TAHITI-MOOREA SAILING RENDEZ-VOUS

TAHITI-MOOREA SAILING RENDEZ-VOUS —What fun is completing a majoraccomplishment, if you don't take timeto celebrate?As if to answer that very question, 11years ago our friends in Tahiti createdWhen asked to dance by a beautiful Tahitian,Allen Valkie of the Wisconsin-based Leopard40 cat 'Nauti-Nauti' didn't hesitate.the annual Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendez-vous, which has the dual purposeof welcoming the newly arrived fleet ofinternational cruisers — which we callPacific Puddle Jumpers — and introducing them to time-honored Polynesiancultural traditions in music, dance, sportand cuisine.This year's event, June 24-26, was thebiggest ever, drawing 66 cruising boatsfrom nine countries, with roughly 200salty sailors participating, including acouple dozen kids.Ever since we coined the phrase Pacific Puddle Jump two decades ago, we'vededicated lots of effort and ink to reporting on this annual westward migration ofcruisers, as we consider the 3,000-milenonstop passage from Mexico to the Marquesas — or 4,000 from Panama — to beALL PHOTOS LATITUDE / ANDYNeil and Jeanette Hay's Freemantle, Australiabased Beneteau 47 'Echo Echo' sails intoCook's Bay under cloudy skies.a pretty big deal. At our annual sendoffparties every March in Mexico (at theVallarta YC) and Panama (at both theBalboa YC and the Shelter Island Marina), we'realways fascinated tomeet these adventurousoffshore sailors. Andwe're always amazedby the diversity of theirbackgrounds. This yearseveral were on theirsecond lap around theplanet, while others hadjust bought their boatsa few months earlier.But they all seemed toshare a deep fascinationwith the South Pacificislands that they wereabout to explore — especially the storied islesof French Polynesia.As in the past, thisyear's Rendez-vous began in downtown Papeete Friday afternoonin the plaza outside theTahiti Tourisme office,a stone's throw fromthe city's one-year-oldmarina.After months spentat sea and in the company of only a few otherboat crews, many oldfriends had fun getting reconnected,while new acquaintances comparedcrossing tales. Meanwhile, event partners from New Zealand, Australia andFiji set up information tables in theadjoining garden. They'd flown in specifically to educate fleet members aboutthe attractions of their home waters,including info on long-term berthing,repair services, immigration formalitiesand inland touring.Our longtimeRendez-vous partnerStephanie Betz —who dreamed up theRendez-vous conceptyears ago — kickedoff the afternoon'sactivities with an impressively detailedchart briefing oncruising Tahiti, itssister island, Moorea,and the five islandsof the Leewards:Raiatea, Taha'a, Huahine, Bora Bora andMaupiti. Not only has she sailed thesewaters for 20 years, but her company,Archipelagoes, is tasked with keepinglocal charts up to date for the bareboatcharter companies. So her attentive audience members were scribbling notesas fast as they could.We helped out by explaining the ultrasimple starting sequence for the nextday's 15-mile rally/race to Moorea's majestic Cook's Bay. Since few in the fleetwere diehard racers — and all of themwere sailing their 'houses' — we assuredthem the starting line would be long andthe start time would be obvious: "Whenwe say, 'Go!' on the VHF."Fleet members then assembled inthe adjoining garden, where they werewarmly welcomed by Minister of Tourism Jean-Christophe Bouissou. Director

A WELL-EARNED CELEBRATIONof Tahiti Tourisme Paul Sloan and themayors of Papeete and Moorea were alsoin attendance, leading us to believe theyrecognize that visiting cruisers comprisean important niche in their tourismeconomy.After a large, heavily tattooed dancetroupe from the Marquesas appeared, allthe skippers and first mates were calledup for a traditional blessing of the fleetby the group's chieftain — in Marquesandialect. We had no idea what he wassaying, of course, but by the intensity ofhis delivery we knew his sentiment wasdeadly serious.The music and dance show that followed was both beautiful and sensual.And by the enthusiasm of the cruisersin attendance, we could tell this wasprobably their very first exposure to oneof Polynesia's most highly revered traditions. A cocktail party followed, featuringwines made from grapes grown on theatolls of the Tuamotus.Thanks to the influence of ElLeft: The Mexico-based crew of 'Avatar' wasthrilled to enter Cook's Bay. Below: Paddlesup and ready to rock. Right: Puddle Jumpersrecord the moment on the lawn of the Bali Hai.Niño, and per haps other factors, this year'sfleet experiencedmore than theusual amount ofsqually, unsettled weather, inaddition to occasional calms, ontheir passagesfrom the West Coast of the Americas.It was a bitter irony that while severalboats missed the event because theywere held up in the Tuamotus (250miles away) by rough weather, in Tahiti"We're just thrilled thatyou've brought us to thisamazing place."the trade winds shut down almost completely prior to Saturday's scheduledrace/rally to Moorea.With less than five knots of breezeblowing at the appointed start time, wereluctantly instituted a 'rolling start',With extra muscle provided by Tahitian hosts,Kiwi and Fijian partners paddled to a hardearned victory in the final heat.where all boats were allowed to motordown the rhumbline until the breezefilled in. Sadly, it never did, except undera few small squalls, so an hour and a halflater we officially canceled the race — afirst in the Rendez-vous' history.No one seemed to care in the least,though. As one skipper put it, "Who caresabout racing? We're just thrilled thatyou've brought us to this amazing place."Cook's Bay really is breathtakinglybeautiful — in any weather. And wecouldn't have a better partner there thanthe Club Bali Hai Hotel, which lies rightalong the edge of the anchorage. FormerSouthern Californian Jay Carlisle andtwo buddies bought and developed itmany years ago and, being a sailor him-self, Jay is always thrilled to meet ourwell-traveled fleet and hear about theiradventures.After a few hours of playing andrelaxing in the anchorage, fleet members came ashore in the late afternoonto schmooze over cocktails. Then theevent's various South Pacific partnerseach gave 10-minute presentationsabout their home waters that were sopacked with useful, up-to-date info thatAugust, 2016 Latitude 38 Page 79

