14 April 2010
I did not stir the whole night. A swim before breakfast was the start to a perfect day. We wanted to take a look at the tiny village of Turipaoa so re-anchored in front of a motu Tetate, three miles away, traveling the rest of the way in the tender. Disappointingly there was not much to see.
The supermarket was closed and there was no restaurant. We did however manage to buy an ice cream and a French baguette to take back to the boat for lunch. With no opportunity to purchase any fresh fruit or vegetables it prompted the decision to leave a day early for Rangiroa, the second largest atoll in the world, 100nm away to the south west. We spent the rest of the day back on board lazing in the cockpit and indulging in my favorite pastime, reading, whilst listening my favorite sound, that of the surf pounding on the reef just a hundred metros from where we were at anchor.
The Tuamotous are noted in two interesting ways. It was here that Thor Hyerdahl's raft the Kon Tiki foundered on the reef on Raroia and then on Moruroa where the French carried out nuclear testing. They are popularly known as the "Dangerous Isles" or "the Labyrinth". Of the 78 atolls in the group, 21 have one entrance passé, 10 have two passes and 47 have no passes at all, an unbroken ring of coral reef. The advent of GPS systems has enabled these islands much more available to visiting yachts but negotiating in and around these islands is still not without its hazards. Once safely through the passé and within the confines of the lagoon, there is flat water, no swell, the encircling reef providing a protective barrier from the effects of the constant south easterly trade winds. But of these 78 coral atolls, only a handful of those are really accessible for yachts of our size to visit.
Most with the passé too tortuous, narrow and shallow for our 2metre draught. The large lagoon inside Manihi measures 6x30m. Dozens of tiny motus or islets form its outer reef. Sixty commercial pearl farms operate within this area. Crossing the lagoon was an unnerving experience for it was littered with oyster cages below the surface. With crystal clear water it was impossible to tell at what depth they were. Standing at Voyageur's bow I had to direct David to steer the boat to port or starboard in order to avoid them but there were just so many we frequently found ourselves going right over the top of them. They were joined together with thick rope and I just held my breath as we passed over these underwater hazards on many occasions. Some were deeper than others but there was the odd one that appeared to be just below the surface. It was an altogether unnerving experience.
Computer Crisis.
Catching up with the blog I worked late into the night. I lost the lot when it crashed. This is happening more and more and has been demoralizing. But help is soon on its way. Carole, partner of John on Eowyn has kindly agreed to bring one in her luggage to Tahiti. We got our son to buy one which he posted on to her.
Susan Mackay