31 May

The latest news from Callisto:

I've been at anchor at the Marina Taina on Tahiti Nui for the past 10 days doing routine maintenance and compound and waxing and cleaning out all the lockers and replacing the contents. Very boring work but necessary. I'm also getting to read lots of novels and generally enjoy the peace and quiet.
There must be 100 boats in the anchorage and the marina itself is jammed full but it's very comfortable out here with great sunset views of Moorea and no swell excerpt for the ubiquitous jet skis.
The marina has some restaurants and bars and a nearby Carrefour supermarket with a marvelous selection of cheeses and other interesting goodies from France all at ridiculous prices.
There are many boat crews from all over the world and many stories and lies to swap in the evening.
I think that the mystery of the missing stern anchor in Academy Bay, Galapagos has been solved. I talked to a cruiser who left Galapagos some days after we did and he said the he saw a new looking Fortress-37 with its attached chain at the local hardware store. When he asked where it came from he was told it was sold to them by an American crew who had given up cruising. Not too much I can do about it but it would seem that one of the locals stole it and fenced it once we had left.
I've been all over the place on my bike including the Museum of Tahiti which although small was quite interesting.
The seat at my nav table broke and I spent considerable time finding a stainless steel welder in Papeete. I should be able to pick it up tomorrow and I hope he did a decent job.
I'm going to check out Moorea on Wednesday as I think i need a change of scenery.
The internet is appalling here, even with a subscription it's only possible to get on the net in the wee hours of the morning and even then the service is so painfully slow that uploading photos is not possible So they may have to wait until I find find a better method.

21 May, Papeete Tahiti

Sorry for the delay in posting this!

Papeete, Tahiti
We arrived in Papeete on the morning of Monday May 17. We were able to spot Tahiti from about 30 miles away and a very welcome sight it was. We left Rangiroa on Sunday morning after spending yet another restless and rolly night at the lagoon in Avatoru. The wind was still blowing quite strongly from the south and despite this none of us wanted to stay yet another night in Rangiroa. As soon as we got out of the lee of Rangiroa and Tikehau we got into Force 6-7 winds and corresponding seas on a close reach. The trip was quite bumpy and wet antil the wind and seas moderated somewhat in the evening. Although uncomfortable it was a fast sail and there was Tahiti in the morning to welcome us.
We tied up at the Mouillage des Yachts right in the middle of Papeete. Surprisingly, there was plenty of space and we did a little wander around town and the ubiquitous check-in. Although not very large, Papeete seemed like a major metropolis after what we have been used to for the past two months and I think I'm ready for it.
We went out for dinner on both nights and explored the old market and the numerous parks and sights of Papeete. Ron planned to leave on Tuesday but his flight was canceled, which was just as well because the fresh water pump pressure switch decided to give up just after he left. As always, Ron knew exactly what the problem was and we went off on a parts safari and were able to find a replacement and a spare for the offending switch. All is now well with the fresh water system.
In the harbor while we were there were a collection of Wakas which are Polynesian, twin hulled sailing canoes with crews from all over over the south pacific including New Zealand. These are built of modern materials but try to keep as close to the originals as possible.
I took lots of photos but unfortunately, the internet is so poor I can't send them.
We took off for a quiet anchorage 8 miles west of Papeete at Taina where it's much quieter and cleaner with a fantastic view of Moorea. Ron did finally get away on his flight to LA last night and by now he will be safely home. I will certainly miss his cheerful personality and also his outstanding mechanical ability and I hope that he will be able to join us again soon, perhaps in New Zealand.
Larry left a few hours ago to meet his girlfriend who is flying in tonight.
Right now it's raining and I'm getting started on a massive clean up and will try to get every thing shipshape for the next leg of this journey.

