We couldn’t resist French Polynesia. Where else can sailors get a two-year visa to explore the very different landscapes of three archipelagos within the same country? In our first nine months we have followed the trade winds, discovering the Polynesian culture, the local fauna and sea life up close and personal. It’s the best cruising ground we have visited in our adventures.

My husband Ford and our Jack Russell terrier Izzy and I have sailed Jeanne, our 38-foot Fountaine Pajot Athena, 20,000 miles in the last five years. She is small, and very much a minimalist dream, just the way we like it. She is easy to handle and fits our budget with no need for extra crew even on ocean crossings. 

Our liveaboard experience was previously on monohulls, but when we set out on our world cruise, we bought Jeanne and never looked back. Her comfort and convenience won us over, especially since we spend 95% of our onboard time at anchor. It is so easy to jump in for a swim or launch our water toys right off the sugar scoop at water level. There’s plenty of storage for the water toys and we can entertain six people at a time comfortably. And when sailing, simple activities like setting your coffee down to check in with family and friends is a huge plus.

The three archipelagos in French Polynesia have unique challenges for sailing and anchoring, but there is no shortage of help between social media groups and WhatsApp groups. The best time of year for a Pacific crossing is February through June, and cyclone season is November through April. We plan on spending the cyclone season in the Marquesas Islands and made the Society Islands our first stop. 

All the anchorages in the Society Islands are inside a coral reef and safe from the ocean swells. The rugged islands rise out of lagoons that are gorgeous shades of blue. This is the archipelago to get in any shopping you want to do as you won’t find much on the other islands. After exploring most of the Society Islands we set sail. It was cyclone season and time to get east. We took it on the nose on the way to the Marquesas. Going to weather is not in our repertoire. It is not a comfortable sail for a multihull without daggerboards, and we felt the motion of the ocean. 

Most anchorages in the Marquesas tested our seamanship skills both on the tender and the mothership. There is a lack of skinny water so we often anchored in 50 feet of water. Getting ashore in most anchorages was also not for the timid. But once we made it ashore the experience was worth the salt spray of a wild beach landing in the surge. Friendly people greeted us and we visited their gardens with local fruit and veggies that they either sold or traded. We hiked to lovely waterfalls,and took in breathtaking views from the top of the calderas. We did it all and would do it again. 

When cyclone season ended, we sailed the 450 nautical miles to the atolls of the Tuamotus. Getting there was a challenge that required some planning, but there were many resources that helped. Once we went through the first pass, we didn’t want to leave. There are 77 atolls, but not all are charted for passage. 

Just when we thought it couldn’t possibly get better, we anchored in a place few people have touched. We walked the beautiful beaches and met the local black tip sharks and octopus while snorkeling. Like fine wines, each atoll had a special note of difference. The amount of live corals and variety of sea life was just astonishing. Every time I stuck my head in the water, I saw something new and exciting. The water in the Tuomotus is crystal clear on most days. The kind of clear that lets you stand on deck and see the anchor. 

The amount of planning that it took to move around these archipelagos was completely outweighed by the experiences that we had. When our year-long visa is up and we sail on to Fiji, we can say French Polynesia was the best cruising ground we have covered in our adventures.