Motu Nao Nao

At the south end of Raiatea, we visited a small motu (island) - Nao Nao. We
were looking forward to exploring somewhere less crowded and doing some
snorkeling. We were not disappointed. Although, we weren't the only
sailboat, it was a beautiful spot, with lively coral gardens. We didn't find
any more of the snails that were so delicious the other night, but enjoyed
our snorkel, regardless.

Unfortunately, the shore had TABU signs a frequent intervals. What a
disappointment! John had heard of an abandoned airstrip here, and was
looking forward to poking around the island, looking for signs of the past.

Throughout Polynesia, it is very common to see an empty canoe, and it's
occupant fishing in the waters below...towing his craft.

You can check it out on google earth or google maps with this location: 016
55.19S and 151 25.90W.

Moving On

We're ready. The boat is full of food, fuel and water, and we're ready to go. We went for a test sail yesterday, and Renova was at her finest. We tacked through the lagoon with ease, racing and winning against a much
faster catamaran (s/he may not have been racing...but that hardly matters)! Although, Eric, and his grinding skills were likely a key component of our success.

Tomorrow, we'll set off to explore a bit more around here, and after a day or two we'll head to Bora Bora. Which will likely be our last stop with decent internet.

If you have photos for us...send them now!

Hurray...success

See that grin? That is the grin of a very happy man. I did some internet research today and found the needle jet settings for our 1970's era outboard. John spent about 15 minutes doing a bit of fiddling, and then he was happily doing circles around Renova, with our new outboard speed - IDLE!

He's pretty pleased.

PS - the masts in the background are all boats in the boat yard.