Location 18° 55S, 149° 11W
Tuesday 12:00, 08.07.2007

At noon on August 7th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 18° 55S, 149° 11W, or about 72 NM from Tahiti. We have come 2633 NM from Opua, NZ. We are booming along at nine knots in a 15 knot SE'erly trade wind. As I write this at 1500, we have spotted the first glimpse of land in the distance.

We should come up to Tahiti at an hour or so after sunset, not a great time to work our way into an unknown harbor full of coral reefs. Our current plan is to shelter at anchor for the night at Baie de Popoti, a small bay that makes is an opening in the barrier reef. It should be protected from the breeze, but the Admiralty Guide says that the swell can work its way in. If it isn't a suitable anchorage, we'll just head out and stand off until morning. Popoti is about 10 NM South of Passe Taapuni, the complex entrance we will use to get to the Marina.

Our friends in Papeete have suggested a new marina a little south of the airport and a bit out of town. The Yacht Club is nearby, which is another possibility. The traditional favorite is Quai Bir-Hakeim, which is right at the forefront of town. We'll workout which is the right balance of security, fun, and access.

While I think of Tahiti as an un-Polynesian metroplolis full of noise, cheap tourism shops, dirt, gangs, and shiny office buildings, it is impossible not to also think of it in context of being the absolute goal of so many dreamers, many of whom came out, think Fletcher Christian and Gauguin, and the millions who never made it. We will find our own Tahiti.

All is well.

something to say?