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!