The next day is overcast with winds coming from the west, resulting in a bit more fetch coming into the anchor area. Someone has organized a pizza dinner ashore at 5:00pm. We’ll probably pass, as we’re getting a little socialized-out (wouldn’t think it possible in a remote spot)… and who wants to set their galley oven to a high temperature on such a hot day….we’ll pass. The Rangers have also sent out an invite on the VHF that they will show those in the anchorage that are interested coconut crabs onshore at 7:30 pm, after the pizza meal. There is much excitement for this….these crabs mostly come out at night, and many of us have never seen one.
We go ashore at the arranged time and along with 20 other cruisers, a half dozen kids included, stand in a circle under the palm trees as John and Harry carry over a couple of coconut crabs and place them on the sand. The first one is large, to me, but small relative to others, and feisty. The second is named George by the rangers. He is 40 years old (they can live to 60), is about 18” across, a foot high above ground has the scariest pair of nippers, and the most striking blue, red and green caract…….. Harry and John tell us about these crabs and everyone gets a turn to touch or try to lift them…..I wonder how often George is brought out and what goes through his mind over this brief 30 mins of confusion with bright torch lights and camera flashes, awkward touching, alien sounds and big feet. I can just imagine a FarSide Cartoon in all this. Judging by the many questions, happy kids, lots of flashes from cameras, and the patient, detailed responses we can tell John and Harry are eager to share, teach and obviously care for these sizable……. We laughed when Ian ventured to ask how they can be caught and eaten, and then reminded that this is a National Park. John and Harry take the group by torchlight up a path to a spot off the beach and behind their living quarters where at least 16 other coconut crabs are similarly surprised. It becomes a treasure hunt; flashlights panning the ground and excited shouts as larger ones are discovered. John and Harry talk about the occasional discovery of one or two in the eating and sleeping areas. Eventually most of the discoveries are made and the crabs make their escape into the covers, the din slowly dies as the last of them disappears. and then with grateful cheers of good night, and thank you’s to the Rangers we make tracks back to the dinghies on the beach. In the dark the beach returns to peace and the occasional dull thud of a falling coconut hitting the sand.

We plan to leave here in a couple of days. Katie, our 10:00 morning yoga instructor on the beach will be leaving with us, so only a couple more days of yoga. We’ve found some coordinates for good snorkeling spots in the s/v Soggypaws Compendium, and plan to head over to a couple of them in late morning today. So I put out an invite on the VHF to the fleet in the anchorage to all those interested, to meet at s/v Maia at 11:00am. Three zodiaks head off and we bring Ernie from s\v Patience with us. Our first destination is about 4 nm and ¾ hour south. We arrive and set our small dinghy anchors in about 15’, then don the snorkeling gear. This is a rare spot, with abundant types of coral forming a large coral head about 80’ in circumference, ranging from 4’ to 20’ thick above sea bed and with a uniform top height of 3’ below water surface. Openings into the coral head allow us to explore small canyons and corners, and to see the top of the head we’ve learned to keep legs and arms unbent and near the water surface and glide inches above the top surface where there are also groups of small translucent fish darting in and out of cracks and holes. Lots of oohs and ahhs. This has got to be the best for us so far, because of the coral variety, close abundance and colour. There are many angel fish feeding on the coral, and it is fun to stay and awhile and watch pairs hovering and feeding together, or the interactive relationships between large and small varieties. The eight of us spend about an hour exploring it. Part way through I noticed a shark in a deeper section in front of a backdrop of white sand bottom. It is about 40’ away, and I look for what I know now are the recognizable friendlies: black or white tip dorsal fin. It has neither, and I think it might be a grey. So I start heading back to our dinghy, checking every couple of large strokes to see where it’s at. It’s following me, sometimes off to my right and then left and closer each time. Scott from s/v Muskoka is nearby and I ask him to look and see what it might be. Yep he says it’s a grey and 4’, but doesn’t seem to be showing any aggressive moves. It moves off, but still, it has shaken me a bit. I stick near the dinghy until everyone has finished their exploring. We turn on the outboards and head over to another spot. This whole place is great…..it sits inside the skirting atoll reef, the average water depth is 25’ over about a 2 square mile area, the water is supper clear and the bottom around the coral heads is white sand. If it were closer to the anchorage we would be out here everyday. On our return we pass the exposed stern of a ship wreck on the reef; mostly rusted metal remaining of possibly an old fishing boat. We also spot on the reef a large yellow circular object, looking something like a yellow lifesaver candy, standing on it’s side, about 10’ high, and we go to inspect it. It is a NOAA weather buoy, which later the Rangers tells us came ashore 4 years back, and because the frame is too heavy and all stainless they have been unable to remove it.

This place is peaceful. I could spend a long time here. Because, it truly has the best parts of cruising. We have our home here aboard Nightide, with comfortable bed, and basic needs, friends around that we know and trust, and outside our portholes, a most beautiful untouched piece of the earth. We can step up onto the deck anytime and look at the calming blue water, palm treed islands, and if we want, cool ourselves by stepping off the boat into warm and crystal clear water, or walk around without sticky cloths (aboard the boat at least), organize our days by chores before noon, then snorkeling and exploring with friends after lunch, or perhaps a walk along reefs and sandy beaches, and when the sun sets and the stars come out at night we can look up into something we occasionally forget to be awed by, or cannot see because of too many filters - that is, a full sky of stars and scattered dust along the trail of the milky way set in a dark night backdrop. And then, when we grow tired, we ease into a peaceful sleep, and calm of a gentle rocking; with no expectations of when to sleep or wake… no intrusive alarms or trudging to a necessary job. We eat when we want to eat, we nap during the day. I truly have found just what the postcards promised.

We’ve had two potluck lunches onshore so far. The first was ok (Ian and I didn’t know too many of the people) so we hung out for the food and left early. However the second was a lot of fun. Ernie brought his drums ashore, John the Ranger brought out his guitar, we had Hermit crab races, and everyone came ashore from a total of 15 boats. I asked Harry what the largest number of boats in the anchorage has been. He said 32 boats, and that included 3 super yachts. Wow, that would have been a very crowed remote island.

Aug 1 2018: A couple of mornings back I saw Julie on her boat Mana doing yoga on the bow, and I thought wouldn’t it be great if we had yoga on the beach each morning. I suggested the idea to her. We’ve had 2 yoga mornings so far, with a dozen participants. Our leader, Katie from SeaCasa, got her instructor’s licence two years back but has never taught a course, until here. Wouldn’t that be something to have on your CV: first class - 12 participants under palm trees, on a sandy beach, on a remote Pacific atoll. We are all enjoying it, and I’m making new friends.

We have been out snorkeling a few times. Mostly at reefs near the anchorage. The atoll is about 4 miles wide and we can see small motus with many or just a few palm trees across the atoll, and on the horizon. Close to us is Anchorage island. It offers the best anchoring protection from the SE Trade winds, is the closest to the pass in the reef and is also where Harry and John have their base. The island is about 400’ wide and a little less than a km long and part of the circular reef, and on the western end of the island where the reef continues around the atoll it is possible to walk the reef at low tide, on the lagoon side, for a couple of miles. The reef extends into the atoll a short way and is quite flat so it’s like walking along a wide circular roadway. On the inner side of this roadway the reef drops off in a small ledge ranging from 3 -12’ deep in places, and it is possible to snorkel along this ledge where there are many varied colours and shaped corals, as well as many multicolored reef fish, including parrot fish, about a foot long with blunt snouts and bodies of beautiful shades of blue and green.