Adventures of North Star
Follow the Adventures of Kim and Steve aboard their yacht North Star!
09 July 2019
08 July 2019
04 July 2019
02 July 2019
31 May 2019 | Copra Shed, Savusavu, Fiji
05 May 2019 | RDM
04 January 2019
28 April 2018
28 March 2018
05 March 2018 | Queenstown view from the top of the gondola.
11 October 2016 | Marina Taina, Tahiti
21 May 2016 | Tahiti, French Polynesia
14 September 2015
12 September 2015 | In Maupiti
17 August 2015 | Huahine, French Polynesia
13 July 2015 | Anyse Amyot-North End of Taou
20 June 2015 | Fakarava-South Pass
18 June 2015 | Fakarava-South Pass
11 June 2015 | Fakarava-South, Harifa
06 June 2015 | Fakarava, North Pass
Circumnavigating the Rangiroa Atoll..inside
07 September 2014 | Rangiroa, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
Steve
Please visit our new Photo Gallery
Well, it's been almost a week since we left the anchorage at Tiputa at the NE corner of Rangiroa. Everyone was talking about the Mari'amu winds that were coming in the next couple of days. Boats were repositioning. Many were leaving because there is nowhere to get protection from the 30+ knot winds out of the SE that were expected. We talked to the dive operator at the Kia Ora resort and she told us it may go on for days/ weeks and that the water was already coming over the south end of the atoll. When that happens, there is only outgoing tidal flow at the pass. No incoming at all for days.
So, we decided to reverse our plans. (You know the plans we write in the sand at low tide) Instead of hanging around civilization for a while, playing internet and visiting all the local restaurants and pearl shops we decided to go ahead and visit the interior of the atoll first, then return to the north end.
Well, we have made it to the southern tip of the atoll and are presently anchored there, next to what we are calling bird island. The locals call it Papaina Motu. Here in the Tuamotus, you have to learn the lingo. A motu is an island, any size. The atolls are ringed with them. Looking at aerial maps it appears that there is a solid wall around the atoll, but there isn't. It is a ringing fringe reef all the way around. Hundreds of islands, big and small, with channels between them the locals call Hoa's. The other obstacles you have familiarize yourself with are called bommies. These are coral heads of all sizes that cover the bottoms of the atolls. Their job is to grab you anchor chain and make it impossible for you to retrieve your anchor without going for a dive. We have been buoying our anchor chain with some pearl farm floats we picked up off the beaches here and so far have been successful keeping the fouling to a minimum.
So we have made 4 stops so far, with either 3 or 4 more to go before returning to the anchorage in Tiputa. The mari'amu winds never materialized. Although, we were locked down for 2 days with continuous rain and squalls. This cleared yesterday, but we are presently having winds in the mid 20 knot range and this morning we had a brief squall that gusted into the mid 30's. Woke me up around 5 AM. We have seen some very unusual things. We are nearing the end of our trip through the Tuamotus. This is our sixth atoll and we have one more we hope to visit next week before heading to Tahiti and the Society Islands. We saw the most unusual coral outcroppings, unlike any I've ever seen before. They are huge boulders of coral, sometimes 8 feet tall and razor sharp that line the coast along Motu Faama. We then visited the village of Otepipi. By the way, a village in the Tuamotus many times is a single home with a single person occupying it. We visited some villages and could never find anyone. Otepipi is known for having one of the oldest churchs in the Tuamotus dating back to the 18th century. Day before yesterday, when the rain finally subsided, Kim did laundry and I did some other boat projects. The boat was all clean from the rain and she even caught buckets of rain water for the laundry so we didn't have to use our precious RO water. By mid morning the boat was covered from stem to stern with laundry. When the sun is out here and the breeze blowing 20+ knots everything dries in 15 minutes. Yesterday, we visited bird island which is nesting site for terns and they were there by the hundreds. You can see their eggs lying around in the ground cover and upon closer inspection we could see the chicks running around underneath it. Needless to say, the parents didn't appreciate us being near them and would dive bomb us, screaming the whole time. We also saw numerous sharks cruising the beach. Today, we hope to move on to the area known for it's pink beach sand. It is pink due to a particular algae that colors the sand. Almost all the beaches we've seen are really ground up coral, however, this area here is actually real sand and does have a very pink color to it. Then we will begin working our way back north.
