Bora Bora or Huahine Bareboat Charter

[CNFigue]

Hello everyone!

My husband and I will be chartering a 36' cat in September for 7 days in Raiatea.

We have only chartered in the Ionian Islands, Amalfi Coast and Sardinia, so we don't have a lot of experience.

I read many posts here, Soggy Paws, cruisers reports, a few sample Itineraries, and the Society Islands Compendium.

I'm trying to decide if I should choose Bora Bora or Huahine for my itinerary (that also includes Taha'a and Raiatea).

As I don't want to rush our trip I will have to let one go. I read that people loved both, but some posts are very old. I understand mooring regulations in Bora Bora have changed.

After our charter we will stay 2 days land based in Bora Bora (due to logistic reasons).

I'm thinking about not including Bora Bora and including Huahine, but I'm not 100% sure of this move.

Our main goals are snorkeling as much as we can + spending the night in safe places. We don't have lots of experience with anchorages, so we might prefer buoys and/or marinas, unless it's a very easy anchorage with good weather. I don't mind paying for private buoys, my priority is to try to take off the stress during our sleep.

We would like to have dinner in the boat as much as we can. Maybe eating out only once at Ficus.

Any thoughts/opinions/suggestions are very welcomed! I really appreciate it.

[fxykty]

If only 7 days then I would recommend that you stick to Raiatea and Taha’a only and don’t waste the 1/2 day each way to get to either Huahine or Bora Bora.

Anchoring is mostly in clear water over relatively shallow sand next to the fringing reef, so easy to do. In some of the deeper bays, such as Baie Fa’aroa on the east side of Raiatea, there are moorings. Your charter company will be able to advise you and should have charts that show those locations.

Sail inside the reef only and you won’t have to worry about any sea sickness. You can go all the way around Taha’a and between the two islands inside the reef. And you can take short hops outside the reef by transiting passes - that’s a very cool experience and makes getting to and from the south end of Raiatea more simply.

Highlights of our charter were the Coral Garden (NW corner of Taha’a on the northeast side of Motu Tautau, which also has a resort with a good restaurant), the river by dinghy at the head of Baie Fa’aroa and experiencing the Marae Taputapuatea (both on Raiatea’s E coast), and the corals at Motu Nao Nao (S coast of Raiatea).

Visit a pearl farm, such as Champon or La Orana, and a vanilla farm, all on Taha’a and easy to get to by dinghy. The village of Ha’amene at the head of Baie Ha’amene has several restaurants and is interesting to visit.

[Tin Tin]

We did a 7 day one way charter on a Lagoon 380 from Raiatea, went to Hauhine, loved it, then sailed via Taha to Bora Bora where we left the boat, loved every bit of it. If you are staying land based in Bora Bora you can tour the lagoon on a Jetski. However for staying at anchor Huahine would be our preference. Of course weather will play a role in the direction you go.

[CNFigue]

Hello everyone!

Thank you for your answers, fxykty and Tin Tin. I have already saved all your suggestions here.

If only 7 days then I would recommend that you stick to Raiatea and Taha’a only and don’t waste the 1/2 day each way to get to either Huahine or Bora Bora.

I completely understand your point of view, fxykty, and I'm considering it as well. But at the same time I believe we could enjoy this small passage (Weather permitting, of course). We would love to set sails and simply enjoy it. We have never sailed a Cat before, so it's something we would like to try. But I also understand that it could be unpleasant due weather.

Visit a pearl farm, such as Champon or La Orana, and a vanilla farm, all on Taha’a and easy to get to by dinghy. The village of Ha’amene at the head of Baie Ha’amene has several restaurants and is interesting to visit.

I will for sure. I understand many farms/restaurants have mooring buoys, which allow you to stay there if you visit the farm. Do you know if I can overnight at these buoys? I understand many could be unsafe, though.

If you are staying land based in Bora Bora you can tour the lagoon on a Jetski. However for staying at anchor Huahine would be our preference. Of course weather will play a role in the direction you go.

