A COOK ISLAND AND A NIGHT IN BEVERIDGE REEF

On leaving French Polynesia you have to make a choice as to which way you go to get to Tonga. Some boats go North to the Samoa islands (US and West) and some via a variety of the Cook Islands. We were very undecided until the last minute but in the end headed for Rarotonga so that we could at least experience one of the Cook Islands. In retrospect it was the wrong decision but you can’t get it all right and you can’t see everything.

For the first two days of our crossing we had very light winds which is always a little frustrating, and George our auto helm does not like sailing in these conditions. Our biggest fear is that he will go on strike and then god forbid we would have to helm the boat! On our second night there was no wind at all so we had to motor. The sea was as flat as a mill pond and you could see all the stars reflected in it, it was truly beautiful. Day three brought us some decent breeze and we were soon trundling along at six and a half knots, finally making land in Rarotonga, our chosen Cook island, after four nights at sea.

We motored into Avatiu Harbour and moored up stern to the land. It is not a nice harbour at all as it is open to the swell and in order to get ashore you need to launch the dinghy and risk life and limb clinging to a rickety ladder on the wall, avoiding landing in the large puddles at the top.  Before we could do this though we had to wait for the Customs to arrive and go through the usual checking in process, which was all relatively easy. However the local currency is New Zealand dollars, of which we had none, so a quick trip into town was needed to pay our dues. They also bought us tired sailors a very good fish and chip supper before we retired to bed for an early night.

The next day brought with it torrential rain. It seemed a waste of money to hire a car but there is a bus that circumnavigates the Island so for five dollars each we hopped on it and did the circuit. The weather didn’t help but we weren’t hugely taken with the place. It appears to be a holiday destination for a certain type of Kiwi and has lots of take out fast food joints and not a lot else.

So we decided the next day to walk across the island and experience the more scenic part of the place. Whilst we had been on the bus the day before a family had got on covered in mud from their trek and had not been allowed to sit down, so himself hit upon the idea of catching the bus first to the other side of the Island whilst we were all clean and walking back towards the boat. We should have realised our mistake when I read a notice at the start of the Trek suggesting that it was advisable to start from the other side. However we were on Dallas tours and so we ventured past the Waterfalls and on into the jungle.

I mentioned that it had been raining the day before and we were expecting some mud. We were also expecting some sign posts. To begin with all went well but it became harder and harder to find the painted blue arrows showing the way. I wasn’t very happy when I came face to face with a rat who then proceeded to run over my head on a branch. I soon got tired of taking off my shoes every time we had to cross a river and greatly enjoyed watching the efforts my guide went to avoiding getting his feet wet, some of them quite athletic as he crossed streams by going through the branches. 

We eventually got completely lost, no mobile phone, no GPS, no food and little water, what muppets! We climbed a hillside/mountain in the hope of finding our way, clinging on to the tree roots we some how made some progress. The tour guide thankfully, and correctly, decided to descend which he did quite quickly but I am frightened of heights and was not easily letting go of my new found friends the tree roots. Once back down the hillside he was happy to find a young Czechoslovakian couple with Google maps on their phone. They kindly waited for the old dear to descend and tried not to look too shocked at the state I was in when I arrived. Think yeti covered head to toe in mud, steam coming out of ears and generally not a happy bunny. But we found the path and then waved them on, much to their relief. We had another very steep hillside to climb, Andrew was in much better shape than me at this point and I was reminded of learning to ski when you are the worst in the party and finally catch up with everyone, only for them to set off again before you have had a moment to catch your breath.

We met a couple going the other way who told us that they had been going to walk both ways but had just had a terrifying experience at the top traversing across a sheer drop with only a rope to hold onto and were therefore going to get the bus back to their car. Blood pressure now at boiling point we continued onwards. On reaching the sheer drop, hyperventilating I hung onto the rope and didn’t look down, breathing a huge sigh of relief I  made it to the top. There was a lovely view and a magnificent cockerel, but we were too exhausted to walk to the view point so  commenced our descent. It wasn’t easy but at least we had sign posts and finally we were at the bottom. 

We were however unbelievably hot and covered from head to toe in mud! The tour guide spotted a river, clinging to another rope we descended down a slope through some bushes and there was clear cold water and not a soul around. We had the best skinny dip ever, and emerged in a more presentable state. Our journey was far from over however as we had quite an walk still to get back to the boat. We travelled past lots of local houses marvelling at how many pigs there were, some piglets foot loose and fancy free and some large pigs tied up. Together with lots of dogs of the loud barking variety.

