Sailing to the Tuamotus

French Polynesia is huge! It consists of many groups of islands or archipelagos that cover an area of sea about the size of wester Europe. We have three months to explore this area on our visa and so no chance to cover it all. Having been in the Marquesas Islands for over a month of this time, we felt it was now time to move on and explore another region called the Tuamotus Archipelago. This archipelago consists of over 80 pacific atolls, some of which can be entered in a boat through a narrow pass in to a very protected central lagoon. Here’s a map of all the atolls so you can sort of get your bearings.

This map shows you where the Tuamotus are in relation to French Polynesia and the Marquesas Islands

So the winds in across French Polynesia are fairly predictable at this time of year, they are called the South East trade winds and generally blow from the East or South East. From a sailing point of view then, it means that you can sail relatively easily from the Marquesas to the middle of the Tuamotus on a beam reach. We decided to try and head for the atoll of Raroia.

Its 430 miles from Nuku Hiva to Raroia with a close pass of the Disappointment Isles! So called apparently because these islands do not have a navigable pass in to the centre of the atoll and were therefore very disappointing to the people who fist discovered them.

We had a good looking weather window for what should be a three day passage and so we set off on a sunny Sunday morning hoping to at least clear the Marquesas Island of Ua Pou before it got dark. The wind was quite light, about 10-12 knots and the seas were virtually flat too. At times it was easy to forget that we were actually sailing and not sitting at anchor as we ghosted along at 4-5 knots!

A few hours in I decided to get the new fishing tackle out that I had recently bought in Taiohae. I got two lines in the water and within about 10 minutes both lines went at the same time! The first guy got away just as I was about to pull it on board. But this chap was lunch and dinner for the next couple of days! My first skipjack tuna. Big too, about 12 pounds.

That kept us busy for an hour or so, getting the fish filleted. After that we settle back down to the relaxing sail and enjoyed the view of Ua Pou out of the port window with its striking volcanic peaks.

The amazing sea and wind conditions were to carry on for at least 48 hours and we were really enjoying it. Then someone turned the wind fans on! We got hit by a small squall in the night, but rather than it being a little event, it just carried on. The seas picked up too. It was cloudy for a bit, and then it cleared and became sunny again but now the wind was blowing 20 to 30 knots consistently. We reefed Azimuth right down to 2 reefs in the main and three in the genoa, but being beam on to the swell we were getting thrown around a bit and surfing the waves too. So the speed for the next 30 hours averaged about 8.5 knots and we covered 190 miles in 24 hours.

Not the most comfortable sailing. We were taking waves over the windscreen occasionally too. Poor Ailsa felt a bit worse for the wear, and neither of us felt like doing much other then sitting on the sofa. Thankfully a good supply of biscuits came to the rescue because we didn’t feel like cooking.

We covered the ground really quickly though and as we got to within a few hours of Raroia, things started to slowly calm down. When we got in to the lee of the atolls and could see the little islands dotted on the horizon, the sea calmed right down and the sailing became much more enjoyable.

I was a little nervous about going through the pass in to the atoll. Its quite narrow and shallow, but more concerning is the strong currents that can flow up to 5 knots in this pass. If the tide is against the wind and the wind is strong then this can cause large standing waves.

We arrived just after another boat and we watched them transit the pass without issue, so we both felt at ease. In the end it was not bad at all. We had 4 knots of current with us and whisked through the pass easily

Its a stunning place to approach. The atoll is surrounded by small islands covered in coconut palms and the sea is a turquoise azure blue colour.

We motored across the lagoon in to a strong headwind with Ailsa on the front so that we could avoid the patches of coral that are dotted everywhere colloquially called “bommies” and dropped the hook at a stunning anchorage. First impressions ….. amazing!

Join is again soon when we explore our new home, our first Pacific Atoll!