The Tuamotus lie between the Marquesas and the Society Islands, spanning 1,000nm and were known as the “dangerous archipelago”, by earlier mariners, as the uncharted waters and low lying character of the atolls were a hazard to the old ships.

Despite this the islands were discovered by the Spanish long before the Society Islands and the waters fished by the whaling ships from the seventeenth century whilst the western islands weren’t identified until 1835. The eastern islands gained international attention in 1963 when the French government used the atolls of Moruroa and Fangataufa for nuclear testing (atmospheric and underground). This continued for thirty-three years. Nowadays ecotourism, diving excursions, government-subsidised Copra production, fish exporting and to a lesser extent cultured black pearl farming are their main sources of income. The inhabitants of the coral atolls are known as “Paumotu” and some live a subsistence living (with government help) with rain as their only source of fresh water but within some of the most beautiful lagoons in the world. Atolls are open sea reefs that form rings, ovals or rectangles. Geological plates that support the volcanic peaks gradually sink, submerging the volcanoes, leaving a lagoon surrounded by a reef which grows upwards forming a barrier reef,The diversity of life below the various shades of blue water is immense, ranging from a variety of reef sharks, fish of stunning colours and sizes, moray eels, sponges, vibrant healthy corals, clams, urchins and many other fauna. A life of prey and predator exists on a daily basis. Above the lagoons, snowy white Fairy Terns swoop with their partner in perfect harmony, meanwhile waders and herons paddle around the shallows fishing. Time slows down and our life is dominated by the sun clock. 

We experienced a lively, fast sail to our first atoll, Amanu, the most eastern navigable atoll, getting the time right to motor straight through the narrow pass, Horokuma Pass, on a 3 knot incoming current, anchoring just over an hour later behind a reef. Our outlook was breathtaking with swaying coconut palms on coral ground beaches, with the distant sight of the ocean crashing against the atoll barrier, surrounded by “bommies” (coral heads) in deep, clear water.  

We were desperate to get our dive gear on and explore the underworld. We surprised ourselves that we equalised well, without pain and set off on an exploration. The clarity and the warmth of the water was wonderful and we settled into a comfortable dive……until, Stephen attracted a pesky Sharksucker, who was convinced that Stephen was his Mummy! The fish wouldn’t leave him alone, snuggling up against him. Unbeknown to Debbie, Stephen is fearful of birds flying at him and this applies to fish too. The “Dance of the Demented” was in full flow and Debbie was coughing and spluttering from hilarity (not easy to laugh underwater in scuba gear). We decided to abandon the dive due to the draining of our air tanks only to attract the attentions of a Black tipped reef shark. In typical shark manner it swam in circles getting closer and closer, sussing us out for chum. Debbie’s air tank depleted radically in her exuberant effort to get back to the boat as fast as she could. Meanwhile Stephen watched the shark glide past. Debbie is very comfortable swimming with sharks because she knows she can swim faster than Stephen!

The weather deteriorated considerably preventing us from getting into the water but this didn’t stop the dynamic duo taking “M” out through the pass to act as a guide for Manna. An added bonus during this feat was that we recognised Mazu II leaving the lagoon. We had last seen Peter in Victoria, BC getting ready for his abandoned solo circumnavigation. We spent a few minutes saying Hi and reacquainting ourselves with him and his lovely fiancé, promising him that we would let Ian and Susan Grant know of our meeting.

After several days of waiting for the wind and waves to abate we uneventfully lifted the anchor and went bommie and reef spotting, finding a kinder anchorage on the eastern side of the atoll. Here we enjoyed many hours in the water, either scrubbing the hull, playing, exploring and generally relaxing. Stephen and Curtis took a trip back across the lagoon to buy beer from the village shop, unfortunately their stocks were out but they were befriended by a local fisherman who took them to his home and offered them a huge fillet of Benito, welcoming them with a traditional shell necklace. That afternoon we took the BBQ, picnic hamper, wine and fish ashore for a beach barbecue, watching Hermit Crabs of various sizes seizing anything they could scavenge. In the shallows several young Moray Eels swam past looking menacing and Black tipped reef sharks were circling off the beach. We continually put off the departure date as the anchorage and snorkelling was idyllic but other atolls were calling to us.

