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Exody - Days 92-98: Three Tuamotus - Manihi, Ahe & Rangiroa



The village at Manihi proved very quiet and small- helpful post office where I got them to plug the internet back in after the weekend so that we could get our 'Manaspot' from the boat, two small shops with very limited supplies but not bad freezers and a snack bar where all we found was canned Fanta! Hugur was tied to the dock in the pass with phenomenally clear water below and it was at that 'waterside restaurant' we had enjoyed steak on board the previous night - Sunday 12th April, after happy hour on Ayama.



Whilst we were ashore Monday, German catamaran FatCat arrived anchoring just upwind from us - we'd previously met them at Fatu Hiva and were invited on board for happy hour which generously morphed into dinner- the women had psychology in common. Once again we were taken with what an altogether different cruising paradigm catamarans represent- and this was not the first that had been selected as a pre-condition of female marital participation in long term cruising !



Stefan of Ayama donned his scuba gear Tuesday morning to free his own anchor, to stand by on ours (which was OK in the end) and to attach a tripping line to FatCat's. Here the ubiquitous problem (for anchors and chain) of coral heads was exacerbated by the remains of some fish farming construction on the seabed. With Ayama, we followed Hugur on the short 25 mile crossing to Ahe, timed for slack water in the pass and followed by an interesting five mile sail across the small lagoon, well beaconed but with multiple pearl farming buoys if one strayed from the path. The village of Tenukupara here was even quieter than Manihi but with a more attractive 'lagoon within a lagoon' anchorage just off the pier in clear turquoise waters. Happy hour for the three boats was courtesy of Exody on Tuesday 14th and we managed to accommodate seven in the cockpit with ease - and without taking the wheel off- which others regularly do for such occasions!



We set off mid afternoon Wednesday after tackling a couple of masthead jobs, taking advantage of yet another swell free anchorage in a 'ring-fenced' part of the Pacific. Timed to catch the evening tide out of the Ahe lagoon, we sailed in company with Hugur for the whole of the 85 mile overnight passage to the largest Tuamotu atoll of Rangiroa, Exody arriving a little early for the forecast slackwater in the narrow Tiputa pass. The consequent big seas and 5 knot adverse current reminded us of the Dorus Mor (near Crinan in Scotland) when bucking the tide on a bad day. In compensation we were treated to a magnificent dolphin display as we edged our way in at less than 1 knot over the ground. Hugur had seen us pitching around, clocked our slow speed on their AIS and stood off for an hour before coming in with less than 3 knots adverse tide and flat water!



We had anchored by 09.30 on Thursday with half a dozen other yachts in the large bay in front of the upmarket but curiously named (at least for us Brits who think of an orange juice brand) Kia Ora Resort and Spa, with the other end of this vast atoll behind us well below the horizon 45 miles away! It is reputed to be the second largest atoll in the world, and all the population is focused in two villages on two islands near the two passes. Lonely Planet refers to it as the big smoke of the Tuamotus and there was certainly much more evidence of commerce (Pearls, tourists, diving, planes and small ships coming and going).



We indulged in dinner ashore at the Kia Ora resort on Thursday night - glass floored bar on stilts over turquoise water, superbly prepared and presented sword fish and grouper, locally produced dessert - all at prices that our Icelandic friends (Hugur) and Norwegian crew found 'normal'! Friday we took the free 08.00 shuttle to the nearby Pearl Farm - I had not previously been aware of the grafting and culturing process that takes five years in total and involves 'operating' on each oyster's appendix more than once and cleaning their shells every two months! We signed up via the hotel for a drift snorkel through the same Tiputa pass, having since read it to be a world renowned snorkel and dive site. It was amazing to be carried through at such a rate by the tide and, although we did not see anything 'big', other than homo sapiens with scuba bottles far below us, both the underwater reef geography and the myriad colourful shoals of fish in the so-called aquarium where we finished - did not disappoint. The experience for me much improved by removing the moustache that had always made my face mask leak.



After a final shop, catching the last baguette, and an excellent grilled fish lunch at the water side Cafe Puna (stingrays and fish in the water below), we set off Saturday mid afternoon to catch the (better calculated!) afternoon tide out of the Avatoru pass, aiming to arrive at Moorea two hundred plus miles away on Monday morning.



In less than a week we have touched on the three most northern Tuamotus atolls closest to our route (out of about thirty in total) and whilst it would have been great to see more, we reckon to have a good feel for this unusual human habitat!





Peter (Skipper)








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