Relaxing in Raiatea

0800 Position 14-58S 147-38W. At anchor in the lee of Reporepo Motu, Rangiroa

We would like to head 150 miles southeast to the island of Fakarava, a marine preserve here in the Tuamotus that is supposed to have fantastic diving, but that would take us right into the currently strong trade winds. A sail like that wouldn't be much fun, so we are procrastinating and hoping for the wind to die off and/or shift direction.

When the boys were exploring ashore the other day they heard that the drift dive in the Tiputa Pass, just a half mile from our anchorage, is one of the best dives in all of French Polynesia. We decided that we would give it a try. One normally does a drift dive in a Tuamotu pass while the tide is flooding into the lagoon. The velocity of the flood tide is less than half the velocity of the ebb tide, and if you get swept away you would end up in the lagoon and not out in the ocean. Unfortunately, we don't have tide tables for this part of the world, so we have to guess at tomorrow's tides based on yesterday's tides – not exactly the scientific approach. We figured the tide would start flooding just before noon so all piled into the dinghy with our snorkeling gear and headed out then.

As we approached the pass it became evident that our calculations were a bit off as the tide was ebbing furiously out the channel. No drift dive today. We also heard that you could snorkel anytime in the lee of the motu just inside the channel, and we saw a number of dive boats moored there. So we altered course, headed for the motu, and anchored amongst the dive boats. It was a bit disconcerting because as soon as we dropped the anchor we were buzzed by four small black tip sharks. Other divers were in the water though, so we ended up getting in to find an underwater world full of fish of all varieties. The fish weren't shy either. Apparently they are frequently fed by the divers. The sharks would cruise through periodically just to let us know that they were there. Good fun and a pleasant dive in the 87 degree water.

We rewarded ourselves for out successful dive with a trip into the café at the end of the pier for an afternoon beer and free wifi. I got to have a nice long leisurely talk with Lori. Later I got into a conversation with the guys at one of the other tables who were off of a fifty eight foot Oyster, a brand of luxury cruising boats built in England. They are participating in an Oyster round-the-world rally. That explains why we've been seeing so many Oysters since we arrived in the Marquesas, and explains the five Oysters currently at anchor here.

This place continues to be a bee hive of activity. The inter-island cargo ship arrived during the night and we woke up this morning to find it at the pier offloading material. During the coffee clutch a 220 foot super yacht and the Aranui both arrived in the anchorage. Since the pier was occupied the Aranui anchored out and is ferrying passengers ashore in lighters. It will be busy ashore in Rangiroa today!

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