08 December 2012; Bora Bora 2nd day.

It remained windy during the night and also during this second day in Bora Bora. I was happy that I was in the wider anchorage and not had selected to anchor in what is normally considered the cruise ship anchorage right off the tender port.  More room to swing on the wind. During the night we had hardly anybody going ashore or coming back but we had a skeleton service running just for the case of.  By 07.00 the ship started to wake up and we started our clockwork tender service again, with a tender departing about every 10 minutes.  That is about as frequent as you can operate a service as 10 minutes is about the time needed for embarking and disembarking a full tender.

As it remained very windy, I started using the bow and stern thrusters to keep the ship on a steady heading, with the tender platform as much in the lee as possible. If you let the ship range freely behind the anchor, you will have periods of perfect conditions at the platform but as soon as the ships yaws to the other side of the anchor you get periods of full exposure to the elements and then you might have to stop operating all together.  So the middle way is the best and crew assisting at all times on the platform a safe tender operation was conducted throughout the day. During that day, occasionally, squalls came drifting in from the mountain side and with it varying winds. As a result I spent the day on the bridge keeping an eye on the ship, while the staff captain kept an eye on the tender service.  

That day lasted until late in the evening as we had a scheduled departure for 23.00.  However by 21.30 the last guests and crew were back and thus I could leave. After 18.00 the wind had started to die down and by the time we had raised the anchor there was a gentle breeze blowing of about 10 knots and no rain clouds in the bay.  So we had a good sail away with the few lights of the port of Vaitape twinkling next to the ship.  Little wind make the sailing out of the port less of a nautical challenge but things were enlivened by two fishing boats who were fishing right in the fairway, a normal occurrence according to the pilot. Fish gets attracted by the flashing lights of the fairway buoys and fishermen get attracted by the fish.   So we shone our spotlight and honked the horn to let them know that something big and massive was approaching and we passed them safely by staying a little on the south side of the channel.

While I was keeping a close eye on the ship, Roving Reporter Lesley went ashore making a tour of the island as there is not much else to do on the island apart from eco tours and swimming & snorkeling.  Most of the economy rotates around the hotels on the NW side of the island and with the economic downturn of the moment the island has a real issue. As French Polynesia is very expensive, a lot of tourists are staying away and it is hurting the locals badly. Still the island is beautiful with lush tropical rain forest growing straight into the local gardens. 

One of reasons we can sail so late is that Raiatea is located on the other side of Bora Bora about 40 miles away as the crow flies.  As we cannot fly as a crow, we have to sail around the island and that makes the total distance about 80 miles. By being able to leave an hour earlier, I could bring the average speed to maintain, down to 12 knots. That helped with keeping the ship a bit more stable than otherwise would have been possible. Due to the strong winds there is an enormous swell running through the ocean, so I am happy that I do not have to pound into it at full speed.  The lower the speed, the more comfortable the ride, and 12 knots is a speed with which the Statendam rides quite nicely. That does not mean that we will not move around a bit during the night, when we come around the islands. 

Bora Bora is dominated from each location of the island by the central mountain. (Pictures by roving reporter Lesley)

 I have planned to be at the entrance to the reef, behind which Uturoa on Raiatea is located at 06.30.  If the wind swings to the North West during the night, then it will be quiet in the basin of the dock and thus I will be able to go alongside.

Weather for tomorrow calls for more rain and windy conditions in and around the rain squalls but we can deal with that when we are alongside the dock, safely tied up.

Crabs digging burrows at the side of the street. Walking around on bare feet might not be such a wise idea.