| We left Ua Pou, Marquesas, at 10:00 A.M.
Monday, May 1, 2000 for a three day trip to the Tuamotus. Our original destination was the
atoll of Makemo, but instead we decided to made landfall at the more easterly atoll of
Raroia on May 4.The Tuamotu Islands are atolls - a lagoon ringed by coral reefs and motus
(small coral islands). Some of the lagoons stretch for 30 or 40 miles while others
are only a few miles long. There are passes into most of the lagoons, usually 300 to 750
feet wide, with vessel entry depending on tide and currents. Currents are based on tide
but can be hard to predict particularly if there is a strong wind pushing water over the
reefs into the lagoon. This causes continuous strong outgoing currents in the passes not
related to the state of the tide. Since the lagoons are usually encumbered with coral
reefs, entry through a pass is almost always planned for daylight hours and
preferably at a time when the sun will be behind you, so you can see the coral. |
| We had good sailing the first two days and
nights of the trip from the Marquesas with about 15 knots of wind out of the east and seas
around three feet. At dusk the first day, we caught a
yellowfin tuna. By the third night the winds were much lighter and we were not sure we
would be able to make Makemo in daylight so in the morning we turned the motor on to make
the pass at Raroia by 1430. Here we
rendezvoused with friends aboard ASTROLABE, GRAY HAWK, PHANTOM and ALLONS'Y,
some of whom we had not seen since Mexico. |
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