We woke up with a nice forecast for a quick overnight passage from Tahanea to our next stop, Fakarava. Fakarava Atoll is about thirty miles long, and we could have made the south pass in just a few hours, but by this point we were out of food, fuel, and … Read More
Drifting in Tahanea
Drift diving is the one and only activity on Tahanea. We watch the tide table, wait until a little bit after the incoming tide begins, dinghy just outside the pass into deep water, and jump in for the ride. No work required. Just float at a couple of knots while … Read More
Tahanea Atoll
Tahanea is a lovely place. So far through the Tuamotus I’ve thought Raroia’s water had amazing visibility. Then we got to Makemo and it was better still. And now that we’ve gotten to Tahanea we are at still another level. Mother nature creates some truly remarkable anchorages. With these atolls … Read More
On to Tahanea
With dwindling supplies, we took off from our east end Makemo anchorage and cruised back to the small village ten miles away. Unfortunately, they had not gotten a new supply ship, and the shelves were bare of anything fresh. Literally, anything. We grabbed what we could from the freezers and … Read More
Ohhhh Makemo
Lowe has about half a dozen coral cuts that aren’t healing up, so while he takes a couple of dry days he drops me and Ouest off for a long float snorkel from the beach to the boat. Start off in the shallows. And slowly work our way back to … Read More
Makemo Atoll
Bumfuzzle at anchor on Raroia Atoll. Lots of coral bommies to explore throughout the lagoon. Spider conch were all over the place. Swimsuits and towels drying, and books in hand, is probably the most common sight around the boat. Fish fingers for dinner. We spent a few days in Raroia … Read More
Raroia Atoll
Ahhhh, back in clear waters again. Raroia is one of those places that you can anchor pretty much anywhere, yet boats will still congregate in one spot. Days were filled with exploring the little motus. The family was giving me a hard time for wanting a picture next to the … Read More
Sailing/Motoring to the Tuamotus
Even when conditions are flat, and nobody is seasick, there is something about passage sailing that seems to immediately sap your energy. We had 460 miles from Nuku-Hiva to Rairoa Atoll in the Tuamotus, which meant a four-day passage. Forecast was light winds on the beam for day one, lighter … Read More
Last Days on Nuku-Hiva
Georgie is still going strong. Looks like we won’t have to use the Pet Smart warranty that came with him guaranteeing that they would replace our $3 pet if he (she?) didn’t last three months. He seems to eat better than any of us with Ali making him a fresh … Read More
Boat Tinkering
We spent a couple of days hanging out on the beach at Daniel’s Bay. It was a nice quiet place to just float in the water and enjoy the views around us. Did a little snorkeling, but the visibility in the Marquesas tends to be pretty terrible because of the … Read More
Vaipo Waterfall
It’s just a one hour hop over to Daniel’s Bay on Nuku Hiva, a quiet, incredibly well protected bay, where we can hike to Vaipo waterfall from. One of those bays you can’t really see until you’re inside of it. From the beach looking out you can’t see the entrance … Read More
The Nuku-Hiva Loop
It’s an island with one road around it, so the fact that you don’t have Google telling you which way to turn is irrelevant. When I was renting the truck I was handed a map, which the lady set in front of me and then proceed to scribble off a … Read More