We hope, weather permitting, to be able to visit the Blue Lagoon. It is on the western shore and is sort of an atoll within the big atoll. Rangiroa, is the largest atoll in the South Pacific and the second largest in the world. It is so large, about 48 mile long and 23 miles at it's widest point, that you have to be careful of the waves inside due to the long distance of approximately 50 miles that waves can build (we call that fetch in boat lingo). It can make anchorages rather uncomfortable if you don't get protection behind something. At the Blue Lagoon, all the books say to only visit it in light winds and settled weather because you have to carefully pick your way in through all the bommies and then when there you have no protection from the prevailing SE winds here. So, we have our fingers crossed and hope to be able to visit there on our return back to the north end.
Another thing unique about the Tuamotus is that all navigation inside the lagoons has to be done visually. No matter where you are going, you have to have the sun at your back so that you can see the bommies that may be 10 feet or 300 feet in diameter, rising up from the bottom in 150 feet of water to inches below the surface sometimes. Needless to say, hitting one of these would seriously ruin your day and probably your boat. So you have to plan your path carefully, considering not only wind and waves as usual, but also where the sun is so you can visually see the bommies. When the clouds blow in, you just have to slow way down and do the best you can. Kim's favorite observation point is either sitting or standing or sitting on top of the hard top we had built in Cartagena. Many sailors put someone up the mast or on ratlines to be able to see better. Polaroid sunglasses are a necessity and we have these neat little headsets that allow Kim and I to talk to each during anchoring and when she's sitting on the roof looking for bommies that make it much easier. Even though, you do feel like you're working the drive-thru at Burger King sometimes, it is so much better than screaming at each other while anchoring and trying to interpret hand signals. Never thought about it for eyeball navigation, but when she is on the roof or standing at the bow, being able to chat in a normal tone of voice is a big improvement.
We have lots of photos and video to share with you when we get back to real internet. Kim actually did update some of the photo galleries on the blog before we had to bail out of the anchorage, so go check out the photos and videos on the blog.
That's it from here and we'll be in touch soon.
Well, it's been almost a week since we left the anchorage at Tiputa at the NE corner of Rangiroa. Everyone was talking about the Mari'amu winds that were coming in the next couple of days. Boats were repositioning. Many were leaving because there is nowhere to get protection from the 30+ knot winds out of the SE that were expected. We talked to the dive operator at the Kia Ora resort and she told us it may go on for days/ weeks and that the water was already coming over the south end of the atoll. When that happens, there is only outgoing tidal flow at the pass. No incoming at all for days.
So, we decided to reverse our plans. (You know the plans we write in the sand at low tide) Instead of hanging around civilization for a while, playing internet and visiting all the local restaurants and pearl shops we decided to go ahead and visit the interior of the atoll first, then return to the north end.
Well, we have made it to the southern tip of the atoll and are presently anchored there, next to what we are calling bird island. The locals call it Papaina Motu. Here in the Tuamotus, you have to learn the lingo. A motu is an island, any size. The atolls are ringed with them. Looking at aerial maps it appears that there is a solid wall around the atoll, but there isn't. It is a ringing fringe reef all the way around. Hundreds of islands, big and small, with channels between them the locals call Hoa's. The other obstacles you have familiarize yourself with are called bommies. These are coral heads of all sizes that cover the bottoms of the atolls. Their job is to grab you anchor chain and make it impossible for you to retrieve your anchor without going for a dive. We have been buoying our anchor chain with some pearl farm floats we picked up off the beaches here and so far have been successful keeping the fouling to a minimum.
