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Two Fish - Day 90 - Mountains to the Atolls



Landfall in the Marquesas was, for us, the beginning of our exploration of exotic islands. The Galapagos had choreographed crowds and Las Perlas had Jet Skis, both of which killed any sense of blazing a new trail. The vivid green palette of the Marquesan hillsides, the exceptionally welcoming people and the dramatic hilltops created a memorable two weeks. Unlike earlier explorers, we chose to explore Nuku Hiva in a manual transmission pick-up truck. After no discussion, I was elected driver, despite not having driven a stick in years. We stopped many times for hikes and "discovered" Tikis and other ruins. On the windward side of the island we stopped in a small village with friendly residents, spending their Sunday body surfing. In the local church, we read the hymn book in Marquesan and marveled at the beautiful wood lectern. A short stroll to the harbor revealed the dinghy dock from hell. The six foot swell would flip any dinghy and launch boat and occupants onto sharp rocks or hard concrete. The road became more difficult to drive as the day progressed. It narrowed, converted to rock and dirt soup and finally it became an impossibly steep stream. Gail finally convinced me that prudence called for a U-turn.

The next day, Jim and Theresa came aboard. They spent the day hiking to a waterfall that we had already explored. A good French word to know is "cascade" (waterfall). We did a few pre-passage chores: installed the Genoa that had had some stitching fail, replaced the wind instrument and 20-odd smaller items.

At 5:15 in the morning, the crew was woken up and we weighed anchor without issue. This gave us three and half days to travel 450 miles. We could have slept in but I like to be on the safe side since arrivals in the Tuamotus need to be scheduled with the light, tide and other variables.

The new skill we will develop in the Tuomotos is shooting the pass. The atolls have very strong tidal currents. They are driven by the moon, unusually large swell and winds stronger than 15 knots. The atoll has one or two gaps in the fringing reef. This creates a situation where the water is looking to exit, but can only return to the open sea through a small gap. The current can reach an astounding speed, challenging Two Fish's top speed under motor of 9 knots. So, typical of Two Fish, we over-studied to determine our optimal strategy.

1) We downloaded a cruiser-built spreadsheet, the Guesstimator. It uses one island's tidal data to calculate tidal data for all the atolls and passes. It also allows for adjustments due to winds and waves. I shared this sheet with our fellow rally members.
2) A non-rally boat friend told us the best passage time for our first atoll Raroia since he had entered the previous day.
3) We listened to an excellent teach-in on the passes given by a seasoned Tuamotus cruiser. His advice is:
a) Always enter the pass in good light
b) Wear polarized lenses to see coral
c) Tack in front of the pass to look for standing waves. Use binoculars.
d) If current is a problem, you may find relief close to the edge.
e) Wait and try later if the pass seems too tough.

So our final exam arrived after a gentle three night passage. The wind and waves were light, setting us up for an easy transit. We were sailing at ambling speed to time our entry, when I heard the boat Silent Sun on the radio. I spoke with them and they gave me the advice that the pass should be fairly tame due to the light winds on that day. We decided to enter the atoll early. I was tentative at first and tried to find the calmest spot. Dead center was covered with some standing waves of small size (less than 3 feet). Crew were positioned at the bow looking for coral heads but the water was too rough and deep to see much. Gail was tracking our progress on Google Earth as another technique to look for coral heads. Lastly, we used our iPad Navionics charts, which are superior to the chart plotter's C-map charts for this group of islands. I continued to push the boat farther into the pass. The rough waters did not rock the boat, however, they caused Two Fish to turn off course. I over-corrected with the helm and then corrected again. We were traveling in a crab-like walking pattern or maybe the course of a drunk coming home from the bar. After ten minutes, the pass waters became more stable but the tidal current grew stronger. I increased the engine revolutions to 2,200 (standard cruising speed). Our speed through the water was 7 knots but our speed over ground was 2. We were walking up fast but we were on the down escalator. The current was pushing us out to sea at 5 knots. I was enjoying the pass, so I did not speed up the boat. The tidal stream continued to strengthen and I responded with more engine power. Many times the boat's speed over ground dropped to zero as the current was just as strong as the engines. 7 knots of current would dominate any swimmer, canoer and many small outboard motors. Two Fish was totally fine. Engine temps were staying at normal and we had plenty of extra power. The pass was fairly wide but we still followed the navigation aids. We lined up two large range markers to ensure we were in deep water. After another ten minutes, our speed over ground started to increase indicating our passage of the strongest current was complete. We took a hard turn to starboard, and followed a well-marked channel. We were no longer rookies of atoll passes. We had crossed at peak ebb, an exception to the rule because of the circumstances, but it was great experience for future passes.

Photos: Gail before leaving the green Marquesas. Jim and Theresa catching a fish on passage

jason


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