We were happy to be finally underway heading for the
Tuamotos. I was less than happy that we had been delayed getting away in the
morning which meant an extra night at sea!!! Ah well, such is the life of a
galley slave.
Winds, although light, were for once, in the right
direction and we managed to get a few hours sailing in before we had to motor
sail.
The weather was good and the seas calm, which made for a
pleasant first night at sea.
The next day Roger was happy as a sandboy, because he
could once again fly the cruising chute, as it had been repaired, albeit
temporarily, by Stuart of 'Onda'.
The downside of flying the chute, is that we can’t fish,
(we have to slow or preferably stop the boat when a fish is on otherwise
we would lose it and with the cruising chute (spinnaker) up and with
only two on board, the process is too convoluted to be able to react
quickly enough), so it was just as well I had bought some fish (not sure
what type) from the fishermen on the dock. It was only $5 a kg which, when you
consider a watermelon was costing $21, yes $21, was damned good
value.
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that the fridge was working
again, but being sceptical and having been bitten twice already (not to mention
the extortionate costs of fresh meat in the Marquesas) I only bought a few bits
and pieces.
The weather was fine and the winds light, but we managed
to fly the chute throughout the day and into the night.
The sunsets were stunning, Sheralee would have been beside herself
with joy. So I snapped a few shots for her.
The next day it was back to motor sailing, the winds had
dropped, but there were several squalls around, so we set up the water catchers
in the hope of topping up the tanks.
The squalls all passed us by, without so much as a
drop!
After 3 days and 4 nights at sea we saw the Tuamotos on
the horizon. The topography was very different to that of the Marquesas, indeed
the atolls looked like one good squall and they’d be washed away, they were that
flat. But they had beautiful, white sandy beaches, which is what paradise is
supposed to look like.
The water was a lovely azure blue, the first we had seen
this trip.
We sailed into the atoll at exactly high tide, so didn’t
experience any of the strong currents, or over-falls (rough water) that the
charts mentioned.
Our friends, Jamie & Lucy on Bamboozle called us on
the VHF radio as they were still in the lagoon.
Now when you mention the word lagoon, I am sure that many
of you, like me, expect something resembling a small lake, bordered by a coral
reef, with crystal clear aquamarine water.
So you can imagine my surprise to find the ‘lagoon’ was
absolutely huge, 10kms long and as well as being bordered by a reef, also had
several islands on its perimeter.
It was certainly not what I was expecting. Not that I was
complaining, it was still beautiful.
Especially as the water when we jumped in, was a
delicious 85 degrees F!!!
Now there have been some suggestions that I have been
dumped in some foreign port, or worse still, overboard. It seems that my photo
hasn’t been seen in a while and people are wondering am I really still here?? So
for all of those of you who are wondering…..
heeeerrrr's
Janice!
