Back in the saddle.........and off the grid
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| No man is an island.......Kirstin, however disagrees |
Tom- "So, Pierre....thanks for watching L'ORIENT. Can you tell me what happened before I kill you?"
Pierre- "Tom, I swear.........this is how you left it. It is not my fault."
We checked the boat top to bottom and voila! Everything still works. Delighted, we completely unpacked our mega load of parts all night despite our tiredness. And then the hard work began. We had five weeks of projects to get the boat ready for our next stop........the Tuamotus. The work "Tuamotu" is a Polynesian compound word.......Tua (meaning dangerous) and Motu (meaning island). The Tuamotus are a remote chain of sparsely populated atolls surrounded by barrier reefs with coral heads everywhere......at and just below the surface. Picture a lake in the middle of the ocean and you just about have it. Transiting within the atoll involves sailing ONLY when the sun is high and ONLY with a spotter on the bow looking for coral heads. Most of the sea inside the atoll is marked (chillingly) "unsurveyed". Could be 100 ft. deep; could be 100 inches deep. If you want to think about what L'ORIENT hitting a coral head would be like, drag an egg across a cement sidewalk. Pretty ugly situation. There are few restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations there. Most islands are uninhabited. The "largest" atolls have 2,500 people at most.
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| Atolls 101 - Our first two stops. We are the blue triangle inside Rangiroa |
Oh, and scuba diving is a bit different too........Tiger sharks, Bull sharks, Hammerheads, Lemon sharks, Reef sharks, and somewhere out there the dreaded Oceanic White Tip (the shark that experienced locals call "the crazy shark"). But ironically, the most aggressive fish isn't a shark. It's the 2-3 foot Titan Triggerfish, who annoyingly nests in random coral heads. They become really aggressive when divers swim near their perfectly camouflaged lairs, drawing a very toothy attack that is relentless. A lot of divers fear them more than any shark.
We hoped our weather forecast would allow for a landing in Tikehau or Rangiroa, in the Western Tuamotus. If we missed, and hit a nearby island that wasn't part of the Tuamotus, would we be in the Quasi-motus ? We hoped this was just word play and not a real problem.
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| Some final sights from Tahiti |
So, to be ready for this we had to buy a lot of food and make sure L'ORIENT's systems were ready for off the grid living. Big projects involving the engine, generator, and rigging began as well as an unprecedented stocking up of food and fuel. We even broke out our auxiliary 200 liter fuel bladder, a black monstrosity that never fails to create messy mischief when being filled and being emptied.
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| Beautiful black sand beach on Tahiti |
The engine and generator projects involved hiring a diesel mechanic. This was the first time we've hired a tech for anything in about 7 years, but never having adjusted the valves in a diesel engine myself and not trusting the University of YouTube on this important project, we brought in Dominique. He was expensive but worth it. And his work plan minimizes his Accounts Payable. He literally disassembles your diesel engine and takes half of it home to work on. I don't think many clients contemplate not paying.
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| The business end of our diesel engine- Dominique took about 50% of it home |
As we finished our work, we decided that we hadn't seen all of Tahiti and rented a car for the day. A fun trip which filled in our knowledge of this island of contradictions..........Papeete, with perhaps less beauty than we'd expect as the capital of Tahiti...........and the rest of the island, which is totally breathtaking.
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| Papeete's architectural wonders - purple louvers, how creative! |
We left Tahiti forthwith. Since we needed so much fuel, we detoured to nearby Moorea to go to our favorite Society Islands gas station........with a pump right on the water. When filling and dumping 20 jerry cans, it's worth it.
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| A final stop in Moorea for fuel- most scenic gas station ever |
So, fully provisioned and fully fueled we set off. Our weather service predicted favorable wind and seas for our day and a half jump Northeast to Tikehau, the westernmost populated atoll in the Tuamotus............a milk run, right? Wrong. Wind which should have been 13 knots out of the East was actually 25 knots out of the North/Northeast.....directly on our nose. The seas were not one meter but two, making for a raucous ride punctuated by squalls which sometimes contained lightning. Ugh. I was reminded of the Jerry Seinfeld quip about weather forecasting........if the 5 day forecast was always accurate, you would only have a weather report once every 5 days.
Arriving in Tikehau was exciting. Many atolls generally have a narrow entrance, or "pass". It's also extremely tidal..........the water is rushing into the pass or out of the pass at speeds that can approach 8 knots. The violent movement of the water is effected by the strength of the wind as well. Many boats are damaged and/or lost maneuvering in passes at the wrong time of day or in the wrong conditions. We had the advantage of watching a smaller boat go through just ahead of us - kind of like watching someone walk through a minefield before you do..."No, please...after you, sir. We'll be RIGHT BEHIND you every step of the way." So, we made it although driving L'ORIENT through water that appeared to be boiling was a new experience.
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| Tikehau, both now and 500 years ago |
Tikehau was spectacular. Exactly what you envision that a South Pacific atoll would look like. Beautiful and nearly deserted. The guide says 500 people live there, but 480 seem to be disguised as coconut trees. We saw virtually no one. The marine life is amazing as well. While we didn't dive in Tikehau, we were able to find a nice swimming hole there. It's funny recreating in shallow turquoise water and feeling that it's normal to see the dorsal fins of sharks close by.
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| Maybe not a good place for a swim- sharks everywhere |
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| The only footprints were our own |
The black tip sharks are relatively small and not dangerous at all (unless you're a 3 inch fish). They're terrified of humans and if they blunder into you they swim away so fast that it's hard to follow them with the naked eye. We lazed around Tikehau for almost 3 weeks (which while you're on the boat seems like just a few days). It's easy to lose track of time as you try to fit 2 hours of boat work into an 8 hour day.
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| Scenes from our beach walk- it felt like nobody's been here for a while |
From Tikehau we sailed to Rangiroa. Not only is it the closest atoll to Tikehau but also has the distinction of being the second largest atoll in the world. Again a bad forecast along with frequent squalls made this a tad unpleasant. There are two passes into "Rangi" as it is known. We arrived at a good time to enter and we were quite glad of that timing. When we went for a walk 3 hours later after anchoring, we walked past the pass we had just transited. It was a boiling, seething maelstrom of churning water. It looked like the scariest white water rafting scene you've ever witnessed. No way we would have risked entering.
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| The Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa in less welcoming conditions |
Rangiroa is not known as "Metropolis of the Western Tuamotus" for nothing. The atoll boasts 2,500 people, a pier for supply ships, and at least two small restaurants. Again, although we haven't seen all of Rangi yet, 2,500 might be aggressive. I need some proof before my estimate goes above 200.
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| Dining in style at Lili's in Rangiroa's "restaurant district"(other establishment is across the dusty street) |
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| Rangiroa's link with the outside world- twice a week supply ship deliveries |
So, we've been in Rangiroa for 3 days and love it. We've found a swimming hole complete with sharks and clear water. We've also found a dive site complete with all kinds of interesting marine life, including bigger sharks! So, we're quite happy here. Enjoy the pictures and we'll stay in touch.