15:49.55S 145:07.10W

Wednesday 18th July –  Anchored in Kauehi

Good.  Well, that all worked.  We had to heave to at around 1600 yesterday and got underway again at 0100 this morning.  The next 9 or so hours were spent rolling in and out various portions of the yankee to ensure that we arrived on time and weren’t left faffing about off the entrance to the atoll awaiting the magic moment of slack water.  At one stage we had 17 rolls in the yankee.  Seventeen!  Arnamentia’s just not very good at dawdling.  It sometimes feels a bit like being taken for a walk by an ill-disciplined dog.

Anyway, we arrived off the entrance at slack water (around 1030), shot through there and then sailed the 8 miles across the atoll to the anchorage off Tearavero village, fine reaching at 6 or 7 knots under yankee alone.  Anyone expecting some miraculous abatement of the wind on entry would have been pretty disappointed.  Still 20+ knots.  However we are now tucked up behind the village opposite the very attractive church and whilst we still have 15-20 knots of breeze, there is no rolling and the water is clear.  Not quite sure how we get ashore – we have to cross a very shallow reef in the dinghy to do so but all will become clear in due course no doubt.

Yes, Sirree .  . slack(ish) water to port . . .                                              and starboard; that’s how we like our entrances to look!

                                                                            Tearavero Church from our anchorage