The Tuamotos Continued ... Fakarava and Toau Atolls

It is over 50 miles from Tahanea Atoll to Fakarava Atoll, and in order to arrive in Fakarava in daylight, we had to leave Tahanea in the dark ...  very cautiously, with Ian on the foredeck armed with a high powered torch on the lookout for coral bommies and standing waves  in the pass.  Entering and leaving atolls in daylight is exciting enough, but in pitch dark the waves breaking over the foredeck really did seem huge!  The rest of the trip was uneventful, we sailed in company with Jadean and Impulse - unfortunately there were no available mooring buoys when we arrived in Fakarava so we had to anchor and float our chain with fenders to keep it off the coral..

Fakarava Tumakohua pass is famous for it's 'Wall of Sharks', mainly black tip, white tip and grey reef sharks, there are literally hundreds making their way in and out of the pass - a magnet for scuba and snorkellers, you time your dives so that the current pulls you into the atoll, past vast numbers of sharks.  The water is incredibly clear, and the sharks just ignore the divers as they make their way in and out of the atoll.

The South Pass, Fakarava - and the Wall of Sharks.  We ended up repeating the dive six times, and were never disappointed.

We left the South Pass and spent two nights anchored off the  village of Pakokota in the middle of the atoll before heading for the main town of Rotoava near the North Pass.  Rotoava is the main town, a 2012 Census states that the population at that time was 809 people - there is a school, several restaurants, two supermarkets and Fakarava Yacht Services where you can rent Bicycles, get your Cooking Gaz bottles filled and use the WiFi.  The WiFi was incredibly slow, but the bicycles were great - we rented a couple and set off to explore the island.

 Our first stop was a small Pearl Farm, Hinano Pearls.  Tahitian Pearls are dark in colour, but this is not the reason  they are known as Black Pearls - it's because they are cultivated in the Black Lipped Oyster - a very labour intensive and delicate job involving the insertion of a small shell bead and piece of mantle into the gonad of an oyster.  The oysters are delicate, and do not survive out of the water for long so the whole process has to be done rapidly, the oysters are returned to the sea, strung onto lines that are suspended 6m below the surface of the water where it takes appproximately 18 months for a sufficient number of layers of nacre to form around the bead.  Oysters who produce good quality, iridescent and blemish free pearls are re-used several times - those that produce mis sharpen or poor quality pearls are discarded.

The oyster was cut open, a large but low quality pearl was removed and the whole process explained to us.  The pearls are eye wateringly expensive - even simple bracelets on elastic thread were on offer for $150 to $250.

After the Pearl Farm we cycled along the only road to the northern end of Fakarava, past coconut plantations.  The last 6 km were on dirt track - the road had run out.

The North Pass, Fakarava.  One of the wider passes but also known to have some complex and unpredictable currents, so not suitable for diving unless in the company of a local guide. 

The final atoll we visited was Toau, an easy day sail from Fakarava - although we had the wind and the current with us in the pass, the waves are still pretty impressive - as was the fish we caught on the way into the atoll!

A Grouper - caught in the entrance to the Atoll, we let him go again.

We met a local family on Toau, they farm Copra and showed us how to open a coconut and remove the flesh in about 10 seconds - when we have tried, it's taken about an hour!

Very confident use of a large machete opens a coconut, and the husks are frequently burnt to keep the mosquitos and other insects away.

The Coconut meat is dried in the sun for two or three days then sent to Tahiti for the oil to be extracted.  We were also shown how to grate fresh coconuts to make coconut milk which forms a huge part of their diet.  We have been sailing in company with Yachts Jadean, Impulse, So What and Nahoa who are all anchored in the beautiful turquoise water of the atoll.

The locals also offered to take us all on a Coconut Crab hunt - Coconut Crabs are a species of terrestrial hermit crab, the juveniles use discarded shells for protection and as they mature they develop their own hard exoskeleton.  Apparently they can grow to have a leg span of 1 metre, but the ones we saw were not that large.

Although the crabs have claws strong enough to cut their way into coconuts, the coconut is only part of their diet - they eat any fruit, nuts and any other organic matter they find.

The crabs are nocturnal, and have no difficulty climbing trees in search of food.

