Thank you so much Joe, Lara,Cobin, Marin, Tully and Charm. We had an amazing month with you. Charm a beautiful and fast Outremer 55.
During our time on Sardinia a few years ago we had met a family from America who we got on really well with. We had stayed in touch and it was really lovely to get an email from them with a rather astonishing proposition. Originally we had planned to meet them in the Caribbean to traverse the Panama together but as we didn’t do the Atlantic this cancelled those plans. Joe and Lara and their family on Charm however continued with their plans but expanded them somewhat. They had enrolled to undertake the World Arc. This is a round the world rally from St Lucia and back requiring lots of different legs to make up the whole. The email we received was asking if we would like to join them on the leg which crossed the Indian Ocean, from memory(which is not what it once was) this would take 50+ days at sea. Now for someone who is struggling to agree to undertake 15-18 days at sea to cross the Atlantic, a journey of this magnitude was not one I could get excited about. I told Howard my feelings on it but encouraged him to follow his dream of crossing an ocean and go for it. I could look after our boat and the girls whilst he was off adventuring. After reading up about the crossing done by others and also talking with those who had first hand experience here in Licata of crossing the Indian Ocean, he was persuaded that he too did not desire to undertake such a trip. With heavy hearts we declined the offer but wished them all the luck with their adventure and to stay in touch. However, they replied back that declining was not an answer they would accept and offered up an alternative proposition- sailing in the South Pacific. Well, what an opportunity, who could say no to such a wonderful and generous offer. So we started researching flights to and from and were rather taken aback at the cost but we knew it was a chance in a lifetime for us as I believe we won’t get there in our own boat. Flights were booked from Sicily to Uk, UK to Paris, Paris to LA, LA to Tahiti and back again, it was going to be a long journey but an experience never to forget. So, for one month we would be at the other-side of the world, to sail on a catamaran with a family of 5 we had only met for a short while 2 years ago. How surreal is that?
Before we knew it, we were heading back to the Uk again to spend a few days with family then making our way half way around the world to meet our friends. Air francs were fabulous, great service, clean planes and helpful staff. Attentive to the children’s needs on such long flights too. We had a 3 hr bus ride from Colchester to LHR, an hr flight then an 8.5hr flight followed by a 10.5hr flight with a time zone difference of 12 hours backwards! This really messed with the body clocks. Howard and the girls struggled more with this than I did but after 3 days in an apartment in Tahiti Ll of us were in the swing of the time zone. The heat however was a totally different matter, at 06:00 it was usually 26 degrees and rising – very hot but we would soon be on yet another flight. This one a short internal hop from Tahiti to Fakarva, to meet up with our friends. 45 minutes on a small plane, flying over atolls which are a marvel to look at from the sky and we are landing with crystal clear water, white sand beaches and palm trees waving in the breeze. Our luggage was all hand loaded off the plane and not wooden racking where you just collected it. No customs to traverse or officials to try to communicate with, pure bliss already. Now to find the sign…….we were instructed by Lara to look for a lady with a sign for Tatumanu lodge which was where Charm was currently anchored. She would collect us and transport us to them, this however meant a 45 minute ride in the back of an open sided truck (which gladly stopped at the only shop on the way) in the soaring heat and then an hour boat ride. This was an aluminium boat with plastic patio chairs bolted to the floor and driven at full speed across the water, not the most comfortable ride ever. It was bumpy to say the least but a good introduction to the inside of a reefed island waters. We finally arrived to be met by our friends all sitting patiently on the pontoon of the lodge. What a way to be greeted – 5 smiling faces under a beautiful blue sky and a back drop of a handmade lodge. WOW? Fish were clearly visible under the pontoons as we unloaded our cases onto them. We have learnt to travel light, we only had 30kg for the 4 of us and this was in 3 small cabin sized bags too. Lara was impressed. The girls immediately wanted to get in the water to cool off from the heat of the day but instead were entertained by Joe jumping into the water with sharks around his legs. Wine was poured, reacquaintance made and soon sounds of 5 children playing happily together wafted across the breeze. Inhale, exhale, relax.
Tatumanu lodge was delightful. It’s a handmade cabin on the edge of the water where they have a kitchen and bar and seating areas over the sea. The cruising community made this a stop on their itinerary and I could not blame them. A huge spread of food was soon served up and you helped yourself to the wares as often as it would allow. Tropical fish swam underneath and sharks dipped in and out of the shallows. Pure paradise.
