Today we were supposed to be in Rangiroa, a flat Atoll north of the main island chain of the Society Islands. So after a windy day in Moorea we set sail for this Rangiroa. The Weather forecast had given us a little bit of hope with indicating that the Northerly wind would veer to the East and drop to 10 knots, and the subsequent seas would diminish to a meter.  The seas would not be a problem, as the anchorage for Rangiroa is inside the reef and thus the swell would be stopped by the reef. The wind was going to be the challenge. Anything over 15 knots would be an issue, as the ship towering high above the reef (only having a max. height 15 feet), would catch all the wind. Thus we hoped that the weather forecast was going to be right. Continue reading

As I knew it was going to be a bouncy day in the bay, I wanted to be there as early as possible. So we aimed for 06.15 at the entrance of the bay, just an hour after sunrise when it was certain that the whole bay was going to be clearly visible in the daylight.

The top bay is Capt. Cooks Bay, the one below Opunoha Bay. (Courtesy from Internet)

Our initial schedule called to anchor in Captain Cook’s bay, but we were informed that the tender dock and the road leading towards it were under re-construction.  So the best option was to go next door to Opunoha Bay.  Both bays are identical anyway so it does not make any difference. However the pilot advised that with the current wind, still from the wrong direction, Opunoha Bay was a better choice. So off we went, sailed out of Papeete and with a wide turn North/West and then South, lining up for the entrance in the reef. By 06.45 we were at anchor and then the invasion of Moorea could start.

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We all had a quiet night without being bounced around, while outside the wind was raging. During the night we had several heavy rain showers that came over with the wind. The officer of the watch could see the wind coming in, as it increased the swell surging over the reef that marks the boundary of the port. The French call these wind gusts: Rafales. I am following the local weather forecast in French at the moment as it gives a better view of what happens around the island than the deep sea forecasts we normally work with. It does not necessary make the weather better, but it gives more up-to-date detail. So today most of the morning was taken up with scrutinizing these weather forecasts as tomorrow it will all depend on the wind angle on how much shelter we will have in the bay. Continue reading

As you can see from the title, things did not go as planned. I arrived on the bridge at 05.45 and came face to face with a very unhappy Officer of the Watch. The wind had not shifted to the North West. It was still North East and blowing 25 to 30 knots, while we were 4 miles from the entrance through the reef. Shortly after the pilot arrived on the bridge and he was not very happy either. This was not going to work. Uturoa is located on the East of the mountain that makes up most of Raiatea. To get to there you have to enter a small gap in the reef of about 300 feet wide (the Statendam is 105 feet wide) then a sharp turn to starboard and then sail through a narrow passage towards the dock. Here there is a turning basin of about a 1000 feet where you swing around to dock starboard side alongside.  If that does not work you can let yourself blow against the dock with a portside docking and if that is too dangerous you can sail on and leave Raiatea through a passage at the North West side of the island. But to do this all, you either need wind from the North West so you are sheltered by the large mountain, or you need very lights winds, if from other directions.  30 knots is not light winds. Continue reading

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. Continue reading

I was not a happy camper when the bridge called me in the early morning. During the night it had been raining heavily in the distance, with a few good showers coming over the ship as well; and at sunrise it blew hard. Well over 30 knots with long ocean rollers coming in from the south. That was not what the weather forecast had been predicting.  The weather charts were however quite good in showing what was currently going on. A large storm system moving from West to East along the edge of Antarctica had been intensifying and had pushed the counter flow of air, between the screaming fifties area as they call it  and the normally less windy Bora Bora area higher up. So far up that this flow lay fully over the islands itself with 25 knots of winds, gusting to 30 and lots of rain coming with it.  Luckily the anchorage area inside is fairly sheltered so I was not too worried about getting in, but it was not going to be a”silent south sea” day for the guests, let alone a sunny one. Continue reading

Today was a quiet day at sea, with the weather reflecting what we are used to in the Caribbean. Easterly winds fluctuating between 10 and 20 knots, especially later in the day with towering rain showers generated by the warm air uptake above the warm sea water and then condensating higher up.  So we had a good amount of showers coming over and later in the evening some spectacular fireworks by colliding thunder storms in the distance. The weather forecast for tomorrow in Bora Bora still looks good with only rain expected during the night between the two days that we are there. With the relative proximity of Antarctica that can change very quickly, but there is no indication that the weather guru’s are concerned that the moment. Continue reading

Today we had the first of the two 06 Decembers, in order to get back on the Western Hemisphere Calendar. We had to lose a day to get in tune with Fanning Island and now we have to double a day to get back in tune with the rest of the world.  E.g. the rest of the world which we will visit during this cruise.  Jumping a day is much more painless than an hour forward as you really do not notice it. Everything remains the same, only the daily program has a different date on it and the folks at home might get confused as you talk about Wednesday and they still live on Tuesday. You can also see it on my blog, just look at the date number in the grey block. I upload my blog everyday at the same time, and the day numbering has gone completely haywire.  Who says cruising is boring?? Continue reading

At 05.00 in the morning Fanning Island appeared on the radar, something we had not expected as the island is very low. However we then deducted that it had to do with the density of the trees on the island ring. The chart indicated “dense forest”, but what is dense?  A few palm trees with shrubbery or dense jungle; no idea, the sailing directions and the chart were not very clear. After sunrise we realized that dense in this case meant dense as in Jungle-dense.  The trees on the island are very closely grouped together and that produced a clear reflection on the radar. We approached from the north, sailed by via the west side staying about 2 miles clear and in 2,000 feet of water.  North of the island it was blowing 30 knots and thus we already knew we would be at the mercy of the wind and swell and the angle under which it would hit the island on the south side. All preparation started as normal. Tenders were prepared, the tender platforms taken out of their deep sea- safe locking position and the sb anchor walked out as a failsafe in case something would happen to the ships propulsion while I was slowly moving near the shore. Continue reading

So we made the hop over December 3 and landed safely on December 4^th. The lights did not go out, the bridge computers did not stop, the sun still rose in the East and the GPS told us that we were still going in the right direction. Tonight the guests will get the date line certificate in their cabin, giving them proof that they really did it. Later on there will be a certificate for the crossing of the equator. That crossing we will do both ways as well and eventually we will sail East and then North East back towards San Diego. The dateline crossing also did not make any difference to the weather, this morning it breezed up to wind force 6, as was indicated on the weather chart of December 3^rd. The weather sites that I use on the internet are mainly from the USA and Europe and thus I have to keep an eye on the correct date. Normally with planning a cruise, I am always days ahead of everybody; now during the coming few days, I will be a day behind everybody, at least as far as the weather is concerned. Continue reading