Saturday, May 31, 2014

Rangiroa

We are currently visiting and exploring the delightful atoll of Rangiroa - the largest one of the Tuamotus and our last one before heading on to Tahiti in a few days. Although it has been rainy and gusty here, we were able to dodge squalls yesterday and do some sightseeing. We rented bicycles and rode along the main road of about 10 miles round trip. We stopped and had lunch at a pizza restaurant and had first rate view of the water. Seems like in forever that I have had a pizza, and considering where we are and that is was made by a French man that did not speak English, it was quite good. We also visited another pearl farm, Gauguin's Pearl Farm, which was very informative. After visiting several farms in the Tuamotus, I recommend this one for the best value, friendliness, and large selection to choose from. Sadly, we did not get to visit the world's most exotic winery, Tahiti Wines, since the owner was in Tahiti and apparently it is quite a boat expedition to visit that must be prearranged. The reason that it is the most exotic winery is because the grapes are grown in the coral here. We were able to pick up a couple of bottles though in the local "magazins" (grocery stores). One bottle is said to provide the hint of "coral" or "rocks" along with the aromas of honey and papayas. We have not tasted it yet, so will have to weigh in on those claims later.

The prior day, we were finally able to do the drift "dive" or snorkel through the Tiputa pass here at Rangiroa. Dave and I took the dinghy to the pass, jumped in while holding the line and the strong current brought us in through the pass while we viewed the varied sea life below - amazing! The water is so crystal clear, we were able to see to the bottom and along with the coral saw quite a variety of fish. Dave even saw a black tip shark! Thank goodness Gail did not see it or she probably would not have gone again and again and again... And did I mention that the water here is 84 degrees - perfect for Gail! It was quite an amazing experience. Just make sure you go during the incoming current or you would very quickly get washed out to sea!

We are taking lots of pictures, but still searching for internet. We thought yesterday that we finally found some restaurants with WiFi, but then was told internet is down for all of French Polynesia for the next three days. Apparently, the internet cable from Hawaii is being repaired this weekend. Oh well, maybe in Tahiti. The things we take for granted in the US! Who needs internet anyway when one is in paradise?

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Monday, May 26, 2014

Taking Life One Pass at a Time

It is amazing how different the Tuomotus are from the Marquesas. All of these islands are atolls with a large lagoon surrounded by a coral reef. The lagoons are fairly large and free of any swell as this is dissipated by the fringing coral reef. There can be some wind waves and even some moderate chop, however, as the fetch inside the lagoon can be up to 30 miles. Most of these atolls have one or two passes from the ocean into the lagoon and it's all about timing the entrance or exit with the tidal current. Even though the tide is pretty small, less than a foot typically, there is a large volume of water passing through a small cut which can produce a significant current, up to 6 or 8 knots. If this current is then opposing the 20 knot trades then some boisterous conditions can result. We saw some fairly large standing waves in one of the passes as we were entering on a rising tide and it was quite a ride. Add to that some of these passes are fairly narrow and it makes for some exciting times!

We spent several days relaxing in Fakarava (transiting the Garue Pass) after our crossing from the Marquesas, including an expensive visit to a black pearl farm which was well worth it! We then went to the atoll of Toau and spent one night inside the lagoon (Otugi Pass) at a gorgeous, picture post card South Pacific anchorage and two nights on a mooring in Anse Amyot, actually outside the lagoon in a "false pass". The next day we came to Apataki and the Pakaka Pass with it's amazing turquoise water and crossed the lagoon to Motu Rua Vahine. We have been here two nights and are now planning to head up the inside of the lagoon to the North Pass and then on to Rangiroa. After Rangiroa it's on to Tahiti and the Society Islands (Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora) ...

