Top of Bora Bora
Stingrays at Bora Bora
Lloyd Reef Rash
Lloyd, Susie and Charlie
Huahine Viewtop
Huahine Right
Huahine Left Hander
Huahine Drink Stop
Fish Hut on Raiatea
Cook Bay Moorea
Bora Bora from Tahaa
Mistress’s month long cruise amongst the famous Society Islands was a completely different gear-shift for both boat and crew. Gone were the solitary night watches , constant tweaking of sails, eating and sleeping while braced against the roll of the boat and of course regular soakings by warm salty waves. In it’s place were unbroken night’s sleep on secure anchor towering under massive volcanic mountain peaks, barbequed meals with nary a spilled glass and the laughter and company of newly joined friends and crew.
The Society Islands are often what comes to mind when one mentions the allure and romance of the South Pacific…Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora….spectacular reef ringed islands with the heady mix of Polynesian beauty and French flair. For the Mistress crew these islands offered a chance to get off the boat, explore the islands and to get to know the locals.
Daily we embarked on land based adventures and explorations, whether it be climbing to the top of Bora Bora or getting a first hand lesson on how to tie Pareos while drinking a cool Hinano beer….the freedom of being away from the confines of the boat and the other crew was wonderful for all, but perhaps no better highlighted by the antics of Lloyd and Charlie’s land (and occasional water based) adventures!
Watching these lads disappear for hours (and on one instance for a few days) seeking new sights, sounds and friends, was wonderful, albeit I must admit it was sometimes with envy as I observed their natural ease at breaking down the barriers…. both real and imagined….
Having been through these same islands 27 years earlier at a similar age I could not help but ask myself had I too been as bold and inventive as these two lads? Memories often play tricks on us, we tend to easily remember the good and the not so good; filtering out the middle ground events and occasions that with time slip from our conscious grasp. If Lloyd and Charlie can retain and hang on to these often forgotten aspects of life, then they will be the richer….as they clearly had some fantastic times amongst these beautiful islands and people.
From the moment the lads stepped ashore they were always in direct contact with the locals. On their first day they learned to roll their ‘r’s’ and to wrap their tongues around the Tahitian greeting for good day….’Aiorana’ and the subsequent thank you ‘Mauruuruu’…..the simple act of mastering these two words cast them in a completely different light than so many other visitors who often unknowingly offend by saying bonjour and merci.
If successfully interacting with the local people were measured by the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables one was graciously given, then by this measure Charlie and Lloyd were well and truly embraced. It was almost rare for them not to return to the boat after one of their daily excursions with some new treasure; a stalk of bananas, mangos, avocados, grapefruit and even fresh vanilla beans.
Young kids seemed to flock to these two. Walking through local villages bare footed and shirtless…muscled and tanned was always sure to attract attention. They would often stop and chat with the local kids greeting with a casual locking of hands and verbal hello. Conversation was inevitably focused on surfing, best breaks and impending swell arrivals. They were sometimes armed with a block or two of surf wax to give these kids, a simple gesture that scored huge points when surfing on the ‘local patch’. On the surf break itself producing the waterproof video camera was a winner with the young surfers, all giving their email address to the lads for some sought after footage of their surfing moves….while the older heads made it very clear that no pictures of ‘their’ break was to be published online……
In Raiatea on the eve of Bastille Day, Charlie and Lloyd with Susie in tow, went ashore well before sunset for a much needed night away from the ‘old watch’ crew. It was near 0400 the next morning when the sound of the dinghy’s outboard was heard approaching the boat. Clearly the kids had a good time, however, it was not until they surfaced the next afternoon that we learned that they had spent the night celebrating with one of the head chiefs from island who advised that they were to use his name and reference if they were to encounter any future trouble on the island’s surf breaks. It obviously helps to have friends in high places!
The Super Yacht sect was another aspect of Lloyd and Charlie’s social life while amongst these islands. These multimillion-dollar toys of the super rich are crewed by young people who like our lads were always keen to play and party and so they did. Everything seemed to be ‘super-sized’, the lads enjoyed super fast broadband aboard these boats, super cold air conditioning running 24/7, super fast water toys and a crew willing to share and play, super stocked beer fridges and on more than one occasion super efficient ice making machines that gratefully provided the rest of the crew back on Mistress with cold cubes for the evening sundowners!
The older crew hands also made the most of time ashore while exploring the islands. Long walks, scooter hire, bike rides, and snorkeling with stingrays were only some of the activities. Often while riding around the islands we made the obligatory pit stop at some local ‘snack shack’ or boutique hotel with beach side bar and enjoyed a refreshing drink. Over the month we visited Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa and Bora Bora. Each of these islands is different and distinct is so many ways. The striking physical beauty of Bora Bora cannot be ignored, but then this has to be balanced with the intrusion on this landscape by the myriad of 5 star over the water type hotels with their jet skiing sun tanning guests…..based on our exploration without question our favorite of these islands had to be Huahine. This island has very little mainstream tourism, instead just lovely friendly locals getting on with life amongst their lush mountains, beautiful beaches and stunning coral reefs that lock out the ravages of pounding seas while creating an amazing sea life pool within.
The Society Islands also represented a month of crew changes. When I departed Vancouver I always knew the voyage to New Zealand could not be possible without the capable assistance of many friends and family……remember this is what Mistress is all about! However I surprised myself at how hard it was to say goodbye to those who had sailed so far and so willingly aboard Mistress…..so thank you guys….Millsy, Warren, Charlie and Lloyd you were the very best of crew. Of course I cannot forget to thank those additional crew that joined us for varying periods of time while in French Polynesia…..all of you helped enrich the adventure……so thank you Lesley, Shawn, Liz, Doug, Susie and Elise!
And so the Mistress Voyages continue…..with new crew; Pete, Paul, Hans and Catrina aboard the far horizon beckons and Mistress is itching to sail once more…..
