Tahanea is a lovely place. So far through the Tuamotus I’ve thought Raroia’s water had amazing visibility. Then we got to Makemo and it was better still. And now that we’ve gotten to Tahanea we are at still another level.
Mother nature creates some truly remarkable anchorages. With these atolls the first thing nature has to do for us cruisers is build a reef around a volcano that has broken the surface, then it needs to wear away that volcano that the reef was built around, and finally it needs to wear down a hole in that reef wide enough for us to safely sail through. As an added bonus it generously creates a little hook to protect us from the ocean’s swell.
Through that pass that we sail through, the tides flow back and forth all day. Sea water flowing in for a few hours, and out for a few hours. All sorts of good things for the creatures below to feed upon. Instead of foraging for food, they just go straight to the grocery store.
These are not food. Those are our kids and their friends on a drift snorkel. Every day, just after the incoming rising tide begins, we dinghy out and ride the current back in at around 3 knots. That speed feels like 30 miles an hour when you are swimming. The depth of the main pass here is about 55 feet. The two smaller passes are about 25 feet. And visibility is at least 100 feet.
Anchored in twenty-five feet on a dead calm morning.
I’m really digging all the sharks. I’ve seen plenty of them through the years, but never so abundantly as here in the Tuamotus.
Another group drift. It’s fun watching the kids dive down 25-30 feet to get a closer look at something down below as they all explore and point things out together.
There’s nothing especially amazing about these night shots other than that they are five second exposures taken hand-held on the boat. It was that calm at night, for a couple of nights anyway.
A friend shot this one of Bumfuzzle as they motored in through the pass early one morning.
6 Comments on “Tahanea Atoll”
Now that you are in the southern hemisphere, I don’t think you should be able to see Polaris (the North Star). So many questions ….
Wondering if you see particulates floating in the water there? I am used to seeing them floating in front of my mask here, especially when I would do a safety stop. I would use the particulates as a gauge to keep me at the depth I wanted instead of looking at my dive computer.
Being from the Midwest, the first time our family went sailing in the Caribbean we were afraid we’d run aground if you could see the bottom. Only to realize it was 30+ ft deep under our keel. Took awhile to get adjusted to the water clarity in the ocean vs lakes we were used to. Fabulous pictures.
Wow, that last photo — all of them are wonderful, but that one particularly. Love all the snorkeling and sunsets!
Great colors and pics…..
Those fantastic pictures being me joy!
Those islands are remarkable! We are about to set off on America’s Great Loop and I could wish we would see water like you are seeing. Thank you for allowing us to live vicariously through you.