After 6 weeks in the Tuamotus, we only had 3 weeks left on our visas in French Polynesia and still had one more archipelago to explore, the Society Islands, which includes the more recognized islands of Tahiti and Bora Bora. We pulled the lines off of the mooring ball, raised the sails and headed west towards Tahiti. The day we started the passage was also my 10-year anniversary of graduating from college and I couldn’t help but reflect on how different my life is compared to where I thought I’d be at this point. If you told me ten years ago that I was going to quit my engineering job to sail around the world, I wouldn’t have believed you. Ten years ago, I had never left the country except for a trip to Mexico with my parents when I was young, and I had certainly never stepped foot on a sailboat. I wonder where the next 10 years will take me.
The passage to Tahiti took about 60 hours and started out pretty calm but turned squally and rough by the time we spotted land on the final afternoon. Our friends on SV Steel Away were about 24 hours behind us and said the conditions just got nastier, making me thankful, once again, for Eitan’s passage planning. As always, it was a relief to make landfall. After being in the Tuamotus for several weeks, it seemed strange seeing an island taller than a palm tree. I was surprised to see that, geographically, the Society Islands are like a combination of the Marquesas and Tuamotus: a dramatic island jutting up from the ocean, but surrounded by a protective reef. Eitan navigated us into a calm area and we dropped the anchor for the night, falling fast asleep.
In the morning, we received a message from our friend Kevin on SV Kismet that the slip next to him in the marina had just become available and we better get there fast. There aren’t many marinas in French Polynesia and none of them take reservations, it’s first come first serve. So, we pulled anchor and motored over as quickly as possible, arriving about an hour later. The marina is in the middle of Papeete, the largest city and capital of French Polynesia. It was such a strange feeling to see superyachts with a backdrop of a bustling city after months in such rural places.
After tying up to the dock, Martin and Simone finished their packing and began unloading their bags onto the dock. After almost 4 months since joining us as crew, they were heading back to Denmark. Although it’s nice having crew on for passages, the boat is really only sized for two people to live comfortably and Eitan and I breathed a sigh of relief having the space to ourselves again. This was the longest we’ve ever had crew on and tensions are bound to arise with four people living in such a small space for that long.
Since arriving in the Marquesas, I noticed Eitan had been in a bit of a bad mood and short-tempered, attributing it to annoyances with the crew. He was constantly frustrated that they weren’t more proactive in helping out and taking a more willing and eager role in the boat. In his eyes, if they weren’t making his life onboard easier, then what was the point of having a crew other than for passage-making? But I sympathized with both sides, remembering my early days on SV Sierra Wind and thinking about how backward it seemed to be paying someone to help them with their own boat. Having now lived onboard for most of the past two years and seeing Eitan sort through his receipts, I know the small monthly contributions that I and other crew make to him hardly offsets the expenses of the lifestyle. I also reflected back to our time on MY Puffin Quest and understood the awkwardness of living in someone else’s space with nowhere to escape to. I don’t think any YouTube channel or reality show prepares you for what it’s actually like living on someone else’s boat.
Eitan had been trying to get them to leave early but given the remoteness and price of accommodations, kicking them off would have cost them a pretty penny and he didn’t want to subject them to any financial hardship. His greatest annoyance was their cigarette smoking. Had we known they smoked, we would have opted for another couple to do the crossing with but it wasn’t until a few days before we left on the Pacific crossing that we noticed a lingering cigarette smell onboard. They told us that they planned to use the crossing as an opportunity to quit and didn’t seem to have any issues abstaining for the 25 days at sea. When we all talked about what we were most looking forward to onshore after arriving, Martin said he was most excited to smoke a cigarette. This struck us as strange given the effort it must have taken to quit for almost a month.
Sure enough, once onshore, they lit up their first cigarettes and proceeded to smoke, what I would estimate to be about a half to full pack per day. At around $15 per pack, this was no cheap vice! We didn’t really mind as long as they didn’t smoke onboard or bring the smell back. Eventually they asked if they could smoke on the paddle boards, which I said was fine, but this turned into taking the paddled boards up and down throughout the day which became quite annoying, especially at 7 in the morning.
Eitan asked them to stop smoking all together, but instead, in their eyes they found a loophole and would swim out about 30 feet from the boat and tread water, keeping their shoulders and hands dry while they smoked. Several of our cruising friends in both Mexico and French Polynesia commented how surprised they were that we would take on crew that smoked given that Eitan and I had never smoked a cigarette in our entire lives. I suppose smoking is more common and socially acceptable in Europe and no addiction is easy to break. I was, however, surprised at their commitment to keep at it, especially given the restrictions Eitan put on them.
Regardless, I was sad to see Martin and Simone leave the boat on less than good terms and hoped the tensions with Eitan didn’t define their trip with us. I enjoyed much of our time together and appreciated their help during the crossing. I also appreciated my newfound interest in photography and documenting the trip, thanks to Simone. I’m curious to see if one day they will end up owning their own boat and will be better able to understand Eitan’s point of view.
As they walked down the dock, Eitan and I began stowing things back in the V-birth and clearing up the deck space. Arriving at a marina always means the next few days are going to be busy, busy, busy.
