Aqua Pig

I knew immediately there was trouble when Mart returned from a paddle in the outrigger, tapped on the hull with his paddle, and said, "I've got a present for you." I was initially hopeful (he found a black pearl??) and then suspicious (a present after paddling?) Then I heard the scurrying from inside the foot box of the canoe and understood that this was definitely not a pearl.

Martin reported that about 200 yards away from shore and 4K south of our anchorage he saw a dozen sea birds circling and diving at something. Curious, he paddled a bit closer and saw that it looked like something was swimming, something was trying desperately to keep its' head above water. He paddled up next to the fracas and found, with surprise (and immediately named) Aqua Pig! The little piglet was swimming for his life. Somehow, he had fallen into the ocean and decided to try to swim to Tahiti. He was, without Mart's help, not going to make it. So Martin gallantly scooped him up, put him in the canoe and brought him home. Home, to our boat. 

We quickly found a local gal who liked the little guy ( Oh!!! Couchon!!), and adopted him to grow big and strong and probably someday become a merry feast for many. Poor little guy. 

The rest of the week has been just diving; barracuda, grey sharks and big eye fish. We're also enjoying the local fruits, including melons. The last pic is of laundry day on Kauehi, lots o' good times in the tropics.

Kauehi recap

Kauehi was like a 10 day dream. We had the atoll to ourselves and anchored at an ultra protected spot. We stayed a bit longer than planned so we could do some diving outside the pass and enjoy the solitude. Now we're back in Fakarava, land of decent wi-fi, stores with some fresh veg and... more diving.

Day sail to Fakarava

Today the anchor was up at 8am for a 46nm run to the north pass of Fakarava. We exited the pass at Kauehi atoll exactly at slack current, an event not so easily planned. The sail was almost straight down wind with 20+ knots from the east. Certainly a windy day.
As we entered the pass at Fakarava, another boat captain seemed to be waving a bit too much. It turns out that he was pointing at the huge whale that was approaching us from the other direction. The humpback dove and swam beneath and behind Pau Hana, less than 2 boat lengths away. Amazing.
We're now tied to a mooring at the village of Rotoava. The town installed 8 moorings since we were here last year. These are convenient to tie to, as the anchorage area is a forest of coral heads that anchor chains readily tangle upon. Last year I had to use my scuba equipment to retrieve our anchor.
We are at:
S 16*03'
W 145*37'

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goin' to town!

After a few days of paddling and swimming at the SE corner of Kauehi Atoll, Pau Hana has moved north to the village of Tearavero.
We met the local dive operator, a French guy who lives on his boat, so hopefully we'll do some diving at Arikitamiro Pass soon. There is reportedly a store and post office here. The post offices are the best likelihood of internet access and air conditioning!
We are at S15*49.5' W145*07'
Martin

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