We left Makemo on July 31st for Tahanea. Because of the slack tides we had to leave around 4PM in Makemo and needed to arrive after 7AM in Tahanea. It was a bumpy sail and even with 2 reefs we still went too fast and arrived too soon. We “heaved-to” and entered with a counter current of 1 knot so not too bad.
The last 2 days in Makemo we moved Sanuk to the dock because their were too many waves at the anchorage and it became very bouncy.Arrival in Tahanea ! No people live in this atoll.We went with Flipper to one of the motus in the atoll and found lots of baby fregate birds in their nests.The snorkeling was super ! Crystal clear water and beautiful coral.and lots of colourful fish…Also lots of black tip sharks around….Colourful parrotfish, their mouth is just like a parrot beak without the noise.Yellow goatfish.More colourful fish…Flipper parked on the beach with the dinghy from Aislado, they are in love..Tuna steak on the cobb barbecue for a picnic, this must be paradise !A walk in the coconut forest.Where is the path ? Stefan style walk…End of a beautiful day in paradise š
Today , Wednesday August 10th, we are in Faakarava, UNESCO protected biosphere. We are sitting at Faakarava yacht services to have internet, update the blog, read and send emails and get the latest news. It is beautiful here! We have made reservations at the restaurant for tonight and will do some snorkeling this afternoon. This is really top! Tomorrow we will sail to Toau, Anse Amyot, not far from here. We can sail during the day since we do not have to go through a pass this time.
Today is sunday July 24th. We arrived yesterday in Makemo (Tuamotus) after a 3 day grueling passage ! We knew it was not going to be a smooth one since a lot of wind was predicted. We had a constant wind of 22-28 KTS on the beam but the waves came from everywhere making it a very uncomfortable passage. I felt nauseous the first 48 hours and the only thing I wanted to do is lay down and sleep. After the second day Stefan convinced me to take a pill against motion sickness. Two hours later I felt fine and enjoyed a cup of Ramen chicken noodle soup ! The first day we already caught a beautifull yellowfin tuna, food for 4 days !!! We arrived at 9AM but could only go through the pass at around 1PM, when it was slack tide. Navigating in the Tuamotus is not just sailing from one atoll to the next. Most atolls have one or two passes where you can enter but these have very strong tidal currents (8-9 KTS) which reverse 4 times a day. At slack tide, just between high and low tide, this current is at its lowest and sometimes even zero for 15 minutes. It is important you enter the pass when the current is low so you keep control over your boat! After we had been in “heave to” for about one hour we decided to slowly move towards the pass and have a look. We arrived around 12.30 PM and it looked fine to go in. We still had a counter current of 2 KTS but this was manageable, now we just had to navigate through the different reefs. Luckily the sun was out and we could clearly see them and they were very well marked ! Needless to say we were happy when we finally anchored and were able to sit back and enjoy the scenery !
Sanuk at anchor in Makemo.On approaching the pass into the atoll of Makemo. Deep blue water.Reefs on starboard side, clearly visible by the sun and the markers.Reefs on port side.We took out our bycicles and did a tour of the atoll. This is main street in Makemo.Lots of coconut trees as copra is the main industry on the atolls.Crystal clear water in all shades of blue.Wind generators that were never finished. The money disappeared in somebody’s pocket…More dancing at the Heiva (whole month of july) festivities in Makemo.Miss election for the little ones…the winner for the girls.Winner for the boys.I was asked to be on the jury for the Miss and Mr Makemo election.Dinner in one of the “baraques” with our friends from the New Zealand boat Aislado. Left of Stefan is Tahi a local from Makemo.Sunset in Makemo.The following weeks we will be travelling, weather permitting, to the atolls of Tahanea, Faakarava, Toau, Apataki, Ahe, Manihi, Rangiroa and Tikehau.
The Tuamotus (meaning the Distant Islands) consist of about 80 atolls. These coral atolls are ancient volcanoes where the gradually sinking cone has been surmounted by coral reefs. You only see blue lagoons. It is like a lake surrounded by a string of narrow islands called motus.
Just before leaving Hakahetau Bay on Ua Pou,
Dinner at “Chez Tipiero”, winner at the barbecue contest in France for the “Porc”. Dinner was one of the best in the Marquesas.Lunch at Yvonne Hokaupoko’s little garden of Eden.Part of the lunch is breadfruit, cooked in the fire.Yvonne peeling the cooked breadfruit. We do not care too much for this, dry and no real taste to it.Weaving with coconut leaves.I had a try….Yvonne weaves mats and hats from dried pandalus leaves. I ended up buying a nice mat for the boat. They are not cheap but it is a lot of work to finish, all manual labor. I am happy with a great souvernir from the Marquesas !
