We made it through the pass without incident. The lagoon inside the atoll is like a large lake but one had to be aware of smaller reefs, bommies (individual coral heads) and pearl farms.
The main channel to the town is well marked and is located at the north end of the atoll. An important bit of information to note: On the west coast of North America and in Canadian waters we are used to a buoy system where you keep the red channel markers on the starboard side of the boat when you enter port - Right Red Returning. In the southern ocean this system is reversed. That means that we have to keep the Green channel marker on our starboard side.
Marine Trivia: Starboard is the right side of the boat. The Norse used a single steering oar on the right or steer board side of the vessel - old English "steer" for right and " bord" for side.
Vessels had to unload from the left side because the steering oars prevented the vessel from getting close enough to the dock. They would put a plank from the wharf "farboard" to the vessel. The French altered this system by cutting a door (port) in the side of the vessel to handle cargo.
We spent three days just hanging around on the hook. Care had to be taken in putting down the anchor and chain to avoid the coral heads. The first day was spent getting caught up on some sleep and swimming in crystal clear water.
The wind did play havoc on Wednesday - lots of rain all day. I went for a swim the next day and checked out our anchor chain. Nice to be in such clear water so I was able to see that the chain had loosely wrapped itself around a coral head. So I stayed in the water and directed David so he could maneuver the boat and unwrap the chain. We shortened our scope with the rest of the chain laying in sand. The next 24 hours were calm and we were able to raise our anchor without incidence.
We did make a couple of dingy trips into the town. The two stores did not have much to offer in the way of fresh fruit, vegetables, bread or fruit. The delivery plane had not arrived as scheduled due to a set of rotating strikes. Margaret on Storm Bay did score some bok Choy from a women who was growing it on the motu and was kind enough to share it with some of us in the fleet. It was a good additive to the Thai prawn noodle soup that I was making for dinner.
I cleaned the waterline on the starboard side, did some laundry and David tried once again to clear up the ground wire on the antenna. We are able to hear people on the single side band radio but are unable to transmit or send emails with winlink. We might have wifi when we get to the next atoll in a couple of days.
We took some time off from chores and went for a snorkel over by the reef. Lots of little fish, some beautiful clams and some nice coral. Then back to the boat for a fresh water shower and dinner.
Wednesday 18-May-2016. We got a call from Al on Nauti Nauti on the VHF. He was making water and wondered if we wanted to fill our tanks. What a nice offer. So David went over with our Jerry cans - 2 trips and we had our tanks 1 3/4 full along with our 2 Jerry cans on deck!
Nauti Nauti was one of the boats that we were in radio contact with during our crossing from Mexico. It was nice to finally meet the people we had been communicating with. You will notice a correction to the spelling of the boat name from earlier Blogs.
I climbed in the water and finished cleaning the waterline on the port side. Then I swam the anchor line to make sure we were not hung up on any more coral. Good thing as we did have to maneuver a little bit to bring up the anchor with only minor hiccups.
1130: Anchor up and on our way to the south end of the atoll.
1330: We dropped the hook in 17 feet of water in sand. Lunch was left over chicken stew. Watched a black tip shark swim by the boat while we ate. Apparently these sharks are curious but harmless. Kind of like the nurse sharks in Belize.
Nauti Nauti ( from Wisconsin) and Belvanie (New Zealand)also joined us.
It is quite beautiful at this end of the lagoon. The water in unbelievably clear. The atoll is made up of a string of motus that surround the lagoon. At this particular section the motu is quite narrow and you can see the surf crashing on the outside of the atoll. Dark blue ocean on one side. Turquoise color water on the inside. White coral beaches. Just like the travel brochures! Beautiful!
We spent the afternoon beach combing and walking to the other side of the atoll. Preparations were underway from the other boats for a beach bonfire so we assisted by collecting driftwood and coconut bark. Judy and Margaret showed up with snorkel gear so I joined them and we swam back to the boats. No sharks seen! Water was as clear as a mirror but few fish.
Back to the boat to prepare something for sharing and a main for us. We had received some Copper Creek smoked salmon from friends in Barra so I mixed it with some cream cheese, capers and onions to be served on crackers. We finally opened up the jar of spicy pickled green beans that we had received as a gift from Paxton (a couple of Christmases ago). They were and are absolutely fantastic. Thanks Paxton! We must make them last as this is the only green vegetable on board and we have no way of knowing when we will get more.
It was a wonderful evening on the beach - coals for barbecuing and then a huge bonfire where we burnt some of our garbage. 2 boats from US, 1 from Canada, 1 from New Zealand, 1 From Australia.
I saw the green flash for the first time!!! Moon came up 3/4 full.
The most remarkable thing was the return ride in the dinghy. I have never seen such clarity in the water at night . With the moonlight you could still see the coral on the bottom as if it was high noon. Spectacular does not even come close to describing it!
Thursday 19-May-2016 Chore day - though nothing really seems to be a chore in these surroundings. A large section of the dodger window has given way. We tried using some sail tape which held for about a week or so but now that has pulled away. So more hand sewing for me. I could use the old holes in the plastic once I cleaned the old thread out but it was still a tough job to push the needle and thread through the holes - good old thimble comes in handy again. A lot of the stitching is starting to break down with the sun and salt water. This will be a temporary fix until we can get a proper repair done in Tahiti - several sail makers are listed in the directory.
Laundry on the lifelines. Window repaired and cleaned. Time for a swim.
Good new to report today. For no reason that we know of - David was able to transmit on the SSB (single side band). David will try to send off an email tonight.
Right now I am sitting in the cockpit, having a red pop, and thinking of my sister Susan and our times in Belize. She would love it here! No Crazy Canuck Bar, and no Harry and Sandra, but white coral sand beaches, crystal clear water, palm trees and turquoise water!
Decision has been made to head to Fakarava tomorrow. We checked the tides and it looks like slack water will be around 0930 tomorrow morning. Fakarava is only 26 nm away so it should be a pleasant crossing.
Again sorry for the lack of pictures. They will be added at a later date.
I've sent a couple of emails but not sure if you have been receiving them. Just wanted to say thanks for the birthday wishes! Glad you guys are having fun. Sadie says hi!
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