Arriving in Papeete, Tahiti
Lynn & Mike ..around the world
Mike Drinkrow & Lynn v/d Hoven
Tue 14 May 2013 17:44
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17:32.42S 149:34.23W Arriving in Papeete, Tahiti
After an uneventful overnight passage from
Rangiroa, we arrived at the port of Papeete, capital city of Tahiti. We
had a reservation at Marina Taina, so headed into the port and then 5nm
down a channel inside the reef, past the airport towards the marina, which is on
the north west side of the island.
As we turned the last corner for the
marina we could now see a huge swell running, with waves breaking over the
reef. The boats on mooring balls and on anchor were bucking like wild
broncos, and things did not look too much better inside the marina. We
radioed to announce our arrival, but where told that there was no way we could
come into the marina , as the swell was too big and that we must anchor
"for a day or two" until things calmed down. At this point we saw another
Nordhavn (76 called Sirius) leaving the dock - they told us on the radio that
the marina was untenable and dangerous. We looked around for a spot to
anchor, but it was really full and going to be a very unpleasant stop. So
we called our lovely agent Coralie, who in turn called the city docks and
secured a spot for us downtown. We turned around and headed back to the main
port.
The city has some floating pontoons, at
right angles to the promenade, right off the main street. Here
you tie stern-to, with your bow hooked up to their lines that come up from
the bottom. These lines are anchored to a chain on the bottom and although it is
a messy business getting those lines on board, it saves you having to drop
your anchor. This is a very common method of tying up in the
Mediterranean, but requires a bit of technique. Luckily we had some help from
another boat on the dock. This dock is not very popular with cruisers, as
it is quite noisy in the day, has poor power supply and no washrooms/ laundry
etc. However, we are loving it, as it is well protected and you
are right downtown, close to everything you need.
 TIME2 on the dock, downtown
Papeete
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