Au Revior French Polynesia

Maupiti: Our Last Stop in French Polynesia

Anchored off the town of Pete’i in Maupiti’s lagoon.

A year ago, our hearty crew of five arrived in Nuku Hiva, Marquesas. We were fresh off a fast, 16-day sail across the Pacific from Mexico. The highlight of that passage was crossing the equator and witnessing the total solar eclipse on the same day.

Here we are a year later, heading west and leaving this magical place behind. We’ve seen breathtaking beauty. We’ve swum in crystal-clear water full of sea life (and sharks!). We’ve met interesting local people. We’ve made wonderful new friends. We commuted in and out of Papeete’s convenient airport to the US, New Zealand, and Australia. We learned to cope with the food desert that is French Polynesia, where your grocery shopping shifts from what you want to what you can get.

Our route for the past year has been in and around French Polynesia. We only scratched the surface of what there is to see here.

After a rainy week in Raiatea, we cleared out of the country. Louis is possibly the friendliest gendarme ever. All he needed was our dossier number from French Polynesia’s online system. He took my mobile number and sent me a WhatsApp message once our clearance was processed and ready for pickup. It was a matter of stopping back by his office to pick up the clearance form and get our passports stamped.

With our port clearance in hand we are free to sail out of the country.

Unlike Mexico, where an army of people showed up on the dock to make sure we left the country, French Polynesia was easygoing about the fact that it would take us several days to work our way out of the country given the weather.

We elected to sail the half day from Raiatea to Maupiti and wait there for good conditions to make the 3-day, 500 nautical mile passage to the Cook Islands.

Maupiti is remote, with 1,200 friendly citizens. It’s known for having a treacherous pass into its lagoon. And, for its daily visit by a squadron¹ of manta rays who come to get their teeth cleaned by fish. These spots are called, “cleaning stations.”

While snorkeling to find the manta rays, we let ourselves get separated from our dinghy. The current set in, and the next thing we knew, we were a long way from it. I made it to the shallows where I could walk back to it. The local tour boat picked up Pam and dropped her off. This is an excellent way to drown or get run over by a speeding boat. Note to self.

Pam joined a guided tour the next day, saving us from keeping track of the dinghy. It was an amazing experience seeing so many manta rays up close. These enormous, gentle, curious creatures seem to enjoy the attention they get from humans.

Pinky’s Snorkel Tour will not abandon you and let you get washed out to sea while snorkeling with the manta rays.

We waited a week for the swell to drop to an acceptable level and for a clear, 3-day forecast that would get us to the Cook Islands with reasonable speed and comfort. That morning arrived, and off we went. Au revoir, French Polynesia. Au revoir.

The numerical weather models all agree: It’s time to go, and it’s worth sailing south of the rhumb line to stay in the stronger breeze.

A Few Photos

Looking back out of Maupiti’s notorious pass. Waves break on either side of the narrow entrance. If the southerly swell is bigger than about 6 feet, the waves break continuously, and nobody can enter or leave.

Our ongoing quest for decent pizza in faraway places. Snack Raitea, Maupiti.

It amazes me that you can still find a pay phone on a remote island.

Using up our fresh vegetables. You can’t bring them into the Cook Islands. Red coconut curry tonight.

Tuesday is fresh vegetable day on the dock in Pete’i. These ladies picked it all from their garden that morning. The local pension bed and breakfasts get first dibs. We buy what’s left.

We fly a “courtesy flag” of our host country until we are cleared out. Our French Polynesia flag is all used up (and it is our second one). It’s time to go.

Excerpts from the Ship’s Log

Maupiti

Fri Apr 25 2025 01:20:00 UTC, 16 28.610s 152 14.665w, Log: 6207

All is well. We are presently anchored off the town of Pete’i on the island of Maupiti, French Polynesia. We had a great sail, broad reaching under full main and Jack the Code 65 with daggers between 1/2 - 1/3. Seas were slight from the south and from the northeast. It was good to get moving again.

Au Revoir French Polynesia

Wed Apr 30 2025 19:45:00 UTC, 16 26.719s 152 14.587w

All is well. We are presently beating into 8-foot-long period swells with a reefed main and Saul the Solent. Full daggers. The wind is variable. We’ve been making frequent sail changes all day as the wind moved around.

We departed the pass out of Maupiti this morning. It is a notoriously challenging pass with a southerly swell running, which is what we had today. Were the swell any higher, I don’t think we would have attempted it.

This marks the end of our time in French Polynesia. Bitter-sweet. So many amazing experiences. So many more to come.

1. While a “school” of manta rays is acceptable usage, they are somtimes referred to as a “fever” of manta rays. Divers and biologists often use “squadron.” I’m going with “squadron.”