By Victoria Hardy
Mangareva
Three days of sailing west from Pitcairn brought us to the main island of the Gambier Islands group of French Polynesia. To the delight of the crew, upon checking into Mangareva, the local gendarme suggested that we tie up at the public pier! Going alongside is far superior to staying at anchor for several reasons: it means we can step on and off the ship without waiting for a ride in Nemo to go ashore, and it means that we don’t have to worry about dragging anchor like we did in Pitcairn. That in turn means that we can leave the ship with only one person onboard, and it also means that night “watches” can be as easy as one person sleeping on deck. Our arrival coincided with the final night of the annual Heiva festival and we eagerly rushed towards the sound of drums pounding at the local community center to catch a Polynesian dance competition.
Black pearl farms are the main attraction in Mangareva, along with a pearl carving school. A Swiss couple invited us aboard their catamaran for a lesson in pearl growing methods and how to identify the good ones. Sailor legend tells that if you go overboard while wearing a pearl, King Neptune will bring you back to surface – but he will take your pearl as payment. The final night closed with a farewell party for two of our friends signing off and we said tearful goodbyes…then it was off to Tahiti!
Tahiti and Mo’orea
After one more week at sea we arrived at the capital island of French Polynesia exactly on time – possibly a Neptun first. Despite all the delays and the struggles of keeping up with our tight schedule, now we were back on track with some breathing room and relief was in the air. However, it was short-lived. Carefully navigating through the barrier reef that surrounds the island, we dropped anchor and signed off two more crew members. For the rest of the day, chaos reigned. Off-signers and a provision team were ferried ashore and six new crew were carried back to the ship (along with several visiting family members). The small boat Nemo battled increasingly larger waves, while Neptun herself struggled to stay in place. Unexpected weather conditions and the insecure anchorage resulted in a hasty relocation to the the nearby island of Mo’orea – just a few hours sail. It was a quick lesson for the newcomers that plans can change at a moments notice.
Sometimes unexpected changes result in the best experiences. While the anchorage at Papeete placed us just a hundred meters from a very active airport, with planes flying so low it felt necessary to duck your head, our new location cradled in Cooks Bay was serene and calm. Well protected from the heavy surf and flanked on three sides by lofty green peaks shrouded in mist, we were left to wonder at the shapes in which they terminated. Throughout our stay we took the 45 minute ferry back and forth to Papeete to shop for supplies, and even added a new laundry machine to our inventory – a welcome improvement over hand-washing everything.
Mating season for humpback whales (July to October) was just beginning and swimming with the massive cetaceans was a truly awe-inspiring activity, while the deadly white-tipped sharks that accompany them made the experience extra exhilarating. On my trip, the guide pointed out a vague shape about 12 meters below us as a sleeping whale. The rest of us looked at each other in confusion…were we supposed to see something there? Suddenly the features materialized and we realized the behemoth was almost directly underneath us and rising quickly to take a breath. Finally, we battled the waves to swim with a mother and her calf, and got a bonus close-up look at a lemon shark as well.
Bora Bora
At our last stop after more than a month in French Polynesia, we were greeted by a quartet of local musicians and an artesan market. Days were spent relaxing on the white sand beaches, diving over the coral reefs filled with a rainbow of fish in a myriad of shapes and sizes, and swimming with the elegant manta rays and eagle rays. The crew has many souvenirs to remember these islands: colorful pareus, bags upon bags of black pearls, and even a few traditional Polynesian tattoos. Mauruuru to the Society Islands, now we are setting sail for Rarotonga!
