Reflections on Season 2

French Polynesia

Dec 01, 2024

There is never a perfect time to embark on an adventure--changing jobs, changing cities, getting married, having kids, buying a house, starting a business, taking a sabbatical trip, or sailing the South Pacific. We often leave behind work opportunities, friends, kids, aging parents, a house that is slowly deteriorating. Mark Twain famously said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." Hard to argue.

John Riise, Contributing Editor for Latitude 38 magazine (unquestionably the best sailing magazine in the world), asked me to reflect upon our first season in French Polynesia. Among its diverse sailing content, the magazine features short articles from cruising sailors making their way around the world. Here is what I wrote:

Roam's second season has come to a close. She is currently tied up in Marina Taina, Tahiti. We are back in the US for a few weeks, working and visiting friends and family. We'll be back aboard in January. We'll bend on the headsails, fill our freezer with cooked meals and fresh food, and head east as the weather permits.
Our insurance company wants us east of 150W until May 1st. We'll bide our time back in the Tuamotus and Marquesas, visiting the places we liked and a few we missed. We might sail down to the Gambier Islands if the timing and weather allow.
This season, we sailed through the Marquesas, Tuamotus, and Society Islands as far west as Bora Bora before sailing back to Tahiti. I had a work trip in early October, and we needed a secure place to leave the boat. We arrived in Tahiti in mid-September, thinking it might take a few weeks to secure a marina spot. Pam had been emailing with Marina Taina for a few months, and when we called them upon landfall, surprisingly they had space waiting for us!
We hove to outside the port entrance and scrambled to find our dock lines and inflate our fenders—none of which had been used in many months. Taina Boatwatch will keep an eye on Roam and exercise her systems while we are away.
It was a wonderful season highlighted by a spectacular sail across the Pacific, crossing the equator during the solar eclipse. Pam loved the beauty and food scene in Mo'orea and Bora Bora. I loved the dramatic landscapes of the Marquesas and the pristine solitude of the Tuamotus. We found something for each of us. Both of us enjoyed snorkeling in these warm, clear waters with their abundant marine life. I rekindled my long-dormant love of scuba diving while getting re-certified in Tahiti.
You remember most the people you meet—cruisers and locals. And it was fun to have our kids spend a few weeks with us sailing the Society Islands.
More than anything, cruising is about adapting to a new lifestyle with all of the highs and lows it brings. We were blessed with relatively few problems this season. Roam, a 2001 Catana 472 catamaran, turned out to be the perfect blend of speed and cruising comfort we hoped she would be.
Starlink turned out to be a game-changer as it allowed both of us to continue our work while cruising. But that creates the challenge of constantly shifting gears between work mode and cruiser mode throughout the week. That, and finding a secure place for the boat if work required a trip somewhere in the world.
Once cyclone season winds down, we will continue west—Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, and finally New Zealand. Plans written in the sand at low tide, as they say.
Here's looking forward to a successful season 3!