May 10-19, 2014
We went just a bit off the beaten path in the Tuamotus, and we made landfall in Raroia. After the crowded anchorages in The Marquesas, it was a welcome change. It was amazing. The quintessential remote tropical anchorage. We arrived a day ahead of our buddy boats, so when we arrived, we were truly alone.
Logbook – May 10, 2014 (Anaho to Raroia)
Passage Log Highlights
- 1255 Engines on
- 1300 Depart
- 1515 STBD engine off
- Port engine off
- 1928 Main (2 reefs) + genoa (1 reef)
- 2105 P engine on – 2205 off
- 2303 Main (2 reefs) + genoa (2 reefs)
- Min TWS – 9.6 kts E
- Max TWS – 20.2 kts E
Daily Notes
- Killed a bee. Not many bees, plenty of wasps. Tim bit on foot by wasp on hike in Fatu Hiva – stung by a bee in bed on the upper thigh/hip?
- Boarded by French Customs. Worried about alcohol quantities (didn’t declare everything in Atuona) OK. They only looked in bilges w/ finger holes
- 2 ft tuna
- Lots of squalls
Email to family and friends dated May 10, 2014
Subject: Adios Marquesas
We are planning to leave Anaho around noon today (Marquesan time) for the Tuamotos. Our planned first stop is the atoll of Raroia, and we expect it to take between 3 and 4 days. We want to arrive on the lee side of the atoll where the pass is by Wed morning in order to make it through the pass at slack tide around 12:30. We’ll have the inReach on so you can track our progress and I’ll send another email if any plans change. Right now Tim is trying to find a leak in our dinghy and I just finished preparing passage food and I’m doing all the other pre-passage activies (testing EPIRB, getting sails ready, etc.) The boys changed the water maker filters and cleaned the sea water strainer and are currently trying to talk me into having the day off from school. They took yesterday off to go on a hike with Kyle and Joel to collect mangoes, and would you believe they came back with 92 nice green ones? We are trying to take extra fruit to the Tuamotus, because unlike the Marquesas it is not very abundant and we want to share with the locals. Tim, Steve, Carolina, and I hiked over to an organic farm yesterday and picked our own green beans, lettuce, radishes, and eggplant, and we also got some tomatoes and peppers that were already picked. The part of the hike back that was along a trail just off the beach was amazing and I regret I didn’t have my camera with me. White sand, blue water contrasted with dramatic black volcanic boulders. No, it wasn’t a quick trip to the store for veggies, but it was a journey worth taking.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
At 5/9/2014 1:57 AM (utc) our position was 08°49.34’S 140°03.89’W
Logbook – May 11, 2014 (Anaho to Raroia)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0204 D–> T Main (2 reefs) + genoa (2 reefs)
- 1645 Main (2 reefs) + genoa (1 reef)
- Min TWS – 19.6 kts E
- Max TWS – 26.9 kts E
Daily Notes
- Day 2
Logbook – May 12, 2014 (Anaho to Raroia)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0851 Main (1 reef) + genoa (full)
- Min TWS – 16.7 kts E
- Max TWS – 16.7 kts E
Daily Notes
- Day 3
- Canadia/Australian terms I like and have adopted: bloody, fruit & veg, runners, swimmers
- Dusk – caught pacific bonito – big – let it go – 2 ‘ – 15 lbs
Email to family and friends dated May 12, 2014
Subject: Passage
Our passage to the Tuamotus has been a lumpy bumpy one, but we’re all hanging in there. Our first night we had winds in the 25-30 kt range, and then the whole second day was about 23-24 kts. Since then it’s calmed down and been pretty consistent 15-20. We still have one reef in the main and we’re still going 7.5-8 kts! The worst part is we have to keep hatches closed due to water splashing onto the deck, so it is bloody hot in the salon and cabins. We have made really good time, and we are on track to arrive tomorrow, a day earlier than originally planned. Unfortunately the rest of our pack slowed down early on, so they will all still arrive on Wed, so we will definitely be the first ones through the pass.
Yesterday was mother’s day, and we didn’t even know it, so Happy Mother’s Day to all of you special moms.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
At 5/12/2014 6:23 PM (utc) our position was 13°06.10’S 141°30.75’W
Logbook – May 13, 2014 (Anaho to Raroia)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0400 P engine on – zero wind
- 0420 P engine off
- 0712 P engine on – 0745 off
- 1211 Engines on
- 1451 Arrival Raroia – East side
- Min TWS – 7.8 kts NE
- Max TWS – 13.5 kts E
Daily Notes
- Day 4
- 7am – most beautiful rainbow, full color, full arc
- Wind seems to die on the backside of a squall
- Low – later – then incoming
- High – earlier – then outgoing
Logbook – May 14, 2014 (Raroia East)
Daily Notes
- Swapped propane to tank #2
- LC, TBV, Eleutheria arrived. Potluck on Exodus
- Guys – Coconut crabs
Email to family and friends dated May 14, 2014
Subject: Raroia
We successfully made it to anchor yesterday afternoon. We sure aren’t in the Marquesas anymore… The Tuamotus are atolls, so gone are the dramatic tropical landscapes. Here it is basically a ring of low lying land and coral with a few palm trees. Gone are the black sand beaches and murky water. Here there is white sand and the water is crystal clear. We are the only ones here at the moment, and I don’t mean just out of our pack I mean out of anyone. When we were outside the pass we tried hailing anyone on VHF ch. 16 just to get the low down on the pass, and there was no one. We quickly mastered all three dangers of the fire swamp… getting through the pass, visually navigating across the 6 mile wide lagoon through the coral heads, and visually navigating through a pearl farm with strings of underwater buoys just dying to foul our props. Now we are sitting in a stereotypical remote tropical paradise with a slight breeze and water lapping on the swim step. It’s a bit cooler here having dropped so many degrees in latitude. Last night Tim and I hung out on the net (Exodus foredeck) after sundown and I was actually a bit chilled. The only downside are the flies, which are everywhere and are numerous. Jen, I wish you could be here, this is your turquoise water paradise. Well, except for the sharks.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
At 5/14/2014 5:00 PM (utc) our position was 16°06.24’S 142°22.67’W
Logbook – May 15, 2014 (Raroia East)
Daily Notes
- Mini-pass dive – rapids, awesome snorkeling
Logbook – May 16, 2014 (Raroia East)
Daily Notes
- Best snorkeling ever on a coral head (bombie)
- Short school day. Boys rope swing on LC. B empties LC bilge for Worthers candies
- Pleasant family dinner. B eats all the cous cous. Fat belly wars.
