06/01/2007, Fakarava, Iles Tuamotu, French Polynesia
The early morning sailing en route to Fakarava was fast because of brisk winds from astern so Sand Dollar was allowed to drift the last 8 miles so as to arrive at the lagoon entrance at slack water. Although my timing was correct as far as published tidal predictions are concerned, I found the pass to be extremely agitated with 8 ft breaking, steep seas and blowing spume. I tried to punch through but was forced to retreat wondering if I had miscalculated, but all my figures were correct. After sailing back and forth for two and a half hours to kill time I decided to approach the entrance again for a look. I found a 4 knot outgoing current but no heavy seas and perfectly manageable. The pass was successfully negotiated and I continued on to the anchorage at the village.
In retrospect, I determined that the predictions for slack water were incorrect and, while expecting a slight opposing current draining the lagoon, I found a strong current still flooding into the lagoon piling up against the waves from an 18 knot wind. This is what created the large breaking seas. Once the current reversed, the flow was with the wind and the seas became short. I suspect only the locals know about these things. The published information is based on scant data and generalized over a large area of many islands. There is not much demand for better predictions because the traffic is so limited, a few supply ships each month and a bunch of yachties May through June.
Tomorrow I will go ashore to see if there are any vegetables at the small store.
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Comments [1]
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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