A morning jaunt to shore at 0600 now sees us enjoying warm baguettes with home-made blackberry jam in the cockpit. We motor-sailed from Kauehi across to Fakarava yesterday - departing one pass at 0700 in order to try and time the next pass at slack tide. We were partially successful at both passes - not slack, but at least the current was manageable (3kts in our favour at one, and 2kts agin us at the other). We idled several days at Kauehi, moving to the SE of the atoll to do lots of snorkeling, beach-combing on the motus (islands in the outer reef), and the construction of Jetsam I, a raft made from the results of the beach combing. Sadly the motus are littered with garbage - in sufficient quantities that it is not possible to maker a contribution by collecting it - and besides, we are not sure what happens to plastic garbage on the atolls. It's not like they have ideal geography for landfills. Our last night at Kauehi we crossed in the company of Oso Blanco to the motus just inside the pass, with the idea of observing when slack water is. There are multiple theories on calculating slack water, but so far none have proven to be spot on. One theory (British Admiralty, I believe) uses the rising and setting of the moon, and another guidebook has a different method. The tried and true use of the midpoint between high and low has also been tried, but the problem is that the atolls tend to get pumped full of water on the incoming tide, and it starts to ebb before the high has been reached. Our research continues! We are now nestled in the top end of Fakarava, the 2nd largest atoll in the Tuamotus. Doesn't have the same intimacy as Kauehi, but has provisions, maybe diesel, and definitely great baguettes. Eric & Annie on Oso Blanco have booked a drift dive of the Pass, and we will host their son, "Bear" for the day. Not sure where we will go next - Fakarava has several anchorages enroute to the southern pass, from which it is a straight shot across to Tahiti. However, Oso has suggested a jaunt across to Toau, a smaller atoll about 10 miles to the North. So far the biggest challenge of cruising here is the clarity of the water. We are not used to being able to see the bottom 50 feet below the keel, and doing beach landings in the dinghy often sees us bailing out too early. Being coral, we don't want to ground the dinghy (or kayaks), but what looks shallow is often 2-3 feet deep, resulting in the boys disappearing up to their middles! It's like cruising in a giant infinity pool, then swimming in a giant aquarium. Stay tuned - Team Mulan