We crossed over from Tahaa to Bora Bora a day or two earlier than we originally planned--there were big winds forecast and we didn't want to get stuck making the crossing in 25 knots and 12' seas. It's only about 25 miles, and downwind, but still... no point in getting all salty if you don't have to.
The cruiser-friendly facilities in Bora Bora are in a state of flux right now. The facility everyone talks about in years past is the Bora Bora Yacht Club. But the cruiser-friendly couple with the lease (Teiva and Jessica), who have overcome several setbacks to build the BBYC into a going concern over the last few years, have been hit with another cyclone and had a falling out with the owner of the property (one issue, we heard, was the liquor license that wasn't). So they have leased another facility closer to town, maybe less cyclone-succeptible, and are in the process of renovating the building and setting up moorings. This new place is called the Mai Kai Marina and Yacht Club.
Right now, the 12 new Mai Kai Moorings are free (until Aug 1), so they have been chock-a-block with freeloading cruisers. There are no shore-side facilities yet at Mai Kai. But the anchoring area near town is 85 feet deep, so anyone who can get a mooring wants one, especially since it is free.
We haven't been down to the Bora Bora Yacht Club yet. But we understand is still sort of operating... they are charging for their moorings, so they are everyone's second choice, and they are further from town. We heard from the grapevine that Teive and Jessica actually own the moorings that are still at the Bora Bora Yacht Club, and they plan on moving them to the Mai Kai eventually. Plans are for a total of 30 moorings eventually at Mai Kai. We don't know about the long term prospects of the BBYC.
We crossed over from Raiatea on a day when everyone else was getting ready for the 25 knot winds in the forecast, so all the moorings were taken in both places. We motored around and scoped out a place behind Motu Toopua that looked good for weathering a blow. But Dave really wanted to get settled close to town, so we could pick up our incoming guests easily.
We finally found a 'shallow' spot in 'only' 65 feet, close inshore by the Mai Kai Marina, and a short dinghy ride to town. Once we got anchored, we feel comfortable enough here that we have passed on several opportunities for mooring buoys. We are actually better protected where we are than we would be on the moorings.
We have spent the last 2 days with our nose to the grindstone--working on clearing out the V-Berth for our incoming guests. We have been so busy in the last 9 months that we have just been jamming stuff in the V-Berth, and it was time to go through everything and organize it better. After 2 days of work, we have reduced the 'stuff' from 6 Rubbermaid tubs to 4, and refreshed our memories about what's in all those tubs. One is 'boat spares' that we have no other place to put. A second is 'new projects'--things we have bought but haven't gotten around to installing. A third is 'computer stuff' (spare monitor, old hard drives, etc) . And the fourth is half-full of food, and topped off with miscellaneous items. These 4 tubs fit on the forward half of the port side setee without taking up too much room.
So the V-Berth is clear, and I've thoroughly cleaned and aired it. It got pretty wet up there in our bash down from Hawaii.
My cousin, Fred Twogood, and his wife Suki, are coming for a week. They flew into Tahiti last night, and are flying here tomorrow evening. We have 6 days of 'fun in Bora Bora' planned for them. Thankfully, it looks like the 20-25 knot winds will start abating tomorrow, so we should be able to explore the whole atoll with them without too much trouble.
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At 7/28/2011 1:26 AM (utc) our position was 16°30.06'S 151°45.17'W
http://svsoggypaws.com/currentposition.htm
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