When the Ocean Shows Its Wonders

After the rush of the past few days, we promised ourselves that today would be easy, a soft pause, a small exhale aboard Tauha. The morning drifted by lazily. Alex pulled out his fishing pole and cast line after line into the glassy water, chasing the idea of a fresh lunch. The fish, however, were clearly having their own lazy day. Eventually, motivation caught up with us and we decided to tackle some boat chores. Alex climbed down into the dinghy with cleaning utensils. Cleaning a 44-foot boat sounds manageable… until you’re face-to-face with layers of dried algae that cling to the hull like they’ve signed a rental agreement.

Since rough brushes would damage the gelcoat (and ironically give algae even more places to settle), it’s all gentle scrubbing, endless rinsing, and patience. Lots and lots of patience. Meanwhile, I decided to investigate one of our stubborn winches that had decided it no longer wanted to move. I took it apart piece by piece, careful not to lose any springs to the sea gods, and scrubbed everything down. But the central piece was wedged in there. Nothing was moving.

So, after a lunch break and a mutual nod of “we deserve something more fun,” we grabbed masks, snorkels, fins, an responsible irresponsible amount of sunscreen, and hopped into the dinghy. The plan: snorkel by the little wreck on the reef just in front of our boat.

As we approached the little boye, something splashed on the far side of the reef. A tail? We turned the dinghy slightly. Two boats were drifting on the other side of the reef, and just as we squinted at the water, another enormous splash. That was not just a fish. As we got closer, the truth surfaced. Literally. A whale calf. And not alone! Two adults were nearby, calm, slow, majestic.

The baby? Pure chaotic joy. Tail-slapping, rolling, splashing like it had just discovered it had a tail at all. We drifted in our little dinghy, completely stunned. Neither of us had ever seen a whale before. And here we were, front row seats, no tour, no expectation, just unbelievable luck. We whispered, we pointed, we grinned like children.

When the whales eventually glided away, we slipped into the water. The underwater world was its usual magic, bright fish darting around like little sparks, shells opening and closing like breathing stones. We floated through coral alleys, towing the dinghy gently behind us. Then, in a shallow maze of coral where visibility narrows, a shadow slid into view. A blacktip reef shark. Right. In. Front. Of. Us.

Not huge, but absolutely big enough to make me hold by breath. It glided past, elegant and silent, then disappeared as quickly as it came. Our first real shark encounter. My brain was a conflicting mix of “wow” and “WOW”. After that burst of excitement, we climbed back into the dinghy and headed home to Tauha, glowing with the kind of happiness you can’t plan.

And the surprises weren’t over. Shortly after, the biggest sea turtle we’ve seen so far swam past our boat, huge, peaceful, ancient. We watched her drift by like a living piece of history.

As the sun set, the salt on our skin reminded us that showers were a necessity, not an option. Fresh water never felt so luxurious. And since the day had already been perfect, we decided to finish it with pizza and beer at the little harbor pizzeria. A tiny lizard joined us at our table, as if to bless the evening.

Whales. A shark. A giant sea turtle. Warm water. Sunshine. Pizza and Beer in Tahiti.
What more could we possibly ask for? Some days you go looking for adventure. And some days, it finds you anyway.

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