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Misto - Days 123-129: Bora Bora, cyclone Ella and eagle rays



Bora Bora is the quintessential South Pacific Island. The image is of a sparkling turquoise lagoon, steep green hills and hotels with thatched bungalows built on stilts over the water. We arrived on May 9 after a rolly passage from Raitea as the weather was already being influenced by the tropical depression that was to develop into cyclone Ella. The weather also meant that the mooring field of the Mai Kai marina was very bumpy and so we sought refuge around the corner to the north at the Bora Bora yacht club which was considerably more sheltered. The weather pattern continued to be unsettled so we decided to stay put on our mooring ball for a few days.

We rented a car with Andrew from Laura Dawn and circled the island - its only about 31 km! It became clear that the beauty of the island really is in the lagoon, as the island, although pretty, did not have the stunning beauty of islands like Huahine, in our opinion. We did find a tiny maritime museum full of beautiful replicas of historical ships, all the work of its French owner.

It was great to get together with all the other crews at the Rendezvous on May 12 and we had great fun at the dinghy race the following day. For the next leg the fleet is split in two as there is insufficient space at Suwarrow for all of us and so as we are in the second start we departed for the south of Bora Bora on May 14. We traced our way around the lagoon and through some pretty shallow patches past multiple thatched bungalow hotels. The chart was not particularly accurate and we think that much of the coral close to the hotels has been destroyed during building, or removed to give better water access. We were rewarded by a beautiful turquoise anchorage at Moto Piti Aau. There are supposed to be eagle rays close by off Pointe Faroone and so we set off in search of them. We were rewarded with sightings of a group of three and then a group of four eagle rays. They resembled cartoon character jumbo jets as they floated lazily through the water. This was certainly a fantastic reward for taking the time to go south.

The next day we stopped at a snorkeling spot where manta rays are sometimes seen. Alas no manta rays, but plenty of fish and very healthy coral. Returning to Mai Kai marina we hoped to take a mooring there for our last night but as it was full we again went to the Bora Bora yacht club. Tomorrow we depart for Suwarrow.

The Society Islands have been a wonderful experience. We probably liked the unspoiled beauty of Huahine most of all, but all the islands have provided amazing memories. The people have been welcoming and the scenery stunning.

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