Feb 8,2024–Navigator still at the dock in Papeete

[RachelG]

Does anyone know what is up with the Navigator?  We disembarked yesterday morning, and they were supposed to sail to Moorea this morning, but we just drove by at4pm.  They were still at the dock.

[Kwaj girl]

15 minutes ago, RachelG said:

Does anyone know what is up with the Navigator?  We disembarked yesterday morning, and they were supposed to sail to Moorea this morning, but we just drove by at4pm.  They were still at the dock.

 

Probably due to the cyclone. We are on Mariner and will be skipping Fakarava as well as Moorea for that reason, arriving Papeete on the 10th at 9am instead of the expected 9pm

[RachelG]

2 minutes ago, Kwaj girl said:

 

Probably due to the cyclone. We are on Mariner and will be skipping Fakarava as well as Moorea for that reason, arriving Papeete on the 10th at 9am instead of the expected 9pm

School was out in Tahiti yesterday and today—due to “the cyclone”.  It is not even a windy day here.  Light showers intermittently but no significant wind at all and some sunshine.  The water was really stirred up though.  And people who took the ferry from Papeete to Moorea said it was rough.

 

if they let out school for weather like this in Oklahoma, the kids would never go to school.

[pappy1022]

Tropical Cyclone Osai is the second cyclone in a week passing the Cook Islands, while there is an orange alert for parts of French Polynesia due to cyclone Nat.

[NYC-London]

On 2/8/2024 at 9:37 PM, RachelG said:

School was out in Tahiti yesterday and today—due to “the cyclone”.  It is not even a windy day here.  Light showers intermittently but no significant wind at all and some sunshine.  The water was really stirred up though.  And people who took the ferry from Papeete to Moorea said it was rough.

 

if they let out school for weather like this in Oklahoma, the kids would never go to school.

This comes under the category to better be safe than sorry. Anyone who studies weather can tell you that even the best predictions can be wrong and in the far east and pacific islands they take cyclones and typhoons very seriously, just as Floridians do for hurricanes - you prepare for the worst and hope for the best. The structural integrity of some of the buildings cannot withstand the winds of a cyclone. A number of years ago I was in Hong Kong and we were made aware of a potential typhoon - in the lobby of the hotel was the HUGE sign with warnings and what to do in the event of a typhoon. At about 2:30am all the guests were awaken and sheltered in the basement, yet when it was all over, yes, there was significant rain and winds, but nothing dangerous, or so we thought. It was not until we started to explore outside to see than less than 2km from the hotel, there was significant damage and the windows were blown out of the hotel were our colleagues were staying.

The same holds true in Florida - how many times have residents prepare for a severe hurricane, only to be relieved to learn that either it did not materialize or changed direction.