Manini, Tuamotus, 7-12-2017--Arrival

By David

This is a short report on our passage from Nuku Hiva to Manihi Atoll. We had good east wind the first day out, then numerous strong squalls and very wet sailing the next day. The 3^rd and 4^th day were ideal trade wind conditions, with 10-14 knots east and east southeast winds.

The forecast was for windier conditions beginning Thursday and it didn't look like we'd get as far as our intended destination of Toau Atoll by then. We did some research and found that Manihi Atoll was closer and even had a little marina in the village. The pass through the reef surrounding the lagoon was fairly short and looked do-able in our engineless boat.

We changed course and made good time, even having to heave to on Tuesday night to wait for daylight to check out the pass. Wednesday morning early we were up and sailing. When we got to the pass entrance around 8 am, there were several fishing boats just outside the pass. One of them offered to tow us in when they realized we didn't have an engine. That was providential, as the current flows out much more of the time than in. With reefs closing in and waves increasing as we went through the ever narrowing pass, we were grateful for the tow. Frank, our benefactor, took us right into the marina.

The marina is an area about 100' x 200' that has been dredged out of the coral. It has a sea wall on the south side that protects boats from the relentless east and southeast trade winds. Minimus fits right in, and in fact is a bit shorter than many of the open boats here. There are no docks. Instead, we're med-tied, which means our stern is anchored and the bow is moored to the sea wall. We don't even need the kayak. We just step off the bow and we're off to the village. Actually, the moment we step off the boat, we're in the village which is a great experience.

The photos we took of coming in through the pass were on a camera that unfortunately went swimming the next day. If we can eventually access the photos, we'll post them on this page. (The SD card on the camera doesn't fit anything else we have.)