Many long term cruisers consider French Polynesia the world’s best cruising ground. The islands are beautiful, the lagoons are great anchorages, the people are friendly, the food is great and the diving amazing. Plus, the weather is almost always wonderful. Here’s a story from Andy and Clare, the crew aboard Eye Candy, who are returning to FP and their boat after spending the hurricane season away that appeared in YachtBoatNews.
“So here we are back in French Polynesia ready for another season of sailing. The weather is perfect, bright sunny days, balmy nights and 29.6 degrees sea water. Swimming is almost like taking a bath.
“Most of the tropical rain has gone but occasionally we get a deluge, just to keep us on our toes. The heavy downpours come quickly, mostly in short bursts and saturates everything. We even have to drain the mainsail bag before we reopen hatches or we are likely, when the boat rolls, to end up with a bucket load of water on the dinning table. So it’s a case of ‘stay awake’.
“Upon our return we found Eye Candy in good condition. The inside of the boat was perfect and the de humidifier did a good job at keeping any mould at bay. We also had a Yacht Services business checking on our batteries, and for any unwanted infestations. The deck was stained and grubby and the outside ropes were black. Fortunately we used the boat yards pressure house and cleaned this up in no time. So after painting the bottom, polishing the hull, deck and re establishing Eye Candy we launched in early April. Read more.