15 May Avatoru, Rangiroa

Today's news from Callisto:

We are still in Rangiroa. The recent canoe and fishing competitions are over and the village is returning to its usual sleepy condition. We did have some anchoring adventures during last night. As you know, we are anchored in the lagoon on the north side. The wind shifted last night at about 2330H from the usual easterlies to 25 knots from the south putting us on a lee shore. As the boat turned, the anchor chain hooked around a coral head about 12 meters from the boat and the violent rocking movement caused the 10mm chain to part which put us on the reef very quickly. We managed to get off without too much trouble with minimal damage to the keel, to discover that our main Wasi anchor was missing. We had to assemble the 85 lb. Fortress anchor and deployed that with our remaining chain while still in 25 kts of breeze.
Things calmed down a bit this morning and fortunately, due to the crystal clear water we found the Wasi anchor and with help of another boat's crew we were able to retrieve it and get it back on the boat. We repaired the chain and redeployed the Wasi and all now again seems safe, though this southerly wind continues to blow so it's a bit rough in the lagoon and it's difficult to sleep.
The anchor chain is now not as strong as it was with the extra link we put in and will have to be replaced. A dive under the boat this morning shows some paint off the keel and a small chip off the leading edge of the rudder skeg but no damage to the rudder bearings. Such is the current cruising life, we are getting some spectacular reef diving in and there are some interesting boats and crews here.
We will leave for Tahiti next week, once this southerly wind goes away and the trades return. I should be able to find some internet there and finally post some pictures.

13 May

Yesterdays "notes" from Callisto:

We have been in the village of Avatoru on the atoll of Rangiroa for the past few days. The 150 mile sail down here was a little different from what we have become used to with squalls and rain and either no wind or 30 kts from all different directions and this kept us busy with sail changes for most of the trip. We even had to motor for a few hours during a calm spell. The entrance to Rangiroa was quite easy despite a 3.5 kt current against us in the pass into the lagoon. Once inside, there is again flat calm in a vast inland sea and we are anchored up off the main village of Avatoru which is a little bigger than Fakarava but not much. Rangiroa is one of the larger atolls at least 20 miles long and we have been diving on the reef at the pass to lagoon entrance. The water is an impossible blue and the clarity is the best we have seen. It's like swimming in an aquarium, especially with the sun overhead. We saw thousands of species of fish, rays and reef sharks and we'll probably dive every day untill we leave.
An added attraction here this week is a series of canoe races and fishing tournaments for the whole of French Polynesia all happening about 50 yards from Callisto so we have a grandstand view of the proceedings. Yesterday was the single man canoe race over an 8km distance. There were 51 entries for a first prize of $2200. Today is the inshore and offshore fishing competition and tomorrow is the highlight 6 man, open ocean canoe race from Rangiroa to the nieghboring atoll of Tikehau (about 25 miles). This is a big deal with teams from Hawaii and Samoa competing for a prize of $11,000.
Lots of people in the village this week and the local reporter from the Papeete newspaper is due to come out to the boat to do an interview with us. Still no internet for photos but I'll try from Papeete next week.

11 May, 0300H

Message from Callisto:

It's 0300H and we are almost at Rangiroa, our last stop before Papeete, Tahiti. We left Fakarava yesterday morning at 0730H after the morning baguette run, in clear skies and made good initial progress until we ran into a line of squalls that had either no wind in them or wind from the wrong direction, accompanied by heavy rain. Slowed us down quite a bit and we even had to motor for a while but at least Callisto got a good fresh water bath. The weather has now cleared and we should be in at about 0900H.
Fakarava was excellent, just about the right mix of remoteness and civilization. We all visited the church on Sunday and this time we gave the Catholics a turn. The service was all in Polynesian rather than French and I hardly understood a word but the singing was excellent. Spent the afternoon diving on the reef. The clarity was good but not as spectacular as Aratiki and Takaroa.
I have lots of photos and will post them if I can find some decent internet.

8 May

Message from Callisto:

We are still lazing about in Fakarava which is just about perfect. The lagoon is protected so no roll or swell and the trade wind breeze blows 24 hours a day to keep everything nice and cool. There are a few boats here, the first we have seen since Nuku Hiva but not too many. There are some stores, a boulangerie and some restaurants in the village to browse around.
We went on a visit to pearl farm yesterday which was extremely interesting. The tiny outfit exports 200,000 pearls a year to Japan and I hadn't realized how long and how labor intensive the entire process is.
We'll spend the rest of the weekend diving on the numerous reefs around the village and will probably go on to Rangiroa on Monday and will most likely get into Papeete early, some time before the 20th of May. Just as well, as there is lots to do to get the boat back into yacht condition.