Finally we were at the harbour and we fell upon the nearest burger joint. We devoured our very late lunch surrounded by the inevitable chickens that roam all these islands, just a shame no one collects the eggs. We had intended to go out to dinner that evening toTrader Vics but we were so tired we could hardly move so we had baked beans on toast and a very early night.

The wind turned direction in the night and the conditions in the harbour became even more uncomfortable so the decision was made to leave that day.  Taking our life into our hands we clambered ashore to start the checking out process, purchased a few vegetables and were happily on our way back out to sea after lunch. Rarotonga probably our least favourite place so far in the Pacific.

We had another four nights at sea and quickly fell back into life onboard. With the Yankee poled out we made great headway romping along, Hullabaloo at her very best.  Our disastrous fishing record in the Pacific continued however. We caught a Tuna and Andrew gallantly reeled it in, I could taste the Sashimi, and then just as he leant over the side to bring it onto the boat the lure broke and it dropped back into the sea. A couple of hours later we had another bite but that jumped off, so sadly no fish supper for us. The weather and sea state were good enough to play cards so at least the skipper could console himself with thrashing me, the score was not looking too good!

We arranged to meet Bill and Zoe for dinner in Beveridge Reef which is in the middle of the Ocean. Surrounded by reef with a single pass into the lagoon it is like an Atoll but with no surrounding land.  The only solid object that can be seen even at low tide is the wreck of an old fishing boat.  There is no land above water anywhere.  On our approach we could see Into the Blue anchored in the middle and we motored though the pass into calm waters and anchored next to them. They cooked us a delicious dinner and sitting around their cockpit table it was all very surreal. It really felt like we were anchored in the middle of the Ocean and the only indication that we were surrounded by reef was when the odd wave crashed over it.

The next morning Bill wanted to take us shark fishing in the pass.  We motored to the South of the lagoon and anchored but the wind was starting to pick up and he decided it was too dangerous. As they had told stories the night before of the sharks in a feeding frenzy bashing their dinghy two days previously I was secretly happy to have been saved by the weather, even if it meant we cut our stay there short and left that afternoon.

We headed out together into the swell and we set course for Tonga. Zoe and Bill decided to head for Niue but we didn’t like the sound of the weather forecast. As it turned out they had a great few days there and we probably missed out but such is life. There were lots of squirrels around and consequently quite a lot of rain. We were told when we left Panama we would not see any rain but that has not proved to be the case. Sheltering below we began our sail to The Kingdom of Tonga....

THE SOCIETY ISLANDS

We sailed overnight in lumpy seas with lots of squirrels and arrived in Tahiti in the rain and dark, neither of which were ideal. As we didn’t fancy entering Papeete harbour at night we anchored in a bay around the corner. It was slightly nerve wracking going through a reef in the dark but we could see the leading lights and it was a relief to be in calm water and get a good nights sleep.

In the morning we made our way into the harbour and found a spot on the waiting pontoon in Papeete marina. They work on a first come first served basis and there were lots of boats in town. We busied ourselves using the in-house washing machines, had pizza for lunch with great Wi-fi and went shopping in our first decent supermarket for a while, which was a joy! French cheeses, decent meat, sushi, lots of vegetables and wine at a sensible price! It was actually really nice to be in a bustling town for a change.

They moved us into the marina the next day and then we finally could plug into the mains for the first since we left Panama. Our poor batteries were very happy and it was such a relief not to have to switch on the smokey old generator, or have to apologise to anyone near us for the terrible pollution emanating from our vessel. We had made the decision in the Tuamotu’s to order a new generator and with the help of Emma we had found an old model in Australia the same size as the one we had. It actually was more powerful, 9.3 kw as opposed to 7.5 kw, but had all the same fittings so in theory it should be easy to install. It was expensive to ship but life had become intolerable with our failing generator,  entirely our fault we should have replaced it in America. Our agent Vincent informed us of its arrival, the lovely Dominic, who sounded just like inspector  Clouseau, came to spec the job and arrangements were made to fit it the following week.

Before that though we had the Tahiti Rendezvous to enjoy. An annual event that is organised by Stephanie whom we had first met at the Puddle Jump seminar in Panama. We signed up on the Friday afternoon and then went to the opening drinks party. There were some great Tahitian dancers who put on a show for us, the boys jumping around the stage beating their ample breasts as entertaining as the girls with their wiggling bottoms, thus providing excitement for both sides of the audience! We retired to dinner with our new friends from Water Music and enjoyed a fairly boozy evening in a local restaurant and then later on the good ship Hullabaloo.

