Sailing in Tahiti - Tricky?

[abnav]

My family is planning on bare-boating in Tahiti for two weeks in August 2008.
Our most recent charter experience in Belize was certainly fun, but extremely challenging. The charts of the area were pretty bad, and there are about a million tiny mangrove islands which made it difficult to tell where we were (my elders are not so good with the boat's GPS), on top of that there are extreme shallows in many areas.

While I love bare-boating I am also an avid coral reef lover and environmentalist and really worry about making mistakes and running the boat into coral. Has anyone found bare-boating in Tahiti to be challenging? I'm a little nervous that we may run into the same issues there that we did in Belize.

Thanks.

[3700 Owner]

Abnav,
We bareboated in Tahiti in 2005 had a great time. The entrances through the coral reefs are well marked for the islands that we visited. We went to Bora-Bora, Tahaa, and Raiatea. We went in May and had several heavy rainstorms. The passage back from Bora-Bora to Tahaa was interesting with 25 knot winds, 8 to 10 foot seas and rain. August may be a bit more tame. You should not have any difficulty navigating as the reefs are relatively easy to see with the very clear water. Make sure to visit Bloody Mary's in Bora-Bora and Marina Iti in Tahaa. Great restaurants and anchorages.

[micoverde]

We cruised in Polynesia for most of the year in 2005 and chartered in 2001 via Stardust. No sweat whatsoever! The French charts are some of the best in the world - I used the ones the charter company gave us when we went through on our own keel!

[Kanani]

The only experience that I had with charter boats in French Polynesia was that they kept dragging into me in the middle of the night.

Practice up on your anchoring......

The rest is a "Breeze"....

[micoverde]

And please be kind to cruisers by not putting out 10:1 scope in 10 kts of wind.

[abnav]

Great!
Thanks for all of the information everyone!
Sounds like we should have an easier time than I originally thought.

[JonP]

We are hoping to do something similar next year, but for 2 mths, and would really like to hear about your experience, and how you went about setting it up etc. We are a family of 5 children, and I would also like to know if you have any better ideas.