Moorea to Huahine French Polynesia

July 2, 2013

2:00 am:

We left Cook’s Bay on Moorea around midnight. Another boat (from Oregon of all places) had anchored a little too close and we were concerned they were over our anchor. We had gone over to introduce ourselves and let them know we would be leaving at midnight. They said they would take up some chain if needed and to just call them on the VHF. So, we got up around 11:30 pm somewhat nervous about the “too close boat”, I downed some coffee and then downloaded the latest weather (still good to go) and then “engine on”. We turned on the spot light and slowly took in the anchor…..good news, the wind had cooperated and our anchor was maybe 20 yards (a boat length) from the other boat….had the wind stayed like it had been most of the time we would have hit the boat/had to wake them up to move…..but, the anchor gods cooperated and all was well!!!!

The sea conditions are marvelous…..<10 kts of wind on the starboard beam and the swell in the 2-4′ range on the port side….. a bit confusing but a pretty comfortable ride!!!

For the last few days we attended the Pacific Puddle Jump (PPJ) rendezvous. Out of the 150ish boats registered there were about 40 boats participating. We did the party proud representing all the trawlers as the other 3 trawlers are well ahead of us. It was a good event…..the highlights for us were all the native/local activities……like the ukulele contest……it is a contest amongst 4-5 islands….maybe 10 bands played….those boys can sure play the ukulele…..the winner got $1000 and a trip to the world competition in San Diego….really, San Diego???????. There was lot of FP food……I still can’t say I’ve bonded with the local cuisine….just too starchy and bland….it needs some salt/pepper and other spices for sure!!!! The last day was a sports day…..canoe races, fruit carrying races, rock lifting, coco husking, dancing et al. I did the 6 man canoe race…..these are the long, narrow canoes with an outrigger…..two local men joined 4 cruisers…..we won our 1st heat but got beat in the semi’s by a paddle…close. But, wow, is that hard work or what…..now I’m even more impressed by these racers!!!! I’m glad we did the party, especially since we were there due to our repairs, and I think it was good to attend if it was convenient and you were there, but I wouldn’t go out of my way/change the itineary to attend.

Boat Repairs: Good news and bad news: The good news is the stabilizers are working just fine….no leaks and running very smooth….yea!!!! Bad news – we have developed a leak in the fluid reservoir for our engine controls (throttle and gears). This leak started in Panama….we watched it closely all the way to Marquesas where it still remained a very small leak. As we came further west the leak started growing but was still very small. Well, something happened during the marina/boatyard maneuvering as I checked on it the other day and the reservoir was almost empty….WTH. So, I used the remaining fluid I had which filled the reservoir half full and started in earnest to find the leak. There was some dried fluid along the edge where the tank seats into the lower casting…..I took a screw driver to clean it off and bam…..a leak from a pinhole…..maybe 1/4″ up from the rim…..on the tank…..looking closer I think there are several spots where the tank has some pin hole leaks. I now think the leaks are from these pinholes and not from an o-ring but it could be both. How can this happen?

I taped the leak as best I could and bled off all the pressure in the tank…..the leak slowed to a weep. We then used some JB Weld, Extreme pressure tape and a SS hose clamp on the bottom part of the tank and the leak is almost gone with no pressure. However, when I applied about 20 psi of pressure the leak started again. I now have <5 psi of pressure and the leak is almost gone.

So far on this passage we have had good throttle and gear control at this low pressure. We are now in contact with Seattle Marine and they are helping to diagnose the issue, help us make better temporary repairs and then send the necessary parts to us in Bora Bora (we will be there in about 2 weeks)…..oh joy, another repair in an exotic place 🙂 ))))

1:15pm:

Anchor down; passage beer opened…..LIG!!!!! This is another drop dead gorgeous anchorage….we face southwest and have a view of Raiatea, 20 nm away….stunning!!

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Stats:

Position: 16 48S 150 59W

Traveled: 95.6nm today

Course: 286M HDG

Wind: Variable 5-10 kts

Waves: SSW 2-4′ swell; 14 sec period; <1′ wind chop…..very trawler like conditions 🙂 ))))

Speed: avg 7.5 kts SOG; 1600 RPM

Weather: 20-40% cloud cover; sea temp 81.3 deg F

Boat sightings: 3 total

Fishing: Fished this am…..nada 🙁 ((((

Sail: not up

Hope all is well!

John
Mystic Moon
Huahine