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<\/a>The little bit of coral land that separates a lagoon from the open sea<\/p><\/div>\n
With winds abeam we flew along, our target the atoll of Kauehi. We\u2019d chosen this as our first atoll as it has a reasonably wide pass so is suited to beginners like us! The seas flow over the reefs and flood the lagoons – all that water needs somewhere to escape and it is through the passages that it empties. Therefore, timing your arrival for around slack tide is absolutely critical. Tide tables are not common in these parts but one clever chap has put together a spreadsheet called the TuamotosTidalGuesstimator (see Sailing Notes) using the limited tidal information available and various data to come up with estimates of when slack tide can be expected at each atoll. So we all pour over it, trying to work out slack times using factors such as the wind over the last few days, the sea state etc.<\/p>\n
With our fast speeds on this trip we knew we would have to start slowing down to arrive at the designated time. We always reef down at night time and it paid dividends as some nasty black squalls with wind speeds of around 40 knots hit us and several times we got a good soaking. It\u2019s an urban myth that the Pacific is easy sailing.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Susie celebrates her birthday with cards and Yellowbrick messages<\/p><\/div>\n
Mid-trip Susie celebrated her birthday. The Danes gathered around the radio and sang a traditional Danish birthday song. Loch Marin radio-ed too and Phil told Susie best Tom be buying some nice pearls for her in the Tuamotos! Another catamaran we know, called Daphne, sailing in the distance overheard and radio-ed in as well. As ever the sailing community is one big family looking out for each other, whatever the situation.<\/p>\n
Two nights out we started applying the brakes knowing if we left it too late we\u2019d have to sail at a speed of 3 knots in a rolly sea which would be very uncomfortable.\u00a0 But still we realised we\u2019d be there around 5am and our ideal entry time was 11am, a potentially uncomfortable wait. Out came the Guesstimator again and we worked out we could enter between 5.30am and 6am but it would be pushing it in terms of current and furthermore it would only just be light. Loch Marin decided to go for the safer, sensible option and headed to another atoll, while Ansoba and ourselves agreed to take a look, but if it was too hairy we\u2019d head off to another atoll too. At 5am we arrived with just a hint of light. We could just see the palm trees surrounding the treasured lagoon we so wanted to enter. 5.30am it was lighter and Gordon on Ansoba announced we should go for it at 5.45am.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Kauehi<\/p><\/div>\n
Any skipper who tells you his beating heart wasn\u2019t sitting high up in his throat as he entered his first pass is one big liar. Or an Australian. We\u2019d read so much about these passes, the stories of boats hitting reefs, the moment was now. Ahead we saw Ansoba slowing and Gordon radioed \u201c2500rpm\u201d \u2013 we increased the revs and charged forward. We hit a patch of seething boiling water as the current ripped out of the pass, focusing with all our might, willing Adina on. Our boat speed said 6.5 knots, our speed over the ground told us 2 knots; the water really was ripping out of the pass. Our eyes looked over both sides, Tom guiding Adina to avoid the strong surge but also not end up on the beach close by. Out of the rip tide but still in the passage crawling along. Then ten minutes later we were through! Gordon raised his arms in victory, Susie and I high-fived each other, relief and joy all mixed into one. But no time for relaxing, our next focus \u2013 a lagoon scattered with coral heads that could rip into your hull and must be avoided at all cost! We headed for our desired anchorage but realising the sun was too low for coral head spotting we headed off to the atoll village sailing through a deep marked channel.<\/p>\n
For the first time since we left the Galapagos, Adina at anchorage sat flat in the water! No more rolly anchorages, it was bliss. The winds still howled away at 15-20 knots but protected by reef the sea was flat. Smiles all round.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Picking pearls!<\/p><\/div>\n
Next stop \u2013 the village. Let it be known, the days of locals with grass skirts are long gone. People have cars, phones and TV. But it is still a simple, slow way of life. Diesel arrives every 2 months, the one store has limited and expensive provisions. Coconuts are farmed for export. But the main export here is pearls, specifically treasured coloured pearls. We asked around and soon found the man who runs the local pearl farm. Sadly the winds were too strong, stirring up the sands so we couldn\u2019t snorkel and see his farm but we could see some pearls for sale. Grade Three pearls were up for grabs \u2013 the Chinese and Japanese apparently get all the Grade One pearls. So the girls rejoiced in choosing lots of pearls. Susie opted for a bunch to make a bracelet and three nice pearls for a necklace dropper. The pearl farmer came up with the price and would then take his little silver tray and give a random scoop of pearls as a present. Tom, ever the savvy negotiator, put forward the bracelet pearls for payment and before the random scoop could take place put the three necklace pearls in the silver scoop. The man smiled, the deal was done.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The girls get to choose mother of pearl shells<\/p><\/div>\n
He agreed to then show us around the shore part of the pearl farm where the girls were allowed to take as many oyster shells with mother of pearl linings as they could! And he was soon taking a shine to Susie with her French language skills \u2013 it was \u2018Susi\u2019 this, \u2018Susi\u2019 that. Time for more negotiation from Tom who owed Susie a birthday present: (in French by Susie, directed by Tom) \u201cMy partner wants to buy me a nice pearl for my birthday \u2013 do you really not have any Grade 1 pearls?\u201d Report for duty at 3pm later that day. One nice pearl, and very happy is Susie!<\/p>\n
