It has been three days since we arrived in Maupihaa atoll. The possible tropical cyclone near Tonga that precipitated my decision to pull over here instead of heading towards it didnt eventuate, however strong winds and rough conditions did. So we feel we are in a better place than if we had continued. In fact this unscheduled stop is shaping up to be the highlight of our French Polynesian experience. We have become friends with a local family ashore and have learnt some of their tricks for catching fish, lobster and other delicacies such as tern eggs that are in abundance. For the last two nights we have had fresh fish and last night we started with four small lobsters shared between the two of us. Tonight we are going ashore to share some of our pre prepared green curried chicken and fresh fish with them.

The lagoon in the middle of this atoll is alive with fish. You can catch one in minutes with a volunteer hermit crab picked up on the beach extracted from his shell and put onto the hook. Under the yacht a number of sucker fish have adopted us and emerge immediately any scraps go over the side. Also emerging are black tipped shark that are never far away and at times just circle the yacht. The water is so clear that you can see other fish swimming lower down, presumably hoping for something, but keeping a healthy distance from the sharks.

Damien went out with Hio yesterday in an outrigger and a canoe to check out the pass conditions in the morning and to get the lobsters and eggs. Damien is interested in their outrigger design as a potential training craft for Dragon boat paddlers in Australia wanting to train by themselves. He has a K1 kayak in the shed that is very tippy for the novice, but with the addition of an outrigger it would become more stable a possibly a very useful training canoe. I have taken measurements and photos with the idea of making an outrigger when we get home.

The weather windows ahead to continue our passage to Tonga are not brilliant, with some light and variable weather and some strong winds and big seas again to contend with. We have had reports of many yachts waiting in NZ for a weather window to head north to Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu. Normally conditions at this time of year are settling down to more consistent trade winds, fine and slightly cooler temperatures. At the moment it seems that if you are doing a passage in this part of the world longer than a few days, you will probably encounter some unsettled conditions. We are hoping that in the next few days we see an opportunity for a good passage and leave this magical place, but the weather will have to be good!