What an amazing place - we hardly ever left the boat because the beauty of the atoll was so breathtaking - while not covered in all the pilot books - this one is definitely worth a visit - everything the postcard of the south pacific advertised.
we arrived at dawn on the NE entrance ( 7/4 - HW 05.20 LW 11.40, HW 17.50, LW 2400) fairly easy entrance and well marked - up 2/3 knt tide - turn right to the small but lovely town - v friendly local police man ( check passports etc ) and photocopied map of island for us . - ( Town = Post office ( with PAYG internet) , 1 shop + "City Hall" )
Cruised (under sail) along western shore for 2 days - taking turns at the top of the mast to spot the coral and weave our way through ( easy until circa 15.00 each day - but you need to be high and a jib blocks the view from the spreaders -
No other ARC boats (is this a good or a bad thing ! ) - various snorkelling expeditions - to the beach and the taking the rib to some of the bigger coral heads - there is nothing like finding a few sharks in the water to get people swimming real close together and looking out for one another. Black tip and white tip reef sharks (Adrian was a star - and stopped any of us panicking) - largest we saw was 10 ft - So much clearer then kicker rock. In fact most of the snorkelling looked like a tropical aquarium video.
We aimed to leave by the west "pass" but wanted to snorkel the pass before leaving, so guided from the top of the mast we arrived early and headed for a tiny cove to the left of the pass - an isolated section of the atoll - which turned out to have just 4 inhabitants - living off COPRA farming - they could not have been nicer - teaching us all about coconuts, fishing (do we need lessons ??) and the sharks - they also helped us time our snorkel of the pass to perfection - now they said we were the fist visitors they have ever had - we cant believe it - but they were pretty surprised when we produced some gifts - beer , soft drinks , soaps etc ( and highly prized K8 Tee-shirts ) - Currently subject of the now famous St Patrick's Day Quiz Enquiry (- which has so far caused the Irish Premier to resign).
Makemo is a small piece of heaven. We didn't make it to the village of Punaruku - but sounds nice and the policemen recommended it, we were enjoying the sights and crystal clear waters.
Other notes - best Pilot book so far although doesn't cover this atoll is the Patrick Bonnette - Guide to Navigation - purchased from Nuku-Hiva marine services shop on the quay.
Next we are off to Fakarava - a short 90 mile night sail we continue to listen out on 6227 @ 18.00 UTC
From all on K8 - PS anyone else been having iridium reception problems of late?
PPS - as a dyslexic I love all the place names - E&OE :-)