Two days ago, we arrived at Fakarava, in the Tuamotus.

The 540 mile passage for the most part was fine. We had steady winds for three of the four days, and the waves were 1.5–2.5 meters. I was able to nap like a champion. It was important for us to get to the pass at slack tide, when there was the least amount of current when entering the atoll. That meant we had to motor nearly all of one day to stay on schedule.

The morning of the 14th, after having Fakarava in sight for a few hours, a squall came behind us and started pushing sizable waves and 30 knot winds. We were fortunate that there was a lull as we came through the pass and made it to the anchorage uneventfully.

As the interior of most of the atolls are not well charted, most cruisers use satellite imagery as a primary navigation reference. The standard electronic charts then become secondary. The difference between charted depth and measured depth is 10-15 meters in some places. We anchored in the early afternoon without too much incident, but used a new technique specific to areas with lots of coral. I’ll talk about it in the future. Then our friends Lance and Amy came over and we caught up and made plans to cook them breakfast the next day.

After an extremely filling breakfast of banana pancakes and bacon, we went to shore. We explored the reefs and walked through the coconut forest, then had some very refreshing swimming. After a break, we played boccie ball while having a sun downer, finally a snack and cards. A pretty great day.

When it came time to get our own dinghy in the water, things were not so great. The pump for the inflatable had water in it, which caused the valve retaining clips to rust away. It is not repairable. Our other pump needed to be repaired with duct tape to be usable.

After the dinghy was inflated, I remembered the pull cord for our outboard did not retract the last time it was used. This has happened a couple of times before, sometimes the spring slips and it needs to be rewound. When I attempt to rewind it, I discover the spring is broken. I try to bend the end with pliers but it breaks off. In the end, I was able to heat it on the stove and very carefully bend it to shape, and reassemble it. I’m not sure how long it will hold, and I most certainly need to order another.

In the wind last night, we lost a float on our anchor chain. And ultimately it was too windy to go to shore today anyhow.

It’s my dad’s birthday today.