Hurricane Marina on Tahiti or in French Polynesia?

[carstenb]

hi all,

we are trying to find a hurricane hole marina for ourselves for the coming season somewhere in French Polynesia. Prefer Tahiti but other places ok.

we have looked at Phaeton Bay but they can only take boats with a 2 meter draft - we are 2.1 meters

any suggestions??

carsten

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Carsten & Vinnie,

See if you can locate our friends Chuck and Linda on Jacaranda, chouli on CF. They will likely know, and they are very good sorts.

Ann

[chouliha]

Hi Carsten

Tahiti has very few options. Yes Port Phaeton is restricted to draft as you said. But if you anchor and hire a person to keep an eye on things is an option.

You are leaving it pretty late trying to find a spot.

Papeete City Marina - We spent a summer here a few years ago. A small NW swell rolled in and docks started to break up. This was less than 1 foot by the time it got to the marina. We monitored lines for chafe every 3 hours and we also were looking after a friends cat and did the same. We still tossed 3 docklines away afterwards due to excessive shock loading. Some people just left boats and came thru unscathed. Would only do it as a last resort. And then hire a boat watcher that is in the marina to look after your lines- the marina staff won’t be on the docks in any crappy weather

Taiana Marina is a better option but I understand they are booked out for summer already.

Raiatea is another option for haulout and long term storage. The Carinage was already full for the summer when we were there in June. CNI may still have space

Apataki is another option for long stay dry storage.

Happy to give you further advice you can contact us thru our website jacarandajourney.com

Cheers

Chuck
Jacaranda
Papeete City Marina

[JPA Cate]

If you cannot find somewhere you are happy with, get equatorial, or go to NZ or Australia.

New Caledonia is nice during cyclone season, except for the big winds, but for a deep draft boat, the cyclone options are very limited... You'll find yourself either in a marina, or wishing you were, and running for Australia, and missing a lot of the intervening features.

By the way, fwiw, we do not feel pressed to leave New Cal before the end of Nov. However, we did have a mid October cyclone there, one time, so it pays to look at the lows coming out of the Solomons.

Good luck with it, guys,

Ann

[chouliha]

I also meant to add a couple more thoughts. First call the marina or boat yard in Port Phaeton to ask them about draft. Or have a friend who is fluent in French call them. My comment about draft is related to the small marina and not the bay.

Second - We are not experts but have been in FP more than 3 years. We think the chances of a cyclone are very low compared to western Pacific. Many local boats cruise all year round here but you do have to keep a close eye on the weather. If you are going to stay onboard then you have a lot more options. Read Mary Ann II article in noonsite about related statistics for this area. I am only giving you some food for thought the decision is your to make.

Warm regards

Chuck
Jacaranda