THE TUOMOTUS– June / July 2016
Hao – Makemo
The Tuomotus are about 400-500 miles southwest of the
Marquesas depending on where you depart and arrive. We decided to depart Fatu Hiva in the
Marquesas for the atoll called Hao. The
evening we left, it was almost a full moon and the wind was calm. We felt we might actually have to motor since
the wind was so light. Well, we then got
a big surprise on the 2nd day as the wind really picked up and
shifted directions and a squall overcame us.
From then on, it was horrible swell and 30 knot heavy wind on the
nose. It felt like we were bashing into
the waves the whole time. By the 4th
day, we were about 60 miles from trying to enter the pass of Hao and decided it
was just going to be too horrible to even try and enter the atoll.
The thing about these atolls is that you have a narrow pass
to enter which has to be entered during slack tide. So, from an aerial view, it’s like looking at
a big circle or oval, with a small slit / opening in the circle/oval, which you
can then enter the circle at the right tide.
Some of the atolls have two passes, most have one. Most of these atolls can also have 3-4 knots
of current, if not more, running either against you or with you coming
in/out. Also, you need to enter these
passes during morning light hours, as there are many coral reefs and rocks to
navigate around and can only be seen when the sun is behind you or above
you. It is pretty tricky to enter
paradise! Once you are inside the pass,
and in the lagoon it’s like you’re in a different weather pattern all
together. Most of the atolls do not even
a magasin/store. Most consist of a few
houses and might have a place a small village.
Some atolls have a village with a store and maybe wifi.
As the swell and wind were so bad, we thought waiting for
slack tide and trying to enter into Hao would be a bust, so we decided to head
further north about another 120 miles and enter the atoll of Makemo. We entered Makemo and the wind and swell was
not as bad, but at the anchorage where the town was, it was very rolly as there
was no protection from the wind or swell.
We didn’t even get the dinghy down to see the village. The next day, we headed for an anchorage in
the middle of the atoll, which was protected by a nice coral reef. It was quite an adventure to navigate the
bommies (coral heads) that are scattered throughout the atoll. It was like a minefield. You have to have look outs at the bow to
avoid literally running into these bommies and putting a huge hole in your
boat! We were happy to arrive at the
middle anchorage as we saw Pesto and Sarita there. We had cocktails and a bonfire on the beach
that night with them and met 3 other boats, Valindra, French Curve, and
Tigress. This really was a very magical
anchorage. White sand beaches, great
coral to snorkel around and calm clear water.
The kids decided to have a Survival camp on the beach one
night. So, we left the kids with Raquel
and Paulo from Pesto, on the beach with a tent, water, Swiss army knife, pork
and beans, fruit loops cereal. handheld radio and their survival
instincts. We rowed back to the boat and
every once in a while looked out with binoculars to see if they were ok. The kids built their own campfire and cooked
their pork and beans and by sunset, they didn’t know what to do!! We received several very funny radio calls
that asked what time it was every 15 minutes for an hour and then asked what we
had for dinner and if we were watching any good movies. It was pretty funny as it was only 5:30pm. We saw the fire they had built had gotten
bigger and they were running around screaming and having a good time. I think they wore themselves out. After the fire burned out, they went into the
tents and we were told the next day, that they talked about computer games and
card games before they went to sleep.
We thought for sure the next morning they would call right away because
they were hungry or bored. They didn’t call
and stayed on the beach the whole afternoon, even through a squall! They only called to tell us that a squall was
coming and that they were having a great time!
It was fantastic to hear that they were having such a great time. They can’t wait to do it again.
Horatio getting ready to fish
Beautiful Parrotfish
Paulo with hermit crab
Cocktails and bonfire on Makemo beach
Makemo atoll
Tahanea
After spending a week in Makemo, we decided to check out another
atoll. It was also a very sad time as
Pesto was planning on staying in Makemo for another two weeks, at least, and in
the atolls for at least another month or two.
They had family coming to visit them in the atolls and we also had
family that was arriving in Papeete (another 200-250 miles away). So, we had to part ways with our very good
friends that we had been cruising with since Mexico. The kids were so sad as they had become so
close with Raquel and Paulo. It was a
hard time for all as we said our goodbyes.
We know we will see them again, but maybe not until next year.
We arrived in Tahanea, which is another atoll about 50 miles
west. It is supposed to be a national
park as no one lives on this atoll. So,
no village, no stores. Fresh food was
getting in short supply, but we were still enjoying ourselves. Tahanea is a beautiful atoll. Lots of white sand beaches and lots of coral
beaches. We snorkeled in the pass which
is a huge reef. It was AMAZING. Just how clear the water was and the colors
of the coral and the types of fish we’ve never seen before. It was so lovely. We only saw one black tip shark and that was
about it for sharks. We wish our camera
took better pictures as it does not do justice to the colors and view of the
sea life. We enjoyed being in Tahanea
for a few days of snorkeling and exploring.
Very quiet and very peaceful.
Inside the lagoon in Tahanea - you can see the ocean on the other side of the sand (that is how close you are to being in 1000 ft of water vs. anchoring in 35 ft of water.
Brightly colored coral
Fakarava
We left Tahanea and went another 50 miles west to the atoll
of Fakarava. This is one of the larger atolls and has two
passes and a village with a couple of magasins.
But we never made it up toward the north pass (25 miles north) where the
magasins are. So, no fresh food
again. We entered the south pass and
anchored there for several days. When we
arrived into the pass, we noticed several dinghies in the water as lots of
folks were drift diving or snorkeling in the pass. You basically take your dinghy into the pass
and jump overboard and drag the dinghy line behind you. You typically drift out during slack tide and
then wait for the tide or current to take you back in and hop back into your
dinghy. Or you hop back in because there
are a lot of sharks!
Upon arriving into the southeast anchorage, we met a family
on Blue Raven. They have two daughters,
close to Horatio and Noah’s age. They invited us over for cocktails and we met
two other boats, Valvini and Cartago (sp?).
Everyone is so fantastic trading sea stories and passage stories. It really is a small family when it comes to
sailing as you typically end up seeing these folks again at another
island/anchorage. The kids played on
Blue Raven one day and met two boys their age from the boat Kandu. We met one of the boys from Kandu in Nuku
Hiva, but they actually got to hang out with both of them 300 miles away from
the Marquesas. What a small world!
Sarita was also in Fakarava and we spent a day exploring the
beaches with them. Horatio and Noah had
a great day with Katia on a small sand island to themselves while the adults
explored the other beaches. We also
spent another day snorkeling in the pass with Sarita. AMAZING!
Like Tahanea, so much coral, so alive with fish and soooo many
SHARKS! Black tip and white tips
sharks. At least 20 sharks swimming
around us. It can certainly be
unnerving, but they don’t really bother you.
As long as they don’t start to circle you, or seem to be aggressively
coming toward you, it was fine. We saw
no circling or aggressive behavior at all.
Wow!
Horatio snorkeling
Black tip shark - one of many
School of fish
Noah looking for treasure
Not sure what this is?
Any ideas? We saw so many, but do not know what they were
Maybe a grouper?
Beautiful clam
Now it was time for us to start thinking about heading
toward the Society Islands, where our first stop would be Tahiti, with a real
city and real grocery stores and wifi!