Sunday 6.04.2008
We motor slowly all through the night in flat calm. Tramontana go north round the atoll, we go south, meeting at the pass within half an hour of each other at 7.30am. On Ronnie’s single watch he has an anxious moment when the depth suddenly plummets to 3.5 metres, and he swears he can see things under the water – the sea bed?! He marks it on the chart as no shallows are indicated in that area. It’s another very calm, clear night - the milky way is reflected on the sea – but starts to become hazy as we approach the islands in the early hours. It’s so calm and silent and as well as the phosphorescence , Karen and Annie see lots of luminescent white blobs floating past – no idea what they are and really quite eerie! We go through the entrances at 7.40am – the tide is ebbing and it looks just like the Corry Vreckan – we follow Tramontana! We anchor in 20m just inside the atoll – the water is crystal clear and turquoise blue. Annie’s first in and sees the first sharks ! – they’re small black tipped reef sharks, a few feet long. Apparently they “shouldn’t cause a problem”, but as they are quite curious this takes a bit of getting used to! We see lots of very beautiful, colourful fish; Ian sees a big octupus and Phil spear-fishes for grouper – unsuccessfully. Annie has an explore ashore but only coral, no shells. We relax aboard and try to take it all in – this is completely different to the Marquesas, and indeed anywhere that any of us have ever been before. The islands are so low lying that the first thing you see as you approach is a silhouette of palm trees as if they were growing out the sea. The islands are in a circle, with only one route to get inside the atoll – it’s extraordinary. We up anchor and head straight across the atoll to the village. The weekly cargo ship from Tahiti arrives just behind us and it looks like the whole village is out to meet it – all ages sitting in the shade of the palm trees , chatting and smiling while waiting patiently for their deliveries – we see boxes, sacks and a couple of car seats! We go to the shop and get some meat and bread, and the ice-creams we’ve been dreaming of! Stewy and Ronnie go for a walk (where they see 2 old turtle heads hanging from a tree), we have a snooze , then meet up with Phil and Fay ashore at 4pm for a darby-que - (yellow-fin tuna and burgers ). It’s a perfect spot-we enjoy the sunset then stay on the beach until well after dark with a bonfire of coconut husks.
Monday 7.04.2008
We wake up early to a perfectly still morning – the sea is like glass. Everything is reflected – we sit and appreciate it for as long as it lasts. A motor boat of pearl farmers cross the atoll a mile or so away, it’s wake ripples by us several minutes later. Then a light breeze comes in , the glass is gone…..
We see Remora fish swimming around the hull (the ones that sucker onto bigger fish and live off them)and hope they’ve taken a shine to it! Phil comes and helps get the jobs done ie. Repair the kicker, change the roller reefing line, repair the heads handle etc. Karen and Annie have a general tidy up , one up , one down ! The local eggs are really lovely so (just like when we had hens !) so it’s boiled eggs and soldiers for breakfast. We go ashore and walk to the windward side of the atoll where we have a few finds of a buoy,a spool for fishing reel, some coral and shells. We return to the shop for beers and sandwiches. There’s just enough chairs for all of us – until Stewy’s disintegrates and he’s on his arse on the floor! He tries to tell Madame it was someone else but she knows exactly what’s happened! While sitting comparing and admiring our shells, two of them decide to leave and start walking across the table! That starts a round of betting and a race track is set up – under starters orders – they’re off! The favourite lets us all down – no big winners, and the hermits are returned safely to the sea. On the way back we stop at one of the pearl farms – 4 guys working away, cultivating black pearls. They are happy for us to land and watch them working. They tell us they don’t know how much,, but one of the best is about £65. We ask about the ones they’re rejecting, and they offer to give them to us them for nothing. We accept them graciously and insist on some payment . We’re delighted with what we’ve got and will share them out between us.These young men are so warm and welcoming – this opportune visit has turned out to be an unforgetable experience and we’ve all learned something new. We up anchor and motor back across the atoll where we snorkel (Annie with her diving knife strapped to her thigh!) until it’s almost sundown and the sharks are starting to get bigger and more numerous. When Phil suggests we probably shouldn’t stay in much longer we’re out like a shot!