Our next atoll was Raroia (Barclay de Tolley Island), an overnight sail with the chance to do some fishing. After 24 hours we hadn’t hooked a thing. The Passe Garue/Ngarue was huge, deep and with navigational markers for the channel and the anchorage off the small village. The villagers were some of the friendliest we had met so far. People would call out “Bonjour” as you passed their houses. The children were intrigued by us, asking our ages, wearing Debbie’s Prada's (gulp) and with massive smiles would depart to play football or in the girls’ case, practice their dance moves. We discovered the village shop and the proprietors allowed us to search in their freezers, chiller cabinets, under shelves etc. The shop was well provisioned and we covered most of our needs, plenty of beer, no eggs or gin but Pastis in abundance. The treats we found by ferreting around the magazin and our yelps of joy kept the shop owners amused. Fuel was available from the store, in fact any supplies we required, for if we stayed long enough the shop could obtain supplies from Tahiti. They had acquired an anchor chain for one of the cruisers in the atoll. Later in our stay, when Stephen was meeting the weekly flight from Tahiti, the shop owners wife appeared running the airport cafe. Here Stephen was offered a beer at 9am and was informed that some fishermen had spotted two Tiger Sharks outside the pass and that there were 200 people on the atoll. The children were schooled on the atoll until they were 11, then educated in either Makemo or Tahiti. 30 cruising boats visited each year, mostly European with two supply ships arriving each month. 

Stephen discovered that the drift dive in the pass was the best in the Tuamotus and what a beauty to do for our first experience. We ended up diving in the pass three times. The visibility was variable depending on each dive but the health and colours of the coral was fabulous. We drifted over ravines where sharks watched us as closely as we watched them. We sighted several different sharks, Black tipped reef and White tipped reef, Nurse and on the last dive a Lemon Shark. The huge numbers of different fish kept our heads swinging from side to side. Above us the juvenile Pipefish swam and erupting out of holes in the coral, huge Moray Eels displaying the upper third of their solid bodies catching food as it floated by. One was quite battle scarred, filling the hole with its bulk and spookily moving its head towards us, opening and closing its mouth flashing its sharp teeth when we were close. Reading about this behaviour suggests that it is not threatening or aggressive but a means of getting water to flow across their gills for respiration. The three dives threw up a few things to correct and practice, particularly Debbie’s buoyancy, which is work in progress and getting used to the fact that the current controls you.

During our time in Raroia we had the fortune to meet a Canadian boat, Sitka, with Chris and Jess, his parents and later two of their lovely friends, Nikko and Andrea. We spent a few days diving and generally having great fun. This involved all three boats traversing the atoll and anchoring on the eastern side where it was calm, very hot and unfortunately at times of the day, flies! Despite this we had moonlit BBQs on the beach with music and dancing; a late night party on Amelie and the chance during the day to do some snorkelling and discover the monument to Thor Heyerdahl”s Kontiki, which had grounded on the site in 1947. The site was on a forested Motu with many Fairy Terns flying overhead, squawking and fishing, obviously a nesting area.

Our last full day was spent just off the jetty back near the village, listening to some men drumming in a garden, the children getting a ride in Manna’s dinghy and the younger fishermen trying to trade with us for fishing stuff. Unfortunately the same guys were killing sharks and leaving them in the shallows of the lagoon, mindless killing which we were shocked at. Nevertheless, we loved this atoll and the love of the people, maybe a return visit is needed.

Next stop, Tahanea, over 140nm away, therefore a 24 hour sail and what a sail for fifteen hours…..flat seas, enough wind to fill the sails, doing between 6-7 knots and able to eat without food falling into your lap. Losing our second yankee has messed up our downwind sail plan, so the rest of the journey was rolly and slow. Nevertheless we arrived on time to go through the pass, Teavatapu Pass, a bubbling cauldron of water with gentle swirls to one side. We charged through with the engine revs at maximum and traversed the lagoon in a couple of hours. Tired, we anchored off a forested motu in crystal clear water but very little fish and the odd shark. Supposedly this is a marine park! During the time in this atoll we ticked off another first, drift snorkelling. The current in the various tiny passes was noticeable with little option but to glide with it, zooming past the odd marine life. Together with Manna we snorkelled some wonderful reefs with several of us watching a Spotted Moray Eel having dental hygiene from a small fish. Stephen and the others snorkelled a reef close to one of the passes and thought it was the best so far. A walk over one of the motus to the edge of the reef looking out to the ocean was fascinating. The exposed coral/lava seabed had huge cracks where the tide forced it’s way through the crevices and spilled over the drying rocks. The coral edge was bright pink with large neon blue fish frantically swimming away from the tide. Under rocks in the shallows were small, entwined Moray eels, slithering to the darker recesses. An unidentified crab with bright red eyes and a herring bone pattern underneath its upper body remained alert with it’s large pincers at the ready. Curtis named the crab “Satan”. Debbie innocently waded through some quicksand which quickly sucked her past her ankles and with some exertion she got herself out of the predicament. 

