Two Drifters reports on sailing in the Tuamotus in French Polynesia
by RoRC Fergus Dunipace 19 Jun 2021 05:00 UTC
Two Drifters reports on sailing in the Tuamotus in French Polynesia © Two Drifters
There’s not a day that goes by when we don’t thank our lucky stars for being ‘stuck’ in French Polynesia during these unprecedented times.
With 118 coral islands and atolls and a cruising ground the size of Western Europe to explore, it’s been pretty much sailing as normal for those of us here on cruising permits.
Even Brexit did not break our stride as the government of French Polynesia issued extended Carte de Sejour visas for Brits. The weather has been kind and, aside from a few rainy patches, it’s been a very quiet cyclone season as we’ve explored the Tuamotus archipelago on our Lagoon 440 catamaran, Two Drifters.
Sadly, the social side of being in anchorages with other boats has waned due to the coronavirus pandemic. We’ve all been respectful of keeping a distance or staying in our boat bubbles where necessary.
However, the social media side has surpassed itself with good intel being passed around on Messenger and WhatsApp. As a result, we’ve had a busy time catching up with OCC friends across the five archipelagos on such matters as coronavirus hotspots, which restaurants are open, the weather, diving, where to buy pearls, must-visit uncharted anchorages and, more recently, COVID-19 vaccination opportunities for cruisers in Tahiti and Mo’orea.
Sailing Two Drifters around the atolls and in through the various passes has given us a great insight into the Tuamotus. We’ve visited the two most-travelled gateways of Rangiroa and Fakarava, with their pink sand beaches, immense marine life and crystal clear water. And a visit to Fakarava isn’t complete without diving or snorkelling the ‘wall of sharks’ at the South Pass!
But, I have to say, we have especially enjoyed our time being off-the-beaten-track, sailing to the lesser-visited atolls of Aratika, Kauehi and Makemo where we’ve drift-snorkelled outside the atolls and in the passes with intrepid curiosity. Discovering isolated anchorages and deserted motus, we’ve often been the only boat for miles around.
The icing on the cake for us was two weeks off-the-grid at the uninhabited atoll of Tahanea. We sailed there from Fakarava with our good friends, Kjell Dreyer and Kaia Samuelsen on 2K - and had the pleasure of integrating with a copra farmer from a neighbouring atoll, who introduced us to hunting for coconut crabs and lobsters. Oddly, these two weeks, spent with just three other boats, was perhaps the most ‘normal’ of sociable times we’ve had in the last year.
With cyclone season almost over, we will head back to the Society Islands. We know many boats are hoping to travel to Fiji shortly as it’s the only country in the South Pacific that is fully open to yachts with its ‘Blue Lane Scheme’. Here’s hoping more islands can re-open their borders in the months to come.
This article has been provided by the courtesy of Ocean Cruising Club.