Thank you for your input, Tin Tin! I believe we would enjoy Huahine more. Regarding the weather, I just don't have the experience yet to be able to decide it myself alone, I would have to go with the charter company (Tahiti Yacht Charter) suggestion.

In general terms, would it be possible to predict if in early September, Taha'a -> Huahine could be doable? Or is it completely unpredictable? I fear Mara'amu but I hope it's gone by the beginning of my charter.

Thank you again!

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by CNFigue

Hello everyone!



Thank you for your answers, fxykty and Tin Tin. I have already saved all your suggestions here.







I completely understand your point of view, fxykty, and I'm considering it as well. But at the same time I believe we could enjoy this small passage (Weather permitting, of course). We would love to set sails and simply enjoy it. We have never sailed a Cat before, so it's something we would like to try. But I also understand that it could be unpleasant due weather.







I will for sure. I understand many farms/restaurants have mooring buoys, which allow you to stay there if you visit the farm. Do you know if I can overnight at these buoys? I understand many could be unsafe, though.







Thank you for your input, Tin Tin! I believe we would enjoy Huahine more. Regarding the weather, I just don't have the experience yet to be able to decide it myself alone, I would have to go with the charter company (Tahiti Yacht Charter) suggestion.



In general terms, would it be possible to predict if in early September, Taha'a -> Huahine could be doable? Or is it completely unpredictable? I fear Mara'amu but I hope it's gone by the beginning of my charter.



Thank you again!

That’s still winter and you’ll likely have brisk trade winds from the E or SE. The charter cats sail like a brick outhouse, so you need a decent amount of breeze to make any headway upwind (at least mid-teens and up to mid-twenties is still fine with a few wraps of the genoa).

There is plenty of water inside the reefs to sail all around Taha’a, between Taha’a and Raiatea, and down the E coast of Raiatea. Staying inside the reef except for short coastwise passages between passes means nobody will suffer from seasickness. But if you decide you definitely want to go inter-island then prepare your crew. The windward passage (heading E) will be much less comfortable than the return passage.

Depart from low on the SE coast of Raiatea, say via Passe Teavamoa after visiting Baie Faaroa, Marae Taputapuatea and Motu Nao Nao, to give yourself an easier fetch on starboard tack to the passes on the NW side of Huahine. Inside the reef on the W coast of Huahine heading down to Baie d’Avea is beautiful. Coming back, head downwind toward the S end of Taha’a, using Passe Toahotu to enter the lagoon. If it’s getting late, there’s good anchorage behind Ile Mahaea in sand with scattered coral bombies.

There’s lots to see and 7 days isn’t long, so decide whether you want to move several times per day to see everything, or whether you pick one great thing per day and spend more time at it. Have you found the sample charter itineraries from Sunsail and the Moorings? They generally show Bora Bora but you can easily substitute Huahine.

Regarding mooring buoys, your charter company will advise which ones it’s OK to spend the night on.

[bensolomon]

We spent two weeks in French polynesia. Definitely go to Huahine. There's a bike rental place, a fantastic grocery store and you can take on water. Rent the bike and explore the island by bicycle. Go to dinner at The Huahine yacht club.

The real importance of going to Huahine is it will be a beautiful downwind run to Tahaa. At Tahaa, find Alain, and go on the vanilla tour. He will take you on his Land Rover to parts of Tahaa that you would never see otherwise. Also, there is a small but very fun distillery on Tahaa.

Have a great time!

[bstreep]

Huahine. We've done 2, 2 week charters. Love Bora Bora, but... Huahine.

With that, here's a caveat: IF you decide to go to BB, PM me, and I'll give you directions to our favorite snorkeling spot. As in our favorite that we've found, all over the world.

There's a great pearl farm across from the Coral River in Tahaa. They will let you moor for free. It's a real pearl farm, unlike most of them.

Skip Ficus. And Bloody Mary's. Both tourist traps. My opinion. Food not good.