Day 89 Destination Ra'iatea

Old friends
We decided that instead of following the path recommended by Guy, we would go first to Uturoa the capital of Ra'iatea to get some much needed laundry done. At 8 o'clock we pulled the hook, raised the sail and headed west for Passe Teavapiti. The sail was relaxing with relatively calm seas and a pleasant wind from the South East. Mark noted that it was like sailing on San Francisco Bay.
The pass was equally benign and the passage inside the lagoon was well marked. We headed for Marina Apoiti because it was reputed to have a laundry and Wi-Fi Internet. This latter claim should be amended to "almost Wi-Fi". As we neared the marina, we saw Liahona so we called our friends Jim and Wendy on the VHS radio. They were very happy to see us and indicated there was a space right next to them where we could connect to water and electricity.
This was an interesting marina. There was a rocky breakwater with sand on the top, a path and some palm trees interspersed with electrical boxes and water taps. It looked like something temporary but the water was deep and there were solid moorings a boat length or so from the rocky wall. By backing up in the direction of the rock wall ( a bit scary) we could pick up the mooring and then toss two lines from the stern to people on the shore who secured them to metal bollards (metal posts like you see on the pier in San Francisco). This left the stern about 15 feet from the rocky shore so we tied two lines to the dinghy and used it to ferry ourselves and any supplies from the boat to the shore and visa versa.
At our mooring spot there was a picnic table, some benches and a fireplace. The marina must have heard of our Bitter End reputation and provided the facilities in advance. In keeping with tradition, we hosted a signature beach party.
A few minutes after we hailed Liahona, we heard Sol Searcher calling us and found out that they were also anchored at the marina. We had not seen Ray and Peggy since Puerto Vallarta and looked forward to seeing them so we could get the details of their brutal crossing.
At the beach party, we heard Sol Searcher's story. Three days out of PV, Peggy learned that her mother died. This was totally expected thus no great shock, nonetheless it was a setback. On day 4 their autopilot self failed forcing the two of them to take on the laborious task of hand steering 7 by 24 the rest of the way. On day 5 their engine quit, never to be revived again. The crossing took 30 days to Nuka Hiva in the Marquises. Every day they were on the radio so that by the time they reached the island, every Puddle Jumper and many others along the way knew of their plight. When they radioed to several Puddle Jump boats in Nuka Hiva that they were in sight of the harbor, a flotilla of dinghies came out to assist them. The first to reach them was an Australian whom they did not even know. He took charge, ordered the dinghies into position and together they "tug-boated" them to a safe anchorage. It is nice to have friends even if you don't even know them. Peggy said that her hands and forearms were numb for three days from the stress of holding the wheel for so many hours. Why didn't they turn back in the early days of the trip? I am not sure even they know except the wind and waves were going West and they thought they could make it. Fortunately, they were right.