Squalls

The last few days have seen very unsettled weather in French Polynesia, bringing high winds, squalls, large seas and lots of rain. The Tuamotus can be a bit of a problem in this type of weather because the anchorages are usually only protected in one direction and open to weather coming across the lagoon. So normally you move from one place to the next to make sure you have protection. But here is the rub the lagoons are large, 30 miles if not more, and there is coral everywhere so if you have overcast weather you cannot see the bottom well enough to dodge them.

We were lucky in that the anchorage we had moved to, was in fact protected to the south which was the direction of the worst of the weather. However, there is coral everywhere in our anchorage so it is unnerving to constantly be passing over it and around it with our anchor chain.

There is a pass near our anchorage where the current runs out at nearly 6 knots. Jake has had a blast drift snorkeling the pass, seeing the bottom race along. We counted 6 sharks circling us yesterday and uncountable number of fish, including some Napoleon fish that are nearly as large as Isabelle.

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How does one determine a great passage?

I suggest that it is when I can leave the bow hatch open and use the bunk for reading and relaxing without any threat of a wave washing in. Under that standard we have had a great passage and our best yet. We are anchored in Fakarava, after transit of the relatively easy reef pass. We have swam in the crystal clear waters of the lagoon and will soon join some other cruisers for a sundowner.

An amazing change to the Atolls of the Tuamotus after the Marqueses. The Tuamotus used to be large volcanic islands but the interior of the islands collapsed leaving on the fringing coral, which many times is just at sea level or slightly below. The interior is now just massive lagoons. Fakarava's lagoon for example measures 32 by 15 miles.

The Happy Crew of Nikita

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In The Tuamotus

As I write this we are passing the northwestern most atoll of Takaroa. As it is past dark we cannot stop and are thus going to continue on, looking to another atoll about 110 miles further on that we should arrive at by mid day Sunday.

The wind was not as cooperative today as we entered an area of unsettled weather. We had 4 hours of squalls last night from 3-7 am. It was my watch, so I made sure to get Rae Ann up to share some of the misery. The pattern has continued today with winds sufficient for sailing only outside of the squalls. We have been becalmed since late afternoon, so we took a swim and turned on the engine, expecting to motor the rest of the way in given the weather forecast. The seas remain very calm and the captain has retained his skipbo champion title.

A loyal reader asked - what does "lost" mean when referring to a vessel. Well that means sunk, destroyed, or run aground and unusable.

The Crew of Nikita

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Day 3

Glorious sailing today. We worked a bit at it, getting both the spinnaker and the genoa poled out at one stage, using the boom for a pole on the spinnaker, netting us 4 knots of boat speed...

The wind has filled in now and we have a nice 10 knots from the E pushing us along at 5.5 knots. The seas are very calm.

The Captain won the skipbo games today so all is right in the world. We have seen a nice pod of dolphins and came across two sailboats today. Fishing was a bust again as we caught something all to big again loosing all line and our last lure.

Position 13.13s, 143.41w.

The Crew of Nikita

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Why are the Dangerous?

A valid question. The Tuamotus have never been accurately charted and as a result while we can have an accurate GPS position, the positions of the islands can be off by 2 miles or more on the chart. As the islands are really nothing more than coral atolls, the limited visibility means at best you can see them from only 5 miles or closer. The result is that over the years many commercial and pleasure yachts have been lost on these islands.

Today have been a very nice day though ultimately we lost our wind and thus are now motoring. The seas are very calm with a slight swell from the south. Jake won the family skipbo game, I claim distraction of slatting sails.

Position 11.17S 142.01W, motoring 220 degrees at 6 knots.

The Crew of Nikita

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Marqueses to the Tuamotus

We have departed the Marqueses, having had a great time. Many cruising guides speak of rolly anchorages and impossible dingy landings, and while the cruising was more difficult than average we found the islands very pleasant with comfortable anchorages and great hiking and exploring.

So now we are on our way to the Dangerous Archipelago, noted so because of the low lying nature of the atolls, only rising 50 feet in heigth, and that is because of the palm trees, with strong currents and very old and inaccurate charts.

So far conditions have been good with winds 15-20 knots and comfortable seas. Position is 10.08S, 141.02W. We have about 8 boats in route with us again.

The Crew of Nikita

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Nuku Hiva

We have spent most of our time in Daniels Bay, an idyllic spot where one enters seemingly running into sheer cliffs before the right side opens up into a gorge with a valley at its head. We took a 3 hour hike (one way) to a waterfall, which Rae Ann described as the best hike she has ever done. the water fall comes down at least 1000 feet into a great pool. The cliffs absolutely enclose the place such that there is no sun light that gets through except for a few minutes each day.

Last night we went to a traditional pig roast having helped during the day with the slaughter, cleaning and laying out of the pig in the coal fire. Covered with banana leaves and earth it was left for 6 hours to cook. About 30 people gathered for the feast with music a conversation. Great fun.

With that though we are coming to the end of our Marqueses interlude. The Tuamotus beckon, all 76 of them, lying roughly 450 miles or 5 days sail from here. We expect to leave tomorrow after finishing some last minute provisioning today.

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