The last three months were quite tough. Remember? In April we caught a line in the prop in the Gambier, the shaft was pulled out several centimetres by the force and the thrust bearing was damaged (cracked housing) so that we could no longer use the engine. We had to sail straight to Tahiti to haul out there and spent two weeks repairing and waiting… Continue reading »
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2014
17
Jul
2014
10
Jul
Our first impressions of Tahaa
…are really positive. The high islands, motus and the fringing reef reminds us of the Isle Gambier and the slow, relaxed pace here is exactly what we like. Yesterday we moved into the deeply indented Haamene bay, where the water’s a bit murky, but the view of the lush green hills and the calm anchorage makes up for that. After dark the sound of drumming… Continue reading »
2014
08
Jul
Raiatea and Tahaa
On Sunday morning we set out towards Raiatea in order to make sure we’d reach the island during daylight after a nightsail (120 nm). During the first hour we were in the lee of Tahiti, with no wind, but confused cross seas as usual in the channel between Tahiti and Moorea. After an hour a strong wind set in and we had a quick but… Continue reading »
2014
06
Jul
Heiva in Tahiti
Last year we visited the 2 week long culture and dance festival in the Gambier where only two dance groups competed, but there was something going on every day and the whole village came to the foodstands and activities. Everything was for free, but on a rather small scale – no wonder with only 1000 people living there and hardly any tourists. This year we… Continue reading »
2014
06
Jul
Getting things done in Tahiti
… seems impossible at times and is immensely frustrating. Everybody knows that they have a monopoly on whatever trade they’re in and we spend most days running after people trying to persuade them to take our money. The last boatyard we were in was extremely unfriendly and dirty (Technimarine in Papeete) and as we have to haul out another time we tried to get hold… Continue reading »
2014
02
Jul
Correction 2nd part Gambier article
The second part of our article about the Gambier islands isn’t published in the july/august, but in the september/october issue. Sorry, we mixed that up.
2014
28
Jun
Moorea photo gallery updated
We’ve just added a few more pics to the Moorea gallery.
2014
27
Jun
Back to Tahiti
This visit to Moorea was less sporty than planned, because it poured down during the first week and the rain turned the footpaths into red-dirt-mudslides–no good for hiking. When the weather turned sunny we tackled the highest summit on the northern coast, Mt. Rotui, but the descent turned out to be too steep, slippery and hot for us (only shrubs and ferns grow on the… Continue reading »
2014
22
Jun
2014
21
Jun
Back to Moorea
A couple of days ago we sailed back to Moorea. Now we are anchored in the turquoise waters behind the outer reef west of Opunohu pass. Today we went swimming with sting rays and black-tip reef sharks. Off the Hilton hotel towards a sand bank they attract them with food and we joined this (slightly questionable) spactacle.
2014
16
Jun
Second part of our Gambier article in Ocean7 magazine
Birgit Hackl, Christian Feldbauer: Iles Gambier — Südseeparadies am Rande der Tropen. Teil 2, OCEAN7 05 (September/October) 2014, p. 24–29. download PDF (in German only)
2014
11
Jun
3 years of cruising!
Time flies by and today we celebrate another cruising anniversary: we’ve already spent 3 years cruising the world on our floating home and we still haven’t grown tired of it This year’s statistics don’t look as spectacular as the last ones, as we’ve ‘only’ been around French Polynesia: Visited country: 1 Islands: 11 Nautical miles: about 3000 Days on passage: 30 Expenses: EUR 18,680, of… Continue reading »
2014
06
Jun
Back in Tahiti
… means back to work. Yesterday we spent the day working on someday elses boat for a change. A Swiss couple who stop cruising and have their boat shipped back to Europe asked us to help with the packing, taking rigg off, wrapping up the boat, etc. Now their boat is standing in the container terminal waiting for the ship and they’re already on the… Continue reading »
2014
01
Jun
Hiking with surprise effect
Hiking with surprise effect After finishing the watermaker project (we produce potable water again!!), we did some more hiking on Moorea. There are many paths all over the island, clearly marked, well kept, but lacking one essential feature: signs that reveal the destination of a path. The descriptions in the tourist brochure are also vague and we suspect that tourists are encouraged to do something… Continue reading »
2014
27
May
Between working and walking
When we arrived in Opunohu Bay (a huge bay on the north side of Moorea) we dropped the hook right behind the outer reef where about 15 boats were already swaying in the turquoise water. After doing some snorkeling (cute eagle rays, but coral in a bad shape), we decided to get away from the buzzing dinghies and roaring generators and anchored 1.2 miles further… Continue reading »