We arrived in Huahine in the early morning from our overnight sail from Moorea. We skipped the group of cruisers at the main town and motored along inside the reef, literally (and nervously) through uncharted waters, to a beautiful anchorage on the southwest corner of the island which was supposed to be frequented by manta rays. But shortly after we anchored and settled in, we spotted a brush fire burning on the ridge above us. Thinking this really shouldn’t be a problem, we grew increasingly concerned as the fire spread and ashes rained down on New Morning. We re-anchored once, hoping to escape the ashes and embers, but as the day wore on, the smoke grew thicker and the fire continued to spread, we decided we needed to evacuate before the rain of burning embers put a hole into one of New Morning’s sails. We moved to an adjacent bay and had a peaceful night.

The next day we moved to Fare, rented a car and drove every mile of every road on the island with several stops, including one to feed the blue eyed eels. We look forward to going back to Huahine and enjoying that first anchorage without a fire.

Fay’s basil flourishes on board – Sep 2011

Brush fire – Sep 2011

Raitea in the distance – Sep 2011

Ruins of a Mare – Sep 2011

More Mare – Sep 2011

Locals feed blue eyed eels – Sep 2011

Sacred blue eyed eels – Sep 2011

Fay watches with delight – Sep 2011

They really do have blue eyes! – Sep 2011

Boat lift – Sep 2011

Downtown Fare – Sep 2011