Up at 04:00.....anchor free at 04:52, lovely sailing day in company of Chao Lay out through the north pass of Fakarava with perfect timing, thanks to Mike’s excellent grasp of the Shom tide tables, and up to Tuoa, a very pretty atoll on the way to Tahiti. Hats off to DJ of Skye, for helping us hook up to a mooring ball. Lars dove on it and met a large unconcerned black tip shark. Well, we had been told this was great for snorkelling. It is very beautiful, if a wee bit gallopy on the mooring, as there is zero protection from the 20 knot wind. We learned that the mooring ball is free if you purchase a meal, but meals must be booked at least two days in advance. We are only staying one night, so we just paid for our mooring. No problem....we have plenty to eat on the boat! There are six mooring balls full, and two boats at anchor. Serious weather is happening to the west. We had a small taste of it in a very polite downpour while we were sailing here. No crazy wind, just about fifteen minutes of rain that washed the salt off everything. Now I see rain and dark clouds to the west and north. I don’t think snorkelling will be on Sweet Dream’s menu tonight, but fellowship with Mike and Neil on Chao Lay, where we traded photos and videos we’d taken of each other while sailing today. What fun!
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