E-biking around Huahine.

“Everything happens for a reason”, Jan kept assuring us, in an upbeat attempt to console both my feverish Captain and himself as we were navigating this obstacle course of sudden health issues and technical concerns . In fact, if it hadn’t been for our broken spreader, we wouldn’t have discovered the dangerously chafed pin in our forestay—something Emilien, the rigger in Papeete, pointed out with the dramatic words: “You were about to lose your mast.” He expertly secured the forestay, repaired the broken spreader as best he could, and then sent us on our way to Raiatea with a few more words of caution: “Go easy on hoisting the sails. Avoid overstressing the mast, especially on a broad starboard tack or downwind sail. I patched it all up, but you can’t sail to Tonga like this. You’ll need a brand-new replacement, and here are the coordinates of the guy you need to call—with my blessing. Good luck.”

In the meantime, we have received confirmation of availability from our guy in Raiatea where a brand-new spreader set should be arriving from the U.S. by the end of this month, ( which is amazingly fast, considering France – the usual spare parts partner for French Polynesia- is off-grid and on holiday until the end of September, so we’ve been told. Never underestimate the French)

Thankfully, mild wind conditions allowed for an uneventful one-night, half-day motorsail to Huahine, which lies 27 nautical miles east of Raiatea. Huahine is another laid- back Polynesian haven and proved to be a great place to explore by e-bike. It was also a fitting end to this rather challenging holiday for Jan before he hopped on the ferry back to Papeete and home. In spite of all the setbacks (a serious bout of covid for My Captain, O2 badly in need of attention, a whale watching outing on a nearly capsizing motorized little sloop as Jan &I got caught in a windy downpour, getting stuck on dying coral heads with the dinghy, fickle wind unfit for kiting) he kept the good spirits up. He enthusiastically went with the flow like a true mariner. Thanks for being such a good sport, Jan.