06/11/2007, En Route to Tahiti, French Polynesia
The wind picked up last night because of a series of small squalls that marched by me but my progress has still been slow. It has taken me 35 hours to cover 125 miles for an average speed of 3.6 knots. I have another 120 miles to go and I will not make it to Papeete by dusk tomorrow evening unless it blows a gale which is highly unlikely. All I can do is take what I am given and I'll get there when I get there.
All else is well onboard. No fish have been caught although I came across several flocks of birds feeding on bait fish. This often means tuna are in the neighborhood, but no one was home. Maybe tomorrow.
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06/10/2007, En Route to Tahiti, French Polynesia
Sand Dollar weighed anchor at 7:30 AM this morning after struggling a bit with some small coral heads in which the chain had become entangled. This seems to be standard procedure in the Tuamotus. I departed Fakarava Atoll, with some regret, and had no difficulty navigating the south pass into the open ocean. The opposing flood current was about two knots one hour after low tide.
The wind has been very light all day and I am making slow progress to Papeete, averaging between 2 and 3 knots. At this rate it will take me 4 days instead of the normal 2 days. I did run the motor for 7 hours today but I only have enough fuel for another 12 hours so I decided to sail with what little wind there is. There is hardly any swell so the boat motion is very comfortable. In fact, I barbecued some chicken this evening while sailing, something I had never attempted before. The sky is clear and there is no moon out yet so the stars are brilliant. This will be a great night for sleeping in the cockpit.
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06/09/2007, Fakarava, Iles Tuamotu, French Polynesia
Sand Dollar will depart Fakarava Atoll tomorrow morning during slack current at the south pass. There is not much wind forecast but I am hoping to make the 240 mile passage to Tahiti in two days and arrive in Papeete during daylight on Tuesday, the 12th.
This evening I had the pleasure of being a guest at a fish barbecue hosted by a local family who have a small pension in the village. The food was very traditional and delicious. The other guests included the crew from another boat and two French couples who live in Tahiti. One of the Frenchmen had been the personal bodyguard for Presidents Mitterand and Chirac. We enjoyed a most interesting evening but my French is not getting much better. Maybe I will pick up a few more words in Tahiti.
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06/08/2007, Fakarava, Iles Tuamotu, French Polynesia
Diving, fishing, and a few boat projects thrown in - what a life! I may stay an extra day if there is a barbecue on the beach tomorrow. Otherwise, I will leave in the AM for Papeete.
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06/07/2007, Fakarava, Iles Tuamotu, French Polynesia
This afternoon my Chilean friends on "Patagonia" and I went scuba diving at the lagoon entrance. The visibility was at least 100 ft. and we saw over 100 gray sharks between 4 and 8 ft in length. They don't seem to notice us except for the occasional curious one that comes over to take a closer look. But look is all they do, fortunately, and at a very safe distance.
All else is well. This is one of my favorite places so far.
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06/06/2007, Fakarava, Iles Tuamotu, French Polynesia
This morning I fly fished for about 6 hours. There were no bonefish to be found but I hooked and lost some bluefin trevally. They are hard fighters and when they run through the coral the line often breaks. Tonight I will be working on my tackle. All else is well. There are now 7 boats in the anchorage, mostly people I know.
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