After being nourished we did what all mothers tell their children not to do (including myself) we went swimming on full stomachs. Well, not swimming exactly. We all got into our swimming stuff, loaded into Lucky (Charms dinghy) which Joe then motored a few hundred yards towards one of the passes in the reef and we all jumped out into the water. The current passing into and out of the Atoll is so great that there wasn’t any effort required on our parts to swim, you just floated back towards Charm whilst snorkelling. The colours of the coral were breathtaking, the water as clear as crystal, the black tipped reef sharks HUGE and the variety of the fish amazing. A superb introduction to what we had in store for the next month.
After being shown to our cabins and had time to unpack we were given an introduction on where things were kept on Charm and how they managed their daily routine. We soon settled into life on board a Cat. It has much more free space than we have on Arctic Fern, it sits flat in the water so at anchor there is hardly any movement and to fall off her you would really need to be in a dire state as she is so broad. What she was like to sail would have to wait as the island and its charms were beckoning us all.
Routines set in, schooling, provisioning, playing and boat repairs, all with varying degrees of success. Joe and I were paired to do dinner and Howard was with Lara on the alternate days just to change things a bit for them too.
Repairs to a very badly ripped spinnaker( a huge sail made from kite type material flown in light winds) were needed but first we had to establish exactly what needed doing. Joe, Howard and I took the sail to the only place on the Atoll with a sewing machine I could potentially use to repair it and used their field to lay it out. The extent of the rip was huge, not only rips but whole panels gone, this was going to be a massive reconstruction and one that needed to be done precisely or the sail would not fly correctly. Just as we had everything laid out so we could begin the tedious task of sticking bits back together before sewing, the heavens opened and it was drenched as well as us. We took shelter in a barn and watched the sail getting wetter and wetter, nothing was going to stick to that now. So, we packed it all back up again, twigs and all, and trudged back to Charm in subtropical conditions rather dejected at not completing the task but happy that we knew what was needed to rectify the rips etc.
Next challenge for the day was refuelling. The supply ships would usually arrive once or twice a week depending on the size of the island / Atoll. When you need fuel on a boat like Charm, you had to prebook it onto the supply ship and they transport it from the main island of Tahiti to your island in drums. The transfer of this from the ship is then the real interesting or challenging part. We had to berth alongside the supply ship which was the size of a small container ship, then pump the fuel across their stern into Charms tanks. The pipe, as you can imagine having sat on the floor of a commercial ship, was filthy. It was smeared with old diesel, oil and grease along its length leaving a line of yuk all along charms rear quarters. Just lifting it covered you in the dark brown goo. However, the pipe wasn’t quite long enough to span the distance to the port tank so we had to pump it into jerry cans which Howard then had to empty into the actual tank for the process to be repeated until the full amount ordered was transferred. All this done with a smile and a wave. Makes pulling up to a pontoon with a bit of side wind seem rather trivial.
General food provisioning was also a challenge. Unless you were at the shop by 06:00 on most islands, you would not have any fresh bread for the day. Lara used to do this trek on the paddle board in the hope that she would also be lucky enough to get some pastries too, she was never that lucky unfortunately but fresh baguettes usually came back with her. I was amazed at the Asian influence in the stores for cooking. In the med it’s usually impossible to find anything and especially so in Italy who seem to have total aversion to international cuisine ingredients. As I enjoy cooking Thai food, I was really happy to find everything to make a thai curry although I am not sure the children on Charm we too happy though. The only ones to try it when I had prepared it all was our own daughter Olivia. Oh well, all the adults thoroughly enjoyed it.