In the morning we picked up our crew mate for the weekend Geoff from Nawi.  Sadly Sandra, his wife, had had to return home to Australia with some health issues that morning, the upside of which was that we got to enjoy his company for a couple of days. Having said we would never race no 9 we found ourselves on a start line vying for position. We even hoisted the kite but then sailed into a hole and  retired. Of course the wind then filled in but our race was over. We all anchored in Cooks Bay in Moorea and went ashore for a very jolly evening and dinner in the hotel.

We were woken the next morning by Geoff calling Andrew on deck as he didn’t recognise any of the boats that were around us. It was very windy and we had dragged past four boats in our sleep, we were so lucky that we didn’t hit one of them. One owner later told us that he saw us float past in the middle of the night, extraordinary that he didn’t try to wake us!! We motored around for a little while trying to get our anchor down in different spots but ended back where we had started and a close eye was kept on our position from the shore all day. 

We took part in the Va’a racing, these being the traditional local canoes with an outrigger. There were three heats and we had a team of four yachties with two locals at either end. We were in need of a fourth team mate and Timmo from Vuda marine in Fiji not only found us an engine, in the form of 6.4 foot power house Daniel from South America, but also proclaimed himself our coach. An excitable Italian he had us in stitches as he got more and more enthusiastic with our progress as we made it into the final with last years winners. Sadly they just beat us but we were pretty thrilled with our second place and at least we didn’t tip over rounding the course mark as many did. 

After an excellent lunch there followed more onshore activities during the day, I learnt how to open a coconut, was on the winning ladies tug of war team but declined to get involved in the stone lifting. There were some amazing local dancers that were even better than Friday nights and Bryan and I set ourselves up in chairs to watch, moving closer and closer to the front each time any one moved until to our delight we had front row seats! 

We left early the next morning and headed back to Papeete and our new generator. Marina Taina found us a spot on a hammerhead which enabled a fork lift to get near enough to winch the old generator out and the new one in. I left Andrew to deal with the boys and headed off to Carrefour and what a joy that was, suddenly I had a limitless choice of foods! I spent most of the afternoon in there restocking our supplies and then had to wheel the laden trolley along a gravel footpath back to the marina.  Not easy but worth the effort; although I almost lost the lot down a steep driveway.

I got back to discover that the fitting had gone very smoothly but the voltage output wasn’t high enough. Glum faces all round but an electrician promised to come the next morning and on reading the manual it became apparent that this was normal. Sure enough the electrician fiddled about and BOOM we had power!!!! In fact so much power we didn’t know what to do with it all. We could suddenly run a washing machine, power the batteries, run the domestic circuit, heat water, boil a kettle, make toast, recharge all our devices at the same time. In addition to this the machine was quiet and there was no smoke coming out the back. Suddenly life onboard took on a whole new dimension. I never thought I would become the type of girl that could be in love with a shiny new red engine!

We headed back over to Moorea for a few days to enjoy these luxuries, big smiles on our faces, gradually learning not to hold our breath each time we fired the generator up. We bumped into Into the Blue and had a nice lunch onboard their boat and also went further up the bay and swam with the manta rays and grey tip sharks. Some people were feeding the rays with bits of fish and they could get them to climb up their bodies. Amazing as this was we didn’t fancy it and didn’t feel totally comfortable with the sharks swimming around our feet with all this fish in the water. 

We returned to Papeete Marina one last time as we had tickets to see the Hiva. This is a traditional singing and dancing contest with participants from lots of different islands and villages. We got there ahead of time, as there were big winds forecast, and found ourselves on the waiting pontoon as everyone had had the same idea. On our first evening Colin from Burmese Breeze, who was tied up in front of us,  came on board for a chat and before we knew it we had most of the pontoon on our boat for drinks. Around eleven o’clock I decided to make dinner for our remaining guests and was very proud of my efforts considering the amount of rum I had drunk. It became apparent the next morning that I hadn’t been as together as I thought as the chicken carcass that I had thrown out the galley window, thinking I was at anchor, was in fact strewn all over the pontoon. I was however in a much better state than Andrew who had stayed up to four am with his new mate Colin and could hardly talk.

The upside of this was that I managed to take him clothes shopping and purchase some trousers and a couple of shirts for him as he was so malleable.  The following day I took myself off shopping and even got a haircut and professional hair dye, the first one since we left England in October nine months previously. That evening we attended a surprise 60th birthday party for Lydia on Cheglia. Martin had done her proud and their must have been at least thirty of us onboard. All this time it is blowing forty plus knots outside the marina and we were oblivious to it all.

