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Sailing Tahiti . . .
Sailing across the warm aquamarine Tahitian waters
is an unsurpassed experience. What better way to discover
Tahiti and Her Islands than from the same perspective
as the first voyagers to arrive in these magical and
pristine islands.
The island of Raiatea is the main hub for sailing activities
in French Polynesia. Long regarded as the yacht charter
capital of Tahiti and Her Islands, Raiatea is home to
several preferred South Seas yacht charter companies
with offices in the U.S.
The Moorings is based in the modern Apooiti Marina
complex, less than five minutes from the airport on
Raiatea and just 10 minutes from the town of Utuora,
the island’s capital. The Moorings’ fleet
of 30 boats includes single-hull vessels ranging from
38-51 feet and catamarans from 42-47 feet. The Moorings
can be reached in the U.S. at (800) 535-7289 or (813)
530-5424. Or visit their web site at www.moorings.com.
About eight miles southeast of Uturoa by the main road
is beautiful Faaroa Bay, home to Sun Yacht Charters
and Stardust Marine. All 20 of the Stardust Marine sailing
yachts offer either bare boat charters or cruises with
qualified skippers. In the U.S., call (800) 772-3500
or visit their web site at www.paw.com/sail/sunyachts.
Operating out of Moorea, yacht charter company Archipels
Croisieres offers catamaran cruises and scuba diving
cruises around many Tahitian islands, including Bora
Bora, Huahine, the Marquesas and the Tuamotus. To contact
Archipels Croisieres in Tahiti call 011 689 56 36 39,
or visit their web site at www.archipels.com.
In addition, the Papeete Port Authority on the island
of Tahiti maintains a marina for sail boats and luxurious
yachts just five miles west of Papeete Harbor. Several
yacht charter companies also operate in the area. In
all, a total of five nautical bases operate sailing
charters on a year-round basis in Tahiti and Her Islands.
Visitors to Tahiti and Her Islands can enjoy both bare
boat and crewed sailings, each offering breathtaking
views of cloud-shrouded green mountain peaks, sheltering
atolls and reefs, and deep water lagoons with visibility
that extends to a depth of 100-feet. Yachts can be chartered
for just a few days or weeks, but the resulting memories
last a lifetime.
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