On Saturday, June 9, six days out of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas, we finally made landfall in the Tuamotus Archipelago - at Rangiroa atoll. The passage was certainly a mixed bag! The first day out (we left Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, on Sunday, June 3, around 2 pm) we had pretty decent sailing, making about 5.5 to 6 knots of boat speed through the water - about 6-7 knots over the ground, with a little help from the west setting current. But over the next couple of days the winds steadily diminished to the point where it was difficult to maintain 3.5 to 4 knots of boat speed; one night, it was so calm we barely made 1 knot - until we started the engine! We motored through the night, and set the sails again the next morning, when the winds were back up to where we could sail again at 3.5 to 4 knots - still pretty slow, especially with half of the 552 miles passage yet to cover! On Thursday afternoon we had perfect sailing conditions - winds were up, the seas were relatively flat (because of the previously calm conditions), the skies were blue - and we were moving along at 6 knots or more on a comfortable broad reach; life was good! But there is no such thing as a free lunch - not even out on the Pacific Ocean! Thursday night late we ran head-long into a frontal system; we knew from our weather data it was coming, but were not sure what the conditions would be like. There were some squalls, and the winds really piped up - to a steady 23-25 knots, and we saw some gusts as high as 28 knots. With the winds came steep wind waves and the swell built back up (2+ meters every 5-6 seconds); it was a boisterous ride! But when we encounter conditions like that, we reef the sails down fairly deep, and Bright Angel sails along smartly (5-6.5 knots) at 10-15 degrees of heel, with the Monitor wind vane handling all the steering work. The boat really handles the rough stuff well - she is very "sea kindly."

As we neared our destination, we were hoping to make landfall at Rangiroa on Saturday morning, along with Desolina and Black Dog, the two other boats we were sailing with from Nuku Hiva (neither of which we had seen since the day we left - but, we "checked-in" by VHF radio or sat phone text message twice a day with our position, course and speed). We wanted to make our entrance through Tiputa Pass into the atoll's lagoon at slack water just after the 8:36 am morning high tide (currents through these passes can be hellacious, with rip tides and standing waves, especially on the ebb). With the high winds Friday and all through the night until near dawn on Saturday, the hardest thing to do was slow the boat down so we would not arrive too soon. With the sails all but furled, we were still moving along at well over 5 knots most of the night. But as morning approached the winds eased considerably, and we were able to slow down enough to reach our destination waypoint (about 2.5 miles off the entrance to the pass) at 7:30 am; Desolina and Black Dog arrived shortly before us and were standing off about 3-4 miles from the pass. Two other boats on the same passage (Blessed from New Zealand, and Water Musick -no, that is not a typo, their last name is Musick - from Walla Walla) got there about the same time as we did and went straight through the pass without any problems, but we waited for 9 am, and the three of us made our entrance into the lagoon (with Bright Angel in the lead) without incident. We anchored in the lee of a small bight of land on the motu (island) just west of the pass, in front of the luxury Kia Ora Hotel (with over-water bungalows which we were told go for $1200 a night). We all decided on a dinner and drinks ashore at the Kia Ora in celebration of a long, tiring passage - very expensive, but well worth it!

At first we had planned to spend only a few days in Rangiroa, and then visit the neighboring atoll of Tikehau, but when I asked Linda what day she wanted to leave Rangiroa she said "Never. This is the island paradise I've been dreaming about for years!" So, the revised plan was to spend a week here exploring before heading on to Tahiti. And so far the week has been racing by, with lots yet to see and do. We discovered a lovely little "pension" (hotel - actually these are cabins) called "Josephine's" right on Passe Tiputa with a small restaurant and bar with a deck that overhangs the coral bank on the west side of the pass, run by a delightful French family (mother-Josephine- and daughter, with some very able help from granddaughter Zoey!). We have spent a couple of late afternoons there for drinks and lunch with our friends from Black Dog and Desolina, and more recently, also with friends from The Rose, whom we met in Mexico. When the current is running in the pass, the "show" from the deck is awesome. Dolphins come to play in the standing waves generated by the current, which, as mentioned above, can be quite strong (7-9 knots on the ebb) and schools of brightly colored tropical fish swarm the reefs right under the deck. One day we all rented bicycles from Josephine's and rode the length of the motu (about 5 or 6 miles) to the pass and town, Avatoru, at the other end, and on the way back we stopped and toured a pearl farm; very interesting, and Linda came away with a nice new black pearl bracelet!

Yesterday we went snorkeling with the folks from The Rose off a small moto just inside Passe Tiputa. The site is locally known as "The Aquarium" and for very good reason - the incredible variety and multitudes of tropical fishes of all sizes, shapes and colors in amongst the beautiful coral was almost beyond belief. Reportedly there are some reef sharks in The Aquarium, but we did not see any; however, we did see a couple of morey eels, one with a head the size of a soccer ball! Tomorrow, Friday, we have hired Josephine's son in law, who grew up here on Rangiroa and who runs a tour boat operation, to take all nine of us (from Bright Angel, Black Dog, Desolina and The Rose) on a beachcombing and snorkeling excursion to some of the motus on the windward side of the atoll, about 20 miles away, complete with a picnic lunch from Josephine's; should be fun! That will bring us to Saturday, our scheduled departure date for Tahiti, some 190 nautical miles away; I wonder if Linda will actually agree to leave?

Thanks for checking back in. We will keep you posted when we get to the Society Islands!