Tuamotu Islands (May 7 to June 12)

Tuamotu Islands (May 7 to June 12)

We explored the lovely atolls of the Tuamotu Island chain, famous for their fantastic diving on coral heads and reefs, sandy beaches lined with coconut palm trees and black pearls; located only about 300 miles from Tahiti.

Passage – May 7 to May 11 (500 mile sail from Marquesas Islands to the Tuamotu Islands)

It took us four days to complete this 500 mile passage from Daniel's Bay, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas to Kauehi, our first island in the Tuamotu’s .  It was just the two of us this time.  There was a point in my past that I would have thought a four day ocean passage was a big deal, now I think little of it as a hop, skip and a jump to our next exciting destination – kind of like sailing from San Francisco to San Diego, only we had much stronger winds – the South Pacific trade winds blowing on our backs. 

The wind averaged about 20 knots and the seas were pretty good sized - we had to work hard at slowing Lardo down.  We found that the boat was almost level when we used a double reefed mainsail, and our boat speed was around 6 knots…..still a little too fast, but we slowed down even more during the last day of the passage.   The passage was planned so that we arrived at our first atoll first during the daytime, and secondly at a time that we could gain entrance to the atoll through the pass.  We also averaged about 3 to 4 hours of sleep per night so we were pretty pooped by the time we arrived.  There were several other sailboats making this journey at the same time so we decided to chat each afternoon at 4:30 on our single side band radios to make sure that everyone was safe.

The trick about sailing into the Tuamotu atolls is to time your entry into the atoll with slack tide.  If not timed properly these passages into the atolls can be a navigation nightmare.  Anyway, Dennis did an excellent job navigating our way through the passage and our reward was arriving safely at the beautiful Kauehi atoll with aquamarine 80 degree water, lots of coral heads, sandy beaches and palm trees.

Kauehi (May 11 to May 20)

Our first stop was Tearavero Village – 300 people –2  stores (although I don’t know if you could really call the second one a store but nevertheless it did sell the bread delivered weekly from Tahiti when the other store was closed for vacation), pharmacy, school, and the Catholic church.  Great concrete dinghy dock – it was so easy to get on and off your dinghy after the harrowing docks of the Marquesas.

The store was owned by the local pearl farmer who just so happened to be the village mayor.   We quickly learned to ignore the posted store hours and try to ask the locals when they thought that the store would be opened –noon, 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., whenever.  At least we could chat to the friendly village men hanging at the dinghy dock and watch bocce ball and soccer being played at the park while waiting for the store to open.

Within hours of our arrival, Mary – the young 20 something school teacher, motored out to our boat to welcome us and offer any assistance that we may need.  We invited Mary the next evening for dinner and were mesmerized by her life experiences at such a young age.  Mary was a first year school teacher living on a 47 foot boat that her sister and brother-in-law helped sailed to Kauehi from Tahiti.  In this small village of 300 people, there was only a need for two school teachers – Mary taught the age group ranging from 3 years to 8 years and the other teacher took the remainder.  Once these kids reach high school age, then they must go to another island for their education.  We learned from Mary that her family sailed to Tahiti from France when she was only 11 years old along with her three siblings, the youngest being four years old at the time.  It took this family of six, two years to make the passing while her parents home schooled the children during this time.  Mary continued on with her education in Tahiti and with received her college degree and teaching certificate in Papeete.  We invited Mary to dinner on Lardo, and had a good time overcoming the language barrier with her.

On Saturday morning, we thought that we would leave for the southern anchorage but decided to make a quick stop into town to call home and stop at the store.  We were pleasantly mobbed by the village children on their way out of Saturday morning religion class with their warm friendly smiles, chattering in French.  We visited, played soccer, sang the French national anthem, decorated our hats with flowers and just had a very warm pleasant experience with these kids.  What a morning!  It was hours later before we returned to our boat but we’ll always cherished these lovely kids who exuded tremendous warmth and friendliness – we’ll treasure our memories and wonderful pictures for years to come!

Kauehi Southeastern Anchorage.  This lovely anchorage on the other side of the island is what your mind conjures up at the words "South Pacific." The water is crystal clear and bright blue – even the wings of the white turns reflect the beautiful blue water color. The motus behind which we sit are bright white sand coral topped by waving palm trees while the ocean waves break on the outside just beyond. The wind is steady across the reef, along with a morning, afternoon or evening shower. 

There were no more than four boats at any time in this anchorage; we gathered together for a bon fire on the beach, lighted by the full moon.  We were sad to see the Austrian couple who initiated the idea of the bon fire, Reinhardt (Reiny) and Alexandra (Sandra), leave the next day.  They had done a circumnavigation 14 years ago and had just returned to the South Pacific.  They plan to leave their boat in the Tuamotu’s  Apataki Atoll and return to work in Austria for six months before returning next season to this idyllic spot.

