Monthly Archives: June 2007

Apataki Search for the Village

Posted on by
1

Now that things have calmed down with our anchor rescued, we can go back to our regularly scheduled program.

Like Manihi and most other atolls, Apataki is a thin ring of land with a huge lagoon in the middle. Apataki is sort of square-ish in shape. In Manihi you could not see all the way north from the south, but you could see all the way west from the east. In Apataki, you can’t see the end in either direction. It just looks like endless ocean beyond the L of land visible and it is hard to believe there is more land so close by. Continue reading →

The Ultimate Anchor is Definitely the Spaghetti Anchor

Posted on by
11

We awoke at 0600 after a restless night. The closely set anchor alarm had gone off a few times in the night due to movement around the anchor. We were quite securely anchored! With wind and movement of the chain we did get closer to the 7 foot deep coral, but never got right over it.

We had decided to go SCUBA diving down together to check out the anchor and see if we could free it from the wreckage. Eric wanted to wait until the sun was higher in the sky and the visibility was good, so we nervously sat for three hours, too on edge to do anything else. At 0900, put on our SCUBA gear and jumped in. Christi was having a hard time on two fronts. One, she was sinking too fast, and then would float back up to the top without inflating the buoyancy compensator (inflatable vest). We couldn’t get the amount of weight set properly to get her down normally and keep her down. The up and down was wreaking havoc with her ears. So, Eric wound up going down alone, with Christi monitoring him from the surface. Continue reading →

One Heck of a Welcome to Apataki

Posted on by
6

It is not everyday we find a sunken boat, or we get really close to a shallow reef. Such is life cruising on a boat.

This morning we were up before dawn. Our next atoll destination, Apataki, was possible to reach during daylight if we left early enough. We held our breath as we started to pull up the anchor because two boats had gotten stuck on the coral and needed divers to get them out. Cruisers: We suspect “Charlie’s Charts” are just a little off for the anchorage in Manihi. You may want to mark your books to anchor just a touch south of where “Charlie’s” recommends to avoid getting stuck on the coral. The two stuck boats were exactly where “Charlie’s” said to go, and the boats that did not get stuck were a little south.

Continue reading →

Buying Pearls and Jean Paul

Posted on by
4

Saturday June 9, 2007 We swore we weren’t going to do it. But we just couldn’t resist. They were just too cool”¦.

Today was going to be uneventful day of getting the boat ready for sea. But mid-morning, a flat bottomed boat with a large outboard motor pulled up with some locals in it. There were two men, a woman, and a 3ish year old with dark skin and blonde hair. Given all the groceries in the boat, they had to be on their way back from the market in town. One of the guys asked if we wanted to go and see a pearl farm. We said sure. We had read in lonely plant that the hotels offered visits to pearl farms, but they cost money. While we were kind of curious about what they did on a pearl farm, we weren’t curious enough to spend money on seeing one. So, we were excited about getting a free (at least we hoped) tour. Continue reading →

Diving Manihi’s “The Break” with Sharks

Posted on by
5

Friday, June 08, 2007 — Today we went SCUBA diving. Before we left San Diego, Eric decided we needed to become SCUBA divers as part of the boating lifestyle. Christi thought Eric had lost his mind. SCUBA diving didn’t seem like the right fit for us for a sport, for different reasons. Christi has weak lungs, has a hard time adjusting to the change in atmospheric pressure, and hates cold water. But she absolutely loves to swim in the ocean as long as the water is warm. Eric doesn’t like to swim in the ocean and tends to get panicky if the visibility isn’t phenomenal. He’s afraid something will sneak up and eat him. Eric faced his fears and bravely got certified in the murky waters in San Diego. Christi absolutely refused to get into the cold water.
Continue reading →