23 October - Moku pe'a Only Sails Down Wind

0600 position 16-31S 151-46W. At anchor in 20', sand bottom, In the lee
of Toopua Island in the Bora Lagoon

"Hey Kendra! How was your swim?"

"Oh my god! I ran into a ray that scared the crap out of me!"

"Sting rays are harmless. They are not like sharks that might want to eat
you."

"Tell that to Steve Irwin, Dad."

"Steve Irwin was messing with the ray. They are harmless if you leave
them alone."

"It was still terrifying. It made me swim faster. Don't make fun!"

And so it goes on the Mighty Moku pe'a.

We motor sailed the rest of the way around Raiatea ending up in Haamene
Bay on Tahaa where we spent two nights. We arrived early enough in the
afternoon to rush in for some of Chester's world famous poisson cru coco
at the Mac China Snack Shop washed down with a Hinano.

I nearly burned up the Mighty Moku pe'a that night grilling chicken. Note
to self: Don't use a paper towel in lieu of a hot pad on the barbeque.

The next day Kendra went for a morning run, and in the afternoon we hiked
to the pass above Haamene. That evening we got to enjoy Chef Bruno's
specials at the Tahaa Mai Tai with creme brule and Irish Coffees.

I had messed up the schedule by spending two nights in Haamene, so at the
crack of dawn Wednesday we were under way for the Coral River on the
opposite side of Tahaa. I figured if we completed our Coral River snorkel
early we could book it over to Bora the same day and get back on schedule.
Alas, after we got back to the boat following our Coral River swim the
wind hadn't shifted from its forecast westerly direction - exactly the
direction we needed to go. Four knots of breeze right on the nose. Not enough to sail in, but enough to slow us down. But Kendra convinced me that we'd be bored
staying put all day, so we departed for Bora at 11AM.

I'll be darned if the minute we cleared the Tahaa lagoon the wind didn't
shift ninety degrees to come out of the south at ten knots - perfect
direction and strength for a pleasant full speed sail directly to Bora.
Moku pe'a must be descended from Noah's Ark or something. This boat is
blessed. We dropped the hook in the lee of Toopua at 3PM.

Kendra claimed that she didn't remember how to play cribbage, but she is
currently ahead two games to one. Looks like it came back pretty fast.

From our anchorage we can see the island of Maupiti twenty miles to the
west. I told Kendra about the time her mother and I sailed there twenty
eight years ago.

Maupiti's entrance channel is treacherous, particularly when the surf is
high. All the water that comes in over the reef must exit the lagoon
through the channel. Combine high surf with a strong current out a
narrow, shallow channel and it is dangerous. Some pals who lived on Bora
told us that the surf was small enough the day we wanted to sail to
Maupiti that the channel would be no problem. So off we went, catching a
nice mahi on the way, arriving at the Maupiti channel at 3PM to find it
closed out due to the too big surf.

We could do the prudent thing, turn around and beat back to Bora or chance
it and try the channel. Against my better judgment I decided to go for
it. With full sail and engine going full speed we headed in. We
encountered the full force of the ebb current, about four knots, just as
we arrived at the shallowest part of the channel where the waves were
breaking. Since we were going six knots, that made our speed over bottom
about two knots and kept us in the danger zone way too long. However, we
made it through and had a great time in Maupiti.

We didn't have refrigeration on the boat back then, and had to get rid of
about ten pounds of mahi. After anchoring we waved down a passing boat
full of locals and tried to give them the fish. They didn't speak a word
of English, and we didn't speak any Tahitian or French, so it was
difficult communicating. At first they refused, thinking we wanted to
sell it to them. Once they realized that it was a gift they gratefully accepted. Problem solved, and we thought that was the end of it. Not so. The next day they showed up with their boat
filled with coconuts, papaya, banana, lime, pomplamouse, and breadfruit
for us. What goes around comes around.