Monday, May 18, 2015

Makemo Atoll

Anchor is down at Makemo Atoll!
Our first reef pass was exciting. While the ocean swell continuously throws water over the reef, the 300 square mile lagoon drains through only two passes. We had to time our approach carefully with tidal influence to avoid the max outgoing current of up to 9 knots! As it turned out, we had about 2 to 2.5 knots of current against us and the pass looked like a class II whitewater rapid. Manageable, but with coral reef on both sides of the pass and other reefs once inside, I easily attained "heightened awareness." Luckily, the Lil' Swede (our Volvo diesel) chugged right on through.
We're now anchored in perfectly clear water next to a group of friends we made in the Galapagos. They immediately delivered lunch to us and wished us well.
We sailed 530 miles in 5 days. Not the fastest, but we had light winds and had to slow down further to time our approach correctly.
We are anchored at:
S 16*37.7'
W 143*34.4'
speed: zero.
83* F
wind 10 kts.

Time for a swim and then a nap. This truly is the heart of the South Pacific.
Tomorrow we'll make a few repairs and find the scuba outfitter.

Martin

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5 comments:

  1. Yay, good going! Now you get to relax under some palm trees on your very own beach. I'd like to know if you think the number of sharks is excessive.

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    1. Hi Paul! When were you in the Tuomotus???? So far, the sharks at Makemo are manageable, mostly black tip reef sharks. But some of our friends just came here from Raroria and described the shark numbers as outrageous- Lexi

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  2. Sorry to hear about the electric autopilot. Hope it's a quick, cheap fix.
    Alice is very interested in coral reefs. Have fun diving!
    Jul

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  3. For your next leg, I'd like to send some of the wind here along it's way to you! A steady east (cold!) wind has been blowing for the last 4 days. Makes for good biking in one direction and challenging gardening conditions for itty bitty plants!

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  4. Hey Lexi and Martin, I sure hope you're liking it there as much as I did. I was on Fakarava for about a week in about 2005, and went to Moorea in about 2003. The reefs are amazing - so much color and life. I could have stayed in all day. Had an interview with a pair of sharks that is funny now.

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