Yesterday Chae, his dad and a crew member left New Zealand to go and pick up our new home!

She is lying in Tahiti waiting for her next chapter.

It has not been the smooth day we had planned….

Tahiti are very ‘particular’ about anyone coming into their country and any forms that need filling in. I have been dealing with an agent on the ground over there to try and smooth the process of getting the crew into the country and onto the boat on one way tickets, which the Tahitian government hate!

It has been an interesting experience with many different forms sent back and forward until they have been perfectly filled in by me. On one of them I had left several spaces blank and had asked her to fill in once she had the next part of the information. Apparently this is a ‘no go’ for the Harbour-master there, who wants it all in the owners handwriting?!!

After several weeks of paperwork it was all completed. The crew headed to the airport to get on a plane, only to be stopped at check in as the agent had put the wrong date on the bond letter! A bond letter is what is used to travel in on a one way ticket. Bond to confirm you are leaving and not staying to live on the Tahitian government for the rest of your days! ARGHHH!

Our agent managed to get to her office and type out the new bond letter with 15 minutes to spare before take-off. Air NZ were exceptionally understanding, otherwise the whole trip would have stopped before it had a chance to begin.

Once up there, the crew had an unusually long delay in getting on the boat due to the guy doing the handover being late off a plane….the never-ending day…

Finally, close to 9pm, they were aboard! After leaving our house at 6.45am for the airport, it had been a long day!

Next morning brought its own challenges. Provisioning the boat in one of the most expensive places you could do it. Basic supplies are ridiculously expensive, a 1 L bottle of milk for $7NZD. Then $6.50 for a very, very average coffee in a cafe (you’d take it back if you got served one like that tasted like that in NZ), along with filling Waterhorse up with diesel and getting everything sorted for Customs Clearance.

Apparently, it was also not very smooth…they ended up leaving the Harbour close to 6pm. This is not an ideal time to leave for the first sail on your ‘new to you’ boat. With night coming, they decided to cross to Moorea and anchor in a bay on the NW side of the island and leave first thing. Afternoon and evening sailing in places where there are many reefs and coral can be dangers as the sun is behind you, so shadowing the water making things in the water very difficult to see.

I will be able to track them on the Predict Wind GPS tracking system we have set up on the boat. Here’s hoping for a quick trip home and safe sailing for them!