We spent a couple of days at the South of Toau, then moved back up to the pass - the locals told us the sharks there were more aggressive, and we discovered this for ourselves when we were out in the dinghy.  We were motoring across the entrance when a shark attacked the engine, it's second pass stopped the motor - apparently it was only about 1.5m to 2m long but we were much more focussed on getting the engine going again to study it closely!  Needless to say, we did not do any diving in that location.

Our final days on Toau were spent on Anse Amyot in the north - a beautiful calm lagoon with mooring buoys where we could do some diving without worrying too much about the sharks.

Diving the coral drop off in Toau - it's like a huge underwater cliff, dropping from about 10 metres down to hundreds of metres.

We have loved our time in the Tuamotos, and thanks to Kim and Barry on yacht Jadean who have been taking us out in their RIB and filling our scuba tanks we have done some spectacular dives that we certainly would not have been able to do with out them.  It has been fantastic.

Our next stop is Tahiti - where there are supermarkets and shops, and a marina with shore power and showers, and where we are going to be meeting up again with Hugh and Annie on sailing yacht Vega.

Tuamotos - a Pacific Paradise

We left the Marquesas in company with three other yachts - Jadean and Nahoa (both catamarans) disappeared off in the distance, and the other monohull Sula  headed to a different atoll so we were soon back on our own, on a tight beat well reefed down in rather feisty conditions.

The  435 mile trip from the Marquesas was uneventful, but timing is critical - the French Polynesian Tuamoto Archipelago is a vast 1000 mile arc consisting of 77 atolls, broken rings of coral reefs formed on the remnants of ancient volcanoes. They rise suddenly from depths of thousands of metres, low lying, the tallest thing on the islands in the coconut palms growing no more than a couple of metres above sea level,  they are only visible from a couple of miles away.  The wind and waves force the sea into the atoll over many of the shallow reefs, and although the tidal range is only about 50cm, the current rushes at up to 9 kts in and out of the various Passes, or navigable entrance to the atoll.  Timing your entry for slack water is the key.

Although the Tuamoto Islands were already occupied by local Paumoto people, the first Europeans to sail here in the 1700's were not impressed, the only fresh water was occasional rain fall, the rocks and coral are incredibly sharp and unforgiving, the islands were referred to as 'island of flies', 'islands without end' and 'The Dangerous Archipelago'.  The archipelago was annexed by the French in 1842, and in the 1970's to 1990's  some atolls were used for Nuclear Testing.  Today about 60% of the islands are occupied, the inhabitants making a living from Pearl Farming, Copra (dried coconut) production, fishing and now tourism.

The first atoll we were to visit was Raroia, famed as the reef Thor Heyerdahl's Kon Tiki raft hit on it's voyage from Peru in 1947.  We arrived  well before dawn, catching up with the two catamarans who were drifting towards the entrance pass waiting for Slack tide.  At 0600 we braved the pass, there was much confusion regarding the actual tide times, no sources seemed to agree, so we decided to give it a go - not our best bit of timing as we had as much as 5 kts against us, but the sea state was manageable, and if we couldn't make it we could just slow down and allow the current to carry us out to sea again.  The section with the strongest current did not last more than a few hundred metres so we ploughed on, accompanied by early morning dolphins enjoying the turbulence.  

Entering Raroia atoll is an incredible experience, far from being the largest atoll, it is still vast -  20 miles long, 6 miles wide, the water inside the atoll is between 20 and 40 metres deep but suddenly rising from the bottom are many coral heads, or 'bommies' that would be the end of an unwary navigator.  You need to sail the atolls in good light, ideally with the sun either high or behind you and someone of the foredeck.  Despite the crystal clear water, the bommies are very hard to see lurking about 50cm below the surface of the water.

 

Sailing across the Atoll - keeping a good lookout for coral bommies as we head for our anchorage in the distance

 

Approaching the Motu you can see how low lying they are.

 

Anchoring in the Atoll - it's hard to believe how big they are, the yachts can just be seen in the distance

 

Heading to shore in the dinghy - the grey lumps in the water are small coral bommies in the shallows

 

Taking a dinghy ride out through one of the (non navigable) passes between the Motu - heading for the outer rim of the atoll all looks deceivingly peaceful.