Amelie had a storming sail towards the atoll of Faaite, hoping to anchor in a bay close to the pass to enable us to make the pass on Fakarava the following day. Unfortunately the bay was untenable with huge waves pounding into the recess so we decided to take the Passe Teperioha into Faaite. Stephen calls these types of passes “butt clenchers” but as an experienced sailor and excellent helmsman he safely got us through. As we made the narrow, shallow pass, very close to Amelie were kids riding the enormous surf and standing in the shallows waving to us as we belted past them. We anchored off the bustling fishing village and enjoyed our short visit. The people welcomed us warmly, giving us advice where the three supermarkets were! An open air fish market was in progress, filleting cod caught in the lagoon, naturally we bought some. Stephen found some snorkelling fins his size at a reasonable price and managed to pay with US dollars and getting change in local currency which we desperately needed. We had a restful night at anchor and departed at dawn, only to find about twenty small fishing boats in our limited pathway, nearly going aground on the reef to avoid them we successfully transited the pass and within a few hours we had entered the southern pass at Fakarava (Tamakohua Pass) and anchored in a similar place to where we were 5 years ago. The village near by, Tetamanu, was the ancient capital of the island and the whole of Tuamotus but now comprises of a pension, cafe and a dive resort. Stephen was delighted that we’d done three atolls in 48 hours and two passes before breakfast. Travelling around this area you tend to reacquaint yourself with other cruisers. We passed some time with a Danish boat at Annabelle’s bar, sharing a bottle of wine and being entertained by one of the grumpiest people in FPI, “Smiling Susan”. Lo and behold we recognised another Oyster in the anchorage and it was heart warming to see Elvis Magic back at sea again. She had been our neighbour in Grenada back in 2014, in a poorly state, but we had the pleasure of meeting Neil and Karen Rock because of her and maintain our friendship by internet and catching up with them in St. Maartens. This time the owner Graham and his lovely wife Maeve were on board and with true Irish kindness they invited us aboard for coffee and we yarned for a good while about the last four years. We had often wondered about Elvis Magic’s fate and it was great to see her back on the ocean again, doing what Oysters do best, cruising in some of the loveliest parts of the world. Hopefully we will catch up with them again in New Zealand in 2019.

We traversed the lagoon, using the channel markers, to Rotoava village to retrieve our repaired boat computer from an Air Tahiti flight, also to spend a few more days with Manna and Sitka before they carry on to Tahiti. This area has good provisioning and reasonable WIFI but the real treat was restaurants of good quality, serving great Parisian cafe food in one and excellent grilled fish, steak and Chow Mein in another and traditional Crepes in a beach-fronted property. Fakarava Yacht Services was an informative and helpful set-up with comfy sofas to lounge on their veranda whilst on the internet. During one of these sessions, Debbie witnessed a local lad bringing in an enormous Coconut Crab for Fathers’ Day lunch. The markings on this creature were remarkable and the strength of this monster was alarming. 

Over our travels Stephen has visited various dental establishments and this time in Fakarava he had developed a huge tropical abscess on his side that required medical attention. Sitting in the open air waiting room with smokers lighting up their roll ups, a child playing in the sand, a JCB parking up for the driver to see the GP, Stephen was eventually called in. Over a week he was on huge quantities of antibiotics and then the abscess was drained. Stoically he gritted his teeth, having his wound packed and dressing changed daily (luckily he has a retired nurse on board) and all of this without a cent changing hands. Meanwhile we chilled at anchor, nipping into the bakery for pastries and walking the narrow atoll for exercise, alas no swimming or diving for the skipper.

With ten days of not being aquatic, we decided to up anchor and move southwards along the channel to a series of beautiful anchorages, meeting more international cruisers along the way. With one such boat, Caramor owned by Franco and Kath, we enjoyed many hours of laughter, food (including fabulous pizzas and one of Debbie’s favourites, baked New York Cheesecake), too much wine, sharing ideas, Kath helping Debbie with her French pronunciation, Franco giving excellent kayaking tips, games (Dixit) and generally having fun. We have already mentioned that our poor French has improved but that didn’t deter Debbie in her exuberance in welcoming a lovely French couple on board, Jacky and Juliette, with her introduction of “Je t'aime” (I love you) instead of “Je m’appelle (my name is)….”. It certainly broke the ice.

