Huahine, Leeward Island

Huahine is one of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. These are divided into the islands in the windward and leeward regions. Huahine, Raiatea and Bora Bora belong to the Leeward Islands. The main town on Huahine is Fare. There are shops here, you can hire cars or scooters and there is the yacht club, which has happy hour between 5pm and 6pm.

Anchorage off Fare, Huahine

To get to know the island a little, we hire a car and drive around the island together with the Tuvalu. We reach I'ancien Sofitel beach on a peninsula in the north-east. This place saw its best days a long time ago. Nevertheless, the landscape is impressive. Palm trees and white sandy beaches line the shore. There is even said to be a hotel on the Motu Mahare opposite. 

Motu Mahare, Huahine

We continue south through a lush green landscape. Only the road in front of us is black. Immediately next to it begins a lush green, impenetrable jungle. Again and again there are small dirt tracks that have been wrested from the jungle and lead to small houses. The road comes to Märo e Bay. We turn left into a cul-de-sac and drive to the end of the road. A few villas have been built into the hillside here. If you have money, even in French Polynesia you prefer to live for yourself. We turn around and drive to the small bridge that spans a canal separating the North Island from the South Island. There is a lot going on on the bridge. Children are standing on the outside, beyond the railing, preparing for the next jump. They are obviously having a lot of fun. 

At Chez Tara Baie d'Avea, Huahine

We drive along the west side of the island to Baie d'Avea. A bay that is well protected by the huge reef in front of it. There are about ten buoys here, which are available free of charge. We make a stop at Chez Tara. Chez Tara is a nice beach restaurant that was recommended to us by our friends Babsi and Helmut. Of course, we sent our best wishes and, as is the way in Polynesia, we took lots of photos with our cell phones and sent them all over the world. In this case to New Zealand. Not far from Chez Tara there is a small place of worship called Marae Anini. The black, elongated stone wall was filled with lots of coral. I was unable to find out what function it has or had. Unfortunately, there are also no information boards. 

Cult site in the south of Huahine

We drive around the South Island and visit a small vanilla farm. The pods are pulled up on trellises and the whole area is covered with an air-permeable tarpaulin. As in almost every garden in French Polynesia, numerous other fruits such as starfruit, mango and papaya grow alongside the vanilla. A visit to the Huahine Passion distillery with a tasting is of course a must. Unfortunately, I have to hold back a lot because I'm moving the car. Well, Gottfried has bought a drop or two that he can't drink alone anyway. So I'm sitting in the front row, so to speak. 

Starfruit on Huahine

As we still have a little time before happy hour at the yacht club, we stop off at a vanilla farm and treat ourselves to some vanilla ice cream. The homemade ice cream tastes fantastic. I shouldn't have had to return the car until the next day, but as the rental company is on the way, I do it that evening. This means I can sleep an hour longer the next day. 

Vanilla ice cream on a vanilla farm, Huahine

We review the day at the yacht club and set our departure date. Our next island will be Raiatea. The island is 22 nautical miles to the west and can be reached as a day trip.

Yacht club in Fare, Huahine

Even though it is only 22 nautical miles to Raiatea, we weigh anchor early in the morning at 7:30 am. The wind is light as we head out of the pass off Fare. A few dolphins accompany us for a while, but soon leave us again because we are too slow for them. I set the gennacker to port, which was unfortunately wrong. Shortly after covering the island, the wind shifts to the east-southeast and the sail falls in again and again. I set course for the Teavapiti Pass, which lies to the northwest of Raiatea. So I bring the Gennacker in again and set it to starboard. Unfortunately, I can no longer dock at my favorite pass. Fortunately, there is the Iriru Ou Maire pass further south, which is much narrower but should also work. Unfortunately, the weather is still very unstable and the first squall hits us in the middle. We are quickly soaked through again, but with 18 knots of wind we are now making good progress. In the end, the pass is no problem and we reach our planned anchorage in Vairahi on Raiatea shortly after the second squall. 

Anchorage Vairahi Bay, Raiatea

As all the buoys are occupied, we anchor at six meters in the well-holding mud. You'll find out what we experience on Raiatea next week on Glenswelt. Until then, fair winds, and keep a stiff upper lip.