Now Tahiti and its islands are known all over the world for their pearls, so we couldn’t come all this way and not visit a pearl farm could we. Here on Fakarava they do a lottery at one of the farms on a Friday, so we decided to go along with a few others from the Arc group. We arrived on the small finger pontoon used as the docking area for the farm and entered the wooden hut where an employee was already in full flow explaining the process of pearl formation. This was all done in French, so hard for us to understand being non fluent in the language, however we got the gist that a natural pearl is formed when an intruder, usually a grain of sand, enters the oyster. To try to eradicate the annoyance of this particle the oyster coats this over a long period who’s creating a natural pearl. The colour is dependant on where the particle ends up inside the shell as the membrane inside is darkest further to the edge and lighter as it gets into the centre. A cultured pearl however is created by human intervention. An oyster is inserted with a particle- usually a small plastic head, by a surgeon, who are usually Japanese as they have the delicate touch required apparently. The implement used reminded me of the instrument used during a cervical examination, so I felt an empathy with the oyster. I wonder if they too were told to relax! Anyway, I digress……back to the lottery. It had a two fold meaning in the day we chose to attend. 1:- would you actually get an oyster and 2:- would it contain a hidden gem. Before we knew it, the French speaking within the group all suddenly lunged for the table containing the oysters available. Luckily Olivia grabbed the one nearest to her and Lara managed to grab 2 more for their family, so 3 out of 9 wasn’t bad odds, we had made the cut for the first half of the lottery, yay. The second part required the oyster to be pried open and seeing if the Japanese surgeons had indeed been successful in their artificial insemination process. Lots of oohs and arghs could soon be heard around the otherwise hushed hut as oysters were opened and tenor treasures revealed. Olivia’s turn came and once opened she was not disappointed, she was blessed with a large teardrop shaped pearl, the colour of a cloudy raindrop, iridescent and beautiful. She was delighted but immediately stated that she would share it with her sister. Lara’s two oysters both contained pearls and Cobin gave his pearl to his little sister Tully so she wasn’t left out. The farm had the enterprise well under control and part of the lottery was that you could have your pearl made into either a bracelet or necklace, so we made our way to the shop face to organise this for all concerned. There were some really eye catching designs and Cobin was particularly taken with a gold net basket containing a pearl as a charm to be hung onto his backpack, but at the price they were asking it was a rather expensive trinket. So he had to be happy that he had been a fabulous big brother and hope we could find something else for him. Jessica’s eyes were taken by a pearl hung simply on a blue chord necklace so we purchased this for her in the hope that she would retell the story of why she had it and where it had come from to her own children and then grandchildren when the time comes, if not at least to her nieces and nephews when visiting her sister.
As if this was not enough excitement for one day, we had been invited to join another family, also taking part in the Arc, for a meal at a restaurant on the island that evening. So duly washed and dressed we ran the gauntlet of the sole coral heads ( called bombies) in the dinghy to only be told by the place we thought we could leave it safely that actually we could not. So, I walked the road, whilst Joe and Cobin took to the dinghy again. In the pitch black, I scoured the shoreline for a gap in the reef to safely bring the dinghy ashore, whilst the boys were busy dodging the heads. We managed to find a place a few minutes walk from the agreed pickup point, lifted lucky ashore and tied up to a coconut palm. It’s funny how self preservation kicks in for some people though. There was a closer spot we could have come into but we were instructed by another crew that this was not suitable, only to find that on the walk back to the pickup point we saw they themselves had brought their dinghy in to that point. The cheek of it.
Anyway, after waiting a few minutes the chap arrived only to inform us that his truck was not working well and he had asked for another driver to come and transport us instead. Dutiful chap that Joe is, he asked the guy what the issue was, bonnet was lifted, battery terminals played with but all to no avail. But, a lightbulb moment struck, the truck was a manual so let’s give it a push!. So, 3 families pushed, told the guy to jump the clutch and we were in business, just as the rain started to fall. We never did pass another vehicle on the way to the restaurant so not sure where the other driver was coming from. The restaurant was on the total opposite of the island and set over water so that when you looked through the balustrade you could see the tropical fish dipping in and out of the shallows. The actual building was banana leaf thatched, built on stilts and had a very simple menu of either steak or fish cooked in a variety of ways. This made us feel that it would be sublime, we were sadly mistaken as much of the meals were left untouched. Such a shame but it all adds to the experience as a whole. We left Fakarava the following day towards a small atoll owned by one family with a rather bizarre story.
Toau – said too ah ooo is owned by a lady called Valentine and her husband. How cool is that, owning your own island in a piece of paradise, but how she came to be here is rather a testing story zone she is happy to recount to all who ask her permission to come ashore.
When she was a small child in Tahiti, her grandfather believed she was not loved by her parents so he took her from them. They duly took her back and tried to move so he could not find them. However, he managed to once again take her from them and they in turn found and took her back. This time though the parents were leaving nothing to chance and packed their belongings into a small boat with as much fuel as they could muster, provisions and also a pig. They then set off into the ocean. They travelled for days when the pig started making noises. They dropped it over the side and followed it, apparently pigs will find land when at sea. So with their GPS (the word pigs without the I please note) they made landfall at this small atoll. Here they were safe from the grandfather who eventually found where they were and was finally satisfied that she was indeed loved and looked after. The family forgave the grandfather and all was well. Valentine lives on this atoll today with her own husband and sons and millions of hermit crabs for company. She also has several pigs, not sure if any are a descendent of the one used to find the land and chickens too. They have a very simple existence, fishing and living off what they can grow which isn’t much considering the island is formed from coral. They have a large coconut plantation but not much else that we could see. The supply ship comes to them once every few weeks and she makes a further living from the sailboats dropping anchor in the bay. She runs a small restaurant from her own kitchen and eats with those who attend the meal. We decided that the children would probably not eat the local food, preferring western fare on board Charm, so the adults went ashore for the meal leaving the children to themselves, a rare treat.
