Raiatea to Taha'a to Huahine

We're traveling again!  It's been great spending a few days on Taha'a, the island that shares the same lagoon as Raiatea, but it was also nice to move on to Huahine.

Lovely Conni at the helm as we try our new electronics.  We're still in the slip at the Carenage.  The huge TraveLift's blue leg towers above at right.

Conni and I helped some friends as the arranged for the purchase of a Passport 42 that was in a nearby yard.  We've tried for several years to meet up but CoVid lockdowns have prevented it, but we finally managed this trip.  Tall Reinhardt is from Australia, Bill, a sailing friend, and Jim, the guy who invented SQL database, Conni and I had a nice meal at our favorite roulotte.

Here's our crew of friends.  Reinhardt and Jim sit at the left side with Reinhard in front.  Conni and Bill, their sailing friend here for a long cruise are at right.  Most of us had steak frite, of course.

I mentioned this in a blog and here she is, far up on Taha'a's reef.  As you can see, her sails were not up so she was motoring, and her blue canvaswork is still intact, evidence of recent event.  The entrance to a pass is just off her bow.  How depressing to see.

This is the mooring field at Fare, Huahine. 

This is the market in Fare, Huahine.  There're a lot of many things and a bit of everything.

This is a typical scene:  Conni perusing the booze aisle. 

My 73rd birthday dinner of steak and corn.  This was is in our own cockpit, complete with a fine cocktail hour and a sentimental card from Conni.

As we made our way down the lagoon on Huahine, Conni had the helm.  She smiles through our electronics.  

We're unsure of this resort's name, but it has these typical and desirable "over water bungalows".  Hey, we've got one of those!

Our new instruments shown while we're underway toward Avea Bay.  At left is the chart plotter/radar.  Above the binnacle is our forward-looking sonar.  At right is our repeater that shows accumulated data processed from our networked data sensors, and below is the dedicated autopilot controller.

 

As we motor south along the west side of Huahine's lagoon, we're look south.  We're approaching Bourayne Bay.  This bay almost splits the island in half and allows all the wind to spill from the upwind side.  Very windy place!

Relais Mahana Lodge, our goal for a few days.  If you're after a relaxing and quiet location in French Polynesia, you couldn't do better.  They're also cruiser-friendly.

We thought that this sky was interesting.  Avea Bay on Huahine.

This is a great photo of lovely Conni at cocktail time in Avea on our first night. 

Relais Mahana Lodge with a cloud-crossed full moon above.

This is one of Conni's many innovative solutions:  a hot water shower that's easy to use.  She found a 12-foot flex-hose to get it out to the cockpit, and searched Anchorage for a fitting that would attach to the faucet.  What a deluxe thing a hot shower can be.

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