On our last night in Tahiti we attended the Hiva in the local stadium. It was the opening night and we had to sit through some rather long speeches and presentations. Then there was a singing group which I have to admit was not to our taste. However the dancing performance that followed was out of this world. A least a hundred dancers performing a love story which lasted at least forty five minutes and was truly memorable! After that there was another singing group and most of the audience got up and left. So thinking the dancing must be over we went of in search of the Tuk Tuks and bought ourselves some dinner. Imagine our horror when we got back to the boat and could hear music and drums from the stadium. We had missed another dance spectacular, that will teach us to listen to our stomachs!!

We escaped the marina and spent a last night in Moorea, the only excitement being a visit from the Gendarmerie to inspect our paperwork. We then set off for an overnighter to Huahine in pretty average weather and a lumpy sea. Arriving in the morning we set off inside the reef motoring along the bottom of the island in crystal blue waters admiring the beauty of our new island. We found Stephen and Grace in the anchorage and they suggested that we had lunch in Chez Tara which they had done the previous Sunday. And an excellent recommendation it was with a fantastic pig roast that had been cooked in the ground and a great local buffet. They also did a mean rum punch. Stopping by Water Music on our way back for a quick catch up we arranged to go snorkelling the next day.

We duly picked them up mid morning and dinghied around the reef to the recommended snorkelling spot. There were quite a few pretty fish and a very ugly moray eel. We stopped at an historical Marae site which was interesting and then retired for lunch on the table on Hullabaloo before waving them off. The weather was lovely so we decided to spend a few quiet days  enjoying the island. We moved a few miles West and dropped our anchor just by the outer reef which was  idyllic.  Going ashore to drop off our rubbish we came upon some villagers practising for their local Hiva which was to take place that weekend and they were very friendly and happy to let us watch their dress rehearsal. Amazing as the show had been in Papeete this felt a much more authentic experience. In addition to the dancing Andrew and I both loved the beat and rhythm of the drums.

The following morning a little local boat approached us with a smiling Bryan at the helm and a young french lady who he was giving a lift to. They stayed for lunch and we had a good catch up on his antics since he had left Water Music a couple of weeks before. Our final stop in Huahine was the town. On dropping our anchor we were hailed by our new friend Colin inviting us to join him and his crew mate Tamsin for dinner in the local yacht club, how could we say no. A fun evening was had with some excellent french steak and lots of french wine. Arriving back at the boat and keen to check for news from home I took my iPhone on deck. Sadly I then dropped it down the companionway and now the screen no longer works. All a-bit of a disaster, not least as I have lots of pictures on there that are not backed up to the cloud. Hopefully some young whizz kid at Apple will be able to retrieve them when we get back to the UK.

The next day was our thirty second wedding anniversary and we decided to celebrate by hiring a moped to drive around the island. Determined to have my own steed we set off with Andrew miles ahead and me nervously trundling along behind, as usual pissing off all the car drivers who wanted to overtake me.  We had a lovely day visiting another Marae site and drinking in the scenery of our favourite Polynesian island to date. I thought I had relaxed by the end of the drive, my hands told another tale as they wouldn’t stop tingling. I had been gripping too hard on the handles, and there was me thinking I was some kind of biker chick!

We had managed to book dinner in the smart hotel on the front. We got dressed up to the nines, I even blow dried my hair not that you would have known as by the time we got there I was doing my usual impersonation of Crystal Tips. Dinner was exceptional and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening. We were both agreed that the Society Islands were our favourite part of French Polynesia. They combined the ruggedness of the Marquesas, with the tropical paradise of the Tuamotu’s and they have some life with decent restaurants, bars and good supermarkets.

We were due in Bora Bora to celebrate Rosemary’s sixtieth birthday. We sailed to Tahaa, stopping for the night in a bay where we encountered our first, and as it turned out, only rude Polynesian. That in itself says something about the friendliness of the locals. Then on to Bora Bora, it’s iconic central mountain visible for miles, in stark contrast to the blue sky and fluffy white clouds. We picked up a Mooring ball outside the Yacht club, paying our weekly mooring sub to Frances who had just bought the business. A couple of weeks before a Catamaran had ended up on the reef when the mooring broke in forty knots whilst the owners were ashore. They don’t like you to anchor in Bora Bora so we just hoped the winds stayed calm. 