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Sunday, May 18, 2014

Fakarava

After 500+ miles and a little over a 4 day passage, we made it to Fakarava - our first coral atoll in the Tuamotus. The landscape is dramatically different than it was in the Marquesas. We left lush, green mountainous islands to arrive at very flat coral atolls with shallow, wide lagoons. Entrance into the passes can be very stressful, as the tide currents can be 6 to 9 knots and the trade winds seem to consistently blow at 15 to 20 knots. This can make for some very choppy seas around the passes. All of this with some dangerous reefs lying around as well would make anyone a little hesitant and nervous! But since we had done similar passages in Caicos, I figured Dave could handle this one as well and for our first atoll we chose Fakarava mainly because it has the largest pass in this archipelago. We came in a little after slack tide riding the incoming current and even though it was choppy at the pass, we made it in fine. The pass itself was over a mile wide which we were not expecting. Our anchorage itself is over 70 feet, which is deeper than our comfort zone, especially with blustery winds at night, but all in all has been very nice.

The passage itself was very good as we did 543 miles with a daily average of 130 miles at 5.4 knots (thank you Dave for the numbers)! Trade winds were consistent at 15 to 20 knots from east to southeast right on the beam. Really a great sail, similar to the ones we saw in the windward passage in the Caribbean!

Yesterday for the first time in awhile, Dave and I went snorkeling on the reefs with our neighbors from Moshulu, Jerry and Gail. Along with the colorful reef fish, we spotted a big, black, moray eel poking out of his hole and Dave saw a leopard ray and barracuda. The highlight though were the black lipped oysters that were embedded into the coral itself! Speaking of which, now off to find our own black pearls!

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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Cruising

The definition of Cruising is being able to make boat repairs in exotic ports around the world. I would add that sometimes repairs are made on the high seas. This morning the SSB would not turn on. After multiple tries I removed the fuse (which was OK) and screwed it back in and then everything worked. It is frustrating when things don't work and even more so when you fix them but are not sure how....

The InReach also stopped sending position updates but that was apparently because we let the battery run down and the transmission stopped. When we recharged, we needed to restart the transmission.

We spent two wonderful days in Fatu Hiva hiking and visiting the waterfall. On the way back North we stopped in a nice anchorage on the west side of Tahuata for a few days and worked on the alternator (one of two alternators still not working properly) and fixed the head. We had a nice overnight passage up to Nuku Hiva and spent two nights in Taiohae Bay where we caught up on provisioning (tres expensive), laundry, filled propane tanks and, surprise, did more boat repairs. We hopped west from Taiohae just a few miles to Daniel's Bay, a very beautiful spot with the third highest waterfall in the world but the water was barely a trickle. On the hike back from the waterfall we stopped and had lunch at the house of a very friendly local couple where I practised mon Francais (tres mal). They served us poisson cru (raw fish in coconut milk - awesome), pamplemousse (grapefruit) and fried bananas, along with some other local dishes.

Yesterday (Monday) we raised anchor to head for the Tuomotus. We are currently about 1/3 of the way to Fakarava, our first likely stop among these many atolls.

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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Fatu Hiva

We are actually living the dream and sailing the French Polynesia! Anchored at Fatu Hiva yesterday and it was amazingly beautiful. We felt as though we were hiking in a postcard and then went swimming in a pool under the waterfall with a couple of new friends, Jerry and Gail. It was so much fun! The guys though beat us to the pool and neglected to tell us gals that there was a huge eel swimming around when they first got in. I probably would have had second thoughts before jumping in if I had known. The water though was so refreshing after the hike as it is very hot and HUMID here.

Currently writing this from Tahuata with plans for tomorrow to move on to Nuku Hiva where we will be able to take on more fuel and provisions before making the really big jump to the Tuamotus which should have coral heads and crystal blue shallow waters. Since internet is almost nonexistent here, I cannot post pictures at this point, but hopefully will be able to do so in a few days in Nuku Hiva. So for the moment you will have to just believe that the landscape is amazingly beautiful and the people very friendly. Dave and I are having a great time!

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Friday, May 2, 2014

Paradise!


After a long flight, I am now truly back in Paradise; aka Hiva Oa in the Marquesas! It is nice to see some of the cruisers that we last saw in Puerto Vallarta. Not so much as hot here, but very humid! Today we checked out the town and provisioned as Dave was able to eat all the frozen meat while underway. Dave is a little thinner than when I last left him, but I will get him fattened up in no time.

Tomorrow after updating the crew list to add me at customs and taking on some more fuel, we will depart Hiva Oa to go next door to the island Tahuata which is only a few miles away. It's all good...