Shark Fakarava
Pet Shark
Pearl Farm Apataki
Motu Rua Vahine Apataki
Motu in Apatki
lloyd & Charlie in Fakarava
Fakarava Reef Fish
Coral Fakarava
Coral Everywhere
Black Pearls
Time seems to be the enemy when one is sailing amongst the beauty and constant changing world of the South Pacific. Those following this blog must have thought we slipped below the surface never to be heard from again…….Well almost true, at least the bit about spending time below the surface!
The Tuamotu Islands are an amazing chain of exclusively coral atolls lying between the Marquesas and the Society Islands. 76 of these atolls exist, many inaccessible by deep draft sailboats due to nonexistent or very shallow and dangerous passes into the tranquility of their inner lagoons. These coral ringed lagoons rise out of the deepest of ocean depths to create a natural aquarium of unbelievably beauty….simply waiting to be explored!
Once again our sailing itinerary had been dictated by Lloyd and Charlie’s never ending quest for the ‘perfect’ wave! Given our time and ability to get in and out of the lagoons, we planned to visit Fakarava and Apataki atolls. In fact we did spend one night at an additional atoll (Toau) due to not having enough daylight to get inside Apataki. Of course as I am learning, surfing demands that a number of natural variables align in order to create surf able waves. For both Farkarava and Apataki, we entered the respective lagoons via the South West pass in anticipation of a Southerly swell generating some action. Alas….it was not to be….same old story, ‘should have been here last week…..’ The lads gave it a go, but it was probably more a case of being able to say ‘been there done that’ rather than getting any memorable surfing.
With surfing off the agenda we turned our attention to the world below the surface. Fakarava is reputedly one of the premier diving spots in the world. The atoll passes consist of stunning vertical walls of brilliantly coloured coral, teeming with every variety of fish life that is swept with the current’s ebb and flow into awaiting schools of Black Tipped reef sharks. Life can be a funny thing at times. If someone had said to Lesley that less than an hour after entering the water for a snorkel through the reef pass, she would be relatively blasé about reef sharks swimming within meters of her she would have seriously doubted their sanity……and yet that is exactly what happened! While none of us would have ever admitted that we were relaxed…..we all were mesmerized by these sleek, stealth looking creatures of the sea. The sharks were in constant motion…. like an Exocet seeking it’s next target they would cruise by us…..armed but unnaturally not seemingly dangerous…….
Fakarava’s lagoon is 45 miles long and with a bit of care one is able to transit the length of the lagoon to the northern town of Ratoava. Sitting astride the lower spreaders with the sunlight aft of the beam, allows one to easily see the coral heads that rise up from the depths of the lagoon. Enroute, we anchored a night in the shelter of a windward motu marveling at the way the natural light plays with the lagoon waters. The blue spectrum alone leaves one breathless as colour graduates from black/blue emerging out of the deepest water, to the aqua/blue brilliance as light dances across white sand bottoms, finally turning turquoise/blue in the shallows of coral covered reefs.
We spent a few days at the northern end of Fakarava, the lads (Lloyd, Charlie and Millsy) all went deep diving in the northern pass with their new best friends….. Fakarava sharks…..while Warren & Lesley walked, biked and relaxed amongst the solitude of coral beaches and coconut palms. Prior to departing Fakarava, Mistress’s female crewmembers doubled in number as Shawn arrived from Vancouver to escape the ever-wet Vancouver summer weather.
Many of the Tuamotu Islands are uninhabited, the remoteness and physical challenges that these atolls present make it difficult or impossible to sustain a living for many of these lovely Polynesian people. While these coral ringed lagoons offer solitude and adventure tourism, it is virtually nonexistent when compared to the world famous resorts of Moorea and Bora Bora that lie just over the horizon….
What the Tuamotus do have, that the rest of the world does not, is the ability to cultivate and harvest one of the most exotic and beautiful of natural jewels……the Black Pearl….
Sailing across an ocean and navigating our way into the sanctuary of these remote coral lagoons, only added to the mystique that accompanies the process of cultivation and harvesting of these tiny pearlescence rich spheres. Apataki is one of the atolls with a thriving pearl farm industry. We anchored off Motu Totoro, on the eastern side of the lagoon where Pauline and Alfred Assam welcome sailors onto their island. In the shade of their waterside thatched fare’, with a thirst quenching Rum & Coke in hand, they patiently answered our questions and showed us how the time consuming and skilled operation of cultivating black pearls occurs. It was a fascinating afternoon even more so for the female contingent of our crew who where seemingly determined to ‘buy from the source!’……time was clearly no concern as our ladies painstakingly picked their way through hundreds of different grades and size pearls to get the their individual collection together. Who would have thought that it would be possible to go shopping for ‘High Street’ pearls in a remote lagoon in the middle of the South Pacific? Perhaps the most ironic aspect of this afternoon was that when it was time to pay a wireless satellite accessed terminal miraculously appeared and happily accepted the girls MasterCard…..don’t leave home without it!
While part of the Mistress crew could happily have spent days continuing to explore the Tuamotu atolls, the young lads were anxious to see the bright lights of Papeete and the fame of the Teahupoo surf break. Not forgetting of course Mistress had a schedule to keep….crew changes to make……so once again we headed out to sea and let Mistress kick up her heels!
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