob
and Sue on ‘Athanor’ enjoying wonderful sunny days and perfect
conditions. We are swimming with harmless black tip sharks,
stingrays and eagle rays. We have also done the drift snorkel at the
end of the island every day. It is so relaxing letting the current
carry us across the colourful coral and seeing all the beautiful
tropical fish busy darting about. Some are big and others are so
tiny you wonder how they survive in the ocean and the current. It
seems that every time we do this snorkel we see new things. It’s a
wonderful experience.
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| A squadron of Eagle rays |
SO
WHAT’S NEXT
We
will stay here a few more days enjoying life and then head up to the
township and think seriously about checking out and leaving this
beautiful location. There are many boats in front of us heading for
Tonga and beyond. We are in touch with them on the radio net and
getting advice and insight on future destinations. We are looking
forward to moving on.
The next post will be along the way westwards and may not have photos until we can get onto the internet.
Love
Candy xx