After an excellent, although pricey, lunch at the Yacht club we set off across the lagoon and found Zig Zag on a mooring ball just inside the reef. After a little disagreement with a Bommie we picked up a mooring ball alongside them and rushed over to say hello to Rosemary and Francois. We had last seen them heading out of Frustration Bay, but had kept in regular contact on the Iridium Go and they already felt like old friends. Rum was produced and the promised barbecued lamb chops and we had a jolly good catch up.

The next day their friends arrived from South Africa and New Zealand. Godfrey, Sheila, Chris and Sharon all old friends and the three girls had all been at school together. We felt very privileged to be included in the festivities. They had arrived on Bastille day, for which we had dressed Hullabaloo overall. We went into town in two dinghies to watch the parade, every club and local organisation represented but to be honest it wasn’t much of a spectacle. So we retired back to Hullabaloo for tea which led straight into drinks and the curry I had made for them all earlier. We had a lovely evening and it was obvious we were in for a good few days!

At ten to eight the next morning we found Godfrey and Chris loitering in the water behind our boat keen to aid in the dressing overall of Hullabaloo in celebration of Rosemary’s birthday. Promptly at eight am the flags went up and then, just in case the rest of the anchorage weren’t already awake,  we sang her Happy Birthday over the loud speaker. 

Later that day we moved around to the town as Francois was taking us all out to dinner at the beautiful St. James restaurant on the front. A truly excellent evening followed with fine wine and even finer food. Foie gras to die for, I was in heaven and we all had another great evening. 

The following day we all hired bikes and cycled around the island, stopping for lunch on the beach. As we draw too much to take the boat to the other side of the island it was great for us to be able to see it. I had been told I wouldn’t like Bora Bora, as it was so built up with hotels, but I loved the place and the hotels are very tasteful and blend into the landscape. It is no costa del sol! 

We met everyone for drinks at Bloody Marys and had a couple of them. Then Andrew and I had dinner there which was excellent. A last lunch on Zig Zag and then we waved our new friends off as they headed for the airport their four day stay over. We rather felt like we had had a mini Cowes week without the racing.  It is also probably one of the reasons we have such a fondness for Bora Bora.

Returning to pick up a mooring back at the yacht club we decided to first fill up with some fuel. My lovely husband had a blonde moment, of which it is true I have many more than him, and put a litre of diesel into the water tank before he realised that he was on the wrong side of the boat. An afternoon of trying to pump this slick off the top of the tank and out the port hole ensued and I have to admit he did an impressive job of setting up an effective pumping system. However the long and the short of it is having breathed in diesel fumes for the last few months we were now washing in and drinking the stuff! Now when asked how much diesel we carry I tell people that we can carry one thousand litres in our fuel tank and a little extra in our water tank for emergencies.

Shopping ashore I finally managed to buy an unlocked phone into which I could put my O2 SIM card. Unfortunately the only one available is pretty identical to the one I had when the girls were born. It takes me half an hour to type a simple message, as not only do I have to use the buttons in the old fashion way but the screen is so small I can’t see what I am typing! At least I won’t be running up any big data bills on it, I am sure it must be able to access the internet but god knows how!

We had a last dinner with Rosemary and Francois on Hullabaloo, together with Gregory & Susan  from Rapture with whom we had had a dragging contest with on the Tahiti Rendezvous. Then we waved goodbye to Zig Zag whose time was up in French Polynesia. We were going to double back to visit Raita & Tahaa which we had missed in our haste to get to Bora Bora. Sailing up wind we passed Water Music heading in the opposite direction. Whilst putting our mainsail away the foot tape which had been looking iffy finally ripped, time to find a sailmaker.

We headed to the Coral Gardens on Tahaa where we had arranged to meet Into the Blue. Somewhat the worse for wear we had Bill, Zoe & their crew-mate Roger onboard for dinner. We drank too much rum again, and ended up dancing on the aft deck into the early hours. All great fun but I woke the next morning and thought Enough!! Godfrey had laughed at me when I tried to persuade him that we weren’t on a permeant holiday and it was time to prove the point, for a few days at least, if not for the liver then for the waist line.....

We snorkelled the Coral Gardens which was a very different experience. A drift snorkel where the fish are literally in your face as you weave your way between the coral in very shallow water, trying to avoid a grounding. We then upped anchor and headed round the island and anchored off the reef where we remained for several days as we both went down with a bad cold, cant imagine why that might have been!

