Tuamotus

We really didn't give the Tuamotus a fair visit. This was a combination of awful weather (Maramu winds) and a bad choice of an atoll, which was Manihi. If we had to do it over again, we'd probably sail for Fakarava or maybe Rangiroa.

Bastille Day in Manihi. The kids are about to hula in ways you can't imagine.

Here we appear to be playing around, but we're really trying to get the dinghy across the lagoon in 25kt winds and an awful chop. We had Maramu winds for over a week, which kept us pinned down behind a motu (island) with murky,green, remora-infested water to play in.

When we tried to raise the anchor we discovered it was wrapped under a coral head. We had an idea it might be a problem after the admiral dropped her glasses overboard and we were forced to dive amidst schools of remoras. If you haven't been visited by a remora, be advised that what they want to do is attach themselves to your body somewhere; We've seen them on turtles,whales and boats, not just sharks. We noted that the chain went under a mushroom-shaped head but thought we could unwrap it. Wrong. After struggling for 30 minutes we gave up and sent the Captain overboard to unwind the chain.

Manihi was a disappointment. It's not clear why, but the lagoon there has been ruined. The water is a murky green and all the coral is dead. It turns out that much of the coral in French Polynesia is dead, possibly killed by an El Nino or global warming. If you're planning to visit the Tuamotus, skip Manihi.

We were running late, so we had to leave for the Society Islands.

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