Raiatea

Aug 4, Raiatea, town dock

Ir is a cloudy, windy, rainy day when we leave our lovely anchorage and move to Utoroa  it is only  few miles inside the reef so we don;t bother with sails.  We are looking for the anchorage when we spot the masts of lots of boats apparently tied up in a marina.  It is the town dock that we have been hearing about on the net.  Luckily we had gotten out the fenders and mooring lines.  There is a concrete wharf with a couple of piers running out to create a partially enclosed harbor.  Unfortunately the really protected part is reserved for the local tour/dive boats.  The dock is lined with sailboats but there is one space left if we can just get into it with this wind blowing.  Cruisers come out to grab lines,  Alan back and forths as if he is parallel parking and eventually we are securely tied.    The wind is blowing hard and pushing us against the dock and we get out every single fender we have.  We had purchased 4 square, inflatable fenders and never used them.  Now they come out of their stowage spots, one by one.  They are wonderful.  Blow up with just a few breaths, strong, straps on all 4 corners to tie on.  eventually we have 8 fenders between us and the dock.  Over the next 4 days wind gusts hit 30 knots.  We are not going anywhere.  What a difference to just step off the boat onto a dock, without having to get out the dingy.  It is interesting to contrast Rhapsody with her low freeboard to other boats.  We can just step on and off easily.  Others have to clamber over railings and canvas and up and down slippery steps.

Other boats are dealing with mechanical problems.  People’s visas are all running out and they need to go to the gendarme to get an extension which requires several hours and lots of paperwork.  One boat has signed out and back in again 3 times because of mechanical and weather problems.  We spend several days here with wind and rain.  We spend the time exploring the town, using the wifi, shopping and visiting other boats.  This is the second biggest town in the islands and it is just one street about 10 blocks long and 4 marinas and an airport.

Eventually the wind drops a little and the boat behind us takes off.  This allows us to back up and get a better angle to leave.  our first try at leaving is unsuccessful.  The wind just pushes us back into the dock.  Eventually we round up friends and put them each on a rope.  A rope is run from the stern to a forward cleat on short and the other lines are cast off as Alan puts it in reverse.  The nose swings out as those ashore pull on the stern line and finally we have a good enough angle to go.  He puts otto forward and guns the motor.  Those ashore drop the lines and we are off.