We arrived at Bora Bora in the early hours of dawn having sailed slowly since midnight to try and arrive in daylight. The sun rose majestically above the mountains in the centre of the island — and as we sailed through the atoll entrance a pod of dolphins came to welcome us, playing in our bow wave. The colours – muted reds of the sunrise, the greens of a dramatic mountain and the shiny darkness of the dolphins in deep blue, all jumping around us made for a truly magical arrival. We were all very excited and delighted to have arrived in such a beautiful place.
We sailed straight down to the south of the atoll, to a quiet anchorage where there is access to one of the few beaches which is not private. The water was breathtaking (both its shallowness and its colour). The moorings were mostly empty and all the hotels – luxury huts on the water, are shut as there have been no tourists here since February. It’s very quiet and peaceful. The locals and us alike are loving it. Everyone we’ve seen has been super friendly and welcoming, it seems a magical place.
The boys played with the French children on the neighbouring boat and Josef (also aged 9) kindly lent them a go on his “Tiwal”, an inflatable sailing dinghy. It was amazing fun and super fast. A great warm water sailing dinghy for children. We enjoyed the coral gardens and swimming with the rays and walking across the atoll rim to the Pacific facing edge. The trees and their bark were amazing too.
Halls Aboard - Sailing Kathryn del Fuego 