7/17/14 update

July 4th in Tahanea

We spent July 4th in Tahanea. We made a lot of American food and did lots of beach activities. Some fellow Americans had sparkler fireworks and shot off old flares during our beach bonfire.

 

After we left Tahanea, we spent 2 nights anchored off Faaite. Gary was so excited due to the major surf. I didn't enjoy the rolly anchorage, but going in the atoll wasn't an option, since the pass narrows to 45 feet and there is always current ripping out.

 

Aussie guy getting surf in front of Nirvana at Faaite.

 

We have spent over a week at the south end of the island of Fakarava, as it is incredibly beautiful and has amazing water activities. We have been diving, snorkeling, kayaking, standup paddle boarding and Gary has been spear fishing. We dove the Tetamanu pass 2 times with the kids, then Gary and I went for a deeper dive, while Harrison and a friend, Jacques, snorkeled above. We were in 70 feet of water and they could easily see us. The water is an incredible aquamarine, just like in a swimming pool.

The first dive we did with the local dive operation and the other 2 on our own. Below are pictures of the dive place. It a is pretty incredible place. We got dropped off by boat, dove the reef, then swam into their dive hut, and finished with a beer at the restaurant that is at the end of the dock on stilts over the water. They have ton of sharks that inhabit their lagoon, as they feed them kitchen scraps, and other incredible animals, including the giant wrasse shown below.

We are now anchored off the village of Rotoava at the north end of Fakarava. We have been able to buy more food, which is really good as we were getting low. Unfortunately the vegetable situation is quite limited. We are planning to head to Apataki tomorrow. After Apataki we head off to the big city of Papeete.

Cheers,

Julie

 

 

Napoleon Wrasse

Black tip reef shark

There were soooo many sharks that hung around near the kitchen waiting for scraps.

Gigi and Axel hung out with the kids that live at this hotel/restaurant. The dining area is at sea level, so when it is high tide, your feet are in water.

 

 

 

Fakarava north

Got to the northern end of Fakarava yesterday evening. Very busy today buying food in town and doing internet related things. Will try to update blog with pictures soon. Everyone is doing well.
 
Julie

diving in Fakarava

We are at the south end of the island of Fakarava. The reef pass is a protected Unesco biosphere due to the diversity of fish and number of sharks that call it home. There is a restaurant and dive operation on the docks sticking into the lagoon. It has rustic thatched huts lining the water's edge for accommodations. Today we took the kids on their first real scuba dive, and first dive in tropical waters. Both of them wrote their views of the day, which I have included below. We are here during the grouper breeding season, so there is an abundance of grouper, other fish and sharks to eat the young. We had an incredible dive and it was so awesome to see the kids reactions. They went from nervous to exhilarated.
Julie

Axel's views of the day
Today I did my first open water dive. This morning when I woke up I felt excited. I had 1 and 2 halves of banana muffins before I went over to the dock to get ready for scuba diving. When we got out on the dive boat we went to another dive spot to drop off other people before going to our spot. Our instructor, Vincent, grabbed my BCD in the water to help me put it on. Vincent was also my dive buddy, so I had to stay with him at all times. I got scared sometimes when he got me really close to the reefs. What also scared me was pushing me down when I was standing up straight so that I wouldn't go up to the surface. In the middle of our dive, there was a school of around 100 black and silver tip sharks. Near the end, I saw a Napoleon Wrasse around 5 feet long and it looked like a fish from a cartoon. In the end, when we got back to our boat, I got another banana muffin.

