Astra Blog: Tuamotus (Part 3) 05.07.08 - 13.07.08

Astra Blog: Tuamotus (Part 3) 05.07.08 –
13.07.08 Fakarava At 6am we weighed
anchor to leave Kauehi, unfortunately the chain and anchor had got tangled in
the rocks and we had to use Astra to
drive it out, in the process we destroyed the shackle on the anchor and the
shackle on the snubber. Not a
technique we shall be repeating in a hurry. On the plus side it woke up both
Charlie and George. Once outside
the pass we hoisted the sails and with a comfortable breeze of 15-20 knot we set
off on a broad reach in the direction of Fakarava. As we approached
Fakarava, a sail (which later turned out to be Spindrift a Moody 64) was spotted 2Nm
ahead going for the same pass.
Unable to resist a bit of competition, Jeremy and Ash slipped into race
mode and gave chase. We caught up
with them just as we reached the entrance to Passe Garuae and together we
motored through the pass towards the With adrenaline still
pumping after our unofficial contest, we launched the tender in record time and
quickly set about going ashore. Walking along the seafront under the palm trees
we found a fantastic restaurant that modestly described itself as a ‘snack’. The
setting was delightfully informal, the décor consisting of nothing more than
driftwood and shells. We sat out on the terrace overlooking the lagoon and
enjoyed some refreshing drinks and some excellent French cuisine: canard; foie
gras; carpaccio of tuna with ginger and garlic; and some incredibly succulent
steaks.
The situation promised
to improve further: we were informed that the 2 week long Heiva celebration was
underway and that there was to be traditional music and dancing in the village
that evening. We were not disappointed: dressed in flowers, palms and coconuts,
the dancers wowed the crowd with incredibly rapid vibrating to the sound of the
drums. Sunday was a day of
relaxation and the crew spent most of it snorkelling in ever decreasing circles
around a coral head in the anchorage where among other residents there were a
couple of enormous giant morays and some white tip sharks. In the evening, Charlie, Ash and George
went ashore for a couple of beers at the ‘snack’. On Monday morning,
Jeremy, Sally, Ash and George went diving with local dive shop Te Ava Nui. Jean Christophe took us just outside
Passe Garuae and after giving the cameraman a head start we plunged in and
dropped to 20-25m. It was a
pleasant and straightforward dive with myriad reef fish and the ever present
sharks. We returned to Astra for a quick lunch before Jeremy,
Sally and Ash headed back for the afternoon deep drift dive through Passe
Garuae. The dive RIB dropped us
outside the pass and the group descended rapidly in order to get down and hold
onto the rocky slope so as not to be swept away by the current prematurely. After 10 minutes watching grey reef
sharks and the odd silver tip shark we let go and were swept at about 5 knots
through gullies, past jagged coral heads which seemed to come hurtling towards
us, and through a rather surprised group of sharks, until we reached Ali Baba, a
narrow, 20 metre deep trench which we dropped into to shelter from the
current. There were hundreds of
grouper congregated there for mating and they were fairly robust in their
efforts to scare us off. However,
they were slightly less intimidating than the grey reef sharks that were
circling around inquisitively.
Finally we surfaced in the rough over-falls caused by the incoming tide
just inside the pass to be picked up by the dive RIB. An absolutely fantastic dive was had by
all. After the dive, a Dutch
couple, Alex and Maroos, came back to Astra for a drink. It was agreed that Sally and Jeremy
would meet them at their hotel the following day to go snorkelling for
pearls. Sally
writes: We arrived slightly
late (typical) and caught up with everyone snorkelling 100 yards off the hotel
pontoon. The owner dived down and brought up 3 metal mesh baskets with 10
oysters in each, which was extremely heavy. Luckily we were on hand with the
dinghy and took them all ashore. On arrival we all then chose our oysters and he
proceeded to open them, and it was pot luck to the quality of the pearl. The
pearls are grafted into the gonads of the oysters, and this is where he sliced
into to retrieve them. We were hoping his knife did not slip into his own which
were on display through a fetching pair of
underpants. We had our two pearls
made into necklaces, one of which will be going to the lucky “Black Pearl
competition” winner Charlie Beckley, and I am wearing the other one.