Our snorkelling escapades along “Shark Alley” in the south pass of Fakarava were of mixed visibility, swimming with a slight inbound current, sighting hundreds of different reef and several nurse sharks, idling around, checking out where they were having supper at twilight…..the subtle rhythm of life and death on the reef!  One shark continually twisted over showing it’s white underside, not sure what this behaviour was for….any ideas? The sharks came closer to us than on previous occasions, particularly in the shallows, turning off at the last second. We did not feel intimidated by this behaviour but extremely watchful.

We observed  Spotted Eagle Rays, gliding along, gently flapping their wings to change direction and later snaffling in the sand flats for hard-shelled clams, oysters and large gastropods, which they crush with their specialised dental plates. Several firsts on this trip were sightings of gigantic Napoleon and the ugly Humphead Wrasse. The sharks kept well clear of these two solitary fish mainly because they were bigger than them.

Communication with the UK has once again been an issue, particularly for Debbie. Many of the cruisers we met said it was a bonus that they could text their family and friends on a daily basis, alas we are unable to do that from Amelie. Understandably when we’ve had albeit weak WIFI we have striven to contact our family and friends. Weirdly we found a yacht services in a remote anchorage in Fakarava (Pakokota Yacht Services) who had the strongest WIFI and caught up with many of our loved ones, picking up news and generally having great Skype calls, from Amelie but no chance to upgrade apps (particularly Whatsapp which we rely on). First world problem! 

Whilst we were here, we spent many hours watching the Black Noddys fishing with the help of large blue tailed unidentified fish corralling the schools of minnows into a tight ball. Respites from this energetic display were taken on the bow of Amelie, clucking away to one another like a “mothers’ meeting”, pooping and regurgitating excessively. Once again Stephen in his bird scaring attire (sarong, Crocodile Dundee hat and cool shades) attempted to shift them, this time being polite….to no avail, kept Debbie entertained though! The bird life has been amazing in these atolls, many White (Fairy) terns, Sooty terns and as we traversed the lagoon we were followed by the beautiful Crested Terns. The odd Frigate bird makes an appearance with a few streamlined yet heavy Masked Boobies. It was here that we had a lot of Manta Ray activity close to the boat, feeding by “ram filtration”. The Rays swim through microscopic plankton with their oval mouths wide open.

One of the prettiest anchorages was Hirifa, 7nm from the south pass with a lagoon inside a lagoon, where we enjoyed kayaking with Franco and Jacky. Liza who is a bubbly Polynesian lady organised an evening at her place, on the beach, with the best Polynesian food ; roast pig, Poisson Cru, grilled fish, home grown cucumber salad, chicken and moist chocolate coconut cakes. Live music was provided by a fellow cruiser. Liza’s husband had cooked the pig all day, strapped to an old TV aerial with a rotary arm fixture over a wood fire, first soaking the pig with sea water and finishing it off with garlic butter. Her daughter sold her shell jewellery and made the most intricate woven displays from palm fronds to decorate the decking. Dancing was not an option that evening as the music was unknown American ballads but the ambience, sunset outlook and experience was something we will never forget.

Our last supper with Franco and Kath was anchored near the Pufana reef by the north pass, Garuae Pass (widest in the Tuamotus) in stormy conditions. Watching them traverse the pass at dawn, the next morning, brought a lump to our throats but we will meet them again but possibly not for a few years.

The sail to Kauehi (Vincennes Island) was initially comfortable and fast but soon we hit squalls and then beat into huge seas until we entered the atoll via the Arikitamiro Pass and had a fantastic sail across to Tearavero village in the north east. We had the anchorage to ourselves which had not happened since we arrived in the Tuamotus. Stormy clouds enhanced the colours all around us, the huge red and white church dominating the foreshore, a rickety wooden building atop the Toetoe motu (pearl farm), the reefs either side of us, darkly intimidating, white marker posts glinting in the late afternoon sun-rays in the background and smoke arising from the various properties on the shore. Tired and relieved of the silence surrounding us we slept for hours to be fresh for exploring our sixth atoll. Huge smiles met us from the villagers as we walked through their tidy village the following morning. Coconut husks formed neat walls near the slowly disintegrating concrete jetty with islands of brightly coloured fishing buoys adding to the delight of this settlement. The church and a few older buildings are traditionally made from blocks of coral sealed with coral limestone. We were stunned to find that we were able to buy fresh produce here. One magasin owner explained that he had a small garden where he successfully grew vegetables. This atoll is reputed for the high quality of Naissin (baby mother-of-pearl oysters) which are used in the culture of black pearls. There was evidence of Copra production in the village and Copra has been mentioned several times throughout our blog, so what is Copra? Copra is basically dried coconut meat for oil production introduced by the missionaries in the 1870s and remains of economic importance throughout the Polynesian islands. The people gather fallen coconuts, splitting them and leaving the halves out in the sun for a few days. The coconut meat is scooped out and arranged on Copra dryers which are elevated wooden racks with a movable roof to cover during rain storms (we last saw this type of contraption, albeit on a grander scale, at the Grenadian Chocolate Factory). The shavings are left until desiccated and then packed in sacks to be processed in Tahiti into Coconut oil. They encourage chickens to feed off the insects that gather on the copra.