Gigi's views
Today I went for my first real open water dive. My family and I piled in our 10 foot Avon dinghy and motored into Tumakuhua pass. MY father pulled our dinghy in front of the dive shop where we would soon meet our dive guide. Soon after, we were all suited up and ready to go diving. We got into a small power boat that was already loaded with a family of four, a local diver, and the boat driver. The driver drove the other passengers out to their dive spot, then went back into the pass a little to drop us off. We jumped off the boat and slowly descended into the ocean. As I slowly dropped down to the coral coated bottom I felt butterflies in my stomach. I was nervous t go on my first open water dive, but excited because of all the new things I would get to see. My nervousness faded away once I saw the beautiful coral stretching out over the bottom. There were bright and colorful fish and coral teeming with little animals. I saw many black tip sharks and white tip sharks swimming in schools around me. I saw a spotted leopard ray swimming gracefully beside me. But the best thing I saw was a giant Napoleon Wrasse. Along with those things, we also saw a school of needle fish, a large school of bright yellow and black fish, and smaller black and yellow fish that stared me in the face, their small eyes alert with curiosity. The dive was an amazingly fun experience, which I will remember forever.

Tuamoto update

We have been in the Tuamotos for a little over a week now, absolutely stunning atolls. Exactly the picture of paradise shown on all the travel brochures.
It took us exactly 3 days to sail the 500 nm from the Marquesas to the Tuamotos. We were stoked with our speed, peaking at 10.2 knots even with a reef in the main and the staysail. Only 1 little squall, in which I got completely drenched and Gigi hid under the bimini and laughed at me, but loved the excitement of it.
Our first atoll we visited was Makemo. We entered through the Arikitamiro pass, with no problems and only about 2.5 knots against us. We anchored off the main village as we arrived late afternoon. Then next morning Gary went ashore early to get fresh baguettes. Later that afternoon we motored about 6 miles to the east to a remote part of the atoll and anchored. Snorkeling was incredible. Lots of lavender colored coral, stag horn coral,… tons of colorful clams - teal, brilliant blue, reds, maroon, and speckled with multiple colors, and they clamp shut when you wave your hand over them. Who would have thought the clams were the most amazing thing to look at. Gary got scallops and slipper lobster for us to have as an appetizer. Unfortunately both were hard to get, so we didn't have many, but boy were they tasty.
The lagoon is about 25 nm, so it took us the better part of a day to traverse the lagoon, since we had to keep a vigilant look out for coral heads. We stopped off a remote motu for the night and got to explore and snorkel this site. The next morning we traversed the remained of the atoll and anchored near the Tapuhiria pass for about 6 hours to wait for the right tide to leave the pass. Unfortunately when we were ready to pull the anchor, it was wrapped on a coral head. Gary free dove 45 feet to put a rope on it, but couldn't quite get it on, so we setup the scuba gear for him and he went down and cleared it. Unfortunately by the time we got the anchor up it was dusk, so we left the pass in dwindling light, which made all of us a little more apprehensive. Fortunately the pass is well marked and there was no current.
We sailed through the night and arrived at Tehanea atoll at day break. The pass was straight forward and we anchored near the old Otoa village.
Since it was Canada Day, we made Nanaimo bars and shared some with a couple on the next boat over from Edmonton. It was a very relaxing Canada Day, I snorkeled 3 times, paddle boarded and napped.
Yesterday Gary, Gigi, Axel and I went drift snorkeling through the Otoa pass. The incoming tide nicely floated us by a wide variety of coral and multitudes of various fish. At the end of the pass, the current makes the lagoon water a little wavy and this is the area where the sharks like to hang out. Axel got a little ahead of the rest of us, so he got to this area first and got a little bit freaked out being surrounded by sharks with no other people. Fortunately they were only white and black tip reef sharks so they have no interest in people. Axel has become a proficient snorkeler and Gigi is like a fish in the water.
We seem to spend our days with boat chores, snorkeling, kayaking, island exploring and food preparation. And the food has been fantastic. Yesterday Angela and Harrison treated us to Larry's famous banana bread, made with the sweetest Marquesian bananas. I topped it off with my caramel rum sauce. Too decadent!
As tomorrow is July 4th, we plan on staying put and making burgers and coleslaw. Gigi is considering making us a key lime pie. Have a great holiday all of our American friends.
Cheers,
Julie