July 11 through July 25, 2007
South Pacific Islands of French Polynesia
When last you read: We were underway to the Tuamotu's Archipelagos…where the coconut palms sway, the water is clear to 70' and the fish are the colors of the rainbow. On the other hand, these islands are often referred to as the "low or dangerous archipelago" because they are only visible within eight miles. As it says in Charlie's Chart Cruising Guide, "Typically, the motus (islets) on the reefs are clustered to a greater degree on the northern and western sides while the southern sides are often bare, awash coral reefs. This is very dangerous, since even in daylight the reef cannot be seen until close-to and the sound of the wind and sea often masks the sound of the breakers." Yikes!
11July2007, Wednesday-Day 5 underway
1930 UTC Sami, our scout, sights the constellation Scorpio in the evening sky. John identifies Jupiter to our west. Wow!
We continue to watch as streams of phosphorescence pass the boat. First it was only on the port side, and then it switched to just being on the starboard side. Inquiring minds could not explain, but later we would ask Captain Sam (s/v Purrrfection) and we would be told this was a rare henomenon of sea worms that travel up from the ocean floor, some three miles, to the reproduce at the surface in the dark of night. We were watching procreation of a new kind.
Generally a comfortable 3-4 knot sail, however by midday we shifted our course to head toward Raroia, as we all felt we needed a break from being underway under these light conditions. The pause would enable us to visit another island and rest before heading on to Makemo.