Lyn's Log, 25th June 2009
Tuamotu Atolls, part 1

Kauehi, Tuamotus
S15º50', W145º07'
24,701 miles.

Makemo is one of the larger atolls, situated about half way along the line of the Tuomotus. We had a difficult entrance which is described here. Inside, there were about 10 yachts in the village anchorage, including several we had previously met.

The larger of the two village stores was quite well stocked, with a freezer plus a fruit and veg table with some rather withered specimens, replenished only when the supply boat came in once a week. There were cockroaches everywhere – the locals stepped round them but there were frowns when Andrew stamped on a couple. There was an excellent bakery across the road, but they sold out early so we had to order bread. The post office was near the harbour and next door was a building housing all official offices such as the police and the Mayor. There was a large school that catered for several of the surrounding atolls, and so had accommodation for boarders.

Several evenings we heard loud drumming wafting over the anchorage from the shore. This turned out to be practice for a coming inter-island dance competition. The islanders were taking this very seriously. There was a group of drummers and ukulele players accompanying dancers. Most of the other islanders had turned out to watch the practice. I was sorry that the weather was always against us getting there in our dinghy after dark.

There were three black pearl farms in Makemo but only one was selling pearls to yachties. All the rest are exported to Tahiti. By visiting the grandest house in the village at eleven in the morning, Madame would bring out several zip-lock bags containing hundreds of pearls and put them on a towel on a table for us to view. The bags were labelled with the price for each pearl. There were many perfect round ones and a bag or two of misshapes that had ridges or points on them. Their colours were amazing, especially the ones with a good lustre. There were golds, silvers, greens, yellows, and purples, many in just one pearl. We had a language problem so she called in her son. He asked for pen and paper and wrote his questions to us in English, and Andrew replied by writing in French. This worked very well.

We knew we were supposed to carry documentation for each pearl, but Madame appeared to know nothing. None of the other yachties were bothering. However, we found out this could be issued by the Mayor, so we went along. Her secretary printed off a grandiose certificate for our three pearls, which was stamped and counterstamped it seemed by every department in the building. We noticed that the previous certificate was for 5,000 pearls!

After a few days, we sailed fifteen miles northwestward inside the lagoon, to another anchorage, followed by the yacht Dreamtime. There we met the catamaran Island Buoy. Here were beautifully calm turquoise waters before a white beach backed by coconut palms and other greenery. There were coral heads to snorkel over or just float on the warm water. In the evening we built a large bonfire on the beach, and gathered there with our drinks and food, some of which was barbequed. It was a great evening.

It was a really beautiful and relaxing spot to be, but on Friday 19th June we decided to try another atoll. Our choice fell on Kauehi, 80 miles away. First we motored carefully across another 8 miles of Makemo lagoon to the northern pass. The lagoons are full of coral heads just below the surface which must be carefully avoided. It was unbelievable to be in over 40 metres of depth and yet just a boat’s length away there was coral head rising vertically and poking through the surface. With light winds there was nothing difficult to the pass, though as we arrived early the tidal current was strong. From here we sailed, with occasional bursts of engine to keep up our speed, for a day and a night, to reach the pass at Kauehi for the morning’s slack water. We then crossed the deep lagoon for six miles to the anchorage off the village.

That evening, all the people from the five yachts in the anchorage were invited to the foredeck of Ketchup II, an Australian 46' ferro-cement yacht with owners Keith and Ann that had nearly completed a circumnavigation. We brought drinks and something to nibble. Several chairs and cushions were laid out on the deck. An Irish couple brought their penny-whistle, squeezebox and guitar, plus some music, and they lead a singsong well into the night. I had been encouraged by them to take along my clarinet and joined in a few of their Irish folk-tunes.

The village of 300 people had delusions of grandeur calling itself “Kauehi City”. They had laid a large area with a grid of dirt roads as if expecting a lot of new development, but only one road had any houses and the only shop was tiny. The residents were very friendly here. The lady who ran the shop also sold pearls. She said she had an English father (but she spoke no English) and had lived in Tahiti until she married a local pearl farmer 8 years before.

We asked where we could fill a jerry-can of drinking water, and were directed to her neighbour. All the houses had large tanks collecting the rainwater from their roofs. The neighbour was a charming lady who invited us into her abode for a glass of iced water while the jerry can filled. We managed to converse a little in French, and then we thanked her and gave her a T-shirt. She then gave us a couple of pretty shell necklaces she had made. She lived with her husband who had recently retired. He was listening to some loud raster music on the radio. The house was typical of many in the islands – no more than a space under a pitched corrugated iron roof, walled partly with breezeblocks and partly with rough block-board. There was curtain for a door, no glass in the windows, and a dirt floor partly covered with torn lino. A few wooden partitions divided up the internal space a little. It was not very tidy but presumably practical.