Lat S16deg37min/Long W143deg34min. We're safely anchored at Makemo Island, after going thru our first pass in the Tuamotus. (Arikitamiro; all the passes have a name, though we can't pronounce them!). We departed Rikitea May 4th thinking we'd stop at Hao Island, but strong winds and waves prevented us from doing so. A nearby motu, Amanu Island, was tempting, but again, we were stymied by strong weather. So, with little choice, we continued on for another two nights and went thru the pass here at Makemo at 0847 and were anchored in front of the village by 0915. The sight of five large windmills in the village shocked us, as they were probably the last thing we expected to see in the Tuamotus. Timing of your transit thru the passes of all these islands involves more, I think, black magic than art. It's important to time your passage as close to slack water as possible, as tidal outflows at some islands can reach 20 knots! Yikes! But, every guide book quoted a different methodology of calculating slack water, and everyone we met also was confused. So, you've got to figure the time of high tide, low tide, when the meridian passage of the moon is (no,I'm not kidding), and when moonrise and moonset are. Then you try to figure the passes of the motu itself....is it a large atoll like Makemo (40 miles in length and 10 miles wide (at it's widest point!), allowing a constant flux of water in, thereby shutting down all bets as to timing. It just goes on and on. We probably just got lucky, but we found this pass easy to navigate without any appreciable current against us, and had a small handkerchief of jib out in the 18 knots of wind forward of the beam. We had short tacked all night, and we used the computer nav. program (we're using Max Sea) to help calculate set and drift to allow us to be just off the pass at the time we wanted to be there. The weather cooperated, and our big problem was slowing the boat down! We had practiced heaving to, and used various sail combinations up during the afternoon, but I still wasn't happy. We were going just as fast under bare poles than with a small amount of jib out! At the time, winds were 20 knots, seas 4'-6'; not bad for around here! So, we're tired but very happy to be here. We've snorkeled the anchor, (crystal clear water!) and the chain is partially wrapped around a coral head, but that seems to be what it's like around this particular spot. We'll launch the dinghy and explore the town tomorrow, and possibly move to another anchorage in a day or so.
Btw, a short bit of Tuamotus factoids. Before the use of GPS and accurate charts, the islands here used to be called "The Dangerous Archipelago." Many ships sank due to uncharted reefs and unpredictable currents. Numerous coral heads lurk just beneath the surface inside the lagoons of most motus. But, the fishing, diving, and beaches are reputed to be excellent, and it's certainly far enough out of the way to not worry about an over abundance of tourists! There are 76 islands, of which 45 are inhabited and 29 atolls have airstrips. The Tuamotu Island chain runs from the SE to the NW, and lies between Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands, and are under French jurisdiction. Pearl cultivation, as well as copra harvesting, are found throughout the islands.
The picture is of when we were coming in the pass.
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