Fakarava, Tuamotus Archepelago, French Polynesia – Fakan great fun out here

THE SAIL OVER

It is summer time in the South Pacific. Light winds, most of the time, interspersed with violent thunder storms. It has been a very dry winter, so all the local inhabitants of the atolls get real excited when there is enough rain to fill their reservoir tanks again. For us, living on a sailing boat, the light winds make it easy for us to anchor just about anywhere we want. But when we decide we want to go anywhere else, it can sometimes mean a long slow journey.
I am afraid that was the case on our sailing trip from Makemo to Fakarava. Light winds meant we traveled very slowly. The occasional dark cloud would pass over head, boasting our speed a bit, but usually we drifted along at about 2-3 knots. Not too much faster than a gentle stroll. The sea state was wonderfully calm, so we can not complain too much. In the end my ‘cheapo’ humans burnt a few litres of fossil fuels to make slack tide in the south pass of Fakarava atoll by mid afternoon the following day.

COMING IN THE SOUTH PASS (Passe Tumakohua) OF FAKARAVA

Coming into the South Pass of Fakarava is a little scary for deep drafted sailing vessels. Although the pass entrance is wide and deep the boating channel quickly becomes narrow and shallow (3.5m) over a coral bottom. With our keel hanging below us at 2m, everyone aboard was a little worried about hitting any coral heads sticking up. Once we got over the shallow spot everyone aboard could breath easier again.
They are trying to turn the atoll into a National Park. As part of this process the government has set up moorings just northeast of the pass to cut down on people anchoring. Luckily no one was around while my humans tried to remember how to set up the ropes, catch and tie onto a mooring buoy again. 16 30.366S 145 27.306W (you can cut and past this into google maps)

THINGS TO DO WHILE YOU ARE VISITING THE SOUTH PASS

The mooring area is pleasant enough. You are parked right up against the atolls ring reef with protection from all winds except from the north. The small sparely wooded motus along the reef are nothing special, but the lagoons and channels between them are fun to explore. There is also lots of fish life in the pinnacles of coral between the mooring field and the motu.
The village, on the island to the northeast of the channel, is interesting. Although the majority of occupants moved to the larger village in the north after a cyclone. Many builds have been rebuilt including a lovely church decked in shell art. A small dive resort dominates the western corner of the island. A friendly operation that welcomes visitors to use their facilities.
But the main reason anyone comes to visit the South Pass is to snorkel and dive. When we were there the visibility was excellent right down to 30-40m. Great coral walls, either side of the channel, and a deep sandy canyon full of sharks in the middle. There was also the expansive coral gardens of the shallower section of the boat channel. Protected from fishing, there were lots of big schools of fish. We loved the gentle giant Napoleon Wrasse. Laughed at the antics of the male triggerfish as they tried to defend their groomed piece of sand from other males while trying to attract the fancy of passing females. Marvelled as big tuna and jacks that just swam past us without a care in the world. Unfortunately we could not dive this time round, but from the surface we could watch divers passing over top of the groups of sharks in the depths of the canyon. Many of the sharks seemed to be taking advantage of the flowing current to rest on the bottom and take a nap? We will have to return when we can dive the pass.
The dive resort here has a small lagoon and dingy dock, out door rise off fresh water shower, a restaurant/bar and ‘pay as you go’ internet service. Everything is ‘over priced’, the internet is painfully slow, you have to book any meal in advance and they close service from 12:30-5pm….but hey…it is better than nothing! You are rinsed clean of salt water. You are hanging out in a great shaded area buit right over the pass. They let you stay even after they close and you can watch all the fish, boats and the current go by.

TOO MUCH TO SEE AND NOT ENOUGH TIME TO SEE IT ALL

Unfortunately the humans are on a bit of a schedule. They are trying to get to the main island of Tahiti before everything closes down for the Christmas holidays. That means we do not have as much time as we would like to see everything in Fakarava. But thankfully the island if fairly easy to sail back to, so we should be able to come back and see more again. So we missed out of visiting the caves of Hirifa, in the south east corner and stopping at all the other lovely islands, strung like pearls, along the eastern edge of the atoll.

SAILING IN AN ATOLL

What we lost in stopping we made up for in enjoying the sailing. Fakarava is one of the few atolls with clearly buoyed shipping channels through it’s lagoon. These channels are clear of any coral bommies making sailing here much easier and safer. As the waters here are completely surrounded by a protective reef they are usually calm and flat. As the reefs and islands here are very low lying, there is nothing much to block the wind, making perfect sailing conditions to GO FAST! With the a lagoon over 30nm long my humans took full advantage of the conditions to have a little fun. That was until they looked up at the foresail and noticed something was wrong.

