Author: Scott and Kathy Erwin, Sail the World

Kathy here, I did it! Finally I conquered my irrational fear of scuba diving! Yesterday I dove 93 feet! Years ago in college, while in the cold waters of Southern California, I got certified and I hadn’t put a dive tank on in 30 years. My fears hadn’t been of the unknown or scary creatures, it’s been more about breathing and claustrophobia. It became kind of a big “thing”. I have been enjoying snorkeling so much these last few years, I just put it off. Finally I just went for it. A few practice dives under our boat in 20 feet of water and I realized that all is well and to stay focused on the beauty. Well, this is the perfect place, so clear, such beauty, I love it! Fakatava South Pass is a famous dive location and Top Dive filled our tanks daily. Most friends back home are amazed at the hundreds of sharks and overwhelming amount of healthy coral! Our friends and bloggers on We Sail showed us a cool cave, too. Going back for more today.

Here are a couple of scenes from Tetamanu Pass here on Fakarava, south end. We will be here and diving daily for a few more weeks before we move on to Tahiti. Its been beautiful here with 85 degree temperatures and 80 degree waters.

We still find time for crafts, research, learning new ukulele songs…Boat projects still occur, almost daily something needs attending to. Laundry, only done on a sunny calm morning, when you have just made water and preferably hot water. Plan to be home for a few hours if the wind pipes up. You also cant go far in case a rain cloud comes by. (I prefer to wash in my galley sink, but others use a bucket.) We did have 1 bag of laundry done in the Marquesis for $50.

Not really a chore, but something we do for at least an hour a day, is local research and long term planning. Starlink provides us unlimited internet for googling local facts, extended forecasts, future travel and more of course. So, interesting research: Coconut Crabs, if you’ve never seen a Coconut Crab this is a small oune. They can get to 18lbs but this one probably wasn’t bigger than 4. They are very plentiful on many of the atolls here.
A guy/local on shore traded this crab and a bunch of Lobster for a few fishing lures.
This crab was on a leash under his tree before he made the trade. He was very tasty, much like lobster.

What amazing evenings were had in our last few nights in the little village of this Tuomotu Kauehi. Our cruiser friends on sailboats Infinite Grace and First light gathered in a sandy patch near their concrete dock for happy hour and a visit. Poona, a local 18 year old sat down with us: so happy to jam on his guitar. Entertaining. We passed around the guitar and Ukulele with big smiles. Learning play instruments.

Shopping for French baguettes, in one of two small markets in Village Kauehi, we noticed the next door neighbors vegetable garden. It’s very unusual to find a vegetable garden in the Tuomotus, as there is only sandy soil. This family had rows of plants of tomato, eggplant, beans and pumpkin. Chicken and pig fertilizer helps in any garden. We quickly made friends, bought lettuce, bok choy, watermelon and bananas, first fresh food in 6 weeks. We suggested to this darling village family sharing a meal together. They were thrilled. So, 12 of us planned, cooked and dined together in their simple, half outdoor home. They surprised us with beautiful white pulmera lei’s, pumpkin jelly in coconut milk, curry chicken and a chocolate pie. Table talk was tricky, with 3 languages: French. English. Tuomotu. It is very interesting learning of the local small island culture. Languages. Education. Polynesian history. Pearl farming, and more. This is the first year in a few that any of these islands have seen cruising boats, since Covid. Many ports were shut down for any cruisers entering this French country.

What amazing evenings were had in our last few nights in the little village of this Atoll Kauehi. Our cruiser friends on Infinite Grace and First light gathered in a sandy patch near their concrete dock for happy hour and a visit. Soon, Poona, a local 18 year old sat down with us: so happy to jam on his guitar. So entertaining, as we passed around the guitar and Ukulele with big smiles.

Last week, while shopping for some baguettes, we noticed the next door neighbors garden. It’s very unusual to find a true garden in the Tuomotus, as there is only sandy soil. But this family had rows of tomato, eggplant, beans and pumpkin, with the help of their chicken and pig fertilizer. We walked over and quickly made friends, bought lettuce, bok choy, watermelon and bananas, first fresh food in 6 weeks. We suggested sharing a meal together sometime and they were thrilled. So, 12 of us planned, cooked and dined together in their simple, half outdoor home. They surprised us with beautiful white pulmera lei’s, pumpkin jelly in coconut milk, curry chicken and a chocolate pie. Table talk was tricky, with 4 languages, but very interesting. Learning of the local small island culture, language, education, history, pearl farming, and more. This is the first year in a few that any of these islands have seen cruising boats, since Covid had shut down any cruisers entering this French country.

You have seen by now we love taking underwater photos and videos! Capturing the moment, or sharing our experience via video is such fun for us, and more fun for our family, friends and followers. Our Go Pro has made it easy.

Action packed two weeks here on Makemo.
Our first 5 days were anchored in the East trying to shield ourselves from a weather system that is quite difficult to explain. The ensuing winds definitely challenged the hardest of crews and I believe the electrical storm caused some damage to my generator (Always something).
After the storm, we met a local that lived on the island behind us. Yes, a desert isle and a long way from a town. Uribroa has lived on his little island for 28 years!!!
No power, no running water, no wifi or phones and very few visitors. When I first met Uribroa, he only had on an old shirt on and wondering the beach…..
He took me to his home (camp more like it). After I saw his place I knew I had to bring Kathy over because Uribeoa was an amazing gardener and has decorated his island with everything he has found washed up on the island(s) over the last 28 years. We brought him many items off our boat, as he has almost NOTHING. Shirts, hats, lighters and some food for his skinny dogs.

He was so kind and very generous with coconuts and smiles.
Midweek we moved back into the village and were able to have a meal on shore and also enjoy the locals practicing drums and dance for the upcoming festival in Tahiti. Once again we were swamped with kids and we felt totally accepted in the community.
In the following week we enjoyed time with other cruisers and had multiple campfires on the beach and experienced some of the best snorkeling we’ve seen so far.

Before we said goodbye to Makemo, Sea Bella was unfortunate enough to wrap her chain and anchor on a reef in the west side of the atoll. With some help from Denton on Simplicity, a couple of hours of engine time and a bit of scuba we were able to free her. It’s hard to explain, but believe it or not, you can clearly see everything going on at 65’ but between the waves, wind and multiple rocks it was a huge challenge to untangle.
This morning we pulled anchor, and we’re off to Tahanea, nature preserve and we hear the diving and snorkeling in the pass are supposed to be better than what we’ve seen. That is hard to believe!!! The coral, sharks, octopus, Moray Eels and thousands of tropical fish keep us in the water frequently. It seems every time we get in the water, it is getting better!

After Makemo, we headed to Tahanea for excellent diving and more adventure. From sun up to sun down, an incredible day was had here at a Motu in the East tip of the Tahanea. Stunningly clear water, excellent beaches, and a fun filled cruiser bonfire.