Under a threatening sky we up anchored, losing one of our bow rollers in the process and then sailed south east across the lagoon to a secluded anchorage. The heavens opened as we dropped the anchor in coral sand, soaking us to the skin and the strong winds snatched Stephen’s Indiana Jones hat…..oh well back to the Billy Bunter peaked caps or worse still, the dreaded Tilly hat which the description of Stephen’s look would be politically incorrect to describe in this blog!

The water was crystal clear in this anchorage, the shoreline heavily forested by different species of tree and shrubs. The breadth of the atoll here was deep and the dense undergrowth gave us problems with  walking from the lagoon to the ocean side. The effort was worth it as the mighty force of the ocean was lashing the reef, pounding it with gigantic waves, filling every crevice, niche and rock pool. A track led back to the village and further away, to the south, lay sturdy yet uninhabited buildings. Were these left over from the black pearl boom back in the 1990s? The coral heads in the deep water were ecosystems to various species and size of fish, very much like little underwater villages. A huge Tahitian Stingray, with a long tapering tail (reported to be three times the measurement of it’s large body) used our swaying anchor chain to aid its food foraging. We decided to don our diving gear and incorporate some of Curtis’ suggestions, to correct buoyancy and alignment, so we used a mixed visibility dive as a technical dive. We felt very pleased with ourselves after an hour underwater, our kit was comfortable, our buoyancy corrected and we felt at one with the underwater environment. At dusk  the heady aroma of the flowers from the shore impregnated Amelie, making for a calm evening enjoying a nice meal, fabulous wine and a film.

Over many dives we circled the many coral heads and magnificent reefs watching a variety of fish species apparently living together in harmony (during the daylight hours at least). We saw many Camouflaged Groupers having a spa, being massaged by leaf coral, some appearing to be in a catatonic state; a few nosey large Triggerfish checked us out; flamboyant coloured varieties of Parrotfish tearing algae from the coral and then excreting thick clouds of calcium carbonate in our path; Shrimp Gobies and Blennies stayed near their sandy tunnels while their symbiotic companions, Snapping Shrimp, stayed within an antennae breath away; Goatfish with their extended chemoelectro-sensored barbels explored just beneath the sand to seek out food; huge Jacks, Tuna, Mackerels and Sea Bass idly swam past, mainly in schools. Once again we were welcomed by Sharksuckers throughout our dives, trying to attach themselves to us; a few reef sharks (much larger than ones we had seen previously) patrolling the reef system; several Spotted Eagle Rays and a massive Moray Eel raising its bulk out of it’s protective shelter, letting us know that they were there. After reading about the behaviour of Octopi, Debbie was keen to make a sighting. Some of the Octopi in these parts, are active during the day but are excellent at camouflaging or mimicking other creatures. A hint of the presence of an Octopus is evidence of their “dirty dishes” (mollusc and crustacean shells) piled up outside the entrance to their dens. We dived with Xavier several times who is a Dive Master and he gave us exercises for equalisation which have transformed our descent. We are going to use them for the flight to the UK although we resemble Groupers at times doing these exercises. Xavier and his stunning wife,Vero, live on their beautiful boat, Lydia Mary of Guernsey, for part of the year and they were fantastic company, sharing with us wonderful Spanish ham, Tortilla, bread and wine. We introduced them to Flapjacks and roast lamb. 

Time to move on and with little diesel we decided to bite the bullet and head straight to Tahiti, to make use of our duty free fuel certificate, organise a few Amelie jobs, shop for cigars, fresh food purchase and catch up with Manatee and her crew. We are also hoping to catch up with Carly who we had met in Cabo San Lucas earlier in the year.

The Tuomotus have made a huge impression on us, loving every minute of our time in these timeless atolls and saving a few to visit on our return journey from the Marquesas next March. 

Sadly, this time, none of our photos are of the magnificent diving since our underwater camera has died.  Having spoken with a number of cruisers a Gopro with an underwater case is the way to go so hopefully by the time we dive the Tuamotus again next year we’ll have some great underwater shots to share with you.