Meanwhile Ash, Charlie and George snorkelled around
the coral head again to take pictures of the moray
eel. Mid-afternoon we left
Rotoava and motored 15Nm down the east side of the lagoon from Rotoava to
Oreihara dodging the odd coral head along the way. We anchored at sunset just in time for a
walk and a snorkel. Jeremy and Ash woke at
0630 and started motoring south towards Tetamanu the village at the south end of
Fakarava. After 5Nm the wind
direction was such that we were able to get the sails up and enjoy a perfect
beat in 20 knots apparent on flat water for the remaining 10Nm making 8.5 knots
SOG. Arriving at 0915 beside
Having acquired this
local information, we all boarded the tender and popped round to check out the
restaurant and dive centre. The
former could not fit us in for lunch as they had 22 people coming and the later
was open but nobody was there!
Undeterred we had a beer and returned to Astra for a lunch of delicious
coronation chicken. When the tide turned in
the afternoon, we took the tender to the seaward end of the pass and enjoyed an
impressive drift snorkel in Passe Tumakohua. The tide whisked us along past a huge
number of grey reef sharks, black tips, white tips, That evening, Sally had
arranged for us to have dinner at Mahini Salmon’s pension. The establishment that he has spent some
25 years building, developing and refining is absolutely amazing. There are a number of rooms, each with
their own individual character and no mosquitos. The place reminds one of some of the
earlier James Bond films, some rooms and small bridges are constructed over the
lagoon which is gently lit at night so that the numerous sharks cruising in the
shallow water are clearly visible.
The dining table is about 2 feet away from one such area which was
slightly unnerving! However, Mahini
is certainly not a Bond villain, in fact he is a very friendly host who welcomes
his guests with renditions of the Beatles’ greatest hits on his
guitar. On Thursday morning
George decided to go for a snorkel on his own and was swept through a cloud of
around 50 grey reef sharks on his way to the pass where he was picked up by
Sally and Jeremy who had gone ashore to search for more fuel for the
tender. In the afternoon
Jeremy, Sally, Ash and George went to dive with Marc at Dive Tetamanu. Sadly, due to strong winds, the
unpredictable tide at this pass refused to turn and start coming in. This occurs because the wind forces
water over the reef along the east side of the atoll meaning there is so much
water in the lagoon that there is only out going tide for as long as the strong
winds persist. We were unlucky and
were unable to do the drift dive through Passe Tumakohua, so instead we dived
across the north end of the pass. Immediately after the
dive at 1700 we left Tetamanu and sailed north through lagoon, sticking
religiously to the track we had used on the trip down we weaved through the
coral heads in the dark at 8 knots.
All were relieved when we anchored safely at 2130 in
Rotoava. Friday was a day of
jobs, and most of it was spent at the post office trying to use the internet to
upload blog photos and sort out various other issues. Jeremy, Sally and Charlie paused briefly
for a spot of lunch at the tried and tested ‘snack’ before heading back to the
post office. George and Ash
stranded tender-less on the boat decided to swim to the coral head for a
snorkel. At about 1700 as the sun
was disappearing below the horizon, the plucky snorkelers rounded a bit of coral
and came face to face with a lemon shark at least 2.5 metres long. Both they and the lemon shark were
rather surprised to see each other and thankfully it was the shark that decided
to do a runner. The boys quickly
gathered their wits and decided to swim quietly back to Astra before it got any
darker. That evening, we were
scheduled to leave for Apataki, but with the promise of more dancing and music
celebrations we thought better of it and stayed put. Dinner was a delicious celery soup after
which we dug into the reserve food to top up with a tin tasting session. At 1930 we ventured ashore to join in
the celebrations. Sally woke early on
Saturday and managed to do some provisioning and acquire more dinghy fuel before
most of the others had risen from their slumbers. Ash and George went diving around the
coral head in search of the lemon shark; if he was present they didn’t see
him! Back on Astra we enjoyed several bacon, egg and
lettuce baguettes which Sally had prepared. Then to work it off everybody went for a
snorkel in the late afternoon before heading ashore once more to immerse
themselves in the festive atmosphere. On Sunday after a quick
run ashore, we departed at 1230 for
Rangiroa. |