<\/a>Tom checking out a pearl farm<\/p><\/div>\n
The next day we then headed off to our initial planned anchorage for a bit of good old snorkelling and remote beach life. The sun shone, the wind was tolerable and we enjoyed a beach fire together with Ansoba and admired the stars.<\/p>\n
Soon it was time to move on. We\u2019d done our sums and figured if we sailed fast we could exit Kauehi at a good time and get to the big atoll of Fakarava, entering by the narrow south pass. An easy exit this time, we sprinted to Fakarava with Ansoba. This was a more challenging pass with a bit of left and right and a shallow bit with only 2.7m of water (Adina draws approximately 2m in the water). We noticed many sailors bypassed it but we had timed the tides bang on and entered with an ingoing tide of 1 knot, meaning while full concentration was still needed we passed through safely.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Snorkelling with black tip reef sharks<\/p><\/div>\n
South Fakarava is known to have the best diving in all of the Tuamotos, with the pass rumoured to be full of sharks. We lowered our anchor and Tom entered the water to check the anchor was secure \u2013 he was promptly joined by three black tip reef sharks and two giant barracuda! It wasn\u2019t long before dinghies were launched and we tied up next to the small pension with its restaurant on stilts looking out over the pass. Ever read of places where sharks idly circle in shallow water below them? This was it! Crystal clear water teeming with all sorts of brightly coloured fish and no shortage of black tip reef sharks gliding by. In we jumped, the GoPro camera being used to its full. On board we have a Pacific fish identification book. We go for a long snorkel, take pictures and film, come back to the boat, make a cup of tea (there\u2019s a confession!), playback the film and identify the fish we\u2019ve seen, trying to learn their names. It\u2019s become an absolute favourite pastime and makes the snorkelling that much more enjoyable.<\/p>\n
But let no man tell you the Pacific is all paradise. The winds and seas round here are not to be trivialised and a calm day is a rare day. We\u2019re not ungrateful but sometimes it gets you on edge. That night squalls and winds of 25-30knots rolled into the lagoon, agitating the sea, pitching boats anchored in coral and sand up-and-down, everybody admitting the next day it was a sleepless night. We discussed it and admitted people all too often write that everything in the Pacific is perfect. Those perfect days are indeed perfect but there is a lot of bad weather too. Still \u2013 wouldn\u2019t swap it for anything!<\/p>\n
<\/a>Yacht Lochmarin – Sunset in Fakarava<\/p><\/div>\n
Talking of perfect days, the weather finally settled down, the sun shone and we went diving. Visibility of 50m or more, grey reef sharks, silver tip sharks, white tip sharks, black tip sharks, black tip reef sharks and more coral reef fish than you can throw a coral reef stick at. Then a sit down in the sun on a deck overlooking the reef. After lunch we found a small coral beach where Susie got a haircut from Andreas while Tom and Mikkel found coconuts and a spot for a night time fire, followed by another fine crystal white water snorkel. That night we all go ashore, bring food, light a fire, enjoy a few drinks and share supper.<\/p>\n
Up the next morning, and despite using fenders on our anchor chain to clear us of most of the coral heads on the lagoon bottom, we can\u2019t get the anchor up \u2013 it\u2019s snagged beneath a coral head. Tom gets in the water with mask and snorkel and directs Susie on the helm and eventually we steer Adina and her anchor chain clear. It\u2019s a common problem anchoring in a lagoon full of coral heads \u2013 with shifting wind you soon get your anchor chain wrapped.<\/p>\n
You get a real mixture of boats sailing around the world. Most are retired people but there are also family boats with families taking time out together or even some who have made their fortunes and don\u2019t need to work. Family boats mean kids and kids need to be entertained, so kid boats tend to hang out together. And the rest of us spend time more often than not trying to stay ahead of them. It\u2019s nothing against kids, we\u2019ve met some genuinely nice families with very well behaved and lovely children, but the multiple boats together soon fill up anchorages. Many are on more spacious catamarans and have been branded \u2018Kiddy Cats\u2019. And our new anchorage of three boats soon became twelve boats so we dashed off the next day. A new lovely anchorage, three adult boats, palm trees, white beaches, more wind and excellent snorkelling. And listening on the VHF radio to where the Kiddy Cats are headed next!<\/p>\n
<\/a>The village of North Fakarava<\/p><\/div>\n
Fakarava is the second longest lagoon 31 miles from south to north. We headed to the north to the village of Rotova for a quick provisioning stop and some rare internet. Annoyingly we got a mail from Marine Warehouse in the USA telling us our shipment of spares and replacements that we had arranged 3 weeks before to arrive in Tahiti in-line with our schedule was delayed by 2 weeks as one part had been slow in arriving in to their warehouse. Had we known we would have said go ahead without it \u2013 that\u2019s our schedule now messed up.<\/p>\n
One more atoll \u2013 we set off for Tauo with friends on a Kiddy Cat called Field Trip. We were joined by Andiamo, three boats, that\u2019s a race. With Adina nicely in the lead, that all changed as we crossed a patch of tuna. Our rod went out screaming and the lure snapped clean off as Tom tried to slow the line running out. As Susie always says \u201cIf that\u2019s what it did, we didn\u2019t want it anyway\u201d. Field Trip had the same experience. Andiamo however stopped and had theirs on the line and started to battle. After over an hour fighting the line their son dived in and got the tuna with a spear gun! Two hours later when we were safely tucked up on a mooring buoy they radioed to say they had finally landed it!<\/p>\n