Tag: Photos

Marine Life in Moorea

After spending so much time on land in Tahiti, we felt lucky to escape to its beautiful sister island, Moorea. Located 11 miles northwest of Tahiti, it is busy and tourist-filled, but still feels like a tranquil getaway. On two different getaways from Tahiti, we spent four weeks communing with the marine life in Moorea.

About Moorea

First, a little background. Like Tahiti and The Tuamotus, the island of Moorea is surrounded by coral reef, providing protection from big ocean waves. Moorea allows us to anchor in beautiful places with close proximity to shops, restaurants, and other amenities of civilization. One of the highlights is the marine life in Moorea.

The water in Moorea
Water in Moorea’s lagoon
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Street Art in Tahiti

Tahiti is an island of bounty: amply stocked stores and restaurants, friendly people, and flocks of chickens and roosters. The street art in Tahiti colors the city of Papeete with beauty.

Super colorful wall in Papeete
Super colorful wall in Papeete

Enjoying Our Time in Papeete

We thought we’d be in Papeete for a week or so to get some chores done, but boat work is taking longer than expected. At first, we took Papeete on foot, but after a few days we rented bikes which make it easier to cover more territory, run errands, and stop to photograph the street art in Tahiti.

Mural, Tahiti
This beautiful mural is tucked away down an alley

Any way you travel around Papeete, expect to see beautiful murals around most corners. Sometimes you have to duck down alleyways to see the art. I love cities with vibrant street art and it’s one of the unheralded highlights of Papeete!

painted building Street art Tahiti
Super colorful building in Papeete
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Getting Sava Fixed

A trans-Pacific 30 day passage does a lot to a sailboat. Our time in the yard in Tahiti isn’t over! While resolving the known issues, we’ve found more problems with our twenty two year old boat. From sails and rigging to appliances, we’re getting Sava fixed so we can return to the water.

The Reasons We Hauled Out

Sava had water coming in through the stuffing box due to a vibrating engine. So we had to replace the engine mount and stuffing box and realign the prop shaft. We also needed to dry out and rebuild the rudder. After two weeks, we’re making progress on these jobs.

The engine mount is rebuilt and working. The prop shaft was straightened and realigned and is now installed!

Propellor on sailboat Sava
The propellor is improved and reinstalled

The rudder is dried out, refilled with fresh epoxy, and fitted with new rudder shafts. We know everything fits properly and will be reinstalled next week.

rudder on Sava
The rudder was rebuilt, refilled, and coated.
Rudder shaft being fitted
Ensuring the rudder shaft fits!

Sava has one coat of bottom paint and is waiting until just before she is ready to splash for the final coats.

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