Kamoka, Manihi
08 May 2015 | aboard Winterlude in French Polynesia
dmdc aboard s/v Winterlude
A new experience today! We tried (underline & highlight & italicize tried!) to pull up anchor this morning to head to another anchorage in the atoll. We watched yesterday as s/v Scintilla tried to pull anchor and their chain was stuck - think wrapped around 3 coral heads stuck! Their dinghy went roaring to the shore and they returned with a diver.... not just any diver.... a young man who is a free diving pearl diver! Wow! This guy had fins (really really long fins) and a mask & snorkel - that's it. He dove on their anchor in 60 feet of water. He came up and pointed to them which way to turn so he could unwrap their chain - and voila! They were on their way in about 15 minutes. Hmmmm.... what will be our fortune?
So, today, we tried to pull anchor and guess what? Time to call the diver! The guy today was Ahi. Our anchor was in about 60 feet as well. Ahi was all smiles and said to "not worry" so we didn't. Big fins, mask & snorkel and down he went free diving in 60+ feet of water.... and back up. Turn to there, come forward, wait, turn to there, wait - and then he was down again. It took about 4 dives, but he got us unwrapped. Also wrapped around 3 big coral heads. The water is very clear, but at 60 feet, you don't see the bottom. Note to self, anchor in 30 feet or less and then we can us the Seabreathe and dive it ourselves.
We were on our way to a new anchorage! It was only about 4 nautical miles away. When we arrived, we saw sandy white beach and turquoise waters.... yup - this is nice!