Every cruiser still in French Polynesia as the calendar moves toward November 1 faces the same question: haul out, find a sheltered place to ride it out afloat, or keep moving west before the cyclone season closes in. The South Pacific cyclone season runs November through April, and the decision about where a boat spends those months is one of the few genuinely consequential logistics calls a cruiser makes all year. Two of the most-used answers sit at opposite ends of French Polynesia — Raiatea Carenage Services in the Leeward Society Islands, and Tahiti’s smaller haul-out and shelter options closer to Papeete — and they suit different boats and different plans.
This guide compares what each actually offers, so the choice can be made on capability and location rather than on whichever name comes up first in a cruiser forum thread.
The Basic Decision: Haul Out, Shelter Ashore, or Ride It Out Afloat
Boats staying in French Polynesia through cyclone season generally take one of three approaches:
- Haul out at a yard with proper travel-lift capacity and stands, out of the water entirely
- Shelter in a protected anchorage or marina recognized as reasonably cyclone-resistant, staying afloat with extra ground tackle
- Depart for a location outside the cyclone belt — New Zealand, Australia, or Hawaii are the common choices — before the season opens
For boats not making the passage south or north, the real choice is between the first two options, and that’s where Raiatea and Tahiti diverge most.
Raiatea Carenage Services: The Region’s Biggest Lift
Raiatea Carenage Services, based in the Uturoa technical zone on Raiatea, is the largest haul-out operation in French Polynesia and the default choice for cruisers who want their boat properly out of the water rather than sheltered afloat.
Lift capacity:
- A 50-tonne travel lift handles monohulls up to roughly 5 meters in beam
- A self-propelled lift/tractor system handles catamarans up to about 7.56 meters in beam
- A rail system takes larger catamarans and motorboats up to 70 tonnes and 11 meters, for shorter-term stays
That range covers the great majority of cruising monohulls and catamarans transiting the Pacific, including wide multihulls that many smaller Pacific yards can’t lift at all.
On-site services at Raiatea Carenage include painting and antifouling, fiberglass repair, mechanical work, electronics, electrical, welding, a machine shop, rigging and fittings work, woodwork and carpentry, and salvage operations — enough depth that a boat can go through a full haul-out season without needing to ship in outside labor for routine work.
Booking ahead matters here as much as anywhere else in the region. The weeks before November 1 are the yard’s busiest stretch, as boats across the Society Islands make the same haul-out decision at once. Contacting the yard well in advance of the date needed, rather than assuming a lift slot will be open on arrival, is standard practice going into cyclone season.
Tahiti’s Layup Options: Smaller Scale, Closer to the Capital
For cruisers based around Tahiti rather than the Leeward Islands, the calculus is different — and the haul-out capacity is meaningfully smaller.
Tahiti Nautic Center, at Taravao on Baie Phaëton between Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti, is generally considered one of the better-sheltered spots on Tahiti for riding out cyclone season, and it does offer haul-out — but on a hydraulic propped trailer rated to a maximum draft of two meters and 20 tonnes, with 25 hard-standing places accommodating up to 20 boats within that draft limit. That’s a real constraint for deeper-draft cruising boats, which won’t fit the trailer regardless of overall length. The center also offers basic repair facilities, including sail and mechanical work, laundry and shower facilities, and a shuttle bus running twice weekly to Papeete for provisioning and parts runs.
Papeete proper has its own haul-out capacity through Technimarine Tahiti’s larger travel lifts and the Port Autonome slipway, covered in more detail in our Papeete boat maintenance guide — but availability there tightens for the same reason it does in Raiatea: everyone is trying to get hauled or sheltered in the same pre-November window.
Staying afloat is the other Tahiti-area option, typically in a well-regarded sheltered bay with reinforced ground tackle, rather than at a marina berth or the open Papeete quay. This suits boats whose draft or size rules out the smaller haul-out slots, or crews planning to be aboard through the season to manage lines and weather rather than leaving the boat unattended ashore.
Insurance and Risk-Zone Considerations
Marine insurance for boats in the South Pacific commonly treats November 1 through roughly May 1 as the restricted or excluded period for the cyclone belt, though the exact geographic boundary varies by insurer. Some policies draw the risk-zone line further west, near 150°W — which places the Leeward Society Islands (Raiatea, Bora Bora, Tahaa) inside the higher-risk zone while treating Tahiti, the Tuamotus, and the Marquesas somewhat more favorably. Other insurers apply a single blanket rule across French Polynesia regardless of island group.
None of this should be taken as a substitute for checking an individual policy. Terms, excluded zones, and any haul-out or minimum-mooring requirements differ enough between insurers that the only reliable answer is a direct check with the underwriter before committing to a layup plan — ideally before, not after, a yard slot has been booked and paid for.
Making the Call Before November 1
There’s no single right answer between Raiatea and Tahiti — the decision mostly comes down to where the boat already is, its beam and draft against each yard’s lift limits, and whether the owner is staying aboard through the season or leaving the boat unattended. What doesn’t change is the timing: yard capacity in both locations tightens sharply as November 1 approaches, and a haul-out or mooring arrangement confirmed in September is a meaningfully easier booking than the same request made in the last week of October.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a wide catamaran be hauled at Tahiti Nautic Center?
Not on the standard hydraulic trailer, which is limited to a two-meter draft and rated for craft within its 20-tonne capacity — beam isn’t the only constraint, and draft is the more common reason a boat won’t fit. Wider or deeper-draft catamarans are generally better suited to Raiatea Carenage’s dedicated catamaran lift and rail systems.
Is it cheaper to haul out in Raiatea or stay afloat in Tahiti?
Costs vary by boat size, length of stay, and which yard or mooring option is used, and neither this guide nor the yards themselves publish a fixed comparison — get a current quote directly from the yard or marina rather than budgeting from older figures, since haul-out and storage rates change.
Do we need to be present with the boat during cyclone season if we haul out?
No — hauled-out boats are commonly left unattended for the season, provided stands and lashing are properly set and someone reliable can check on the boat if a system approaches. Boats staying afloat in a sheltered anchorage more often have an owner or caretaker aboard or nearby, since afloat boats need active line and weather management that a boat on stands does not.
Is Uturoa a good base for provisioning while the boat is hauled?
Uturoa, Raiatea’s main town, has supermarkets, a market, fuel, and basic marine chandlery within easy reach of the Carenage yard — adequate for a haul-out season, though less complete than Papeete’s provisioning options covered in our Papeete provisioning guide.