Delicious Canapés were served whilst hermit crabs scuttled around your feet and mosquitos buzzed around your head. Several boats were in the bay and most of them were on land for the meal. Valentine had her work cut out tonight, there were 20 people to feed of varying nationalities. British, American, Swiss, Dutch, German and Swedish were all present, it was rather a noisy evening. The food was fabulous, the company pleasant and the surroundings sublime. We left feeling relaxed, happy and lucky. Back in the boat the children had made themselves chocolate cup cake for dessert and were into a film when we interrupted them.
The water here was as clear as we had seen it so snorkelling gear was donned and we all got in. The reef and coral were fabulous yet again, so much life in such a small space. The fish had no fear of us, in fact we were more concerned about them than the other way around. We spotted puffers of various sizes, different coloured corals and loads of fish seen by us in tanks normally, swimming freely in the water. Whilst just floating I spotted a large shape below me and tapped Jessica who was just to my left. We followed the dark object and soon realised it was a massive fish, from the top it looked like a huge puffer fish which can be aggressive but it soon became apparent that it was neither. We signalled for the others to come and see and photos were taken. Once back at the boat, we identified it as a porcupine fish and a very large specimen at that. We heard a tapping on the side of the boat and upon investigation there were 4 people in a dinghy holding a fish out. They had speared it did not require it and were asking if we could use it. We took it from them but I was rather annoyed to think they had killed something that was not needed just for the sake of it. That should not be a correct method in any boaters mindset, as they guys were. Sustainable resources only not just to show off the fact you can use your gun!. The poor parrot fish was once a beautiful specimen. It’s colours an iridescent turquoise with streaks of aquamarine. It had been dead too long to eat so it’s life was wasted in a way, we decided to use it as a biology lesson for the children. I donned my fish wives stance and sliced open the belly. Lara was reading from the science book about all the parts we should be able to identify, the children all stood there holding their noses, it was rather comical to say the least. Livvy got her hands dirty and grabbed the intestine and liver. We all tried really hard to force open its beak but it was too rigid to manage which was a shame. So the parrot fish was dissected and returned to its place in the sea to become food for other fish. I think it would have preferred to have its life personally. Just shows what a wasteful society we have become that human beings don’t even consider such a thought.
We depart from this atoll for a long trip to Rangiroa.
Following a rather long sail we arrive at Rangiroa. The atoll consists of about 415 motus (uninhabited white sandy beached islands) islets and sandbars comprising a total land area of about 170 km². There are approximately one hundred narrow passages (passes), called hoa, in the fringing reef. The lagoon has a maximum depth of 35 m and its surface is 1446 km². It is so large that it has its own horizon. Due to its shallow depth, the currents that come in and out through the passes and with the strong winds can sometimes create interior storms.
Only two islands, at the northern end of the atoll, are permanently inhabited. They are separated by the major Tiputa pass. The other major pass of the atoll is Avaturo pass immediately to the west of the island of Avatoru.
Rangiroa is a major underwater diving destination because of the lagoon’s clear blue water and exceptionally diverse marine life, in fact some friends told us to snorkel the natural aquarium as its awesome (their words).
So we reach the pass to enter, all a little jaded from the day and a half sail, it’s fearsome. The current is so strong and inside you can see surf breaking on the reef, everyone was silent as we made our way in. Concentration levels are heightened when doing these entrances and exits, you never know what the under current is going to do to you. Luckily once inside the first part, we managed to find a shallower route into the main lagoon. A large expanse of pure blue opened up before us surrounded by palm trees and white sand beaches. Lots of boats were anchored and the supply ship was also in, a good sign. That meant the shops would be well stocked!.
We motor to a spot and drop anchor, bridle on and relax. Children dip into the water and adults grab a beer. Life is good.
