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Blue Pearl - Back in Tahiti



Our cruising life is full of surprises. Last time I reported on our wonderful time in the Society Islands and our upcoming visit to Bora Bora, the last island of this island group included in our itinerary. And now, unexpectedly, Blue Pearl is back at the dock in Tahiti awaiting arrival of a replacement part for our generator from the US.

Our generator had started to malfunction and the nearest place for repairs to be made was Tahiti, so here we are. The sail back from Bora Bora to Tahiti was interesting. It was a nice windy night so we happily sailed along, we didn't have the generator to charge our batteries when the time came but we did have the boat engine which could do the same thing.. Or so we thought..! When the time came to charge and we turned the engine on the alternator (the thing that charges the batteries) did not function..! So now the batteries, which we needed for the auto pilot, the navigation system, and anything else electric would soon run out of "juice".

So, we sailed the old-fashioned way. We turned all the electric equipment off, hand steered the boat and used the compass to find our way to Tahiti. And it worked, when we approached Tahiti we had sufficient battery power left to turn the navigation systems back on and negotiate the always tricky "cuts" through the reef surrounding the island.

Here we are back at the dock in Tahiti and it looks like we will be here for a few more days. The part we need hasn't arrived yet and we just learned that the customs and immigration office will be closed from tomorrow 2.00pm through Monday (another Monday holiday in Tahiti). So, it looks like a Tuesday or Wednesday departure. Fortunately this is not a bad place to hang out.

Captain Ruud.

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