WE ARE THERE
Well almost. We are about 12nm north of the passage entrance for Raroia. Our first atoll in the Tuamotus. But all is not good.
A SQUALL IS CHASING US
It has been a wet and blustery night. The seas have not stirred up much, but ‘boy oh boy’ a lot of water came down with some pretty strong winds.
This was interspersed with some calm gentle sailing. It has brought us to our passage crossing right on time but the sky has filled with dark angry clouds again.
VISIBILITY
With the dark clouds overhead we no longer have the light we need to see the depth of the water ahead and any coral heads. Unless this clears we would be silly to attempt to cross the lagoon. We are hoping the rain will hold off long enough to let us make the passage with at least some semblance of visibility. The passage is wide enough and well charted, so we should still be able to enter the lagoon with reduced visibility, but traveling any further would be dangerous.
SO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?
Well I have had a talk with the humans and the smartest thing to do is anchor just inside the channel. There are a couple of small islands just to the north of the entrance with depths appropriate for anchoring. We will not have the visibility we would prefer to find good holding in a sandy bottom, but we should be able to find a spot to throw an anchor out with a bit of chain as a temporary anchorage.
If the clouds clear we can move. Either to a good sandy spot for the night, or if there is enough day light, across the lagoon to the Kon Tiki motu on the south east side. We will just have to play it by ear.
First step is to get through the passage safely. Then it is one step at a time after that.
I will fill you guys in on how the humans do in the next blog.
END