On Kauehi, we finally did all those activities you imagine doing in a South Pacific anchorage. We snorkeled over coral heads in white coral sand and water so clear it was like air. The coral heads were embedded with the rippled shells of six-inch tridacna clams whose fleshy mantles reflect jewel-like colors.  Familiar fish like parrotfish, surgeonfish, butterfly-fish and tangs appeared in wildly unfamiliar color patterns, while unfamiliar characters like unicorn fish, bannerfish, and tiny humbug dascyllus sent us running to the fish books.  The small royal blue fish were our favorite.  Just to keep everyone's adrenaline pumping, small black tip sharks and stingrays periodically swam nonchalantly through the group.  Essentially harmless, they still look the part!

Fakarava (May 20 to June 3)

We finally managed to pull ourselves away from this idyllic anchorage at the southern end of Kauehi and headed next to Rotoava, Fakarava, an easy 25 mile day sail.  When we arrived at Fakarava, an atoll with 700 people and quite a few pensions, it felt like civilization after being out of touch with the world for over two weeks.  We entered the northern end (Passe Garue) for services such as the internet, stores, restaurants, and of course ice cream!  

Our first day on Fakarava, we found a sweet shop and Dennis and I each had two double scoop ice cream cones (certainly didn’t measure up to Fenton’s standards) but after having no ice cream for what seemed like an eternity, it was heavenly to george on this treat.

Where we were anchored, there had been bait fish jumping all day, with what looked like a fifteen pound yellow game fish slicing through them.  Dennis got to work immediately and rigged a light spinning reel so that he would be ready to hook up some nice game fish.

We arrived at Fakarava in time to see the seven Polynesian boats (Waka's) that are also doing a circumnavigation of the world.  These Waka’s are recreations of ancient sailing vessels the Polynesian people used for exploration, trading, etc.  Some rich German benefactor got so fed up with the America’s Cup turning into a circus that only billionaires could participate (sorry San Franciscans) that he decided to do something for both the sailing community and Polynesian cultures.  He decided to donate 15 million dollars to re-vitalize the ancient Polynesian tradition by re-building seven “Polynesian” style catamaran’s similar to those used in earlier centuries to sail the Polynesian islands.  His hope is that the Polynesian people will rediscover their heritage by participating in the voyages planned and has set up a trust fund so that future Polynesian generations will carry on this tradition.

These boats were built in New Zealand.  The boats are about 70 feet long and are doubled hulled.  Each boat, decorated with traditional Polynesian designs, has a crew of 16 representing the many Polynesian countries, including New Zealand, Fiji, French Polynesian, Samoa, New Caledonia, and Hawaii.  No diesel on these sailing boats as they only use solar power. Their planned route is NZ to the Marquesas, Hawaii, Alaska, then on down the west coast to SF – so keep an eye on these boats which are so uniquely Polynesian, and will eventually go around the world.

According to folklore, Fakarava is where this tradition started; apparently an ancient King punished his seven sons by sending them away from this island to never return.  These boats visited this island to see an old lady who is a descendant of this King.  She granted forgiveness and has given them permission to return.  Need I say, the Polynesian ceremonies for this great pardon were fabulous and we were lucky to be here at this time! 

On the day that these Polynesian vessels departed to their next destination (Marquesas Islands), we were fortunate to be invited on a racing trimaran by our Austrian friends (Reiny and Sandra) who we had met at Kauehi .  It was quite a thrill to go on this racing trimaran that topped speeds of 15 knots as we escorted these boats out to sea. 

From Rotoava, we headed to the southern end of Fakarava to explore a couple of anchorages and to exit out of the southern end of the atoll.  Our friend Cyrille, the French man from Sudden Stops joined us for this one-day cruise to the southern end.  He had left Sudden Stops to take a two week hiatus to join his girlfriend for a trip around the Tuaomotus.  Quite by accident, we bumped into him in Rotoava while he was trying to connect with Sudden Stops.  Hence he joined us for this cruise with hopes of re-connecting with Sudden Stops due to arrive any day. With his pleasant personality and of course ability to converse in his native tongue (French), he promptly made friends with the locals at Hirifa. Cyrille made arrangements with Jean, retired French Legionnaire, who agreed to let Cyrille hang out at his place while waiting for Sudden Stops.  Cyrille learned a lot about fishing while staying with the Hirifa villagers and ate fish morning, noon and night!

We decided to anchor at Hirifa at the southern end of Fakarava (Latitude 16 degrees 26.8 minutes South; Longitude 145 degrees 22.2 minutes West).  The best part of this anchorage was that it is not mentioned in the American cruising guides which mean very few cruisers visit this spot.  We went from 3 sailboats to just ourselves.  While other cruisers suffered in the roily anchorage at the Fakarava southern pass, we enjoyed a nice calm sheltered anchorage with sandy beaches; few coral heads to worry about; and very pleasant locals who occupied only three homes nicely spaced apart and back a ways from the beach.  Our first day, when we paddle to shore, we were greeted by Tanya who was carrying two green coconuts filled with juice – what a pleasant way to arrive!  Later that evening her Uncle Jean delivered two fresh fish (groupers) to our boat.

