Arrival Tahiti
Zepher
Chris & Lyn Darch
Tue 29 Jul 2008 03:25
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17:34.90S
149:37.23W
Hi Folks,
Well after a long slog motor sailing to windward we
arrived at the entrance of Pape'ete Harbour Tahiti at 10:00 a strait forward
entrance well marked channels as all of these French territories have, very
well maintained and they need to be as these channels wind along the coast
opening out it to flat calm anchorage's whilst the waves crash on the reef only
50 metres away , a wonderful sight from the inside but a bum clincher from
the outside , I can see why before the days of GPS such disasters occurred
only good hearing would save you if you got the nav wrong , you can hear the crashing surf constantly on the outer
reef , unfortunately on this boat only Ruth would have heard anything as the
rest of us are stone deaf !
Another interesting thing is that the admiralty
charts seem to be slightly out , we also have the French SHOM charts and had a
few debates whilst picking our way around these channels which of them had the
buoys in the right place, some were way out while others didn't exist, its not
too hard though as if its dark blue its fine and light blue spells disaster and
with the sun behind you its fine you can pick your way along, as theirs not much
tide here , .2 to .3 of a metre a hard grounding would take a lot off pulling
off !
We arrived at 11:30 and selected our spot , dropped
the hook and issued congratulations all round on a job well done , Lyn surfaced
after spending the past 24 hrs between the toilet and bed , it appears she had
picked up a bug and when she appeared on deck we were starting our journey up
the channel .
For all the guys who did the Atlantic
trip , Diana,Graham and Roger , this is a bit like our first landfall , you know
the odd wreck on the reef just to remind you that attention to detail
is essential , wish you guys could be here to see this entrance and channel
, it must look spectacular from Google earth .
Rob took the helm whilst the rest of us
picked up the markers and route through , a job well done by all .. we all
deserve a beer and as soon as Rob and Ruth get back from
Carfours supermarket situated 200m away from the shore that's exactly what
we will be doing !
A crew behind a reef
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