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Last week we finally ticked off the last of our refit jobs. This filled us with a huge sense of relief, and we started to feel excited that we were finally going to get out of the Papeete Marina and start exploring French Polynesia.
It appears the universe had other plans.
On Good Friday, several large cruise ships arrived into Papeete. That morning, we were about to head into town for some “toy shopping” at Decathlon when our neighbour asked if we could help slip their mooring lines. Marc questioned the skipper as the cruise ship Orion was still in the process of docking and was using its immense stern thruster. The turbulent water from the cruise ship was directed at our boat and it looked like a section of the Waimakariri River! Our neighbour is an experienced skipper and was not concerned, so we helped them out. He gunned it out of their berth, narrowly missing another boat, but appeared to be under control. We enthusiastically waved them goodbye telling them we’d see them soon (they are super lovely people who we had drinks with earlier that week).
Just as we were about to walk away, Marc turns back and says, “he’s going to hit our boat!”. I swung my head around, only to find our neighbours catamaran caught in the cruise ship wash and they were careening out of control towards our boat! It all happened in slow motion and as I heard the gut wrenching “crunch” of them hitting our boat, I immediately thought that our boat was going to be significantly damaged.
Our neighbour swung away from our boat and narrowly missed another boat before gaining control. It was hideous to watch. I felt sick and was shaking. With our neighbours safe, we walked over to our boat to inspect the damage. I let go and “F” bomb as the realty sank in. We wouldn’t be leaving Tuesday.
Thankfully, the damage to our boat was not as bad as I thought. Our port side solar panel had taken the brunt of the impact and buckled and shattered. Our push pit rail was also bent. God bless our solid canoe stern boat. How they did not hit our wind steering is a miracle. Maybe the universe was telling us we need more solar power. I am trying to find the silver lining here.
We feel dreadful for our neighbours. We are only human, and we all make mistakes. Just the other week, before heading out for a sail, we accidentally left on one of our mooring lines. It is black and we both missed it. Thankfully our mistake resulted in no damage, but it could have.
So here we are, Easter Monday, April Fool’s Day. We are meant to be leaving Papeete tomorrow and frankly, we are feeling both feeling a little deflated. Hopefully, we can source another solar panel quickly and get out of here. But it’s just one more thing. Our refit has been exhausting and this is the last thing we need.
The Cause - Bananas!
This is the reason why we had bad luck on Good Friday - I had bloody bananas on board! I got given them and couldn't say no thanks. Never again. Yes I am a superstitous sailior. Bananas also ripen quickly and encourage fruit flies. If we wanna eat a banana, it won't be on Agápē!
Lucky Marc Checked
One of the refit jobs we needed to do was fit a preventer. In a nutshell, it’s a way of limiting the boom's ability to swing unexpectedly across the boat, and it can prevent significant damage. For safety reasons, the recommended approach is to run the preventer lines back into the cockpit, and this meant we needed an additional jammer (a way of securing the line). Marc decided to check out how the existing winches and jammers had been installed on the coach roof as preventers can put these fittings under immense tension. Unfortunately, the previous owner had not installed them correctly. Small washers is not how you secure a winch or jammer to a coach roof!
As a result of Marc's findings, we got the young marine engineers, Arthur and Jerome, back on board who had replaced our running rigging and we engaged them to help rectify several installation issues, as we don’t have the tools or expertise for this kind of work. They also helped to repair Agápēs gooseneck (the bit that attaches the boom to the mast). It was cracked due to wear and tear, likely because a proper preventer had not been installed.
Island Tour
Last weekend we treated ourselves to an island tour with a local Tahitian as we wanted to see more of Tahiti than just downtown Papeete. Our guide Corrine drove us around the island and shared local legends and stories from her childhood. It was a great way to learn more about the culture and see how people live. Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti are small but mountainous islands that are blanketed in lush, green rain forest. The waterfalls, exotic native plants and friendly locals selling their fruit were a wonderful treat.
Street Art
The street art in Papeete is incredible. Around every corner there appears to be a hidden gem. Here are just a few that I snapped while out for a stroll.
I Went to Church!
Tahiti was colonised in the 1700’s by French, Spanish and British missionaries and they introduced Christianity. Like the other Pacific Islands, Christianity significantly changed their Polynesian culture. Previously I had past judgement on this. I am more of a spiritual, nature kinda gal and it just annoys me, that missionaries thrust their religion (superstition?) on island people. However, after spending time in French Polynesia, my view on religion has somewhat altered.
In French Polynesia, people here have embraced Christianity and for most, it is a way of life. The churches are a place where communities can come together to socialise, worship, and have faith in something greater than mankind.
So, on Easter Sunday I decided to go to Church and Marc joined me. We wanted to experience first-hand a Polynesian church service and we had heard the singing at the local Protestant church was next level. We ditched our stinky sports gear and put on some presentable clothes, and we gingerly entered the church. I did groan with a little embarrassment when we took our seats, as everyone was dressed in white and I was in a bright green, floral dress!
The overall experience was surreal. The singing reverberated through me and brought me to tears. The entire service was in Tahitian, and I could only make out a few words like “Tane” (man), “Aroha” (love), “Maruruuru” (thank you). It felt like a magnificent blend of old culture and introduced religion. It was my first church service and while I won’t be turning into a devout Christian anytime soon, the experience provided a little relief from the stress associated with our current predicament.
The Sailors You Meet
One of the good things about being in a marina for a long period of time, is that you make friends with like-minded people. We've had the privilege of meeting sailors from all walks of life, on all types of boats from all around the world. Some are staying in French Polynesia, while others will also be making the journey west. We have exchanged numbers with a few people now and it will be interesting to see if we meet up again.
One particular young sailor that we met, Garrett, struck a chord with me. He is a wee blonde-haired lad from Hawaii, and he sailed his 27ft yacht to Tahiti without a lot of experience. He is one of the most well-mannered young people I have ever met. He shared his smoothie with us, offered a ride to get fuel and even offered us some spare parts! Along the way Garrett (with the help of his sister) posted some videos on YouTube of his sailing adventures and he has become quite the sensation (17 videos, 7 million views!). I watched one of this videos and I have to say, he gives me courage and faith to sail across the Pacific Ocean. I'm not a big fan of YouTube (too much tit bait!) but I have to say, Garretts videos are worth the watch.
Here is a link to this channel.
Ready to Go
We are more than ready to go. We have provisioned food for one month and a truck load of tools and spares. I am optimistic that this week we’ll get our solar panel sorted and we’ll sail across to Moorea Island. From there we'll explore French Polynesia before we commence our voyage west. Keep an eye on our live GPS tracker as I will provide some live sailing updates.
Hopefully my next blog is full of sailing stories and tropical island pictures!
I am so glad to read that at least no-one was hurt, it sounds a scary experience. No doubt morale is low... I can only imagine how much you guys are bursting to get out and on the water and after all the extra repairs and work that was unexpected. You are so close and the departure will be all the sweeter when you finally get to go. You both amaze me with your courage and capability to do something of this magnitude! xx