After breaking my foot last year windsurfing Teahupo’o, I decided with my wife Nana, to return to French Polynesia to continue exploring the region. This time, we would be sailing from the Society Islands, also known as the lewward islands, aboard the 55’ sailboat, Paje owned by Brazillian couple Mario and Paula Maia. This amazing vessel would be our home for the next two months as we made passage to the west, and eventually, Tonga.
MOOREA ISLAND
Our timing was impeccable; as we arrived at the airport in Tahiti we saw people scurrying off with surf boards to catch the first big south swell of the season. Since we knew that waves were pumping, a plan was made: buy as much food was possible, fill up the tanks of the boat and start our journey to the first destination: the south pass in Moorea Island.
We had a hard time sailing into the lagoon; the pass is quite narrow and shallow, and the waves were closing out in the channel and Paje had to surf her first big wave to get to the inner sanctuary of the lagoon. Once in the lagoon, life was easy again, even the dolphins came to receive us as we were the only boat on anchor.
I was frothing to surf good waves again with nobody out, so as soon the anchor was down I took my brand new as yet untested 99novenove and jumped into the Zodiac with the captain. The waves were coming through at 6 to 8 feet with a few bigger sets and it was big and heavy with a strong current sucking through the pass out to the ocean, but those lines of swell bending into perfect lefthand barrels were irresistible. I was alone and had to focus to keep my position and not get sucked too deep into the peak, running the risk of being dusted by the big southwest sets. After 3 hours of solitude I got caught by a lunker that broke my leash, washing my board across the reef into the lagoon whilst I got dragged out to sea by the current. Luckily the captain was quickly on a rescue mission to come and pluck me out!
