The last blog I posted was from an atoll called Takaroa. Luckily for me the local post office had left their broadband modem switched on over the Easter weekend so I was able to perch outside on the steps and use it to post the blog. Unluckily, sitting in the scorching sunshine has fried my laptop. (Not helped by my literally sweating onto the keyboard). I’m using a rubber roll-out USB keyboard now to bypass the laptop and will hopefully be able to continue to write. If it wasn’t for the great feedback I’m getting, I think I’d throw my hat at it altogether. To add insult to injury, that same day, someone accidentally spilled a bottle of water over my iPod. It’s a complete goner. Thank God for my iPhone – now more precious than ever.
Given all this, I just wanted get out of there before anything else went wrong. However, we needed to wait until lunchtime in order to catch the tide and move out through the pass. In the last blog I explained about these passes and how the water flows in and out at certain times. The water runs through them at about 5kts. The pass in Takaroa has a coral reef running the length of it. So just before we left we took the dinghy out about mile to the start of the reef and drift-snorkelled along the edge of the coral and through the pass. For safety we took turns driving the dinghy alongside those in the water. All we had to do was lie on top of the water and let the current bring us along. This was the most amazing snorkel I’ve ever done. (Catriona, I never thought I’d say this – but this beats the one we did in the Bahamas I’m afraid). There was a huge variety of fish and coral. Alongside the reef the depth plunged straight down to 20 meters in places which meant we could watch the larger fish at the same time. Unfortunately we were going so fast it was very difficult to get good photos. I tried swimming against the current a few times in the hopes of staying in one position, but was dragged on backwards. We had seen some small black-tipped sharks beside the boat the previous day but thankfully none appeared this day. Apparently they are not dangerous but I’d rather not encounter them just the same.
We brought Sapphire out safely through the pass and headed for the atoll of Fakarava. (It might be worth having a look a one of these atolls on Google Maps or Google Earth as I’m pretty sure I’m not describing their structure very well.) We are doing all our sailing to the various atolls at night. Partly to ensure we only go through passes in broad daylight and also to allow us more daytime in the lagoons rather than out at sea. I hope I’m not putting a hex on it when I say we have had some of the most glorious night passages recently. The sea and winds are behaving themselves. It is Autumn here and we have been blessed lately with an orange harvest moon. It doesn’t come up until after midnight and the first night I saw it I thought a ship was on fire until it crept up more fully over the horizon. The constellations seem to me to have a completely different aspect down here. For instance, Orion is lying on his side and slips down under the horizon making it look like he has fallen into the sea. The Plough looks wrong as well and The Seven Sisters, which I was able to sea nearer the Equator, seems to have disappeared. Maybe this happens in the Northern Hemisphere as well. No doubt someone will correct me if I’m wrong!!
Never mind all that. Fakarava was beautiful. Totally unspoiled. Long stretches of powdery white sandy beaches. Beautiful crystal clear water. Coral, teeming with fish, sitting in a foot of water all along the shore. A concrete road – with speed bumps!! Patricia and I explored the shoreline in the dinghy and came across the White Sand Beach Hotel. This hotel has very fancy beach huts right on the water. It has its own deserted beach which, after chatting up the owner, we were allowed to use – including the sun-loungers. In return, we kept them busy all day making pina coladas. Not sure how we negotiated the dinghy out through the coral and back the 7K to the boat. Fakarava also has an airstrip and if – sorry when – I win the Lotto, I’ll be back. Long may it remain off the tourist trail.
Aqua aerobics at White Sands Beach
Stretching my sea weary legs
On our way out of Fakarava we came across this flock of hundreds of sea birds fishing. Looked like a cloud on the water. We sailed into the middle of them with our fishing lines out but caught nothing. Thank goodness, because all we ever catch is tuna and I can’t eat any more tuna. A mahi mahi would be nice though.
After 3 days we reluctantly raised the anchor and set off on an overnight sail to Apataki. This atoll is one of the least visited by yachts due to its difficult pass into the lagoon. However, we were on a mission. This is a bit of a long story but I hope you’ll get a kick out of it.
In 2007 a man called Graham Morse, his wife and a hired skipper did the same trip we are currently doing. Afterwards he wrote a book about his travels and the people he met in various islands along the way. He wanted to send signed copies of his book to some of the French Polynesians featured but had no addresses to which he could post them. He is friends with John Charnley, the owner of Discovery Yachts – the company that built Sapphire. John Charnley was also taking part in World Arc this year and agreed to deliver 5 of the books for Graham. Unfortunately, having reached St. Lucia last November, he had to retire from the Arc due to his wife’s incurable sea-sickness. So, John O’Connor agreed to take the books and deliver them all. First on the list was a Chinese man, Mr.Assam and his French Polynesian wife. All we had to go on was his name, his photograph featured in the book and an anchorage that we couldn’t find on our charts. We knew from the book that Mr. Assam met and married his wife inTahiti and moved to Apataki about 20 years ago because his wife had some land there. He set up a pearl farm which is now run by his son and grandson.
Each atoll has one village so this was our first port of call. We rocked up to the usual one shop and asked if anyone knew a Mr. Assam who owned a pearl farm. We were, as you can imagine, treated with the height of suspicion. But we rattled off all the family member names mentioned in the book and eventually were given the mobile number of Alfred, Mr.Assam’s son. We were also given the GPS coordinates of the island they live on. (Atolls are made up of multiple islands.) So, off we went on a course for the given coordinates about 10 miles away on the opposite side of the lagoon. Meanwhile, I rang the mobile number and tried to explain to Alfred’s wife that we were on our way with a gift for Mr.Assam senior. I thought the conversation went well and was complimenting myself on my French accent. However, when we got within sight of the Assam’s property a fishing boat speed out towards us wondering what the hell we were up to. Turned out to be Mr.Assam’s grandson, whose name we also knew. Who could resist? Eventually we were invited ashore and brought to meet the man himself. I was expecting to see a frail old man. Instead, there he was, looking exactly as his photo, taking a machete to a pile of coconuts at the side of his house. He at once remembered Graham Morse and invited us into his house to show us a book he keeps of all visiting yachts. We photographed him holding the Graham Morse book so that we could prove we had made our delivery. We also wrote in his book. Mission1 accomplished. The other 4 I’m sure will also be a challenge. A couple of them are for the Cook Islands and I’m not sure where the others are for.
Oh! I nearly forgot. While we were in Mr.Assam’s house looking at his book, his son came by and said something we didn’t catch. Mr.Assam ushered us down to the shore at the back of his house and there waiting patiently in about 6 inches of water was a massive Nurse shark. It seems that this shark comes by every afternoon and waits for Mr.Assam to hand feed him!! This shark is 9 years old and is about 3 meters long. The noise she made when snapping the fish from his hand was truly frightening.
Graham Morse' entry in Mr. Assam's book
Waiting patiently (Patricia staying well back - bottom right)
The Assam family home
Next stop, and last in Tuamotu, is Rangiroa. This is the largest atoll and is apparently well known in the diving world. Patricia and I are booked in overnight to a luxury hotel called Kia Ora (wasn’t that a kid’s drink?) for a day of well deserved pampering and a night of eating, drinking and entertainment. I hope they have tomatoes. And oranges. And chips. Mmmm. I can’t remember the last time I had a plate of chips…..
Kia Ora was/is indeed a toxic fruit drink peddled by some conglomerate in the ’80s. Always assumed it was makey-uppy. I’ll never trust an ad-man again.
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