We found ourselves a sail maker in Raiatea who turned out to be a very tiny french woman. We manhandled the sail off the boat and left it with her and headed back to Tahaa. We had yet to successfully visit a pearl farm and there was rumoured to be one in Bay Apu and they provided mooring balls. We duly went ashore for the tour and learnt all about the process of cultivating the black pearls which are a major business in Polynesia. This particular farm purchased its oysters from the Tuamotu’s and its base pearls from the Chesapeake in the US. One oyster must be sacrificed as part of the process. It is selected on the colour inside its shell and its mantle is cut into 1mm pieces. These are then inserted into other oysters along with the seed pearls and then the grafted oysters go back into the ocean for eighteen months whilst the pearls develop. It is placed in nets to protect then from predators such as turtles and triggerfish. If the Oyster produces a good pearl it will be used again, but it is a pretty hit and miss affair.

We went back to the boat with a few purchases and then signed up for dinner in the local restaurant where they were having a traditional evening with food cooked in a fire pit. We were entertained with local dancing and a couple of fire eaters. Perhaps not the most authentic experience but fun nevertheless.

The winds were getting up so we headed back over to Raiatea with the intention of visiting the bottom of the island and in particular the Marae that was supposed to be the best in Polynesia. Long story short, I felt it was too windy to anchor outside the Marae and leave the boat, skipper not too happy with me. We motored for hours to find some shelter, got a phone call to say the Main sail was ready, turned around and motored back so that we could pick it up first thing the next morning, so all in all a bit of a waste of time. Mainsail retrieved with remarkably little money exchanging hands we went back to Tahaa to try and find some shelter from the winds to put our mainsail back up. We waited until almost sunset and then found a little respite and hauled it up much to the surprise to a couple of locals who got out a pair of deck chairs to watch the unfolding disaster. Thankfully there wasn’t one.

We headed back to Bora Bora to reprovision for our trip and check out. As we spend time in each place it all becomes very familiar as you work out the best shops to visit. Fully stocked we treated ourselves to one more dinner at the St James restaurant as it would be a while before we would find such fine dining again. 

We motored out of Bora Bora and set our sails ready for a few days at sea. We loved French Polynesia with its many different islands and vistas. The people made us feel so welcome and we experienced a very different culture, albeit one influenced by the French. It had also been a delight not to have to check in and out of every island as you have to in the Caribbean. But now it was time to travel further West, new places to visit, new cultures to learn.....

THE TUAMOTUS

It was fantastic to be making passage again although, as is often the case out here, the forecasts are not always very accurate and on this occasion the wind that was promised did not materialise and we had to motor over half of the way to the Tuamotu’s. Thank goodness we had ferried all that fuel from the dock in Hiva Oa! It took four days to travel the five hundred and forty miles to our first atoll, so we had plenty of time to relax and read up on the marvels and perils of the Tuamotus.

In stark contrast to the Marquesas these low lying coral atolls are millions of years old. There are seventy eight in total, although only thirty are inhabited and they extend one thousand miles in a North West / South East direction. Surrounded by coral reefs with internal lagoons and bordered by motus, small islands covered in palm trees, you enter them through a pass. Due to the currents and turbulence in these passages it is essential to enter at slack water which adds to the navigational timings and  issues. In addition there are numerous coral heads, or Bommies as they are known in this part of the world, in the anchorages which must be avoided to prevent the anchor chain getting wrapped around them. We decided our first atoll would be Kauehi as it has a relatively wide and deep pass.

We arrived at slack water at eighty thirty in the morning and were relieved to find the entrance relatively easy to pass.  Motoring across the lagoon to the anchorage in the South East corner we were nervously scanning the bottom for bommies. They were not easy to spot in the early morning sunlight but we had no choice as we had had to enter the lagoon at slack tide. Arriving in the recommended anchorage we found it covered in them and it took us a little while to find a suitable spot. However on the plus side we had arrived in tropical paradise! Crystal blue waters, small motus with sandy beaches covered in hundreds of tall palm trees swaying in the breeze,  each separated by water which flowed in and out over the surrounding reef with the tides. And only one other boat in sight. 

We ventured ashore to walk around one of the motus and discovered that the sand was in fact derived from  pink coral and was extremely hard on the feet.  We made a circumnavigation nevertheless and then had to get the tweezers out to extract bits of corral from our feet. The snorkelling was excellent with beautiful coloured fish swimming between and around the coral bommies, and the few black tipped sharks added to the ambiance, once it became apparent that they were not very interested in us. We stayed in the bay for five nights making the most of the beautiful location and balmy seas. We were joined by a solo Belgian sailor Michael on his rather tired boat Genesis. We had him over for dinner and a jolly evening was had, it never ceases to amaze us how many interesting and different people we meet on our journey with fascinating life stories to tell. Then Mark and Isabel on Jolly Dogs, hot on our heels from our first meeting in Daniels bay, arrived and drinks turned into a late dinner and another firm friendship made.

