Motu Atua: In The Tuamotus

Our arrival via the south at Fakarava was at low ebb tide and shouldn't be too difficult! It's magnificent to come back to the Tuamotus, but it's also quite daunting arriving in this small channel where the current reaches 4 knots. Our progress is slow in the middle of enormous eddies. Thank goodness we hadn't arrived any later! We had hardly got settled before a few sharks came noseying around the sugarscoops. I had wanted to jump in straight away, but after a few minutes of deliberation I decided not to risk it. It will take a little while to get used to things down here again! The next day we went for a little sail to the south of the channel, where great big banks of white sand lend a wonderful color to the sea. On the third day we went diving in the channel when the current was coming in. It was amazing and the sharks didn't come too close! After experiencing several smaller, quiet anchorages in the Motus, we suddenly see lots of boats. We stop too, and discover Mathieu and Agnes who have a small guest house "Pakokota". They also offer some boat services, repairs, boat-sitting and wifi! The place is well known to regular cruisers, and one of the sailing idols of our youth, Antoine, is there with his famous yellow cat "Banana Split". We meet the star a few hours later, and after the obligatory photo session, we have a good chat.

Who: Greg, Céline, Lilou and Tom

Boat: Nautitech 435

Where:  Tuamotu, French Polynesia, Pacific Ocean.

Blog: www.motuatua.over-blog.com - www.pakokotayachtservices.com