The port
FairWinds' first marina in French Polynesia, at Punaauia on Tahiti's west coast: about 550 berths including a dedicated superyacht quay, the traditional gathering point for Pacific Puddle Jump boats at the end of their transpacific crossing.
Run by the Port autonome de Papeete (the territorial public port authority), Marina Taina sits in Punaauia, a few kilometres southwest of central Papeete on Tahiti's west coast. It holds roughly 550 berths at quay, on pontoon or in dry storage, including a dedicated superyacht quay, a fuel station, and water and power at every berth. It has carried the Blue Flag eco-label since 2012, the only port in French Polynesia entitled to it according to the territorial maritime authority (DPAM). Marina Taina is not itself an official port of entry: customs and immigration formalities for a vessel arriving in Tahiti are handled in Papeete itself, the only point of entry listed by the DPAM for the island. According to specialised sailing press, Marina Taina traditionally serves as the gathering point for crews of the Pacific Puddle Jump, the transpacific rally founded in 1997 by Andy Turpin (Latitude 38 magazine), which has seen more than 4,000 sailboats cross the Pacific from the Americas to French Polynesia, at a pace of roughly 200 boats in some years; the marina hosts the Tahiti Moorea Sailing Rendez-Vous, the rally's closing event.
