Touching the Tuomotus

 At about the time we had learnt to enjoy the Marquesas, we also realised that it was time to move on! Our departure plans were re scheduled a bit after Scott-Free also ripped their mainsail, and needed a couple of days to repair it. By then the gribs were showing 20-25 knot winds for the passage, but we decided to hit the road anyway en route to the Tuomotus  (still French Polynesia…….a group of over 40 atolls covering an area of 147 000 sq miles, none of which stand more than 45 ft above sealevel or about the height of tallish a palm tree, thus earning the reputation of “the dangerous archipelago”). We decided to make Kauehi our landfall because it was on our route to Tahiti and it had an easy pass.  We also had to reach the Kauehi pass at first light on the 30^th June, to coincide with the first of the 2 slack water periods during daylight.

We started out well, boating a big Dorado quite soon, which we filleted, bagged and froze in 12 packets of 2 pieces (each with a slice of carrot). Why carrots?........our new FIFO system for freezer control. We still had about 8 packs of Dorado from the previous catch, so to separate this lot we added a piece of orange carrot! The next fish would get a green bean!

As soon as we left the lee of Ua Poa, the wind and seas called for 3 reefs, half a genoa and the stay sail. Not long afterwards we noticed that a big chunk of the genoa was delaminating and flapping about, so we shortened the sail further until the flap was rolled into the furler, and carried on. We were still going fast, but the seas were lumpy and uncomfortable, and this trip would go down as one of our least enjoyable ever! It was plain SH-tty! We were taking green waves into the cockpit regularly for the first time in 25000 miles! We did the 526 miles in 2 hour short of 4 days, arriving at the pass at first light……  6.00am. The low tide had been at 3.00am. The nature of these atolls is that water breaks over the low lying reefs on the windward side, and exits through the passes. There is therefore more water exiting the atoll, than there is coming in with the tide. The stronger the winds, and bigger the seas, the more this is the case, and it means that the slack water takes place well after the actual low tide, as the incoming tide is needed to offset this continual outflow.

 Approaching the Kauehi pass

So we spent 2 days sewing up the old main again, took down the old genoa, and put up the new one The only setback was that our aging main sail did not take kindly to being strapped in midships for the final 1 mile down wind run to the pass, and managed to once again rip itself from luff to leech along another line of rotten stitching!

Apart from that, our timing was pretty good, and we entered at 6.30am, with a slight incoming current, which only created a brief period of 3 to 4ft chop, as the current met the wind and waves from the opposite direction. The currents can get up to 5-6 knots in the passes, and cause massive standing waves, as the two forces meet.

Being a morning entrance, it meant that the SE anchorage would require that we headed directly into the sun for 7 miles to find the anchorage, and coral head spotting would be next to impossible! We elected to head on up to the village of Tearavero in the NE corner, which had a marked channel, and give ourselves time to recover from the passage, and have a good look at the sails.sent to us in Panama. Once again we found that Quantum had ignored my measurements, and made a standard Shearwater genoa, which did not fit! We had to improvise to get us to Tahiti! at dawn

Sad old main!

After 3 days of missioning, we were ready to explore, but the weather gods had other plans, and sent us a NE gale, which clocked around through the west to the SE, giving us and everyone else in the atoll a tough time. One boat lost its windlass, and another its bowsprit, as their anchors got caught up on coral heads. Others like Scott-Free, had their snubbing lines smashed, and spent an uncomfortable night anchor watching their replacement snubbing lines. Although there was only a 3 mile fetch across the lagoon, the 35-40 knot winds created a terrible short sharp fetch, which had the yachts bucking like bronco’s!

At last things settled down, and we were able to visit the village, check out the black pearls, and make our way to the SE corner, where we discovered Paradise!

NZ, UK, French & Oz

The only shop in the "city"

The Cathedral!!

Black pearl spotting

Our favourites...............irregular rejects......just as special, not as perfect

These are Kaveka (Sooty Tern) eggs, available at he little shop

"City" waterfront

One of our pet Remoras residing under our boat

                    SE anchorage..............Paradise found at last!

Land Hermit Coconut Crab

Adding to the cruisers' cairn on the 
windward side of the reef

Leeward side

Rubbish burn at Happy Hour

Lining up for the pass

Trying out the new genoa

We loved this anchorage, and would have been happy to spend weeks there…..but, having had such a tough passage from the Marquesas, we were determined to pick a gentler window for our leg to Tahiti. All too soon, this window appeared, and we could see it was to be followed by another long stretch of big SE winds. Many other cruisers there made the same call, and we watched as some untangled themselves from the coral heads, and set off for the pass.  We moved ourselves to shallower water, so that we could see, and dive to the coral heads if necessary, and spent one last glorious evening, alone with our sailing buddies, in Paradise!

The next morning, with some reluctance, we hauled anchor and headed off to reach the pass at 12.30pm, when we estimated it to be slack water. It was a good call, and we had an easy exit, and an enjoyable 270 mile sail past Fakarava, and on down to Tahiti, where we arrived just as the winds were beginning to build again.

We spent far too little time in the Tuamotus. There are so many atolls, and one needs time to enjoy them……… to move only when the weather is right and to sit tight in the protected corners when it gets ugly. Sadly, we will not be passing this way again!  
 

Jocko  in action again