6 May

Today's update from Callisto:

We left Aratika yesterday after negotiating the tiny pass to get out of the atoll and sailed south for about 40 NM to a larger atoll called Fakarava, advertised as having world class diving on the reefs. We arrived last evening and went ashore to find a small village which we will further explore today. They have some pearl farms and tourism but not much else, hopefully there will be a small store for groceries and baguettes.
There are a few boats here, the first we have seen since we left the Marquesas and we will talk to some of the crews over the next week or so that we plan to stay.
Fakarava is located at 16 03.6S, 145 37.3 W

4 May

Latest update from Callisto:

We left Takaroa two days ago after having spent the weekend. Sunday was interesting and Ron and I thought we would check out the Mormon temple which is the most imposing structure on Takaroa. They allowed us to enter the temple which was very plain on the inside and the congregants (all Men) were dressed in white shirts, dark trousers and ties. The only thing missing was the name tags. The main dude was French but every one else was Polynesian.
There was no Sunday service just a sermon /pep talk from the French guy and then the three Polynesians. No singing at all. This was followed by Sunday school for the boys and Sunday school for the girls and ladies went on in another building and still no singing.
Nothing else was open on Sunday and we spent the afternoon diving on the reef at the entrance to the pass in Takaroa. I have never seen such water clarity any where you could see at least 90 feet, with marvelous coral formation and thousands of fish various species. Also looked to get a tour of the pearl farms but nothing was available.
We are are now on Aratika, another atoll 65 NM south of Takaroa. It was not in any of the travel books or cruising guides and we thought we might want to see a completely unspoiled and remote island. This certainly is it, well past the back of beyond.
The pass into the lagoon was very narrow, perhaps twice the beam of the boat, enclosed on both sides buy coral reef and breaking waves. We managed to get in without problem and anchored up in sand over coral in about 30 feet of water. This place is quite beautiful and looks just like picture postcards of the south pacific appear except that they don't do it justice.
There is also marvelous water clarity here and we will do some more reef diving today.
We went ashore to find not very much at all. Most of the natives do subsistence fishing and copra farming and there don't seem to be many of them. There is one tiny road and and an airstrip but mostly for freight and a ship comes in one a month with supplies. We found one tiny shop after two hours of searching and walking that had nothing fresh except a few bulbs of garlic. The bread was brought in once a week by plane and kept in a fridge as there is no boulangerie on the atoll.
We'll spend another few days her and then go on to Fakarava which does have a tourist infrastructure and the Rangiroa and on to Papaeete by the end of the month.

2 May

Message from Callisto:

Arrived at Takaroa yesterday to find the pass int it navigable but no place to anchor safely inside. The lagoon itself was 10 miles long and about 4 miles wide and filled with oyster farms for making cultivated pearls.
We did anchor up just outside the pass in about 10 meters of coral. Not too satisfactory but there was not much other choice.
The ware is incredibly clear and you can see bottom at 30 meters. We spent the day snorkeling, checking out the lagoon in the dinghy. We did go ashore and found the main village, which was not too impressive. They had one tiny restaurant but no beer ashore as 90% of the population of about 800 is Mormon. Who knew?.
Today is Sunday and everything is closed. I'm not sure if non Mormons can go into Mormon churches but Ron and I might go and check that out as the locals singing is really outstanding. If not, there's always the much smaller Catholic one down the street. I'll try not to wear my knees out.
The rest of the day will be spent snorkeling and fixing the main sail furler motor which is still being troublesome.
Off to the next fly speck atoll called Aratika about 60NM due south of here tonight or tomorrow.

1 May, 0530H

Message from Callisto:

we are approaching the atoll of Takaroa in the Tuamotos as we cannot make Fakarva in daylight today. We will visit there in a few days. Meanwhile we'll check out Takaroa and see the black pearl farms and the locals. I doubt there will be internet but one never knows