The Most Beautiful Spot on Earth

0800 Position 17-31S 149-51W. Anchored at the head end of Opunohu Bay, Moorea

The crew had great success at the open market yesterday morning finding all the fresh fruits and vegetables they were seeking. After they returned we left the Papeete Marina and moved five miles west to Marina Taina where it would be easier to do the rest of our shopping. We picked up a mooring there, dinghied into the marina, and all walked the quarter mile to Carrefour, the French equivalent to Costco, only better. Carrefour has everything, and at a good price. We completed our mid-voyage provisioning, went back to the boat, and departed for Moorea at about 2PM.

I am lucky enough to have had the opportunity to sail all around the world over the past forty years. I believe I've seen most of the best, and I feel qualified to participate in any discussion on the most beautiful spot on earth, at least from sea level. There is Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas, Keawanui on the north shore of Molokai in Hawaii, and Hakepuu, just seven miles from my home in Kaneohe. But vying for the top of the list is always Oponouhu Bay on the island of Moorea.

As we sit here at anchor under the full moon there is only one other boat here at the head end of the bay, a super yacht that is moored a quarter mile outside of us. I do not understand why this paradise is so underutilized. We counted 150 boats moored off of Marina Taina in Tahiti, just fifteen miles away. At the entrance to the bay a mile and a half away we counted twenty boats packed in together anchored off the beach park.

The silhouette of the infamous Shark's Tooth is clear in the moonlight ahead of us. 2,800 foot Mt. Papetoai and its sheer cliffs tower above us to port. They are so steep and so close. It appears that any kind of landslide there will end up in our cockpit. The infamous Robinson's Cove where you anchor the bow and tie the stern to the coconut trees ashore is one hundred yards to port. It is empty so we could have moored there, but we didn't want to risk exposure to mosquitoes overnight so we anchored further offshore. The water here is smooth as silk, and the cool evening offshore thermal ensures a good night's sleep.

Perhaps it is the memories that make this place so beautiful to me. When I first sailed here with Rob forty one years ago, I recall taking the dinghy out for a midnight paddle under the full moon. It was so calm that the moonlight reflecting off of the sand bottom ten feet below me made the water disappear completely, and it appeared that the dinghy was floating on air. In 1986 we anchored off of a friend's house here in the bay and enjoyed movies and ice cream every night. Not a big deal normally, but at the time we hadn't enjoyed either refrigeration or television for six months. In 2011 I got to share Oponohu with my daughter Kara, who earned her ticket to paradise by completing the toughest seventeen day ocean passage that I have ever been on. Lori and I relaxed here for a week in 2014 and even got to take some friends from Hawaii, who Lori bumped into on the flight down, out for a sail. We encountered a school of dolphin here in the bay that day, and Mitch jumped in to swim with them. This place is magic.

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