Raiatea & Taha’a

Raiatea and Taha’a are the big sister and little sister islands of French Polynesia. They share a lagoon. Raiatea is the second largest of the Society Islands. We visited them twice—once on our sail west and again on the way back east to Tahiti.  

The common story about these islands is their role as the “birthplace of Polynesian culture.” What doesn’t get mentioned is their role as the heart of Polynesian resistance to French colonialism. That resistance came to an end in 1897 when three French warships showed up, killed a bunch of locals, and hauled Queen Mamai and Chief Teraupo’o—along with 200 of their followers—off into exile in New Caledonia. The event made the New York Times.  

Perhaps this explains the “vibe” of these islands. Pam describes it as an “edginess” that you don’t find elsewhere in the country. Not a bad vibe—just different. We liked it.  

The kids were with us the first time we visited. We arrived after a short daysail from Huahine. They had kite surfing lessons booked, but the wind didn’t cooperate. Instead, they worked on their foiling skills, getting towed around by their coach, Marie, from Kite & Wing Spirit School.  

We spent the week driving our rental diesel truck around checking out the sights and restaurants of Raiatea and enjoying the unusually light winds. When it was time for the kids to leave, they flew out of Raiatea, back to Los Angeles via Tahiti. The day they left, a strong southeasterly maramu wind filled in and blew hard for the next two weeks. Sharing this adventure with them for two weeks was a highlight of the season.  

Looking for a break from the wind, we sailed over to Taha’a and explored a few anchorages. We found some interesting sights and snorkeling spots. You can see Bora Bora in the distance from most of the anchorages on the western side of these islands. The lure of it was too much, so we left and sailed west to Bora Bora.  

We returned to Raiatea in early September, making the short 30nm daysail over from Bora Bora. This time, we took a more deliberate approach. We mostly circumnavigated Raiatea, stopping every other night or so in a new spot. Most of the annual yacht migration had moved on, continuing west to Tonga and Fiji. We had many anchorages to ourselves as we worked our way back east. 

Some cruising sailors find a place they like and stay for weeks or months (and some basically homestead and never leave). Our groove seems to be spending a few nights in one spot and then moving on. That was how we approached Raiatea the second time through.  

If you decide to charter a boat in the South Pacific, Raiatea is where you’ll start. Most of the charter companies are based here—Dream Yachts, Moorings, Sunsail, and many smaller, boutique operations. The island’s infrastructure has evolved accordingly. Provisioning is easy. There are two full-service boatyards and plenty of mechanics and technicians. Many of the coves and bays still have moorings available for free if they’re vacant.  

Trash remains a challenge, though. Fortunately, the mooring we rented from the city included trash drop-off privileges. We had to carry a copy of our mooring permit and receipt to prove to the security guard at the trash facility that we were legit. You know trash is a big deal when the trash facility has its own security.

We’ll visit one more time on our way out of French Polynesia for points west. Likely in May 2025. We will look forward to it.

A Few Photos:

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Daily updates from our PredictWind log:

Raiatea – To’a Maro Pass

Wed Sep 04 2024 20:16:00 GMT-0700 (Pacific Daylight Time)

16 50.746s 151 29.188w

All is well. We are presently anchored just inside To’a Maro Pass on the southwest side of Raiatea. We enjoyed a fast upwind beat from Bora Bora in 22 knots of breeze and 5’ seas with a reefed main and full Solent. Full daggers.

4 other boats here in this small, remote anchorage. Already met two of them. Dinner ashore tonight at Fare Vainui restaurant nearby.

—Jim

Raiatea – Baie Tuatau

Fri Sep 06 2024 15:48:00 GMT-0700 (Pacific Daylight Time)

16 54.287s 151 25.741w

All is well. We are presently hanging off the sole mooring in Tuatau Bay across from Motu Nao Nao. We motored around the west side to the south side of the island.

Wind 20 knots from the east but it is nice a calm here in the bay.

It was absolutely howling all night back in our last spot. Gusts to 34 knots all night. The wind seemed to get funneled through a gap in the mountains. But there was a great restaurant there and some good snorkeling right off the boat.

—Jim

Raiatea – Baie Hotopu’u

Sun Sep 08 2024 17:20:00 GMT-0700 (Pacific Daylight Time)

16 52.446s 151 21.699w

All is well. After a morning rain shower we left Tuatau Bay and motored around the southern end of Raiatea and up to a mooring in Hotopu’u Bay. It’s still breezy at 15-20 knots from the east. We will be visiting one of the largest and best preserved Polynesian “maraes” tomorrow. Taputapuarea.

—Jim