Rangiroa –Apataki -Tuamotu 5 July 2024

We motored sailed on and arrived at the waypoint at the end of Rangiroa about 9.30pm and then tacked (using both main and staysail) to our next waypoint which we could just about make close hauled. Once settled I left Joyce to it and tried to get some rest. The wind was forecast to be 17-19 kts with gusts of up to 22. The wind was stronger and I saw gusts of up to 27 and regularly 23, 24 and 25 kts. The reefed main and staysail coped with this bit it was the waves that were difficult.

Wave height was supposed to be 2meters maximum but we were having more than this and close together and we were sailing close to the wind and almost into the waves too. We would sail well and then get stopped by a wave or slowed and great plumes of spray would rise. You could hear from time to time a rush of water on deck and then the gurgling sound of the deck drains trying to get rid of it. This all made sleeping difficult.

I took over at midnight and we were starboard of our course and that we had to navigate between two atolls in the dark Aratua and Kaukura in the dark. The Predict wind models had us tacking between these atolls and going very close to the reefs which I did not think was sensible in the dark. The gap between these atolls was about 5nm but it was a question of accuracy of the charts etc I knew that the best and safest thing to do was motor through this gap as it was directly into the wind and so I took down the sails and we started to motor. I put the autopilot on to track so it would take me to that waypoint taking into account wind, tide and any other influences and it is very accurate. I also put on the radar which gave me some markings from the odd bit of atoll and I also got google earth up on my  phone which gives me my position and those of the atolls and even would you believe bommies when you scroll in. The chart plotter is very accurate but these other sources gave me confidence to navigate through this.

Andy took over and with my instructions and these sources he continued the navigation until 6.00am when it was beginning to get light and we could start to see bits of atoll. He handed over to Joyce and I got up about the time she had been on watch an hour to check on things. At this point when motoring directly into the strong wind and waves we were making about 3.5kts only and we were sort of punching our way through the waves. Apataki is about 15nm north of the gap between Aratua and Kaukura. I worked out we could go to port a bit (say 20-25 degrees) and put up the main again which I did. This added 2 kts which meant we were making better progress and the motion was easier. By the time Joyce went off watch I was able to come to port again and put up the staysail and we were now able to make 6.5-7.0 kts albeit that we were slowed by the odd wave which caught us. We could clearly see the odd mutu from either side and eventually Apataki began to come into sight.

Slack water was 10.41 am and we were going to arrive at about 11.15am which should be fine. We continued on and about 30 minutes from the passe, which we could clearly see as a gap in the mutus, Andy got up. We then woke Joyce and prepared to enter the passe. The passe itself is quite narrow at the entrance but there is a clear deepish channel with reefs either side and at the far end there is a narrow channel through two reefs. This whole area had  breaking waves and in my mind the slack water time was wrong. I decided to go for it as the outer channel was not an issue and Andy went on the front and we had our headsets on. We then approached the breaking waves and you could not distinguish the deeper narrow channel from the rest so I concentrated on steering along the line on the plotter and the waypoint I had put at the end of the channel. We bounced up and down through the waves  and Andy got a bit soaked with spray. The waves continued back through the passe for about a quarter of a mile which seemed odd as it was quite deep. Today’s picture is of some of the waves in the passe.

Once though I turned on to a course which was to lead us to an anchorage off a village called Rotoava. Apataki is a square shaped atoll and it is about 24nm from top to bottom. It is fairly well rimmed with wooden motus except for its southern side where the reef is submerged. There are some strong currents on the south side which can be dangerous. There are two passes, one on the Northwest side which we had just come through called Passe Tehere and the other is on the southwestern side called Passe Haniuru, which is where the main village of Niutahi is and a pearl farm centre. There is a route between both passes which navigates you through the coral bommies. The aim of coming here was to break up the journey to Fakarava and to see another atoll.

We motored on to the anchorage which was marked but there was no sign of the village at all and it may now have gone. After our quite hardcore journey we were glad to anchor where indicated surrounded not too closely by some coral patches. There was a beautiful long beach lined by palm trees but no sign of life. We may go and explore but for now we had bacon and eggs after our journey and a rest.

The wind still howled and we were reasonably sheltered. Stormbird needed to dry off and she had had a wet hard passage. Once rested we sat and read and enjoyed the view and being on a flat level again!. We wondered what happened to the village. Joyce made some bread and I looked up the books and guides for the route across the atoll and other anchorages. For now we were happy with the peace and quiet.         

We had a sundowner on the back deck and a pasta supper as we had run out of fresh food. We look forward to exploring the atoll tomorrow.

The night was again very windy and we moved about a bit. When I woke it was

Crewing Opportunity Year Two

In addition, in year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and probably across the Indian Ocean to Cape Town and I will need some more crew.

If there is any interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

The blog will continue as we move through French Polynesia and beyond.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com  I can only upload one picture a day and visit our website www.stormbirdgoesglobal.co.uk