We were ready to move on after spending a quiet and beautiful week at Amanu.  Our friends on Marie Alice, Richard and Natalie, wanted to follow us out of the pass as they were still lacking navigation.  Their passage took them to Fakarava whereas ours will take us to Tahanea.

We pulled the hook up at 0930 and took our time getting to the pass which was 4.58nm across the lagoon.  Slack tide was estimated to be at 1100.  We unfurled the jib and had a leisurely sail at 3-3.5 kts.

The pass was supposed to be slack but in reality, there was an outgoing current (again).  Lucky for us we were going out.  We experienced 5kts of outgoing current where our boat speed was 5kts but the SOG (speed over ground) was 10kts.  Marie Alice and Sugar Shack both made it out safely.

Passage to Tahanea

The forecast had light winds 12-15kts from the SE.  We decided to set the parasail.  This is a fairly “new to us” sail as we bought it off another boat in the Marquesas about 1.5 years ago.  We don’t get many opportunities to fly it, but when we do it is a true joy.  This sail gives us a little more wiggle room with shifting wind directions and speeds. 

We flew the parasail all night and into the next day.  Around mid-morning, a storm started brewing so we dropped her and unfurled the jib.  The “weather” did not last so we put the parasail back up. 

The clouds are funny to me.  During the day they are playful, light, and fluffy.  But at night, they become dark, foreboding, and ominous.  Lucky for us it was all good.  We even had some truly spectacular sunsets.

Overall, it was a really wonderful passage.  We had gentle winds, less than predicted.  The following seas were large at times, but they were in long intervals and very gentle.  We only had one or two small storms but there was no lightening or thunder and very little rain.

Entering the Tahanea pass was a breeze.  We entered at dawn and had 1-1.5 kts of incoming current.  No problems.  We quickly motored across the lagoon to the south end where we met our friends from Gambier, Bella Donna (Kate & Andrew their girls Anna and Florence), Sling shot (Jen and Gavin and their kids Nathan and Julia), and Due South (Wendy & Peryn and their 4 boys). 

Trip Details

• Miles to Destination:      230nm
• Total Miles Sailed:            231nm
• Max Speed:                        10kts (out of the pass)
• Average Speed:                5.3kts
• Total Passage Time:        1 day 21 hours (includes crossing Amanu lagoon)

Tahanea SE Anchorage

There are several boats in the south anchorage when we arrived.  We know a few of them (Slingshot, Bella Donna, Due South) and have heard of a few others (Macushla).  They are hanging out here because it is perfect for kite boarding and they are all huge kite boarders.  Many of the boats have kids and it is amazing to see these young people do extraordinary kite tricks.  This is Nathan, he is 11 years old and is fearless!

Nathan (Sling Shot) kite boarding

A few more shots of Nathan with their boats in the background.

Nathan (Sling Shot) kite boarding

How many kits can you count in these photos?  Answer at bottom of post.

Matt and I anchor about 1.5nm away from the other boats where we have anchored before.  It is in front of Nico’s place.  Nico lives on another atoll called Faaite but comes here to process copra (coconuts) several months a year.  He has a simple, but comfortable home.  He only speaks French but is incredibly welcoming, friendly, and generous.  We asked him where we could find some lobsters and if he would take us hunting. He said yes, yes, but here are some you can have now.  He would not take any money.  So, we provided him with loads of fishing stuff and sweet treats.

Motu Exploration

We took this opportunity to explore lots of the motus on the southwest end of this atoll.  We took sweetie over 4nm away from the boat to the western motus. The bottom right anchor is where Sugar Shack is located and we went to where the red arrow is.  These motus were very different than the ones by the big boat. The windward side of the motu faced the Pacific.  However, there was a lagoon and a reef between the breaking waves and the motu which meant there was sand on the windward side as opposed to giant coral rocks.  Complete surprise.  Bottom left photo shows typical windward side and bottom right shows sandy, pebbly beach.

Another surprise was that we found three intact conch shells.  They had lots of corrosion on them so we did not keep them, but they were super pretty.

We walked across the water ways in between several motus.  It is absolutely beautiful.  Each direction you turn you see nothing but beauty.  Tahanea just takes your breath away.

To be Continued…

We had so much fun in Tahanea that you have to wait for our next blog release to finish the adventure.  Stay tuned as we snorkel with manta rays, swim with sharks, learn to foil, and enjoy more of the kiters.

Check out our previous posts on Tahanea such as this one.

There are 4 kites only because I had to cut two of them off to fit the photo.

Events from this blog post occurred during the second week May, 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.  Tahanea on NoForeignLand.com.