19 July 2007, Thursday, Day 13
Makemo - Groupe Raevski
As Captain Sam (s/v Purrrfection) said, the night before, "its time to move the boat." Reluctantly we agreed, although it was so lovely here, we could have stayed for several weeks. We compared plans and the Captains' agreed to move to the anchorage at Ohava, near Passe Tapuhiria to wait for slack tide when we would slip out and head to Tahanea.
So, raised the anchor at 1810 utc,(0810 local), sailed to Ohava where we arrived at 2031 utc (1031 local). (S 16.26, W 143.56.9). We would not depart for another three hours, so we decided to lower our dinghy and join the Purrrfection's to explore the shore.
We walked along the lagoon, finding black tip sharks in the shallows. Moving through the scrub and coconut palms to the ocean side, we furthered our collections; gathering what looked like a small ½" turbin 'abalone-like' shell, assorted cowry, cone shells and a spider conch. We marvel at the abundance of white, sun-bleached coral, crunching beneath our feet.
Time passed quickly as we strolled along the shoreline. Returning to our boats, we readied for departure. We raised the anchor at 0130(local), following s/v Purrrfection out the pass and into the ocean. We had intended to anchor outside the pass to wait a few more hours before making the ten-hour passage to Tahanea. However, the swell was large and had wrapped around the point making the small area to anchor quite uncomfortable. Both Captains quickly decided to not anchor and to start our passage.
By making this determination, at a steady pace of even 5 knots, we would arrive too early at Tahanea. With this in mind, we were facing a rare condition - we were hoping for light winds to keep us at a slow pace. Although conceivable to reach Tahanea and heave to, or pace up and down outside the pass, our preference would be to arrive at daybreak, and not at O-dark hundred. The one thing the Captain has a real difficult time doing is sailing slow intentionally. It goes against every fiber in his body. The boat wallows, begging for more sail. It was no fun whatsoever.