Abemama
05 May 2011
The wind was blowing 20-25, and the current in the pass was strong against us, so the engine was at high RPM and the genoa was pulling. Brick House made its way at 2 knots. Once inside the atoll we were able to fall off a bit and pick up speed. By 2pm, following the center of 3 magenta lines, we anchored in 12 feet of water just outside of a village called Kauma. We slept well, and no policeman jumped aboard.
In the morning, timing the tide to float over the extensive sandy flats, we launched the dinghy to go to shore and make some new friends. Almost immediately we met a man by the name of George who greeted us enthusiastically. He was hoping that we were Sam and Sally, from a boat called Moana who had been here 4 years previous. He always hoped they would return. He felt that they would be the only boat who would come and anchor immediately in front of his home. But we were Brick House…his new friends. It’s funny that we ended up meeting this man and his family, since I had googled “Abemama sailboat” earlier and had saved to my hard drive a blog about Moana and their friendship with this family. There are lots of families on Abemama and it’s a long atoll. That we should end up here by chance was remarkable!