15:48.93s 145:06.52w
Rogue
Alan and Noi not sure which is which
Sun 17 May 2009 19:30
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15:48.93s 145:06.52w
640 miles covered, a lot more than we were
expecting.
Arrived at anchor in Kauhehi 12:45. Caught a 6kg
tuna at the entrance to the atoll.
A smallish atoll, only 8 miles across and we are
anchored in a horseshoe bay protected from 3 sides. Not many coral heads so no
issues with the anchor chain snagging coral in bad weather. The visibility is
not that great but there has been bad weather recently so it may get better once
the weather settles.
The dink was inflated by the time we arrived so
straight into the local village for a look around. One small shop that only
opens when they are in the mood. Otherwise not a thing. Seems that everyone
relies on pearl production for a living which is becoming the case for most of
the atolls.
13/05/09
Bar B on the beach with crew from Qwyver and Tigre to eat the tuna caught yesterday. Snorkelling off the beach with Hawaiian sling but no fish worth shooting, 14/05/09
Spear fishing off the reef, 3 grouper. Finally christened my new spear gun. A great day but not the greatest coral or sea life and quite poor visibility. 15/05/09
Spear fishing again with Andre from Tigre. Only one fish shot towards the end of the day. A Manta Ray passed by twice, one of the times only a meter away, amazing sight. About a 4 meter wing span Also had a spotted ray pass within a few meters. Landed up at the end of the reef and the sea life has vastly improved with deeper water. Passed up on an octopus as we didn’t have a hook to get it out of its hole. One moray eel. Still not great vis. The fish seem a bit spooked and the larger ones are proving difficult to shoot. Went across to Tigre in the evening for beer,
coffee and cake and a couple or so whiskies for Andre’s birthday.
16/05/09
Once again spear fishing with Andre. This time with a slightly sore heed. I am of Scottish heritage but whisky does a number on my napper. We went directly to the deeper water and started
where we left off yesterday. I shot one grouper and had several misses, one of
which was about a 10kg grouper. Andre had better luck shooting 3. Andre noticed
one shark prior to us getting in the water. By the time he had shot one and I
had shot one we had three sharks swimming lazily about. Two of the sharks were
about 1.5 to 2m and one about 2.5m, all white tips. Also saw the manta
again. I was next to Andre when he shot his 3rd one and as is normal
practice he headed straight back to the dinghy with the fish out of the water so
as not to attract the sharks. I hung out looking for another fish and the 3
sharks were back within seconds. This time swimming much faster and seemingly
with purpose. Absolutely amazing how quickly they pick up on either the noise of
the fish struggling or the smell of blood. By this time with all the shooting
activity and the sharks milling about the fish were remaining hunkered down in
their holes so we called it a day.
Went back via Qwyver for coffee and snack and the
Tigre girls came over to us for dominoes. Lost again.
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