RULE NUMBER ONE IN CRUISING – STUFF IS ALWAYS BREAKING

Looking up the foil of the foresail furler, it was evident to the humans that the grub screws that hold the foil in place were working their way out due to strain and vibration. Not good. Needs sorting. So we stopped off at the lovely Pakota Yacht Services half way up the lagoon. 16 13.547S 145 33.441W. For anyone not into fixing boats, you can jump now to the next topic. Any one interested, fixing the foil it is not easy. You have to drop the foresail, but the grub screws will block the head unit from coming down. So you need someone to go up and detach the sail at the top. But then it drops uncontrolled (Opps, been there, done that). So it is best if you bring a spare hallard up to control the descent and avoid the sail falling into the sea on one side.
I do not climb masts, so I volunteered the humans to do the job. I supervised. So I sent one of the humans up with: Alan keys
Piers
Locktight
Kitchen towels
Safety harness strap
Camera (while you are up there)
Spare hallard
Bosun’s chair
With one human up the mast and one down below I instructed them to unfurl the foresail. I got the human up top to attach the new hallard to the top webbing strap of the sail and disconnect if from the top furler block. Then the sail was slowly lowered onto the deck. Then I got the human at the top to attach a safety strap around the furler for the decent. They then slowly descended the furler foil, dragging the top block with them. They stopped at each set of grub screws, removed them, cleaned them, applied Locktight and reinserted them. All the way to the bottom. The safety strap is just in case they slip. As the furler is angled further and further from the mast a ‘pendulum’ effect starts. If they slip they will swing back and hit the mast. So the safety line is a good idea here! Unfortunately the top of the sail got damaged. So I had to get them to fix that before it went back up.

OFF AGAIN

So off we were again, heading north through the lagoon. In the human’s need for speed they got all the canvas out and we were charging along. Blue skys, not a ripple on the waters surface and heeled over at 7.5 knots again. You just know something else is going to go wrong. This time it was the auto pilot. Error msg on the the controller and the motor did not sound right. So we left it off and hand steered for the remainder of the trip up to the main village, in the northeastern corner of the atoll.

THE VILLAGE OF ROTOAVA

Like the South Pass and Pakota Yacht Services, there are mooring buoys for visiting vessels at the village. But with the arrival of the weekly supply ship, every vessel in the atoll seemed to be in attendance, so we anchored just south of everyone. 16 03.953S 145 37.104W
Fearful the village would be emptied out of any fresh veg before night fall, we headed out to pick a few things up first. Glad we did. We found some nice salad greens, tomatoes, white raddishes and carrots. The following day all that was left was potatoes, onions and pumpkin.

BOAT JOBS OVER SIGHT SEEING

If only there was enough time to do everything. You would think this ‘not working’ and cruising thing would be all very relaxing. The humans were hoping to take one of the FREE pearl farm tours offered here, but instead they were stuck fixing the auto pilot. Like most jobs on a boat, it is never the fixing job, but the actual getting at the unit that is the hardest part. The auto-helm unit is under the bed in the master cabin. Where most people would store their money under the mattress, my humans have taken to storing sheets of marine ply and off cuts. It all has to come out first to gain access. Glad things rarely go wrong with our auto pilot. A few screw tightened here (rudder feedback unit) a big burp from the hydraulic lines (air bubble from heeling over too much) and the auto helm was ready for sea trial. But of course a rain storm hit.

DO NOT TRAVEL IN ATOLL LAGOONS WITH OUT GOOD LIGHT

Between the rain, when the clouds cleared, the humans lifted anchor and headed over to the North Pass (Passe Garue). The auto pilot was back on form and the humans promised not to be so mean to it in the future. We took one of the two mooring balls by the pass just as a terrible thunder storm hit. It is surprising how the winds of the storm quickly whipped up the lagoon waters. Hopefully some of the video shots came up so I can add them later for you.

THE NORTH PASS

As the North Pass is closer to the village, and a few small resorts, it is a popular dive sight. The anchorage is only a short dingy ride from the pass, but is set in a very nice location. 16 04.497S 145 41.882W There is a sandy beach and lovely picnic area popular with the locals living near by. The peninsula is very narrow and there is a sandy road you can walk to the channel or back towards the atolls light house.
My last chance to get in some walks before we hit the ‘big city’ of Papeete in Tahiti. The humans are in a rush, because of the light winds and the approaching Christmas holidays, so they only had a day here to explore. They were nice enough to forgo snorkeling to let me have a long day of exploring ashore instead. See, they do love me. Perhaps it was the overcast skies that prompted them to be more accommodating?

OFF AGAIN

So the humans are dragging me off again. We are off this afternoon, on the slack current in the pass at 11:18am for the big island of Tahiti. The capitol of French Polynesia. We will keep you updated on how it goes. Only 250 nm, but with the light temperamental winds, it could be a long trip?

PLANNING TO HAVE VISITORS?

If you would like to have friends or family visit you in the Tuamotu Atolls, this is a great place for that. There are daily flights from Tahiti to Fakarava for about $300 US/rtn (half price for Seniors). There is an anchorage right outside the airport, but also pick up service available in the village and at Pakoto Yacht Services. The sailing here is flat and easy for most guests and there are a multitude of anchorages to suit every ones tastes and outdoor pursuits. Most of the dive centres charge $75/dive (less for group/multiple bookings).

 

 

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