Rarotonga to Raiatea

October 14, 2011

After the aborted attempt to stop at Rarotonga we headed NE to Raiatea in brisk winds and seas to 15 feet almost on the beam.  Since we left early, the captain has kept the ship at only 13 knots, so there is quite a bit of roll motion even with the stabilizers.  It is very windy on deck, with the apparent wind as high as 50 knots.  The occasional larger seas cause the entire ship to shudder.

October 15, 2011

The seas remain the same as yesterday as we cruise at 13 knots towards Raiatea.  The winds remain brisk, gusting to 35 knots true wind speed.  The Westerdam, at 950 feet long, is still being moved around the ocean like a small boat.  When we happened to talk to the captain at noontime, he indicated the seas were seastate 6-7, or significant wave heights to more than 20 feet.  The wind across the decks is so high that most of the deck chairs on the aft pool have been lashed down to keep them from blowing away and the sliding cover over the amidships pool has been kept closed.  There are salt deposits everywhere, including our furniture on the verandah, which is 8 decks above the water.

October 16, 2011

As the sun rose through the clouds we approached Raiatea from the east side and entered the reef near the town of Utorua, at the north end of the island.  The brisk wind has continued but we made it through the entrance and docked at the town, where dancers greeted us.  Our tour was in motorized pirogues which each held about 35 passengers.  The destination of Faaroa River, the largest in Polynesia, was about 7 miles to windward, but inside the lagoon in the open boats.  We immediately regretted taking the bow seats as we were completely drenched in just a few minutes.  The crew finally passed out raincoats, but it was too late, we were all soaked, as well as our backpacks.

We finally arrived at the river, which was calm, and motored up perhaps one mile in the sun, looking at plants and a few birds.  After a short visit we headed to Moto Inru for a beach break.  The water was warmer than the air, but with the wind, we still were a little cold and welcomed the ride with the wind behind us back to the ship.  After changing into dry clothes we headed back into town.  Most stores were closed since it was Sunday, but a few shops were open.  We walked as far as the local marina before getting souvenirs and a cold beverage at the local bar.  By 3 PM the skies were totally cloudy and the wind had picked back up to 25 knots.

We left at 6 PM and headed northwest between Raiatea and Taha’a towards our destination of Bora Bora, just 47 nautical miles away where we will spend 2 days.  The wind is expected to continue, so it will be interesting to see how rough the water is in the lagoon at Bora Bora.

Our Canoe trip to the Faaroa River

Moving up the river

Entering the reef at Raiatea