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Monday July 30, 2007

Off early to Bora Bora, the day is crystal bright, blue sky with puffy white clouds and gentile breezes. We first sail inside the reef to Tahaa an island just north of here to check out a bay where we will anchor in a couple of days to do a vanilla tour we learned about yesterday. You can buy fresh vanilla in all most stores in Polynesia. The aromas of the vanilla linger near where it is sold in the markets. It is farmed on many of the islands.

 

The bay is very deep and narrow enough to limit where Bella Donna can anchor. In 90 feet of water we have to put out so much chain that the arc of our swing is huge. The one mono hull sailboat at the head of the bay must be gone when we return; even then we may have to do a stern line to a buoy near shore to limit our swing. Being big has its disadvantages.

 

We sail out of the bay into the reef cut that releases Bella Donna into the Peaceful Pacific Ocean. We raise the Code zero spinnaker and the Genoa in a downwind wing on wing configuration. With 9-12 knots of wind behind us we do 6 to 7 knots with the engines off. The soft gliding of Bella Donna’s hull over Pacific water is like meditation. Only when the wind dies does the brain kick in and the engines are started so we can make it to Bora Bora in reasonable time.

 

Bora Bora has a striking profile that you would instantly recognize as familiar. Something you remember seeing in a movie, advertising or just in pictures. The center of the island rises up almost 3,000 feet into 2 peaks one with sheer straight up walls on more than one side. It has never been climbed as rope securing spikes just come right out of the lava rock. Some have been on top by helicopter. There is a hike you can take to the other peak. The barrier reef goes a long way out. Once inside the lagoon water is flat like a huge salt water lake. The shoreline is dotted with resorts that by now look very similar with their separate guest bungalows with thatched roofs. We do a sail by to get a mental image of the place. From Bloody Mary’s on one end of the lagoon to the airport on Motu Mute at the other. The perimeter road around the central island is only 19 miles making a bicycle ride a very feasible way to see the complete island.

 

We anchor for the night near a sandy beach Motu, islet, and go for a snorkel and swim. The lagoon water is so salty no noodle is required; the human body floats on its own without the aid of flotation. Even Bella Donna is floating higher out of the water. The water is refreshing with pockets of cooler then warmer water drifting by. The water is very clear you can just see the bottom in 30 feet of water. We see some of the same fish that we have in our salt water aquarium at home.

 

At dinner we ate some of the Wahoo we caught on the passage from Galapagos to Marquesas grilled on skewers with onions and squash, yum.  Following dinner with the underwater lights lighting up Bella Donna’s stern we decide to have a water polo game. We are having so much fun tossing the water polo ball around in the water John and Linda from Mad Hatter jump overboard and join in; having fun is very contagious. Before we are exhausted we all go back to Bella Donna for a nightcap.

 

Mad Hatter has been cruising near us since Panama. John is a doctor, a general practitioner. He and Linda live in Vancouver, Canada, and he works 6 months during the winter treating the Eskimos in remote parts of Canada. The other 6 months the two of them cruise around in their sailboat. They will haul Mad Hatter out of the water soon in Raiatea, leave it on the hard until they return next April-May to continue their journey.

 

God Bless Bella Donna.