TAHITI-MOOREA SAILING RENDEZVOUS- If you're going to throw a big party
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TAHITI-MOOREA SAILING RENDEZVOUS —
I f you're going to throw a big party,
the odds of making it a truly memorable
experience will increase dramatically
if you stage it at a spectacular venue. the west coast of the Americas — a trip in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico and Balboa,
With that in mind, it's no surprise that we like to call the Pacific Puddle Jump. Panama last winter, many of the 50
the seventh annual Tahiti-Moorea Sail- And second, to introduce them to highly boatloads of cruisers who showed up in
ing Rendezvous, held June 22-24, was revered elements of Polynesian culture in Papeete had made special efforts to ar-
a great success. After all, its three days music, dance, sport and cuisine. Sailors rive on time — and for laid-back cruisers,
of events took place on the waterfront of have been voyaging west to these islands arriving anywhere on a particular date
French Polynesia's capital, Papeete; in for generations, but before the creation is a rarity.
the palm-fringed anchorage of Moorea's of the Rendezvous they never received a As fleet members filed into the Ta-
majestic Opunohu Bay; and in the dark- welcome quite like this. hiti Tourism visitors' center to check in
blue channel between the two. After learning about the event dur- Friday afternoon, many renewed friend-
As regular readers know, the Ren- ing our Puddle Jump send-off parties ships that had been established in an-
dezvous has two main chorages thousands of
goals: First, to celebrate miles away, while others
the successful 3,000- met face-to-face for the
mile crossings of fleet first time, having chat-
members who jumped off ted previously via HF
from various points along radio while in the middle
ALL PHOTOS LATITUDE / ANDY
DRUMS, PADDLES & SAILS
grass skirts gyrate their hips from side
to side so fast that you'd swear they
of the ocean. and Opua — two of the most popular were aided by unseen electric motors,
On hand to greet them with souve- end-of-season stopping places for the while their shirtless, hard-bodied male
nir tank tops and swag bags was our majority of westbound sailors. partners knock their knees together in
longtime partner Stephanie Betz, who For us, having flown out
dreamed up the Rendezvous concept rather than sailed, it was a
years ago. In addition to her staff of vicarious thrill to hear all the
young Tahitians, folks from Tahiti Tour- crossing anecdotes: One skip-
ism (a major sponsor) were on hand, per swore he had such stable
wearing bright flower-print shirts and conditions that he'd stayed on
dresses. Staffers from an NGO explained the same tack for nine days
their environmental concerns, while and had barely adjusted a
several New Zealanders described the thing. But another got caught
marine services available in Whangarei in such an enormous system
Left: 'Gypsea Heart' plows through big swells of black squalls and lightning
on the way to Moorea. Spread: Beneath sacred while trying to cross the ITCZ
Mount Rotui, the Killer Rose team (foreground) (Intertropcial Convergence
strokes to victory in the semi-finals. Zone) that he eventually did
an about-face and headed
north for a day or two, just
to get some rest. Mean-
while, boats that had left
the same Mexican port a week or The steady cadence of hardwood drums at the
so earlier had a textbook crossing, starting line reminded competitors that this was
with wind all the way and minimal no ordinary yacht race.
squall action. Our favorite cross- double-time, to the pulsing cadence of
ing story, though, was from Mark hardwood drums and ukuleles.
McClellen and Anne MacDonald of A three-sample tasting of white and
rose wines made on the coral atolls of
the Tuamotus (branded Vin de Tahiti)
They take great pride definitely added to the festive mood.
After the reception, some fleet mem-
in their centuries-old bers took in the eye-popping elegance of
cultural traditions. the Miss Tahiti contest — ooh la la! —
while others enjoyed inexpensive meals
from food trucks (roulettes) on the water-
front, alongside local islanders. The ahi
the Idaho-based Deerfoot 50 Blue brochettes and sashimi were sublime.
Rodeo. Although it had been nearly
two months since they'd stopped at
uninhabited San Benedicto Island,
roughly 300 miles off the Mexican
W hen we arrived in Papeete a
couple of days before the event, the
mainland, they were still giddy with A tasting of Tuamotu-made wines, a blessing
excitement when they explained from a local chieftain, and a high-energy dance
how they'd ridden on the back of a show started things off with style.
playful, 20-ft-wide manta ray.
(We'll share many more cross-
ing tales in our Puddle Jump
Recap article next month.)
