Pitufa.at

We’re still hanging out in Raroia, where we’re the only boat ever since we arrived. We are enjoying nature while waiting for a window to the gambier. We keep busy with boat projects, some writing and use the good weather to visit the bird motus and marvel at the underwater world.

There are channels in the outer reef where clear ocean water flows in, resulting in great visibility and healthy coral. There it looks almost surreal–like something from a b movie or a disney land scenery: purple, yellow and green arty-farty sculptures and tons of reef sharkies in between. you round a corner in the half metre deep water and suddenly your snout-to-nose with one of them
We woke up two sleeping nurse sharks today and gave them a bit of a fright…
Apparently not many people come here, because there are still lots of snails and clams even in the shallows around.

On the way back we finally got lucky trolling with the dinghy and invited a bluefin jack for dinner

boat life at its best

We set out yesterday, despite a not-quite-ideal weather forecasts, but the forecasts tend to be wrong anyway and we just wanted to finally sail on. We spent the night tacking up and down, trying to dodge Taenga (atoll between Makemo and Raroia) in winds that were shifting between ENE and ESE. Now we’re finally approaching the pass of Raroia, lots of effort and 6 tacks for just 70 nm

The convergence zone is still getting on our nerves… Impossible to plan protected, calm anchorages inside an atoll, but also impossible to find sailing windows…
Last night we were pitching miserably in winds from the SE. We thought we could as well be pitching underway, so we sailed out through the pass of Tahanea at 4 in the morning. First we had great sailing, then the wind shift (not in our favour of course) and then it died down. Argh. Still 15 nm short of the next atoll pass… We motored the last miles to Makemo and are now anchored just north of the W pass, hoping for a good night, but ready to sail out again in case some wind shows up.

When we got back to the false pass of Motutunga in the early morning just in time for the slack tide, we had to find out that the small cargo ship had indeed left as they told us, but they forgot to tell us that they left some workers there for the week to work at a pearlfarm in the lagoon. Their workboat still blocked the dock…

We were so frustrated. The wind was just dying down to nothing, so we ended up motoring 20 nm back to Tahanea–a senseless waste of diesel and precious miles eastwards. The best plans don’t work out as soon as somebody else is involved…

Now we are back in our favourite spot in Tahanea, enjoying some calm and sunny weather.

We spent a few nice, calm days in Tahanea enjoying the beautiful pass and the many, curious sharkies hanging out around Pitufa (cleaning fish helps making friends )

This morning we saw an opportunity to sail to the neighbouring atoll. Motutunga is uninhabited, with only a few motus and a false pass on the northern side. Studying satellite images we thought we could take Pitufa in and go alongside at a tiny dock. We planned to do this many times, but as the narrow pass requires calm conditions, no swell and ideal pass timing (we want to enter at the end of an outgoing current to tie up at slack water), it never worked out.

Today everything seemed perfect, light NE winds to sail there and then no wind towards the arrival and slack water at 1.30 in the afternoon. Of course the wind was blowing much harder than predicted, but arriving at the pass it looked doable. While we lowered the mainsail and contemplated the little dock waiting for slack water, a local motorboat approached, determinedly steamed into the pass and tied up to the only spot there. Hmpf.
We hailed the Hotu Nui (from Apataki) and were told that they had come to ‘do some work’ and stay only for 5 hours. What could a local boat visiting an uninhabited atoll from a different commune be possibly up to? We suspect nothing good, like poaching giant clams, sea cucumbers, coconut crabs or something similar…

We went around to the western side where we anchored on the outer reef. Now we’re rolling, slightly miserable and peed off. Tomorrow morning we’ll try again to tie up to the dock in the false pass.

We had a an unexpectedly sporty sailing day yesterday. The weather forecast predicted NE wind, so we thought it was a good opportunity to sail SE down to Tahanea. We woke up at 5 with a NE squall, so we quickly went out through the pass into a glowing sunrise, trying to use the favourable wind. Of course the wind turned E as soon as we were out and we ended up tacking twice, just to avoid hitting the neighbouring atoll Faaite, which kept hopping into our path… Then the wind died down and we were mostly riding squalls to make some more miles and some more tacks.

It took us 17 hours to sail 43nm (as the tropic bird flies) with all the extra miles and times of drifting in between squalls. Now we’re anchored next to the western pass of Tahanea with sunny skies

Ever since we’ve arrived in the Tuamotus a persistent convergence zone has been sitting across the area. Actually it’s not just one, but rather a cluster of them… This means the wind shifts around unpredictably–the weatherforecasts are overwhelmed, contradict each other and get it completely wrong. Yesterday the American GFS model predicted strong southerlies, while the European model insisted on light northerlies. What to do and where to go with such forecasts in an atoll in order to have a protected anchorage?? In the end both were wrong and we got southeasterly wind.

Today both models agree that we’re having a nice northerly breeze to sail down to Tahanea, unfortunately it’s blowing from the South. Somebody should tell them

Of course all this unsettled weather comes with grey skies and torrential rainfalls. Yuck.