 

Black Tip Reef Shark - one of the dozens that we saw swimming in the shallows of the pass

 

The windward rim of the atoll is a word away from the peaceful beauty of the anchorage - the constant wind and swell, coupled with storms and cyclones gives it a very desolate look.  The water is pouring into the atoll so fast that even walking in the shallows is challenging.  There are huge banks of old smashed coral in the distance.

 

 

This is a Pearl Farm float, washed up on the shore.  The pearl oysters are cultivated on ropes that dangle from the wooden frame.

 

 

 

 

As well as coral, sharks and coconut palms, there are thousands of hermit crabs on the islands.  There are rats on most of the islands that climb and gnaw their way into the coconuts - these hermit crabs are taking advantage of the added food source.

 

Some atolls are affected by Ciguatera fish poisoning, a toxin produced by a type of algae found on coral reefs, and then eaten by the grazing fish. Although it seems to be harmless to the fish, the effects on humans are initially similar to food poisoning however there are neurological symptoms that can last for up to a year.  This local family had been fishing over night - they clearly know which fish are safe to eat - and were very happy to exchange a few for some grapefruit we'd brought with us from the Marquesas.  Later we had a fish BBQ on the beach with the other cruisers.

 

The locals chucked the guts into the sea as they cleaned their catch - the sharks came in to help themselves to an easy snack.

 

We visited four atolls in the Tuamotos:  Raroia, Makemo, Tahanea and Fakarava.  We spent our time snorkelling in the shallows, scuba diving, paddle boarding and just walking around on the Motu.  Our visit to Makemo, one of the inhabited atolls, coincided with the visit of the monthly supply ship from Tahiti - we were able to buy some fresh produce on the dock, directly from the ship.  There was also a Boulangerie in the village, so baguettes were on the menu again.

The atolls have all been incredibly beautiful, wild and unspoilt.  Not always peaceful though - we have just experienced 4 days of squally wet weather, there is very little shelter in an atoll, and when the wind backs through 180 degrees we can say with first hand experience that there is no shelter at all - the 25 mile fetch inside the atoll is plenty to build up a very uncomfortable swell!  With the accompanying clouds and rain, navigation inside the atoll is really not to be recommended - no option but to wait it out.

 

 

 

Sailing in the atoll

The real highlight of the atolls is underwater - not only snorkelling in the shallows, but scuba diving through the passes.  Nothing can really compare to drift diving through crystal clear water over forests of coral surrounded by fish ... and sharks.  That's for the next blog.  In the meantime we will shortly be heading for the north of Fakarava where there is the main town, out through the pass a quick stop at Toau Atoll and on to Tahiti - where we hope we will finally find some WiFi and be able to actually upload the blogs!

The Marquesas part 2, Nuku Hiva

The island of Nuku Hiva is approximately 90 Nm from Tahuata, which meant in order to arrive in daylight, we would have to do an overnight passage.  Despite the forecast, we struggled through the night with light winds, resorting to the engine for much of the trip.  The anchorage at Taiohae is not comfortable, there is almost continual swell and with the conditions alternating frequently  between calm and squalls we never seemed to spend very long facing the swell which makes for an uncomfortable time on the boat.  Nuku Hiva is the second largest island in French Polynesia (after Tahiti) and the Capital of the Marquesas - and there are three small supermarkets, a fruit and veg market. 

It is surprisingly difficult to buy vegetables in the Marquesas, the bi-weekly market opens at 0400 and we had been told to be there early - we felt to be ashore shopping before dawn was a pretty extreme way to buy veg, but when we got there at 0530, the keen shoppers had already left with most of the produce!  We did manage to buy fruit and aubergines, and our early start meant we were also in time to buy some absolutely delicious French bread.  Fresh fish are also sold at the dock, $5 for a kilo of freshly caught yellow fin tuna - too good to refuse!

We were still sailing in company with several other yachts and fortunately had assistance getting our 30kg generator off the boat and ashore where we left it with Nuku Hiva Yacht Services with the intention of picking it up again in a few days.  We had lunch ashore with Hugh and Annie from Vega, and Thom from Fathom - he's a single hander we first met in Panama and had been held up in Nuku Hiva due to a seriously infected cut on his ankle. The climate in the Tropics, coupled with the mud and the bugs mean that  skin infections  are a serious risk, any small scratch, cut or bug bite seems to take ages to heal and can easily become infected. 

