Tiketite, Fakarava Island, Tuamotus
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Sat 26 Apr 2008 19:51
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16:18.039S 145:30.251W
Thursday (4/24), we left fairly early in order to
make it fifteen miles down the lagoon, which would put us half-way to the
southern pass through the coral reef surrounding the atoll. Many of
these atoll lagoons are not charted - so traveling through them in a boat that
has a keel going down about seven feet below the water's surface can be a bit
tricky. Our strategy involved traveling directly behind Cleone and letting
them blaze the trail for us. This worked well as we did not run into any
coral heads. Neither did Cleone, which of course was a good thing.
Aside from following directly in another boat's path, the trick to navigating
through uncharted lagoon waters is to go when the sun is overhead or behind you
and keep a sharp eye on the color of the water ahead. A dark blue color
means deep water, slightly more turquoise means shallower water and yellow/brown
means big trouble. Coral heads grow randomly and can reach the surface
from thirty feet or more below. In other words, you could be happily
sailing along in thirty feet of water, and suddenly meet up with a column of
coral ten feet in diameter and thirty feet tall, lurking dangerously two feet
below the surface of the water. Thankfully, the water is so clear here that you can easily spot coral heads from a
safe distance as long as the light is right (and of course it doesn't
hurt to have a fellow boater taking the brunt of the risk by traveling ahead of
you...).
We anchored with Cleone in a spot that didn't look
like a human had come near it in years. The water was still, the bottom
was sand and the lagoon beach was lined with palm trees. It was incredibly
peaceful. The moon rose late, so the stars were out in full force as soon
as darkness descended. Aside from a pinprick of light coming from Cleone
in the distance, the stars were the only light, and aside from the gentle noise
of the light breeze on the water, it was completely quiet. This is a place
we wished we could stay longer. But the end of our first rally 'cruising
leg' is drawing near, Tahiti is calling and to meet our schedule, we have to
leave Fakarava on Saturday (4/26) in order to make it to Tahiti by Monday
(4/28).
Anne |