Fakarava

As you see we have made a move at last, and actually had a really nice sail, 15 kts on the stern, blue sky and calm sea. We were amazed as the day before it was blowing 30kts, and was very overcast so we thought the seas would be big. We spent a rolly night anchored off (ie outside) a small atoll, then got going at 6am to catch slack tide at the south pass of Fakarava. En route the furler mechanism for the genoa stopped working, so G has been busy with that. He has got it working but wants to paint the metal parts and it keeps raining. It is beautiful here, a small village and a few palm thatch cottages for tourists. The tiny church is festooned with strings of shells, and cowries and mother of pearl decorate the alter and pulpit.

Best of all is the snorkelling. Evidently a drift dive through the pass is a must, but when we went this morning the sun was a bit low and it was too gloomy in the depths. However when we drifted over the shallows inside the pass it was great, we were zooming along, and there were lots of unicorn fish with long spines on top of their heads, a first for us. Today has been an 'April' sort of day with sun then showers, so we have been out three times and fairly briefly each time. The coral heads along the sandy coast of our nearest motu are beautiful with lots of fish and very healthy coral growths. Clear clear water which is great too.

Hope we have a nice sunny day tomorrow so that we can 'do' the pass as we really need to get up to the northern end of the lagoon where there's a larger village with a couple of stores and hopefully some fresh fruit and veg.