Shopping accomplished, we left the muddy rolling anchorage Taiohae and headed along the coast to the west.

 

Looking back along the coast of Nuku Hiva it's hard to imagine how the early explorers ever found anywhere to land!

 

Our anchorage, totally hidden from the sea and wonderfully calm and sheltered.

Many of the bays in the Marquesas go by several names, and our next destination was no exception:  Baie de Taioa, also known as Hakaui Bay or Danial's Bay after the couple who have lived here for the last 60 or so years, and is the site of the ancient Fiefdom of King Te Moana and Queen Vaekehu.  You pay the local family $10 to walk in their land, and follow the ancient Royal Road for a good couple of hours up through the forest.

 

Setting off for the Vaipo Waterfall through the immaculate garden of the local family - the plants lining the trail are all the giant cousins of those you find in a Garden Centre at home, thriving in their natural environment.

The Royal Road - it can be quite hard to find at times, reclaimed by the forest.

 

 First sight of the waterfall - we eventually found our way there, which involved crossing the river four times - in places it was thigh deep, but at least it did temporarily wash the mud off!  Well worth the effort though, it was very impressive as it thundered through the cliffs at the bottom of the valley.

We spent a couple of nights in Hakaui or Daniel's bay then headed round to the north of the island to Baie de Hatihew, apparently a favourite of the author Robert Louis Stevenson who visited in 1888.  Hatihew is one of the main archeological sites in the Marquesas as the area was densely occupied in the past and there are foundations and ruins dating back to the year 1250 - the site was occupied until the 1800's when it was abandoned as the population was decimated by European diseases amongst other things.

 

 Hatihew Bay, Nautilus on the left, next to Vega with Hugh and Annie.  We were later joined by Kim and Barry on Jadean - their 8 yr old daughter acted as Water Taxi for us and ferried us ashore as the rough concrete fishing jetty was not really suitable for leaving  a small dinghy unattended.

 

There are ancient Tiki carvings along the shore, all have huge eyes and rather grumpy expressions.

 

 

Another Tiki standing guard outside the immaculately maintained Catholic Church, evidence of ongoing influence of the early Missionaries on the islands.

 

 The view from the Church.  On  top of one of the cliffs in the distance there is a statue of the Virgin Mary, erected in 1872 and somehow carried 300 metres up the cliffs!

 

 A short walk inland takes us to the first of the Tohua, the site of open air gatherings. 

 

More Tiki - this time the male in the middle appears to be holding a female up by the hair with his right hand, whilst holding onto another female with his left hand.  Not obvious from the photo, but there are several others they are sitting on.

We continued on up hill a short way and arrived at the main site where there were further Tohua (for gatherings) and also many Paepae, the foundations of the old houses.  The site was well maintained and there were a couple of reconstructed dwellings.

 

We are standing at the foot of an absolutely massive Banyan tree at the site - apparently it is over 600 years old so was at the centre of things when the site was fully occupied by the early Marquesans.

 

The raised section of the paepae foundation is the habitation area called a ha'e, the roof is made from halved palm tree leaves and held up by wooden carved Tiki supports.

 

A final view of the whole Baie de Hatihew, the statue of the Virgin Mary is on the furthest left of the pinacles of rock - certainly not an easy place to effect a large stone carving!

Our time in the Marquesas was at an end, we spent a total of 18 days in the island group, stopping briefly at Ua Pou Island on our way to the Tuamotos.  I think it rained at some stage on every one of those days! We first had to collect our portable generator from the Yacht Services in Taiohae bay - another night in the rolly anchorage, the Generator had not even been looked at in our absence, however it was an opportunity to buy some delicious French Bread, Camembert and other supplies from the local shops.

The islands are beautiful with incredibly dramatic scenery, and sailing round them we saw more dolphins than we have encountered anywhere else so far.  At times we had them with us for hours, playing in our bow wave and leaping out of the water.

 

They really are a joy to watch!

We set off from the Marquesas with several other yachts and we plan to tour the Tuamotos together, although Vega has temporarily left the group to take a faster route to Tahiti where we plan to re join them. 

Next stop:  Raroira, our first Atoll in the Tuamotos, 435 miles away.