Tuamotus Arrival

Hi everyone,

We arrived off Makemo Atoll's eastern pass at 1230 yesterday.  We had to motor from dawn to make the slack water occurring somewhere between 1200 and 1330.  More on that below.  Our noon to noon distances were 116nm by the log and 113nm over the ground.  Overall we'd logged 484nm and 510nm respectively.

Under full sail

Yesterday afternoon the wind finally backed into the ESE.  That made Raroia a beat to windward so we eased sheets for Makemo, changing our destination yet again.  Gotta go with the flow!  Also our arrival time at Raroia would have been many hours before slack tide so we'd have had to wait around.

We use three sources of tidal information.  One is Navionics Boating's built-in tide stations.  The second is SHOM, the official French site.  The third, and our preferred source, is TheFloatingLab's guestimator.  The latter allows user entry of weather conditions over preceding days and accounts for it in producing its output.  Here's the default (no weather) output we used:

TheFloatingLab's guestimate

The above plot indicated we needed to arrive at 1330 for slack water in the pass.  The other sources suggested 1200 and 1230.

We had a great sail under full canvas yesterday afternoon on a beam reach towards Makemo.  Overnight the wind gradually eased and started veering back to the ENE.  By dawn the wind was very light and so the motor went on.

On arrival outside the pass we used the bins to inspect the pass.  There was 'ruffled' water but no standing waves so we proceeded straight into the pass.  We had outgoing current up to 2.5 knots with a few minor whirlpools but no drama at all.  Phew!

Approaching the pass

The worst of the turbulence

In the pass

View of the town from the pass

In the lagoon

Once through the pass we looped around to stbd into the anchorage off the town of Pouheva.  We anchored on the shallow ledge in 8m over sand and rock.  For the first time ever we buoyed our anchor chain.  Thankfully the wind was dead calm by then, and remained so overnight.  The water is crystal clear with fish everywhere.  Locals were catching 1m tuna from the jetty.

Anchored off Pouheva

Zen Again was totally still anchored in the lagoon.  No swell for the first time since Shelter Bay Marina in Panama.  What a feeling!  We met up with our friends on OCC sv Nimue for a walk around town and a pizza.  It's a nice little town.  The locals are super-friendly and they keep their town very neat and tidy.  Great to be in the Tuamotus!

Our next post will be a passage summary.

Trust all's well where you are.

Tuamotus Inbound Day 1

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 14 52S 142 27W steering 180M, sailing under full main and yankee at 3.5 knots.  The wind was 6G10 from the ENE.  Our noon to noon distances were 106nm by the log and 115nm over the ground.  Overall we've logged 368nm and 387nm respectively.  Our distance to go is 70nm, having reverted to our original destination of Raroia.  

Passing Showers

Yesterday afternoon clouds built up to windward.  Eventually they passed overhead giving us breeze of 15G20 from the NE.  In their wake there was nothing at all.  We ended up motoring for 7 hours over a glassed-out sea.  The engine went off at about 0200 as a light ENE breeze returned.  Happily the clouds cleared and we had a nice sail under the bright full moon.

Today we've been calculating whether we'll get to various atolls as a suitable time to transit their passes.  Our best option seems to be our original goal of Raroia.  At our present speed we'll arrive there tomorrow morning a few hours prior to slack water.  We might make it to Makemo, but only if we motor all the way.  So Raroia it is, for the moment!

Dawn today

Winds are predicted to stay light over the weekend.  So we should have a couple of nice days exploring the atoll.  Then early next week they come back in.  That should give us a good window to sail on.

Trust all's well where you are.

Marquesas Outbound Day 2

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 13 09S 141 38W steering 180M, sailing under full main and yankee at 4 knots.  The wind was 7G9 from the NE.  Our noon to noon distances were 114nm by the log and 122nm over the ground.  Overall we've logged 262nm and 272nm respectively.  Our distance to go is 236nm, and to a different destination.  

Moonrise last night

Originally we were planning to stop at Raroia but have switched to Makemo.  The switch allows us to arrive in daylight.  We need to transit the pass at slack water since these passes have up to 8 knots of current.  The pass we're planning to use in Makemo faces N so is less prone to wind over tide sea states in the prevailing E trade winds.  So we can transit at either of the slack tide times.

We've had very pleasant sailing conditions for day 2.  Sunny skies, low swell, minimal sea.  The wind has been quite light, forcing us to head up to maintain the apparent wind.  But overall we're making good progress.  The wind is forecast to slowly increase and veer to the E, both of which will help us along.

Moonset this morning

We're looking forward to the full moon tonight.  Last night it was all-but full and the moon rise and set were both spectacular.  No need for torches with this moon and a clear sky.

Trust all's well where you are.