May 25, 1998-Tuomotus

White Hot Sunshine in The Tuomotus











Written While At Sea:

Tonight it's blacker than the inside of a cow. It's blacker than a dog's gut. It's blacker than the bottom of a coal mine. There is no moon, no stars, and no shore lights visible, (hopefully, no shore), and we are blasting through the Tuomotus (or Dangerous Isles) like a runaway freight train with 24 knots of wind and full sail set. I can't see anything past the bow except an occasional whitecap illuminated by the running light and nothing past the stern except the stainless steel and white plastic tower of the windvane standing like some modern sculpture, the white foam of our wake speeding past, and frequent wisps of spray which look like smoke as they blow through the circle of light from stern lamp. We are truly smoking through the darkness, like Ahab after Moby Dick.

Earlier we had resigned ourselves to two more nights out here on the way to Rangiroa but shortly after nightfall tonight the wind filled in and now we think that we may have gained enough miles to make it to the pass through the reef and into Rangiroa's lagoon by late afternoon tomorrow, avoiding the second night at sea. But to do so we have to make the time when we can, like right now, so we keep pushing on. Our speeds are mid to high eights but WINGS is standing up quite well to the wind and waves and seems quite happy with the conditions. However I think I can safely say that this situation has me on maximum alert. One of our friends has already gone on the reef here this year, and I don't know his circumstances at the time but it could easily happen to anyone speeding through in total blindness. Radar would help, but we don't have it. What we do have is GPS, good charts, excellent depth finding equipment and both of our’s attention to the problem. Judy is off watch this hour, but when the wind came up she got up and got dressed to be quickly available if she is needed. Now we double check each other's navigation, position plots, and headings. We keep a good lookout too, which includes a good ear, because sometimes the first warning you have of danger is the sound of the surf.

Now the atols of Ahi, and Manihi are past, the way is clear to Tiputu Pass 60 miles ahead on the north side of Rangiroa Atol. The wind eases a little and frees. We relax a little, I make an adjustment to the windvane and Judy goes back to sleep.

Wings charges onward.

Tuomotu Horizon


At Anchor


Finally! A coral reef atol with white sand and palm trees. This is what the South Pacific was supposed to be. The water is clear with a aqua tint, the coconut palms sway in the trade winds which sweep over the island and it's lagoon and keep us cool, and we can smell the Frangipangi blossoms. Of course, when we went ashore we found real estate subdivisions, electrical meters and phone line boxes at the side of the road, and a hotel with gift shop, car rental, and a nice bar. We drank Meyer's rum there at reasonable prices and watched fish swim underneath the glass floor. We went snorkeling and were totally surrounded with colorful fish, often so many and so close to our masks that they blocked our view. We saw every color, even every day glow color and every metallic color and every luminescent color and all combinations. We also saw a shark and we got out of the water, but he was only a 5 footer, probably not interested in us.





Paddler



So the Tuomotus are one of the neatest places we've seen so far, but after a couple of days we are back on the road again, riding the trade winds towards Tahiti. Maybe we can get there tomorrow before dark if we keep the pedal to the medal again like we did on the trip here.

Fred & Judy

PS. Wonder of wonders, we saw two Mexican Pangas here in use as work boats. I wonder if a couple of Mexicans drove them over?

PPS; we are sending this from Papeete. We crossed from the Tuomotus in a nice 29 hour sail, arriving here at 12:30 on Sunday May 31. So far we think Papeete is wonderful, but then we do like cities. We’ll write more later.
Fred & Judy, SV WINGS, Papeete, Tahiti