progress to Rangiora
Island Kea II
Steve and Katrin Everett
Wed 28 Apr 2010 02:36
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Position 12:38 S : 144:26W
We have now had two nights at sea and two more to
go !!
During the first night we had good wind and were
making 7-8 kts. Yesterday during the day we flew the light Cruising Chute
and made good speed. Unfortunately the wind died down late afternoon and
we have
been motoring ever since then. Well at least
the batteries are well charged now :-)
Yesterday morning I suddenly go a bad cysticitis
but having got antibiotics on board feel much better now.
We are sailing in company with two other rally
yachts, Angel and Aspen who are aiming for the same destination. I think they
are just behind us as they want us to lead the way into the lagoon as entry is
quite tricky and Tom has been there before.
For those who don't know I will explain that
Rangiora is a part of the Tuamotus islands. All these islands are old
volcanic craters who are below sea level and coral reefs have built on top of
the edge/round the side of the craters. (In between Marquesas islands and
Tahiti)
This leaves a lovely lagoon inside, but it can be
tricky to get inside and the problem with coral is that it is alive and
growing....
It is important to keep a good eye with polarized
sunglasses to spot any bombers (coral growing up as a thin spiral) which can
cause great damage.
Rangiora is the biggest one and even has an
airport. I cannot wait to get there as the pictures I have seen look
fabulous.
We plan to spend 2 nights there and then we need to
leave for Tahiti.
Tahiti is has a big city and we will be spending a
week in a marina which will be great. I don't know yet if it has a
swimming pool, but if it has, it would be a bonus.
It certainly has water and electricity and we will
then be able to run the airconditining which will be bliss...
It is very hot and very humid.
Yesterday afternoon I had a shower in the aft
cockpit using a bottle of 'not good enough water for the tanks' and a jug and it
only takes 3 litres for a perfectly adequate shower and lovely to be outside as
well (yes I was wearing my bikini !) It is an interesting experience to
have to water usage and a good reminder of how precious water is and really
living on land one gets to take this for granted and uses far to
much.
Well - we will certainly appreciate more the luxury
once gen gets going and watermaking is possible.
It is clear that sailing round the world is a major
challenge in form of keeping all the mechanics/electronics going as well as
living in a compact space and enjoying visiting far away places.
All is well on board and we are all looking forward
to arriving in Rangiroa
KE (4.30 pm local time = GMT-10)
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