One Heck of a Welcome to Apataki

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.

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Buying Pearls and Jean Paul

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

Exploring Tatate, Manihi & Snorkeling, Coral, and Dog Attack

Thursday June 7, 2007 — We began the day with chores, as usual. Christi scrubbed the waterline and down about 3 feet below the waterline. The port side (left side when facing front) wasn’t too bad. To our surprise the starboard side (right side when facing front) had a lawn growing. And we aren’t talking thin, short grass. We’re talking a full, thick lawn that you could mow with a lawnmower. We have to work really hard to get the yard at home to look half as good as the starboard side of the boat did. Needless to say, it took quite a bit of scrubbing to get it off. Why didn’t anyone tell us we needed a weed whacker???

Then we went snorkeling around the coral near where the boat is anchored. The coral is not very colorful, mostly off white and a little bit of lime green. There were some neat shaped coral rocks out there. There were a lot of electric-blue lipped oysters in the coral. We saw a good number of interesting fish. Continue reading

Fatu Hiva to Manihi, Days 2 and 3

Saturday, June 2, 2007 –The seas have calmed down from Friday, but it is still a rough ride. We feel like we are human pinballs in a pinball machine right now. We are still getting the ugly beam seas (meaning getting hit from the side by waves), but they are not nearly as strong or as frequent.

Unfortunately, the air Continue reading

Goodbye Fatu Hiva

May 31 — Thursday was uneventful. We spent the day doing boat chores, which means cleaning, organizing, and maintenance stuff. Eric changed the on engine fuel filters for the generator and main engine. Tip: If the primer pump is not working, turn over the engine to realign the camshaft so the primer pump works. If you forget this step you tend to panic because Continue reading