16 April 2010
With our anchor wrapped around two coral heads we sought the assistance of Lars, Jan's nephew on Ronja. He snorkeled over our chain and inch by inch we raised it while he directed us this way and that. It worked a treat and came up without snagging. But still having taken half an hour we arrived too early for the passé. Like shooting the rapids but against them rather than with, it was all a little too exciting. There was no margin for error either, with hard coral reef on either side no more than 15metres away. David had the engine at 2700revs to achieve a measly 1.9 SOG. It put us in mind of fighting the tide up the Sound of Luing. With the maelstrom of the passé and Manihi in our wake we both breathed a sigh of relief and headed south west for Rangiroa.
We motored all night over a windlass ocean and arrived at Passe Tiputa, one of two passes into the lagoon, once again a little early for slack water. But unlike the Manihi passé this one was wide and we could have turned around and headed back out to sea waiting for a more favorable tide. As it turned out there was no need. We powered our way through the tide rips at the entrance, our speed falling to just over two knots at 2500 engine revs.The lagoon inside this atoll is so enormous that you cannot see any of the outer limits of the reef. The island of Tahiti would fit inside its boundaries.
Carina- The Keel ! The False Cross
Not to be confused with the Southern Cross. It sits around 20degrees higher in the sky, and to the right, within the Milky Way. The False Cross forms part of the constellation named Carina meaning "keel". It has the same kite shaped pattern and incredibly two stars appear to point towards it in the same way like Rigil Kent and Hagar. I know I do keep going on about the night sky but during the course of the last two weeks the weather has been so settled that it has occupied much of my hours on hours marveling in the clarity and beauty of it all.
Susan Mackay