So we have made 4 stops so far, with either 3 or 4 more to go before returning to the anchorage in Tiputa. The mari'amu winds never materialized. Although, we were locked down for 2 days with continuous rain and squalls. This cleared yesterday, but we are presently having winds in the mid 20 knot range and this morning we had a brief squall that gusted into the mid 30's. Woke me up around 5 AM. We have seen some very unusual things. We are nearing the end of our trip through the Tuamotus. This is our sixth atoll and we have one more we hope to visit next week before heading to Tahiti and the Society Islands. We saw the most unusual coral outcroppings, unlike any I've ever seen before. They are huge boulders of coral, sometimes 8 feet tall and razor sharp that line the coast along Motu Faama. We then visited the village of Otepipi. By the way, a village in the Tuamotus many times is a single home with a single person occupying it. We visited some villages and could never find anyone. Otepipi is known for having one of the oldest churchs in the Tuamotus dating back to the 18th century. Day before yesterday, when the rain finally subsided, Kim did laundry and I did some other boat projects. The boat was all clean from the rain and she even caught buckets of rain water for the laundry so we didn't have to use our precious RO water. By mid morning the boat was covered from stem to stern with laundry. When the sun is out here and the breeze blowing 20+ knots everything dries in 15 minutes. Yesterday, we visited bird island which is nesting site for terns and they were there by the hundreds. You can see their eggs lying around in the ground cover and upon closer inspection we could see the chicks running around underneath it. Needless to say, the parents didn't appreciate us being near them and would dive bomb us, screaming the whole time. We also saw numerous sharks cruising the beach. Today, we hope to move on to the area known for it's pink beach sand. It is pink due to a particular algae that colors the sand. Almost all the beaches we've seen are really ground up coral, however, this area here is actually real sand and does have a very pink color to it. Then we will begin working our way back north.
We hope, weather permitting, to be able to visit the Blue Lagoon. It is on the western shore and is sort of an atoll within the big atoll. Rangiroa, is the largest atoll in the South Pacific and the second largest in the world. It is so large, about 48 mile long and 23 miles at it's widest point, that you have to be careful of the waves inside due to the long distance of approximately 50 miles that waves can build (we call that fetch in boat lingo). It can make anchorages rather uncomfortable if you don't get protection behind something. At the Blue Lagoon, all the books say to only visit it in light winds and settled weather because you have to carefully pick your way in through all the bommies and then when there you have no protection from the prevailing SE winds here. So, we have our fingers crossed and hope to be able to visit there on our return back to the north end.
Another thing unique about the Tuamotus is that all navigation inside the lagoons has to be done visually. No matter where you are going, you have to have the sun at your back so that you can see the bommies that may be 10 feet or 300 feet in diameter, rising up from the bottom in 150 feet of water to inches below the surface sometimes. Needless to say, hitting one of these would seriously ruin your day and probably your boat. So you have to plan your path carefully, considering not only wind and waves as usual, but also where the sun is so you can visually see the bommies. When the clouds blow in, you just have to slow way down and do the best you can. Kim's favorite observation point is either sitting or standing or sitting on top of the hard top we had built in Cartagena. Many sailors put someone up the mast or on ratlines to be able to see better. Polaroid sunglasses are a necessity and we have these neat little headsets that allow Kim and I to talk to each during anchoring and when she's sitting on the roof looking for bommies that make it much easier. Even though, you do feel like you're working the drive-thru at Burger King sometimes, it is so much better than screaming at each other while anchoring and trying to interpret hand signals. Never thought about it for eyeball navigation, but when she is on the roof or standing at the bow, being able to chat in a normal tone of voice is a big improvement.
We have lots of photos and video to share with you when we get back to real internet. Kim actually did update some of the photo galleries on the blog before we had to bail out of the anchorage, so go check out the photos and videos on the blog.
That's it from here and we'll be in touch soon.
Comments
| Vessel Name: | North Star |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Tayana 52, Center Cockpit |
| Hailing Port: | Clearwater, Florida |
| Crew: | Steve and Kim |
| About: | |
| Extra: | North Star is a 1988 Tayana 52, center cockpit, a Robert Perry design. |
| Social: |
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North Star's Photos - Main
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Dive Sites Eagle Rock, The Zoo and the Great White Wall
52 Photos
Created 2 July 2019
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39 Photos
Created 29 March 2018
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Curio Bay and Yellow eyed penguins.
60 Photos
Created 18 March 2018
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O'nou Tahiti Graffiti Contest, Michael tattoo, roulottes
26 Photos
Created 2 June 2015
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Panama Canal Crossing and Shelter Bay Marina
31 Photos
Created 1 January 2013
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Back to the marina we go. The damage done by the lightning strike.
14 Photos
Created 7 May 2012
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Caouan, Tobago Cayes, Union Island, Mayreau
39 Photos
Created 25 May 2010
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Trip from Jolly Harbour north to Deep Bay
25 Photos
Created 16 March 2010
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old photos from Virginia to USVI'S
65 Photos
Created 12 March 2010
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additional photos from earlier in trip some of BVI's to St Kitts
120 Photos
Created 7 March 2010
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About Us
Who: Steve and Kim
Port: Clearwater, Florida
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