After the Marquesas, I entered the Tuamotu — low coral atolls where the seamanship was quite different from either ocean passage-making or Mediterranean coastal cruising.

Entering the atolls

The usual advice was to enter an atoll pass near slack water, in settled weather and with the sun high enough to read the water. Cruising rarely arranges all three perfectly. At Fakarava the northern pass brought about 22 knots of wind against an incoming current, heavy rain squalls and a short steep chop. Malua would climb a wave, crash down and almost stop before gathering way again.

Once inside, the hazards changed. Coral heads and pearl-farm equipment meant that visual navigation remained essential. At South Fakarava the anchor chain itself became wrapped around coral heads as the wind shifted, requiring repeated dives into clear water to work out how to unwind it.

South Fakarava

The rewards more than balanced the difficulties. South Fakarava produced some of the most enjoyable days of the season: diving with sharks, snorkelling the pass in both directions, kayaking, watching the kite surfers and spending time with other cruising crews. There were land expeditions, beach gatherings and snorkelling with manta rays.

Across French Polynesia

With temporary NZ crew departed, Malua was mine again and I settled back into my familiar single-handed routine. From Fakarava the cruise continued through French Polynesia towards Bora Bora, with the boat gradually moving west across the Society Islands.

Bora Bora marked the end of the French Polynesian stage. The next passage would be a much more serious offshore leg towards Tonga, and unsettled weather was already developing beyond the reef.