The next day we paddle up in our kayaks to Raimiti Pension (email:  raimiti@mail.pf) to check it out.  We leisurely paddle up the channel hugging the calm coast line and took our time exploring the many coral heads with all their tropical fish – no need to snorkel as we could see to the bottom in this very clear water.  The pension is a fantastic escape with palm huts lining the Pacific Ocean and the lagoon; it is only accessible by boat.  The next day, Jean-Claude from the pension (Tanya’s brother) swung by in a skiff, to pick us up for our dinner reservation.  What a treat – two exquisite cuisines combining the best of both Polynesian and French cooking – sliced coconuts, tuna sashimi seasoned with peppercorn, shrimp sautéed in coconut sauce with shaved coconut on the side, and then a dessert to top off a wonderful dinner  - a papaya filled with heated with coconut milk.  Definitely worth the trip for dinner!

Well after about a week of simply enjoying Hirifa, we decided it was time to mosey over about seven miles to the south pass of Fakarava, famous for its excellent snorkeling and diving.  Just when I thought that it couldn’t get any better, it did.  The snorkeling far exceeded my greatest expectations.  Why dive when you can snorkel at shallow depths at the south pass of Fakarava.  The water clarity was superb – you could clearly see everything forty feet - it was so clear.  The tropical fish were abundant in every species imaginable – I don’t think there’s any place in the world that is comparable – the snorkeling was simply fantastic!  We still can’t stop talking about it.  There was a nice sloping wall of very healthy live coral hosts to every tropical fish imaginable.  And as an added attraction, we were snorkeling in shark infested waters – fortunately these were mostly docile sharks at the pass, a lot of black tip and gray reef sharks.  And if snorkeling isn’t enough for you, there’s also great kayaking in these very clear waters where you can just sit over a coral reef and watch the fish swim by.

The snorkeling was so good, it was definitely worth another trip the next day plus lunch at Annabelle’s pension (tetamanuvillage@mail.pf).  We left our dinghy on the dock at Annabelle’s, and snorkeled out the pass at the end of the ebb tide and then used the flood tide to get us back inside the pass.   At Annabelle’s you can sit on her deck extended over the water to watch all the sharks and tropical fish.  When the cooks feed the fish, the sharks go into a feeding frenzy over the food.

Tahanea (June 4 to June 12)

Tahanea is a special national park preserve that is uninhabited.  All of the former population has left and little is left of this former village.  All has nicely recycled itself so that the water is the clearest of all the Tuamotu chain and there is a multitude of colored and other fish that visit these beautiful coral heads.  We really felt that we were in the boonies, only about 11 sailboats visiting Tahanea and only four of those were in our anchorage.

Fortunately we chose the southeast (SE) corner of the atoll to anchor as there was a gale going on outside for several days. The storm was predicted, and we chose the SE corner because it gives the most protection against strong SE winds.  We always try to pay attention to what is happening with the weather and we just learned how to get a 3 day forecast off SSB sailmail - it works great!

We knew the storm was coming in 3 days so we changed atolls and went for a safe anchorage before it hit.  This whole thing about cruising is about storm avoidance.  Some cruisers say "if a storm hits while at sea we deal with it then" and don't try to get info on what is happening with the weather.....I think that is really stupid.  Anyway this atoll has the clearest water we have seen yet.  I can see my anchor on the bottom from 100' away.  Nice!

We later learned that this gale turned out to be a “mara’amu” – gusty trade winds coming from the south that can last for an eternity.  This was our first mara’amu, but I’m sure not our last mara’amu, as they tend to hit the months of June, July and August.  Our original plan was to leave this South Pacific paradise around Wednesday, June 8.  After all, the wind storm which had kicked in Sunday afternoon sure should have ended by now.  When Wednesday rolled around, we postponed to Thursday, then Friday, then Saturday and eventually we took off on Sunday morning.  Even paradise can be a little taxing but the worst day in paradise sure beats the best day of work.

All the boats in our anchorage were French except for Lardo.  We learned that these sailors tend to enjoy their independence and isolation from others which made this a bit of a lonely anchorage amidst all of this tropical splendor.  Despite the heavy wind which made going to shore difficult, we did manage to get off the boat for daily kayaks and hikes to circumnavigate each of the motu’s.  This was a lifesaver as there was no nearby village or civilization.  We saw lots of different types of vegetation, the nesting notti tern, sharks, crabs and a wide variety of tropical fish.  We read a lot, watch some movies, appreciated our music CDs and listen to the English speaking net each day at 4:30 – other cruisers were also in the same holding pattern and getting a little edgy.  We sure learned a lot about patience while waiting out this mara’amu.

It is here where we met Frenchman, Antoine on “Banana Split”, a yellow catamaran.  Antoine is a nature writer and photographer whose films have been aired on the Discovery Channel.   He is quite knowledgeable about the history, flora and fauna of the Tuamotu’s, and knows this atoll like the back of his hand.  According to Antoine, the inhabitants left this atoll because they believe that it is haunted.  The mayor of the neighboring atoll, Faaite, tried unsuccessfully to get the inhabitants to return; so instead, he declared this atoll a preserve.  After being here for nearly a week, waiting out the mara’amu, it kind of felt a little eerie and spooky on this atoll with those winds howling, but beautiful nevertheless.

And so this ends our chapter on the Tuamotu’s.  We are off to Tahiti, a two and a half day sail.