Venturing into the village was fun. We docked the dinghy against the wharf and walked up the dirt track passing a couple of cafes on the way as well as a scuba diving shack. The shops were on opposite sides of the track and interestingly dependant on what you wanted some things were much cheaper in one than the other and vice versus. I think they had worked it out between them to ensure they had equal trade. So restock of the freezer and beer fridge as well as bubblegum supplies for Cobin.
On the way back to the dinghy we stopped off at one of the cafes. Lily’s had a nice menu and we stopped for lunch. The food took a while to get to us but it was delicious once it arrived. We asked if she opened in the evenings to be told only if you have 10 people. We were already 9 but asked some of the other Arc boats if they would like to join us and soon we had booked for 19 for the following evening.
Another day and what to do? Well the natural aquarium was calling so we all piled into lucky and motored across the lagoon to the buoyed field that marked the aquarium reserve. It was an interesting concept, gallon drums were sunk into the water with signs hung on them under water telling you about the reefs makeup and the diverse animals that survive around it. The only issue was the strength of the current. It was very strong so the smaller ones in the group had to have piggy backs on the adults to both keep up and not be dragged out to sea. Some of the fish were rather aggressive. Howard was filming underwater when he suddenly made a rapid backward movement and you could hear him shouting in his face mask. There was a huge shoal of fish around him but one in particular took a dislike to the intruder. It was a Titan triggerfish, an aggressive and territorial species who are not afraid to literally “get in your face”. It did this several times to Howard who being much bigger than it by several pounds and feet shied away and fled!. Jessica too was having an issue. Up until last year she did not like getting in the water if there were fish around, which is not too much of an issue in the med but here there were hundreds. She was just about managing to cope until they started biting! She soon jumped back into the dinghy. Cobin thought he could help her and enticed her back in (actually he pulled her back in from the dinghy) but kept with her and kept asking if she was ok. All was fine until Joe decided to throw in some bread we had taken out to the reef and there was a sudden feeding frenzy all around Jessica. She was screaming and panicking, thrashing around trying to get them to move away so she could get to the dinghy. Cobin was trying his best to assist her but there were too many. She reached the dinghy and refused to get back in the way again and gave Joe a telling off too. No harm done but I don’t think helped her with the fear of fish in the water problem.
Soon it was time to leave and head for the scheduled meet up of the Arc fleet in Tahiti. A decent sailing distance which would take us over a day to do. In Arctic it would take considerably longer but Charm seems to eat up the miles without you realising it.
Night shift routine kicks in around 6pm. So first shift is 18:00-20:00 then a two hourly rotation until 08:00. This was shared with the adults although Lara does the 22:00-24:00 shift and doesn’t come back on again until daytime. So Joe Howard and I had most of the nighttime hours. Usually when night sailing in the med its fishing pots and other boats to watch out for whereas things you have to watch out for here in the Pacific are the squalls that creep up on you. The sky always has an amount of cloud cover so it can be hard to distinguish to those not used to ocean sailing, like us, but the clouds that appear darker than the rest are those squalls building. They can be vicious in their delivery and get you very wet if you get in them. Not only that, they play havoc with your sail plan and make you have to work harder to keep the boat safe. It becomes a night of dodging these dark clouds and enjoying (in my case anyway) the extra push of wind they give you when your in front of them. We did go through one a bit though, I was woken by the downpour hammering through the open window and to Joe pulling on a line when it wasn’t his watch. Suddenly there were all 4 adults up and awake in the boat running to shut windows and also keeping the boat safe. Not the best solution when you have hundreds of miles to go and each watch you undertake takes all your concentration. This is also added to by the fact the autopilot keeps dropping off its course and in some cases not holding the heading at all so you realise you are heading in the wrong direction. Not very helpful to say the least. People do watches differently though. I am a firm believer in the task being given the word watch for a reason, so that is just what I do. Others take catnaps of 10-15 minutes with an alarm. I would find this more disturbing than helpful so am happy to be a watchdog. I find sailing at night the best time, you have the whole space to yourself for a few hours, no one to interrupt your thoughts and you can just enjoy the huge expanse of nothing, bliss.
We arrive into Tahiti for the second time on this trip for us, this time obviously by a different route. Coming into the hustle and bustle of a city is rather full on after being in slow and lazy islands for the last 11 days. We are greeted into the marinas channel by a pod of dolphins which was lovely to see. We manoeuvre into a berth and settle against the floating structure that will be our home base for the next week. The marina is clean and tidy, well kept and a stones throw from the amenities of the city and all its noise. It’s an onslaught after the quiet and seclusion of the islands, I know which one I would rather have.
Lovely photos great for memories glad all went well .