Monday, June 4, 2007 – This morning the seas calmed down right before dawn. Once it calmed down, it was actually a pleasant ride. Too bad we pulled into the bay at 11:00.

From a distance it looked exactly like we expected. It is a very low island with lots of palm trees. We were anxious as we approached our first South Pacific atoll. A nice calm lagoon is supposed to be inside the islands. The atolls in the Tuomotus are renowned for being tricky to get in and out of. There are always stories about this or that boat that hit coral and sank. One of the reasons we chose Mahini was because it is one of the easier ones to navigate, but you still need to use abundant amounts of caution.

The only pass into the lagoon is on the south side of the island. It is about 100 feet wide, with a concrete wall on both sides. The shallowest point is about 11 feet deep, giving it us a clearance of 6 feet. We tried to time the tides to give us a favorable approach. But even then at the narrowest point the current was strong against us and at full throttle we were only doing 3.5 knots. Tidal changes are larger at full and new moons, and we certainly enjoyed a full moon on this passage. Once we were through the pass, there were patches of coral on both sides, so we needed to keep a close eye out as we headed toward the anchorage on the south east side in an area called Tatate. There was no swell, as promised, but there is a constant trade wind blowing 6-15 knots.

The island consists of a narrow ring of land that is covered with palms and a few evergreens. It is more amoeba-like in shape than circular. All of the evergreens and a few of the palms are slanted at a 30 degree angle from the trade winds. On the outside of the ring is the ocean and inside the ring is the lagoon. We were surprised at the size of the lagoon. It is so big that from the south side you can’t see the north side. Throughout the entire lagoon are big patches of coral. Several of the patches have little buildings built on them. It looks like they are floating on the water. It does not look real.

There were three other sailboats here when we arrived. We were told that two of them had their anchor stuck in coral, so we were nervous about picking a spot to anchor in. We guess we won’t know until we try to leave if we are stuck, too. It is a common problem here. Our spot is beautiful. Most of the lagoon has deep blue water, but where we are anchored it is a majestic turquoise. We can see the ocean on the other side of the land we are next to. We feel like we should be singing songs from “South Pacific”.

Once we anchored, we headed over to the south west side of the lagoon so Richard could make travel arrangements. He is heading out on Thursday to go home. Then we had lunch at the only restaurant on the island, located in the nicest hotel. The main part of the hotel is on a white sandy beach facing the lagoon, but there are several bungalows built in the shallow water in front of the hotel. The hotel setting is quite beautiful. All the buildings have bamboo facades and palm frond roofs.

At the restaurant, we ran into another couple we had met in Taiohae and joined them for lunch. Lunch was good. After lunch we headed back to Kosmos and were in bed really early. We did not sleep well on the passage. We were tired and ready for a good night of sleep.

On a side note, Richard bashed his finger last night while adjusting the Stidd chair in the pilot house (Stidd is the brand of chair). It turned black and swelled down to his second knuckle. It looks painful. So, those of you with Stidd chairs, be careful!