Toau to Tahiti

We had a short sail to Toau from the north pass at Fakarava. Both passes were easy to navigate and we anchored near to the south pass of Toau behind a Motu (small island) which gave us good protection. The following day we went to snorkel the pass with Chris and Rani from Ladybug. The wind had increased over night so the pass was rougher than when we came through it and it was difficult trying to make headway through the pass against the wind and the current. When we finally got in the water the current was running at about 3 knots. We all held on to the dinghy and were whisked back into the atoll. It was interesting but we passed everything so quickly that it was difficult to see.

The second time we did the pass a group of grey sharks were very interested in us. They were much bigger than the ones we had seen in Fakarava and we were definitely being looked at as a food prospect! It was quite unnerving and we were all glad the 4 of us were together with the dinghy. There is a second pass at Toau so we also snorkelled that one. It was shallower with interesting topography but no big fish. Between the 2 passes there was a Motu with a lovely coral garden in front of it and we enjoyed snorkelling that more than the passes.

The following morning we left the pass with a strong wind which made the pass very rough. This was our most exciting exit so far! We headed to the north of the atoll to a place called Anse Amyot. The owners have installed mooring balls inside a quite lagoon and also cook meals on request. We joined a number of US boats we have been sailing with off and on, in the lagoon while Ladybug continued to Tahiti. A number of us did a dive on the outside of the atoll. The coral was pretty but the fish were disappointing and we did not see a single shark. Inside the atoll the owners have a fish trap and this was full of lots of fish, sharks, and rays. It was sad they were trapped but it let us see lots of fish up close.

In the evening we joined the other boats in the lagoon for a pot luck dinner ashore and then we left the following morning for Tahiti. We had a great sail covering 220 miles in 32 hours and arrived at Point Venus (where Captain Cook observed the transit of Venus in the 18th century)just after dark (18.30). We were lucky enough to see a transit of Venus ourselves when we were in Fakarava. We anchored overnight and then moved to the Tahiti yacht club the following morning where we are currently moored on a mooring ball. We lost another fishing line to a big fish and the “zip – ping!!” the line makes as it rips out and then breaks is getting depressing. We probably need to upgrade to bigger gear to cope with the fish here in the Pacific but that will have to wait until we reach New Zealand.

Tahiti is a busy city and very different from the small islands we have become used to. We have been into town a few times to clear in and visit customs although this meant lots of walking and aching legs!. We have also had the novelty of a big Carrefour supermarket where we have been able to buy lots of items we haven't seen since we left Mexico. Needless to say we have purchased lots of cheese! We have also been able  to buy duty free alcohol which has just been delivered to the boat. Unfortunately, we cannot touch it until we leave French Polynesia! At the moment we do not know when that will be as we have a problem with our fuel connection to the engine and Mike searched town for a part unsuccessfully. Until we find a solution we are going nowhere! We will probably have to get it shipped from the States but will not know until next week.

Diving With Sharks!

We never managed to dive the pass at Kauehi as when we got there the sea was too rough to leave the boat. Instead, we went back to our quiet anchorage and then left the following day for Fakarava. The trip to Fakarava was only 40 miles but as we needed to leave in good light and arrive in good light we had to travel overnight. The winds were very light, so we literally drifted south overnight and hove to for 6 hours while we waited for dawn and finally arrived at the south pass at Fakarava about 6.30am.

Trying to time the entrance through the passes for slack tide is a bit like trying to do magic, it never works! Fortunately, with light winds the passes seem to be OK at any state of tide so we had breakfast while the waiting for the sun to be higher in the sky so that we could see the coral and then made our way into the pass. The channel focuses the tide and although we had only a couple of knots of current overall, we had 5 in one spot!

We anchored just inside the pass so getting to it in the dinghy to dive was very easy. The first day we left it too late to snorkel as the ebb had started. You can only swim safely with the flood so that if anything happens you get swept into the atoll rather than out to sea!

The following day we planned a dive with a few other boats. We were very fortunate as our friends on Ladybug were willing to snorkel and tow our dinghy so that we did not have to dive dragging it on a 100 foot rope. This day we were a little early and the current was fairly strong but the dive was amazing. In the centre of the pass there were hundreds of sharks just drifting in the current. We held onto coral on the bottom and watched them for quite a while. Due to the current there were very few fish visible but the coral was very pretty.

After our dive we all snorkelled back towards the anchorage with the dinghy in tow. Around the corner of the pass towards the boats the current picks up and was whizzing us along. It was as if someone was fast forwarding a video as everything was going by so quickly. We were impersonating 'superman' flying through the water! When we got tired, we all climbed in the dinghy and headed back to the boat for a rest.

The following days we did the same dive another 3 times and also snorkelled on the opposite side of the pass. We never saw as many sharks as we always timed the dive to have as little current as possible but this meant we saw lots more fish. There was one area in particular which was a little lagoon with a pass through it and the coral on either side was only a few feet deep. In this area we saw huge Napoleon Wrasse about 4ft long, numerous sharks and thousands of little fish. It was like our own private aquarium. The last day a pleasure boat was in this lagoon with clients and they were feeding the sharks only about 20ft away from where we were standing. Amazingly none of us felt threatened by the sharks. As soon as they got anywhere near they turned and swam the other way. It's nice to know that for reef sharks they are more interested in fish than people!

The wind turned so that the anchorage became uncomfortable so we moved to a quiet corner of the atoll and anchored off a palm tree lined beach. We stayed here for a few days having a rest after all our swimming of the previous days. Then we sailed to the north end of the atoll to the village which is where we are currently anchored. There are a few shops here so hopefully we will get bread and will go looking at pearls. There are lots of pearl farms here but at the moment we have no idea how much they cost!

Once we have shopped we plan to move to the next atoll called Toau. We will hopefully do more diving and snorkelling. We will have a week there before heading to Tahiti for a 2 day cruisers gathering.