On our last night the wind picked up and the anchorage got quite uncomfortable due to the fetch across the lagoon. We had been warned this could be a problem. Before leaving Kauehi we motored up to to the small village of Tearavero and dropped our anchor next to a British boat Brunos Girl with Claudia and Philip onboard. Their outboard wasn’t working so Andrew gave them a lift ashore, long story short we ended up bartering three beers for a can of petrol. We had been told that we needed to learn how to float our anchor to avoid the bommies , venturing ashore in search of some suitable floats we bartered another can for two large orange fishing floats, with which the skipper was most thrilled. Walking to the other side of the atoll, in search of some old rope on the shore line we found plenty along with an enormous amount of plastic and discarded fishing gear, it was very upsetting to see.

We went for a wander around the village to get a feel of the place. The land is made up of stony coral so it is not easy to grow fruit or vegetables. We did find evidence of Pearl farming and of course copra farming. We found a couple of small shops and managed to buy some bread and the usual onions that seem to be available everywhere. We left the anchorage around sun down to ensure we went through the pass at slack water although this time it was much more bumpy. Then we set sail for Tahanea where the snorkelling was supposed to be spectacular.

Arriving in the morning in time to enter the pass we anchored just to the right of the entrance, not nearly so pretty as our last stop but easy for our intended snorkel drift the next day. We had been led to believe it would be spectacular with lots of fish and sharks, but we were a little hesitant as to how this was all going to work out. We set off at slack water and I jumped out of the dinghy in the middle of the pass, snorkel gear on, heart thumping as I am terrified of sharks. I stuck my head in the water and there wasn’t even a fish in sight! After an hour or so of swimming around with the painter tied around our wrists we gave it up for a bad job. We did however have the most memorable snorkel in the lagoon in very shallow crystal blue waters in full sunlight so that the colours of the fish were magnificent. It was like being in a tropical fish tank with fairy lights and the fish were not at all frightened of us and just carried about their business as usual.

We had intended to stay for a few days but the weather forecast looked bad, so after one night we left setting sail for the larger Fakarava, overnighting again as we needed to be at the South pass by nine o’clock in the morning. We arrived several hours early as it is difficult to time these journeys. You don’t want to go slowly incase you miss the slot and have to wait out a tide. We ended up heaving to for a couple of hours in any case and luckily the pass was relatively easy although a little nerve racking once inside as you have to go through more reef with a very shallow  depth. Sadly a boat hit this reef a few weeks after we had been there and was totalled.

Entering the anchorage it was time to try out floating our anchor with our new fishing floats. The idea is to attach the first float at one and a half times the depth and the second one half way from there to the boat.  They will then float the chain off the bottom of the sea bed and prevent it from wrapping around the bommies and hopefully put an end to the fear of loosing your anchor when you can’t  unwrap it in deep water. All sounds good in theory but we didn’t have any clips to attach the rope to the chain so it took us a while to tie them on. However it worked and we now have acquired another boating skill, together with two large floats to fit into our already over stuffed lazerette.

Venturing ashore we wondered around the Old village of Tetamanu which had been wiped out by a hurricane many years before. Now the site of a diving school with a hotel attached we also found to our great delight a Pizza restaurant, of sorts. The owner would only make a minimum of six pizza’s  so we needn’t to find some dinner companions. This we duly did with Harry and his crew from Itsara and we all set upon the food with much gusto! 

The next day we decided to try a drift dive in the Southern pass, more confident this time having quizzed many fellow sailors on where to go and what to do. We slipped into the water in our snorkelling gear, dinghy painter wrapped around both of our wrists and let the tide take us back into the lagoon. This time we were not disappointed with the views below us, lots of beautiful fish and about a hundred black tipped and grey sharks. They were quite a sight to behold but once again they were not at all interested in us and I felt happy as I had the dinghy with me so could get out of the water quickly if necessary. The icing on the cake were the two spotted leopard rays that came to have a look at us and show off their summersaults, just magical! Definitely one of our best experiences to date.

