05/31/2007, En Route to Fakarava, Iles Tuamotu, French Polynesia
Sand Dollar weighed anchor at 2 PM, sailed the 9 miles through the lagoon and passed through the entrance two hours before the predicted slack current and had no problem. One fish was lost in the entrance but another was hooked and landed just outside the fast water. A 30 lb wahoo, cleaned and cut into about 25 steaks, is now in the refrigerator. It required 20 minutes to boat and another hour and a half to prepare. I think I will be making some new friends at the anchorage in Fakarava.
The moon is full tonight and the wind is 14 knots from behind me. For a sailor, what could be better? However, I have no sails up and the boat is doing 2.7 kts. At this rate I will be at the entrance to Fakarava at 3 AM. I need to "heave to" in order to slow the boat further so that I arrive during daylight. The entrance is wide, deep and well marked but I still prefer a daylight transit.
All else is well onboard. I am just pondering how I might cook the wahoo tomorrow.
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05/30/2007, Kauehi Atoll, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
It was another beautiful day in paradise with light winds and lots of sunshine. I snorkeled the coral heads near the anchorage and enjoyed the view but could not find anything for dinner. There were plenty of small grouper but they are prone to ciguatera and I do not wish to take any chances. Tomorrow I will leave for Fakarava, about 90 miles to the northwest. Another boat came in this afternoon, a large schooner with US flag. They are anchored about one mile away so I did not go over for a visit. Maybe tomorrow morning I will go say hello.
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05/29/2007, Kauehi Atoll, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
Today I mostly slept and relaxed after the all night sail from Makemo. I blew up the dinghy and went to town but the store was closed and there was not much going on. The main business here is black pearls. After a couple of days here I will head to Fakarava. Nothing else to report.
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05/28/2007, Kauehi Atoll, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
Sand Dollar made a nice moonlit, overnight passage from Makemo to Kauehi. Although the wind was only 8-10 knots, there was plenty of time to make the 90 miles and arrive at the entrance at slack tide. Transit through the pass was uneventful. It was deep, wide, and well marked. Once inside the lagoon it was necessary to cross eight miles to the other side and anchor near the village. One boat was leaving and one was at anchor. I dropped the hook and went to sleep. Tomorrow I will go ashore to explore. I hear there are two shops and perhaps they have bread and vegetables. There are lots of black pearl farms here.
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05/27/2007, En Route to Kauehi Atoll, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
My opinion of Makemo Atoll is very low at this point. The snorkeling was less than mediocre, there was no evidence of any sport fish to be caught, the anchorage was exposed to the prevailing wind, and a coral field swallowed my anchor and would not give it back. I spent four hours trying to win the anchor, a 44 lb Bruce, including diving on it with scuba gear. I found it in 60 feet of water in a coral hole with a large piece of coral on top of it plugging the hole. I further determined that it was irretrievable without another person to operate the boat and a large crowbar or some dynamite. There were no other boats within miles and I had seen no one since arriving. The good news is that I learned it only takes exactly two minutes to cut through a 5/16" chain link with a hacksaw. There are three other anchors on board but the Bruce was my favorite. I hope to replace it in Papeete.
I departed Makemo at 1:30 PM and rode 5 knots of current out of the pass, bound for Kauehi which is 80 miles to the west. There is very little wind so I am motor sailing at present. All else is well onboard. I sure loved that old reliable Bruce!
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05/26/2007, Makemo Atoll, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
The overnight sail from Raroia was very easy, 10 - 12 knots on the stern the entire passage. I arrived at the northwest entrance to Makemo Atoll midmorning when there was only about 2 knots of current pulling me into the lagoon and the pass was well-marked with beacons so the transit was not difficult. However, I did get a little nervous when the depth sounder showed only 12 ft under the boat in the middle of the pass. A bow lookout would sure be handy in cases like this.
Exploration by dinghy revealed little in the way of fishing opportunities. The snorkeling was unremarkable. There were not many fish to be seen and the coral was mostly dead. I probably will not stay here long. All else is well.
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