Raiatea

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Revision as of 14:05, 28 August 2014

Raiatea

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	16°49.08′S, 151°26.64′W
	Photo gallery
	Local chartlet

Raiatea is the first of the Leeward Islands part of the Society Islands in a north/westerly direction, sailing from Tahiti or Moorea. It is the second largest island in French Polynesia after Tahiti and Uturoa on the north of the island is the second largest city, but much smaller than Papeete.

In some respects it is better to have repairs and provisioning done here rather than in Tahiti. A few major yacht charter companies make their base here, and there is a large repair yard called Chantier Naval des Îles which reportedly does good work, as well as several industries that service the charter boat industry. However it is an extra hop by plane or boat from Papeete and so any parts that need to be flown in will take that extra bit longer to arrive.

Almost the entire lagoon of Raiatea is sailable, making it a pleasant place for a sailing cruise as well as a provisioning stop. It has many bays and other interesting places to explore.

Charts

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Chart Number - Chart Name

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Chart Number - Chart Name

Radio Nets

There are no radio nets specific to Raiatea.

Weather

Give local weather conditions or refer to another page (a region or island group) that covers these conditions.

Sources for Weather forecasts:

Approach and Navigation

Any navigation notes here. If this section does not apply remove it.

Check-in facilities (Customs and Immigration)

There is a gendarmerie on Raiatea in the town of Uturoa and so it can be used as a port of entry. For other details see the page on French Polynesia.

Berthing Options

Ports

List larger ports and harbors. If there are more then 2 paragraphs for a given port, create a dedicated page in the list for it (Port/Stop Template).

Note: Please indicate which ports are a port of entry.

Marinas & Yacht Clubs

• Marina Apooiti is about one mile west of the airport, as you continue (in a north/westerly) direction around the top of the island past Uturoa
• La Marina d'Uturoa, inside Uturoa, is really only a temporary or day stop. They can be contacted via +689 66 31 52
• Chantier Naval des Îles sous le Vent (repair yard) has their own private marina, just a little while after Marina Apooiti, and there is another marina just north of Uturoa but it is reserved as the base for Dream Yacht Charters.

Anchorages

Raiatea has a number of anchorages, an anchorage guide such as South Pacific Anchorages or Charlies Charts should be consulted for a comprehensive list. Here are a few of the most useful ones:

• Anchorage space is available just north of the northern marina at Uturoa (the one used by Dream Yacht Charters) and there are also 2 or 3 mooring buoys there that can be used with the agreement of the charter company.
• West and South of Marina Apooiti there is free anchoring space.
• Anchoring in any of the bays off either coast (west coast preferred during trade winds) is suitable, many bays have fish traps and/or pearl farms around them so take care.

Offshore Islands

• Raiatea and the smaller island of Tahaa to the north share a lagoon, and it's a daytime hop between the two (with views of Bora Bora to the north west).
• Both Raiatea and Tahaa have many small motus which can be used as anchoring stops but most are private (although the beaches of the motus are open access).

Yacht Services and Repairs

List services. If no services are available on the island write "None" and remove all the subsections (Marine Stores, & Repairs/Yards, & Fuel, Water, & Electricity.

If services are included in specific port pages, the following line is appropriate, otherwise remove it.

Also see each Port.

Marine Stores

• First Mate Electronics, contact Richard Neufeld, ph: +689 73 15 79, email [email protected]. Richard has experience in all things electrical and electronic, as well as having mechanical experience. He assisted getting an outboard engine carburettor issue resolved, and has experience in alternator rewiring, etc. Richard is a freelance operator, living on board his boat at one of the Uturoa marinas and regularly travels around the marinas in the area
• Pacific Voiles Services, contact Nicolas +689 709 901, email [email protected] -- sail maker

Repairs/Yards

Fuel, Water, & Electricity

Fuel

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Water

Give details on water

Electricity

Give details on electricity

Things to do Ashore

Tourism

Many tours, such as island, moto and snorkelling tours operate in or near the town of Uturoa. There are also a couple of interesting stores in the town.

Grocery & Supply Stores

Eateries

Internet/WiFi

Available?

Laundry

Motorbike & Car Rentals

Garbage Disposal

?

Transportation

List transportation (local and/or international.)

Routes/Passages To/From

Typically it would be an overnight or day cruise from Moorea to Raiatea. This would be entirely downwind in the cruising season (May to November).

Cruiser's Friends

See Marine stores above.

Forum Discussions

List links to discussion threads on partnering forums. (see link for requirements)

External Links

• Raiatea on wikipedia
• Raiatea on wikivoyage

Books, Guides, etc. Use the Reference template or not at your discretion. For example:

{{Reference|Rod Heikel|Greek Waters Pilot|Imray|Laurie and Wilson, Cambridgeshire (2010)|9780852889718}}, expands to

Rod Heikell, Greek Waters Pilot, Imray Laurie and Wilson, Cambridgeshire (2010), ISBN 9780852889718

• Author, Title, Publisher, ISBN ISBN number
• Author, Title, Publisher, ISBN ISBN number

You may want to remove the above entries and use instead a link to the Country or Region that lists the relevant references. If so enter, after removing {{MagentaText|xx}}, the following:

Personal Notes

Personal experiences?

• Chiara Stella -- Raiatea and Tahaa blog post.

Last Visited & Details Checked (and updated here)

Date of member's visit to this Island & this page's details validated:

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