We departed Abemama in the morning on New Year’s Eve and had an easy, uneventful day sail to the nearby atoll of Aranuka. For reasons discussed in the following section, we decided to spend the night anchored on the outside of the atoll. Immediately after dropping anchor Brenden was in the water with his speargun, but unfortunately, he came back empty handed. Brenden is a very accomplished spearfisherman and a strong diver and swimmer, but I couldn’t help but keep one eye on him the whole time he was in the water by himself. I guess that’s just what moms do.
There was huge long period swell coming at us from the south, so it was a somewhat uncomfortable night out there. Tim tried to make up for it by looking for lobster, but no luck. He only saw one, and it got away.
For me, other than the fact that we were anchored on the outside of a remote atoll in the Pacific, this was a pretty unmemorable New Year’s Eve. I went to bed early to be well rested for our approach into the lagoon the next day. Tim and Brenden made a party of it though: they ran around the deck naked at midnight!
Sorry, no photos.
Gresham Family Exodus 