Email to family and friends dated May 16, 2014
Subject: Snorkeling Bliss
(I am writing this Friday night, but most likely won’t transmit it until sometime on Saturday)
We have officially achieved snorkeling bliss. Today we snorkeled on and around one of the coral heads near where we are anchored and it was the most amazing snorkeling I’ve ever done (Including Grand Cayman, Colin). Water clarity was infinity. (OK, I’m exaggerating, but in a relative sense compared to Mexico, it may as well have been infinity.) I have now officially swam with sharks, ~3 ft black tipped reef sharks that want to have nothing to do with you, pretty anti-climatic. My favorite part were the giant clams with colorful wavy “lips” kind of like in a cartoon. One of the other boats here with us (The Beguine) went over to the pearl farm today and arranged for us all to go on a tour tomorrow, so that will circumvent school tomorrow. Looking forward to it.
P.S. In the middle of typing this, Steve (Lady Carolina) got on VHF and sang his Wind Turbine song. Yes, we have a lot of fun out here.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
At 5/14/2014 5:00 PM (utc) our position was 16°06.24’S 142°22.67’W
Logbook – May 17, 2014 (Raroia East to Raroia SE)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0957 Engines on
- 1002 Depart
- 1119 Arrive SE anchorage
Daily Notes
- Caught a carron leure underway
- Long line of coral extending from shore outward just N of the “anchorage. We went around it. Lots of coral heads, not very good holding – we dragged the anchor when we backed down.
- Mini pass just to the N of the anchorage
- Tour of pearl farm before we moved anchorages. Thanks to S/V The Beguine.
- T/Steve – scouted for lobster while D/Carolina drank wine on Exodus
Logbook – May 18, 2014 (Raroia SE to Raroia Near the Pass)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0857 Engines on
- 0901 Depart
- 1250 Arrive near pass on a bombie
Daily Notes
- Tim in the water as we dropped anchor on a bombie
- Pass dive x 3. Amazing visibility, fun riding the current. Tons of sharks, mostly black tip, some white tip, a few nurse sharks. Washing machine. Slack tide 1.5 hrs later than predicted.
Logbook – May 19, 2014 (Raroia Near the Pass)
Daily Notes
- 0615 – hailed a vessel approaching the pass – s/v Good News
- D/Carolina/Boys – dive on a bombie
- T/Steve/Kyle/B – Hookah in the pass (B passed Steve’s hookah test, Alex’s tooth hurt)
- s/v Skabenga rolled in at dusk
Email to family and friends dated May 19, 2014
Subject: Pass Dive
We did our first pass dive yesterday, and wow, what an experience. But first we had to navigate our way back across the atoll in less than ideal visibility and then try and find a spot to anchor near the pass. We thought we’d anchor near the town, which is about 2 miles from the pass and listed as an anchorage in the guidebook. But it was pretty deep and near shore, so we thought we’d look for something better near the pass. We didn’t find much, so we are actually anchored on small pinnacles (Lady Carolina on one, Exodus on another.) Tim dove in and inspected before we dropped anchor, and then he got back in the water when we anchored so he could place the anchor exactly where he wanted it. This is another example of how Alex and Brenden make us not a short handed crew, because we never could have done such a precision anchoring job without them. The wind’s blowing 15 knots and we have no protection from wind or fetch from across the 5 mile wide atoll, so it’s a bit bouncy. OK, on to the pass dive… We arrived at the pass in the dinghies pretty much right at slack tide, and once the current started up again (flowing into the atoll) we drove outside the pass, jumped in the water (each having our own line tied to the dingy), and rode the incoming tide all the way in. The visibility was amazing, and we saw all kinds of sea life. I was especially captivated by all the sharks. Not because I was afraid, but just because I’d never been so near so many at one time. I saw my first white tipped ones and even a nurse shark. I have to say Tim and the boys enjoyed the dive WAY more than I did, since they dive deeper and can hold their breath longer. But I had a lot of fun too, up until the end of the ride when we were in standing waves getting tossed around like a mixed salad. Anyway, it’s definitely one of those not to be missed experiences, and we’ll probably do it again today too. (Not sure when school is going to get done these days…)
Love and miss you all
-D.
At 5/19/2014 4:15 PM (utc) our position was 16°00.71’S 142°26.86’W
Gresham Family Exodus 