Motoring to the North East corner of the atoll we entered the  bay of Hirifia and were welcomed  by Howard, last seen in Hiva Oa, who not only showed us where to anchor but signed us up for the Pig Roast that evening that most of the bay were going to. Arriving onshore for sun downers we were welcomed by the lovely Lisa who runs the restaurant with her husband. Kisses all round she was quite a character, larger than life in more ways than one and just fabulous! We split into tables for boys and girls which made a nice change to have just female company for a couple of hours and the food was delicious! They soon ran out of beer though and had no other drinks for sale, however Lisa stole some of her husbands rum and gave it to the girls table! Just my type of girl!

There is a long running discussion between Andrew and myself over the pros and cons of a Catamaran over the good ship Hullabaloo. Finally I decreed that he could have a Catamaran with his second wife. As we had been about to leave the Southern pass that morning we had spotted a young girl single handing one and I pointed out his second wife to him, an excellent choice as she came with her own boat. At dinner that evening I was sitting next to Adrienne who runs the kite surfing school in the bay and I suddenly realised it was the second wife! Lubricated with illicit rum I told her about her future marriage plans but she pointed out her first husband sitting across the room. A blonde kite surfing dude, I had to go and tell Andrew that, lovely as he is, we were going to have to look again...

We did however sign up for a Free Diving course with Adrienne and duly met her on the beach a couple of days later. The first hour was spent practising Yoga and meditation and learning how to hold our breath whilst lying on the sand. Andrew had always refused to do Yoga in the past viewing it as female past time, however he loved it. We then entered the water and took it in turns to try holding our breath face down whilst our instructress held our shoulders and whispered soothing words into our ears. I was hopeless but Andrew, funnily enough, managed an impressive two minutes. The next day she came to the boat and we practised free diving down a rope which again I was useless at and himself less impressive now he was no longer having his brow soothed! However a great experience and one which I am sure will come in useful, if we practise a little harder.

We remained in Hirifia Bay for five days in all and during that time an English boat that we recognised from the Solent came in. The mighty fine Water Music turned out to have a fun crew in the form of Stephen, Grace, Gabriel and Brian and we duly invited them onboard for drinks. Rather embarrassingly we had to ask them to bring rum as stocks were low. The situation was so bad that one of the drinks I offered was a Tuamotu Pimms, with fizzy water rather than lemonade and no mint!! Imagine!!  We had such a great time with them that we all had dinner together in Lisa’s the next night and arranged to meet up in Thaiti for the rendezvous, a sailing regatta organised by the Pacific Puddlejump.

It was clearly time to re provision and the supply ship was due in town so we headed that way and dropped hook in Rotoava in the North of the atoll. Going ashore we found a supermarket that we could swop our case of empty beer bottles in for some new ones and met a very friendly Dutch couple who told us where to go the next day for provisions. We also found a bar serving Galettes and wine in proper glasses with Wi-fi, so we went to bed happy.

In the morning the supply ship arrived a couple of hours late but we hastened to the grocery store anyway as we didn’t want to miss the fresh vegetables which we had been told would go quickly. Two and a half hours later my skipper had decided he didn’t like vegetables and just wanted to go home. Finally they started to appear in dribs and drabs and he sprang into action, standing at the table they were being put down onto he exercised his expertise gained from many years of standing at  bars and no one else stood a chance until he had what he wanted. It was genius to watch and then he insisted we run for the only till in the shop before the last goods came out so that we didn’t have to queue there as well. We had dinner with Mark and Isabel that night and the poor thing was there for four hours. The first time having Andrew out shopping with me has been a plus point!

We then went back to the beer shop with another empty crate and found all the vegetables we had bought in abundance with no queue. They didn’t have any avocados though so at least our wait had been worth while, well that was my opinion anyway. We also met the Danish couple again, who unfortunately were also outside the shop when we went in to replenish our third crate after lunch. The weather was chopping up and the anchorage was a bit bumpy so we headed south to the anchorage of Uta Kaiga where we could buy Wi-fi from the yacht services for the price of a soda. We had a fun evening with those Jolly Dogs on our first evening and had Claudia and Philip onboard for drinks on our last one.

We loved the Tuamotu’s and would have liked to have had more time there but the weather was turning sour and we had to get to Thaiti for the rendezvous. We had taken several pamplemouse with us from the Marquesas to give to the poor people of the Tuamotu’s who had no fresh produce. We didn’t find any so I bartered them with Grace for a new pair of reading glasses and Adrienne for fixing a new anode onto our prop. To be fair we only visited three atolls and we would not have been able to get into the more remote ones being constricted by our draught. We left the North Pass in grey skies, lots of squirrels around, next stop Thaiti and a new generator.....