The dramatic, soaring cliffs of Cook’s Bay, Moorea, have been the backdrop for the rally this week; although at times they have been obscured as rainy weather coated them in clouds.

On Monday a very enjoyable morning was spent with three local women as they showed us how to make Tahitian headdresses and different ways to tie pareos. The results were very colourful and in Jaime’s case very amusing.

On Wednesday evening many took the opportunity to join a BBQ and local dance evening organised by the hotel. This was the point at which it became obvious who had done their homework on pareo tying, as most of the women wore them for this occasion and looked lovely. Others showed that their local dance skills might take a little longer to perfect. The knee knocking for men and hip wiggles for women were not quite the same standard as the locals but it was fun trying. The evening continued with an excellent band from Papeete, which had the whole place ‘jumping’ way past closing time.

On Thursday, “‘the best weather day” according to someone, was the day for the great scooter adventure around the island. Thirteen ‘Blue Angels’ set off, in glorious sunshine, to see the sights of Moorea. The weather did not live up to expectations, as rain set in for the rest of the day, but it failed to put a dampener on our intrepid ‘Angels’.

Over the weekend the rally will start to depart to sail through the Iles Sous les Vents on their way to Bora Bora and thence, in three weeks time towards Tonga, via the Cook Islands and Niue