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Sorry the blog has not been updated due to lack of internet and lack of Dawn. (She’s back now.) So here’s the notes from January…

Our friend Fi arrived from Auckland to help us celebrate the turning of the new decade.

We spent a few days circumnavigating the island of Taha’a.  North wind allowed us to anchor up in the motus at the north of the lagoon.

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Another South Seas daydream, nobody there, feels far from civilisation.

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But just a mile around the corner is the very civilised Taha’a Hotel, too good to sail past.  The sort of place you could stop for a proper lunch.  So we did.

Other guests arrived by seaplane, serenaded by this chap with his ukulele.

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Jan 5th

As Fi flew back to NZ we had a wind forecast that looked good to sail East.

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These weeks in the Society Islands have been a fun start to our season, but now we are well provisioned and ready for some more exploring.

I’m keen to get back to the remote atolls of Tuamotus.

The first day at sea only took us as far as the next island.  I had forgotten how much these high mountainous islands affect the wind.

Oh well, dinner at the Huahine Yacht Club and an early start tomorrow.

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January 6th.

Alarm wakes us at 0500, first light.

Kettle on, anchor up and we slip away, hoisting the main with the sun coming up and a promising breeze.

Our first real ocean passage of the season.

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January 7th

It was all smoothish sailing until 0130 when the first black cloud blocked out the stars, then a series of squalls and a wet ride with 2nd reef pulled down.

We sailed about 240 miles and were happy to arrive in sunny Tikehau, through the sparkling pass and into the flat lagoon.  We’re back in the Tuamotus.

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Time to brush up on all the skills we acquired here last season. Finding a sandy spot for our anchor amongst the coral heads, spearfishing and coconut scrumping.

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