Tuamotos 14:32.219S 146:21.432W

South Pacific Familyadventure 2008
Claes Brodin
Wed 4 Jun 2008 09:38
The first of June in the evening we passed the Manihi atoll,seeing the lights from it´s little village in the horizon,and around 23.00 hrs we arrived on the leeward side of the Ahe atoll.Since it was dark,passing through the opening(there´s only one in the Ahe)was not an option and we had to heave to all night at a safe distance from the ringreef surrounding the atoll(checking our distance from the reef regularly with radar).It was a heavy night with lots of squalls passing,containing both rain and sometimes a lot of wind,but after sunrise we could get closer to the reef and be more sheltered from the ocean swell.At 09.40,10 mins before low water slack,we aimed for the passage,and could pass through with only 1/2 knot of outgoing current against us.Once inside the atoll,the ocean swell was gone,and when reaching the anchorage we were assisted by Richard and Vickie onboard Brittish boat Fleck.To anchor is tricky,since you want to avoid anchoring on or beside the coral heads.
Once anchored we were astonished by the crystal clear water,and the beautiful view around the anchorage(just beside the atolls only little village).The children immideately went snorkeling,and it struck us that this is really what you look for when thinking about sailing the South Pacific.Richard and Vickie came for dinner,and our plan is now to remain here 4-5 days before proceeding to the Rangiroa atoll.Snorkeling,diving and spearfishing is on the schedule,but from the local people ,we learned to know that we have to be concerned about the very poisonous stonefish.Sharks also cruise inside the atoll in large numbers,but very rarely bother humans.It´s all very exciting....................