[password] pilot25041
[position] 15 17.62s 148 12.1w
[status] Sunday ..... and another day on the high seas in a yacht named Surreal II ....... after our false start on Thursday to go to Rangaroa we remained at anchor on Friday in Cooks Bay on Moorea, as we could see yachts/boats bouncing around outside of the reef so decided to stay put. Nothing much else to report: a couple of forays ashore for essentials ........ well fresh bread & beer, then a wander around and a few quick glances in the Black Pearl shops/workshops ...... interestingly Steve was immediately offered a 40% discount on prices when they found out we were on a yacht and not a cruise ship!

Anyhow, Katariana had now followed us around into Cooks Bay, they came across for a chat and we invited them across for sundowners later in the day, also another 'kiwi' yacht "Off 2 Sea" were moored near so they joined in too. A very pleasant and convivial evening followed, then Saturday morning dawned and after a quick run ashore for more "essentials" we decided to go outside the reef to empty the "black" tanks and if the sea was ok to proceed to Rangaroa as originally planned, the gribs were showing little wind that would eventually drop to nothing, so it would be a diesel sail anyway.

The sea was ok so we departed on our way, motor sailing to Tetiaroa (Marlon Brando's Island) at around 16.00hrs, there are some 'charter' boat buoys there that can be used overnight, as its too deep to anchor, however, there were 6 catamarans already there and they were tied on in rows on lines stern to bow, so we decided to keep going, as we rounded the top of the island the wind gradually filled in, necessitating a reef at 20.00hrs. Throughout the night the wind varied up and down in strength, we had heavy rain for two and a half hours ...... so a pretty mixed bag, with engines on and off ....... the bonus being fully charged batteries and full water tanks!

Today we are now beam reaching in 15kts wind making 8-9kts to our destination. We have passed Makatea earlier and are now approaching Tikehau, the atoll to the west of Rangaroa. Visibility is not great with a fair bit of cloud and haze, so whether we can see the marks to get through the reef channel in the dark is debatable.

Everyone is well on board and looking forward to exploring our first FP atoll!

Position 14.00 nzst. DTG 39nm
[speed] 8kts
[heading] 030T
[weather] 16kts NW, 1m swell from the W, 50% cloud cover.

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