TAHITI-MOOREA SAILING RENDEZ-VOUS —many sailors probably wished they'drecorded it.Dinner was served afterward, and astwilight set in a fantastic dance troupearrived to entertain the sailors with aseries of exotic dances, accompanied, ofcourse, by ukuleles, hardwood drumsand singing. The finale was a group ofbare-chested fire dancers who dazzledthe crowd with their seemingly dangerous antics.Not long after dawn on Sunday,a member of the event staff went fromboat to boat in the anchorage, quietlydropping fresh baguettes in each cockpit. It was an impressive gesture, andthroughly French.Traditional Polynesian sports werethe main focus of Sunday's activities,Page 80 Latitude 38 August, 2016and most fleet members were eager toparticipate. The highlight, as always, wasa series of six-person outrigger canoeraces staged on the lagoon, right in frontof the Bali Hai. Although few of thesesailors had ever paddled an outriggerbefore, 40 teams signed up to compete ina round robin-style elimination. The localcanoe club lined up five brightly paintedcanoes on the beach and gave the eagercruisers a quickie paddling lesson inboth French and English. With an accomplished Tahitian paddler in the frontposition 'calling tactics' and another inthe stern seat steering, the four middleseats were taken by paddlers of all agesand physiques.As the non-racers cheered from thewaterside deck of the Bali Hai, the high-Rijnhard Keet of the Roberts 55 'Enchanter'poses with Miss Moorea. Every skipper got anetched and polished clam shell as a memento.energy battles began. Each heat tookthe armada of canoes roughly 100 yardsdown the lagoon, around a buoy andback again. It became obvious during thefirst heat that turning on a dime is not

A WELL-EARNED CELEBRATIONALL PHOTOS LATITUDE / ANDY EXCEPT AS NOTEDan option in a 30-ft outrigger. Gainingan advantage had almost as much to dowith how you rounded the turning markas with muscle and paddling technique.In the end, a combined team of Kiwiand Fijian event partners took top honors. But it's probably fair to say that every paddler was glad to have given it theirbest effort, especially since it would behard to find a race course more dramaticthan this one — surrounded by jagged,volcano-formed peaks — anywhere onthe planet.Our old friend Mako was on hand toguide the foreign sailors through otheractivities on the lawn of the Bali Hai. Anaffable bear of a man, he would be intimidating by his size if he wasn't so friendlyand funny: "Years ago Tahitians used toeat white people. But not anymore. Toomuch cholesterol."He and a gentle Tahitian namedJordan oversaw other traditional sportscompetitions including stone lifting, tugof war, coconut husking and the ancientfruit-carrier's race. When Tahitians dothis, each competitor runs around acourse carrying a heavy wooden polewith a huge stock of bananas tied to theeach end. But our hosts gave the visitingcruisers a break: the poles they carriedwere skinny and relatively light, withClockwise from upper left: Cruiser kids won the tug of war; the music and dance troupe was stellar;the largest fleet you'll ever see in Cook's Bay; sampling 'poisson cru'; a cruiser kid shoulders thelifting stone; the fruit-carriers race; playing with fire.only a couple of coconuts tied to eachend. Rather than asking them to run along distance, each member of a fourperson team ran a short lap, then handed off their cargo as if passing a baton ina traditional relay race. Sounds simpleenough, right? But it always turns outto be hilarious, as competitors stumble,drop their poles, or simply run out ofsteam. All in all, these games are alwaysgreat fun, and most who attend theRendez-vous are inspired to participate.By the middle of the day manysailors had worked up an appetite, whichwas a good thing because our hosts hadprepared a traditional Tahitian luncheonthat introduced them to a wide varietyof favorite Polynesian dishes includingsashimi, poisson cru (a sort of Polyne-August, 2016 Latitude 38 Page 81