TAHITI & MOOREA
Tahiti and Moorea are two of the main islands of the Society Island Group. Papeete on the island of Tahiti is the capital of French Polynesia and the port of entry for all international flights.

Tahiti is shaped like an “8” lying on its side. The many reefs off this curving coastline provide a string south swell reef passes producing over a dozen quality breaks. The north coast also produces consistent surf from the large swells that pass through Hawaii, however, the south coast is surprisingly consistent year round.
The island of Moorea lies WNW of Tahiti. The crossing from Tahiti to Moorea will take approximately 2 hours at which time you can troll for large game fish. Moorea is shaped like a “W” with the two large bays facing North. Moorea is a very beautiful island offering spectacular lagoons and mountains. There are only a few quality and consistent south swell breaks on Moorea; Ha’apiti and Tamea are the two most well known. Although these can be excellent breaks, and are definitely worth surfing, you should expect these breaks to be more crowded then the breaks off the main island as most surfers on the island will concentrate on these two breaks. Moorea is well worth the trip for groups chartering Runaway for at least 7 nights.

TUAMOTU ATOLLS
The Tuamotu Atolls are situated NE of Tahiti and the Society Islands.
Atolls are also knows as “Ring Reefs” which are ancient reef systems grown around submerged islands. The “Rings” can be as small as 3 miles or as large as 45 miles across, with the center being a huge lagoon protected on all sides.
The islands that dot the ring of each atoll are low lying areas of land that has amassed over the centuries, eventually becoming home to trees and animals. The highest point above sea level in most atolls is only only3-10’, however the Tuamotus are some of the oldest and largest atolls in the world with elevations reaching 20.

The best SURF SEASON for this region is December through March when the large swells generated in the North Pacific pass through Hawaii before reaching the reef passes of the Tuamotus. The typical trade winds this time of year blow from the NE creating epic condition at the NW passes (side off to direct offshore).

There are very few local surfers in the Tuamotus, and no land based surf camps. You should expect that there will be many times when your group is surfing alone. In addition, it is my experience that the local surfers are some of the friendliest in the world when approached with the general respect they deserve.

Our surf packages to the Tuamotus focus on quality and convenience.
For the months of January through March we are operating 7 night charters focusing almost exclusively on one atoll with one NW pass. Although the chain is comprised of 78 different atolls stretching over 450 miles (with unlimited potential), it is our experience that the atoll on which we focus is the most consistent and beautiful. In addition, although the conditions for charter in the lagoons and passes is beautiful with flat water, the open Pacific between atolls typically is very rough with strong swell, chop, current and wind making for potentially long uncomfortable crossings. In addition, as the best passes for the standard wind directions face NW, if there is swell at one NW pass there will likely be swell at other NW passes. On the flip side, if there is no swell at the NW pass on which we focus, the likelihood of other N or NW passes having surf is unlikely. This forces one to pose the question: If you have good surf, do you want to make a long movement in search of other surf. If there is no surf, do you want to make a long uncomfortable move if the potential is very slim for a payout? In a rare occasion if the potential for N swell looks extremely poor, we may opt to relocate to an alternate S swell pass on another atoll.

This is why our Tuamotu charters focus on Quality and Convenience. Our 7 night charters aboard “Runaway” allow you to take a much shorter trip then is typically possible aboard a yacht charter, which also keeps down cost. The flight from Los Angeles to Tahiti is only 8 hours (5 from Hawaii), and air schedules allow convenient connections to the inner-island flights to the Tuamotus. There are daily flights (some days multiple flight) from Papeete to the Atoll on which we focus. This convenient flight schedule combined with our small group charters allow passengers to travel with their own surfboards on the smaller domestic flights. We are not advertising the specific atoll at which Runnaway will be located. This will be detailed upon confirming a reservation; however, all the photos used on this page for the Tuamotus are of the atoll you will visit.

When not surfing you will have the opportunity to snorkel, fish or possibly visit one of the pearl farms or fish farms that supply the Society Islands with the large stocks necessary for the main tourist trade.

I have taken many trips both yacht and land based to various parts of the world. My trip aboard Runaway was one of my best ever. The captain and crew were extremely service oriented while maintaining a “friend” like atmosphere. The boat is in top condition and the potential for world class surf is high. If you are looking for South Pacific perfection January through March this is an excellent option. – Sean Murphy, President, WaterWays.