The Stuff of Dreams

This passage was going to be special. Not because it was long – only 240 miles – nor were we expecting any particular challenges.

It would, however, be the first that Sharon and I would be undertaking as a couple, just the two of us. While we’ve done quite a bit of day-sailing together, all our previous overnight ocean trips have included either Shawn or Dale on board.

With just the two of us, we each stand 3-hour stints on night watch while the other sleeps. Two shifts per night.  That means we eat early, and I try to be in bed by 7 pm – never easy. But knowing that I’ll be woken-up at 10 is good motivation. Then Sharon hits the hay until the start of her second shift at 1 am. And, so on.

Initially, we thought we might only be out for one night.  The wind was perfect for Turtlebones to make 200 miles over the first 24 hours.  But after five or six hours of romping along at a healthy 9 knots, the wind dropped precipitously to just a whisper. Since the change was in line with the forecast, which also called for the winds to resume, albeit lighter and from almost directly astern, we settled back resigning ourselves to spending two nights at sea.

As the winds filled in just before sunset, we reduced sail in order to keep a pace that would ensure a daylight arrival. Since every landfall is new to us, we never like to arrive in the dark, particularly in these reef-surrounded islands where a small miscalculation can have such catastrophic consequences.  

Turtlebones is a relatively fast boat, so slowing her down to the requisite 5 knots necessitates an almost absurd sail configuration in 15 knots of wind – triple reefed main and no headsail. It’s an odd sight, a tiny little mainsail, probably smaller than the one on my J24, pushing such a large boat.

The destination was the other big reason we were both anticipating this passage so much.

Tahiti! The fabled name conjures up visions, embedded from childhood, of an exotic tropical paradise. A majestic mountainous island fringed by sand beaches and swaying palms.  

Moorea and Bora Bora – her sisters in the Society Islands – share the same undeniable ‘mystique’.

Not being a ‘morning person’, normally, I’d be dragging myself out of bed for the start of my 4 am watch. But the excitement of making landfall in Tahiti wiped away all weariness. Adrenalin; such a glorious thing.

Sure enough, the faint glow, barely noticeable in the distance, when I’d stumbled off to bed 3 hours earlier was now much brighter. Lying low, just above the horizon, discernible pockets of twinkling lights were visible. Tahiti seemed to be beckoning our arrival.