T ahitians are spiritual
people, who — even in this age
of Wi-Fi Internet, global tele-
vision, and changing values
elsewhere — take great pride
in their centuries-old cultural
traditions. So it was fitting that
the evening's entertainment
began with a heartfelt blessing
of the fleet by a local chieftain,
followed by a live music and
dance show. You know you're
in Tahiti when young girls in
TAHITI-MOOREA SAILING RENDEZVOUS —
weather forecast didn't look good. Tropi-
cal rainstorms with occasional strong
winds were predicted throughout the this was to be a low-pressure rally, not a The rest of the fleet eventually got headed
weekend. But luckily the prognosticators race. And sure enough, when our friends in the right direction, though, with the
were only half right. Saturday morning Didier and Thierry from the Tahiti Sailing catamarans, naturally, leading the way.
dawned with clear skies, but plenty of Federation sounded the starting horn, It proved to be a rough and rowdy cross-
wind for a spirited crossing to Moorea only two boats were anywhere near the ing, with lumpy seas and 20-28 knots
(about 16 miles). start line — the Bradford family's San of breeze. Line honors went to Colin
At the skipper's meeting the previous Francisco-based Cal 43 Convivia and the Dykstra's Toronto-based Atlantic 55 cat
afternoon there seemed to be a universal New Zealand-based Farr 44 Cuttyhunk, Segue, followed by the first monohull,
sigh of relief when we emphasized that owned by Irene Hayward and Chris Platt. Matt and Jean Findlay's Southampton-
ALL PHOTOS LATITUDE / ANDY EXCEPT AS NOTED
JULIE TURPIN
Page 104 • Latitude 38 • August, 2012
DRUMS, PADDLES & SAILS
weight-lifting massive stones (few were
successful); racing through the palm
based Beneteau 57 Superted V. many parts of these islands the views are grove carrying staffs laden with stalks
That afternoon competitors swapped so stunningly beautiful it's tough to de- of bananas (the ancient fruit carrier's
crossing tales over rum punch — made cide which way to point your camera. race); husking, then carving the meat out
with island-grown tropical fruit — and of coconuts; and pulling on a hawser in
soaked in the beauty of the craggy, volca-
no-formed mountains that tower over the
bay and the lush, tropical lowlands that
S undays at the Rendezvous are al-
ways dedicated to traditional Polynesian
the apparently universal contest we call
tug of war.
As in years past, though, the biggest
surround the turquoise lagoon where the sports. Throughout the day, cruisers thrills for contestants and onlookers
fleet was anchored. As we often say, in got to test their strength and agility by alike were during the six-person outrig-
Clockwise from upper left: An all-girl team revs up to race; Rani learns to
weave palm fronds; Victoria gets a dance lesson; Yoshi runs the fruit car-
rier's race; Bill and ShantiAnna sample Polynesian cuisine; lovely Moorea
ladies show us how it's done; fleet members gather for Friday's festivities;
Leanne prepares to tack aboard 'Red Sky'; 'Charisma' crosses the line in a
near photo-finish with 'Cest la Vie'; furling the 'Condessa's genoa.
August, 2012 • Latitude 38 • Page 105
TAHITI-MOOREA SAILING RENDEZVOUS
ger canoe races. With two asterisk.
or more cruising boats pro-
viding paddlers for each of
sixteen teams, a round-robin
elimination was detailed on
T hat afternoon during
the final dance show the
the notice board. (Tahitian visiting cruisers got another
paddlers filled in the bow and up-close look at this age-
stern positions, so the ca- old Polynesian art form,
*** PHOTO CREDIT ***
noes didn't end up in Fiji.) and were given a chance
Sprints of roughly 150 to swing their own hips as
yards were run throughout well.
the morning. Later, after a At the prize giving, our
break for a bountiful Polyne- partner Stephanie thanked
sian Maa luncheon — which all who attended for mak-
included fish, chicken, pork, ing the effort, and they re-
and a variety of local fruits and veggies It's a beautiful thing to see age-old cultural sponded by cheering her and her team
— it was time for the semis, then the traditions handed down from generation to for their hard work in organizing it. As a
finals. generation. memento of the weekend, each boat was
We learned an important lesson dur- den a crewman (who shall remain name- given a finely polished clam shell with the
ing that final two-boat race: Even though less) from the competing team — what Rendezvous' distinctive logo etched into
this was all just for fun, we really should was it, Hunkywater? — grabbed hold of it. Representing Latitude 38, this writer
have declared some rules beforehand! As Killer Rose's outrigger and used his grip closed by saying, "These shells make a
the two teams paddled side-by-side in a to catapult his boat into the lead. The nice souvenir, but I think you'll agree
frenzied rush toward the finish line, team Tahitian observers rolled their eyes and that the best prize is simply being here
Killer Rose (with crew from Colorado- laughed, then confirmed, "No, of course in this beautiful place. No doubt you all
based The Rose and Washington-based that's not allowed." But in the spirit of know dozens of sailors who would love
Orcinius aboard) were beginning to ex- keeping things loose and uncomplicated to be in your shoes right now!"
tend their small lead when all of a sud- we let the victory stand, albeit with an — latitude/andy
Page 106 • Latitude 38 • August, 2012
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