SURF FINALLY!!

With no waves to speak for we created our own surfing fun! Check out Ryan in this sweet barrel:

Look at the concentration on his face– this wave was a fatty!

Well our trip sadly came to an end but the stinky laundry lasted for days. Our world traveler of course had an excellent solution to his dirty and wet clothes. Seth wasted no time at all drying his laundry at the airport. This is why we love you and probably why you don’t smell as bad as us:

Just as a teaser, a wicked attempt to lure of back to Tahiti, we were graced with an absolutely stunning sunset on our very last evening. The forecast for the upcoming week: Sunny, blue skies, pina-coladas raining from the sky and sunsets like this:

We had hoped to put the worst of the foul weather behind us when we left Bora-Bora but it seemed that no matter where we were trying to go or when we left ,the dark clouds would follow. We made one last push for an afternoon of Tahitian history and culture by sailing to a Tahitian sacred grounds site but once again we were rained out. We were a pitiful site of wet, soppy and most likely hungry (we had begun to run out of food) sailors, ready for an afternoon of sunshine (PLEASE TAHITI!) but no such luck. Back to the boat we went, back to a sheltered harbor to ride out yet, ANOTHER STORM! The day wasn’t a total bust, we did see some awesome little huts our in the middle of the water and found an incredible snorkeling spot called the Aquarium. **I interrupt this blog to forewarn you that my days and memories of the trip are beginning to blur, I think this entry should actually be split into two but for sake of finishing our Tahiti posts, I’m cramming our last days all into one **

The Aquarium was another one of those unforgettable Tahiti experiences. We had read in a guidebook that somewhere there was a snorkeling spot like no other, where this spot was, no one really knew for sure. We took a best guess and were rewarded with the best snorkeling I can ever imagine experiencing. The brightest, move unique looking fish all of different colors, shapes and species swarmed us. We were surrounded by the most curious and hungry (yes, we lured them in with bread crumbs) fish I have ever seen. It literally felt like what I imagine sticking your head into a crowded aquarium might be like. It was amazing, it was incredible, it was too good for words. This alone will bring me back to Tahiti. Of course, we don’t have any pictures of this part of our trip but we do have some pretty hilarious ones of Ryan and Mike in their “Storm Suits”.

What do you get with 8 crazy Mohr’s and some glow in the dark sticks? A crazy dance party of course! See the awesomeness for yourself:

Jeff and Kelly:

Jeff, Kelly, Heather:

Winnie:

Heather and Ryan:

We knew the weather wasn’t playing very nicely with our plans to sail from Bora- Bora back to Taha’a but we had to chance the sail anyway. We had been warned that the weather was just going to get nastier from here on out and with our trip coming to an end we didn’t have much choice other than to brave the big waves and wind. With Mike at the helm we made our way out of the peaceful inner reefs and straight into a Tahitian Tantrum- maybe Tahiti wasn’t ready to say goodbye to us, maybe the Tahitian waters were going to miss our evening skinny dips, whatever the reason, Tahiti was not happy and she let us know it. Just a few minutes into our death sail and the boys learned the literal meaning of “Hit the Deck”. One of our pulleys had ripped out from the sail and went flying across the boat. Luckily no one was hurt but it was definitely just a taste of what was to come.

To make a long story short, we were facing winds of 30 knots and waves topping out at around 8 feet. A small craft advisory had been issued and we were just about the only boat out on the water. With tossing seas and waves splashing in every direction we did our best to stay calm and not toss our cookies. Mike stayed at the helm while the rest of us huddled together in the outdoor cockpit, it was way to big and gnarly to go below deck. About half way through our sail the life vests came out, pressure points were being held and prayers were said. We braved about 4 hours of rocking and rolling, the dinghy flying up and banging against the boat and cold waves crashing down on us. At one point we got so desperate from our full bladders that we had to just pee right on the deck, not to worry though, the pounding surf washed our shi-shi away instantly- yeah it was nasty. Hey- desperate times call for desperate measures. Mike did an amazing job, keeping focus and sailing us safely from passage to passage. We arrived for one final Hurrah, an amazing trip in the dinghy down a calm river bustling with gorgeous foliage. We were lulled by the singing and drumming of a local dancing group and were mesmerized by the tranquility of this water compared to where we just came from!

We have a few pictures, but trust me when I say, THESE DO NOT DO THE STORM JUSTICE!

Dear Tahiti,

We haven’t forgot you, we’ve been busy with visitors, moving to the North Shore and surfing our first country swell of the season. We remember how beautiful you were, we remember the day we thought we might sink our beautiful boat, we remember the stingrays and the sharks, the laughs, the silly costumes and the amazing time we had with our family. We promise to show all our friends how incredible you are and we promise to share our beautiful pictures with the world, just give us some time.

Thanks,

Heather and Ryan