It was an early departure for us from Bora Bora to make the crossing over to Maupiti. The winds were light and variable but this meant that due to calmer seas the spinnaker could be poled out and with all the "rag thrown up" we made a good pace albeit arriving at Maupiti 1.5hours after high tide.

Leigh was looking to try and squeeze Mi Querida in through the narrow pass around 3pm high tide. The sea maps showed many coral heads and shallow areas so we wanted as much water under the keel as possible. Once we were inside the lagoon and into the calmer waters Katie was dispatched to climb the rat lines up the mast, to look out for hidden coral heads and ensure a trouble free passage towards our anchorage. We "threw the pick" into the water around 4:30pm approximately 200m from the shoreline giving us a not too testing row to the island.

Maupiti is the smallest and most isolated of the French Polynesian society Islands and therefore you get this Robinson Crusoe version of Paradise rather than the mass marketed 5 star Hilton/Shearaton versions you see on the other more popular islands. This immediately appealed to us as possibly for the first time you could see the beauty and simplicity of these islands without the tourists. Our first night looked like more steaks on the BBQ and I could sense that a pattern was building here. Leigh is a lover of all things steak.

During our passages at sea we run a couple of trawling lines off the back of the boat but so far we hadn't caught any fish. Katie was determined not to have steak for every meal and got the fishing rod out. After 10 minutes or so of casting she erupted in a chorus of "I'VE GOT A FISH" and started to reel it in. It looked impressive as it bent the rod coming up through the aquamarine lagoon towards the boat. As its gills came out of the water we clocked our eyes on dinner. Katie had managed to catch… A Puffer Fish! As we did not have a Japanese chef on board trained in the art of Fogu cooking we decided to not keep this highly poisonous fish that can render you dead in 24hours if you eat the wrong bit and proceeded to remove the hook from his mouth to release him. Mr Puffer fish began to get a bit distressed and went into defence mode. With 5 breaths he was 3 times the size of the fish that was landed and rendered the hook impossible to remove. Leigh was not having any of this and simply ran Mr Puffer Fish through with his knife deflating him instantly, removed the hook and threw the baggy bladder over the side. Poor Mr Puffer…

The next morning it was time to walk off the steaks! The three of us headed ashore with Leigh wanting to conquer the small mountain in land to get the best views and us wanting to walk round to the other side of the island to find the best beach to snorkel. We left Leigh and headed down to the beach which overlooked the lagoon and the adjacent Motu (small island) Pitihahei. This beach was exactly how you would picture a Polynesian desert island. There were a few coconut palms that reached out towards the lagoon, the water was nearly bath temperature and the most amazing colours from aquamarine to dark blue. After a spot of snorkelling and a small snooze on the beach we headed back along the one an only perimeter road back towards the yacht. The difference on this island with the lack of tourists meant that the locals are more friendly and passing people in their front gardens meant constant calls of Bonjour or Kia Orana. This really made us feel welcome.

Our time in French Polynesia was finally up the following morning. Leigh had overstayed his visa by an entire 10 days and felt that staying longer was only inviting the inevitable visit from the authorities. After Leigh had conquered the mountain pass he didn't manage to do the day before, we were off towards the Cook Islands for our first real multi day sailing experience. Much to Leigh's delight on the way out of Maupiti we passed a small fishing dinghy just south of the pass with a couple of "topless Sheila's" sunbathing. This made Leighs day!